Episode 9: Visualizing Calculus with Prof. Gigliola Staffilani Professor Gigliola Staffilani, who teaches in MIT’s Department of Mathematics, was closely involved in designing and teaching the introductory-level 18.01 Calculus I course series now found on the MIT Open Learning Library. She’s also been involved in teaching calculus to students on campus. To help students become proficient in a notoriously intimidating subject, she has tried to design learning experiences that bridge the gap between the pure abstractions that mathematicians love, exemplified by the use of conventional notation such as x, y, and f(x), and the concrete real-world situations in which calculus is typically applied in other fields such as chemistry or physics. In this episode, Prof. Staffilani discusses her efforts to make calculus less abstract and more intuitive for learners–efforts that draw on a diverse mix of teaching tools and props: digital applets, sketching tools, bagels, croissants, donuts, and even a balloon in a box. She also discusses her commitment to increasing equity and fighting implicit bias in her field. Relevant Resources: MIT OpenCourseWare https://ocw.mit.edu/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e9 The OCW Educator Portal https://ocw.mit.edu/educator/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e9 Share your teaching insights https://forms.gle/XBwUwqn35abSdjNs8 Professor Staffilani’s faculty page https://math.mit.edu/~gigliola/ Single variable calculus courses on MIT’s Open Learning Library https://openlearning.mit.edu/courses-programs/open-learning-library?search_api_fulltext=Calculus%2018.01&f[0]=open_moocs_departments%3A29?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=simplecast&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e9?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e9 18.01 Calculus I: Single Variable Calculus on OCW https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-01-calculus-i-single-variable-calculus-fall-2020/?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=simplecast&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e9?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=youtube&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e9 Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions https://www.sessions.blue/ Connect with Us If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you! Call us @ 617-715-2517 On our site https://ocw.mit.edu/contact/ On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MITOCW/ On Twitter https://twitter.com/MITOCW?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor On Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mitocw/ Stay Current Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter. https://ocw.mit.edu/newsletter/ Support OCW If you like Chalk Radio and OpenCourseware, donate to help keep these programs going! https://giving.mit.edu/give/to/ocw/?%20https://giving.mit.edu/give/to/ocw/?utm_source=ocw&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=donatehttps://giving.mit.edu/give/to/ocw/?%20https://giving.mit.edu/give/to/ocw/?utm_source=ocw&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=donate Credits Sarah Hansen, host and producer (https://twitter.com/learning_sarah) Brett Paci, producer (https://twitter.com/Brett_Paci) Dave Lishansky, producer (https://twitter.com/DaveResonates) Show notes by Peter Chipman