New Titles  |  FAQ  |  Keep Informed  |  Review Cart  |  Contact Us Quick Search (Advanced Search ) Browse by Subject General Interest Logic & Foundations Number Theory Algebra & Algebraic Geometry Discrete Math & Combinatorics Analysis Differential Equations Geometry & Topology Probability & Statistics Applications Mathematical Physics Math Education
 Selected Lectures 1992; 60 minutes; DVD ISBN-10: 0-8218-4338-9 ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-4338-3 List Price: US\$25 Order Code: DVD/72 Well known for his textbooks and his attention to students, Gilbert Strang has some novel ideas about how to teach calculus. In this insightful lecture, Strang discusses how concepts that commonly confuse students can be used as springboards to better understanding. For example, students often confuse the functions $$x3$$ and $$3x$$. In fact, for some values of $$x$$, the graphs of these two functions look very similar and actually cross in two places. Using a computer to plot such functions avoids "flooding the course with numbers," as Strang puts it, and improves the students' ability to visualize. He shows how looking at integration numerically on a computer can help students to better understand infinitesimals. He also presents computer "experiments" with iterations of functions, which produce surprising and intriguing results. This DVD would prove useful to anyone interested in new ways to approach the teaching of calculus and of mathematics more generally.