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Calculus for Kinetic Modeling The learning goals, content, assessment, and implementation of this course have been refocused and redesigned to ensure that pharmacy students will find their calculus experience both appealing and useful. In order to address this pedagogical challenge, I have written a computer-based (Maple V Release 3) interactive text, two hardcopy workbooks, and an Internet text (under development) "Calculus for Kinetic Modeling (CKM)." This interactive text has been designed to emphasize the introduction of precalculus and calculus concepts using exploratory problem-solving and visualization. A primary goal and innovation of this project has been to provide pharmacy students the opportunity to acquire a mathematical understanding of the basics of kinetic modeling, including an introduction to reaction kinetics, Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics, Makoid-Banakar drug dissolution, and several first-order drug absorption models. In addition, I have developed a new method of assessment
called "The Mastery TASK System."
The weekly activities are each partitioned
into "TASKs," each of which is a complete problem situation with different
components and a clear end purpose. In order to keep students engaged and
successful, there is a weekly thirty minute test, a "TASK Performance,"
with a required minimum mastery level built into each TASK varying from
75-85%. If the minimum mastery level is not attained on this week's TASK
then either an "Encore Performance" or a "Revision Interview & Assignment"
must be completed, at least at the minimum mastery level. Providing these
students with an opportunity to improve their learning by successive approximations
has resulted in more than a letter grade improvement in the average grade
of each one of these classes, compared to the traditional approach I had
been using previously.
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