When
Distance Calculus was launched back in 1997, the first
courses were Calculus I and higher. As enrollment grew, it became clear that a number of students needed
more Precalculus practice before jumping into the Calculus curriculum.
Out of this necessity was born the comprehensive (and exhaustive!) The Primitives of Precalculus,
bridging the gap between a varied high school math background and the core skill requirements of the
Calculus I course.
We begin with hand-calculations of solving basic equations from Algebra I level, all the way through conic sections, series,
vectors, and polar equations - topics usually found in a precalculus textbook but never actually covered in class.
The pedagogical approach is dual in nature:
- Hand-Calculations
With hand-calculation videos, start the explanation of precalculus topics. If a student has already mastered such calculations,
this part goes more quickly;
- LiveMath Calculations
Moving towards LiveMath usage, the topics are more thoroughly investigated, with the added challenge of learning
how to drive LiveMath to obtain calculations equivalent to the hand calculations, and then beyond what you may
accomplish by hand.
Not boring review as is usually the case in these courses, but a fresh and alive approach that allows students with weaker
Precalculus skills to progress along with students whose skills are stronger, all of which are reinforced via the expanded
LiveMath investigations.
Using both hand-skills and LiveMath skills as the foundation, we then advance through the Precalculus curriculum
eventually leaning towards LiveMath and advanced and unique topics that cannot be studied without a technological tool.
