Innovative CAS Technology Use in University Mathematics Teaching and Assessment: Findings from a Case Study in Alberta, Canada

摘要

In this paper, we report on a case study that focused on innovative uses of CAS technology in university mathematics teaching and assessment. The study involved a site visit to the University of Alberta campus (June 2015) during which: interviews were conducted with five mathematics faculty members and seven mathematics students; math lectures were attended; and artifacts were collected such as course outlines, software demonstrations, and assessment tools. Interviews were transcribed and the data entered into Atlas.ti qualitative research software for the purpose of thematic analysis. Findings center around the innovative use of the open source, CAS-based software both in the teaching (answer checking, interactive lecture demonstrations) and assessment (studentgenerated optimization problems, mid-terms, final exams) practices of one particular instructor who taught seven itera-tions of a Mathematical Programming and Optimization undergraduate course.