Faculty Members’ Perspectives on Effective Instructional Methods for Teaching Calculus in the UK and Saudi Universities

Background/purpose. The purpose of this study was to elicit faculty members’ perspectives on effective instructional methods for teaching calculus in the UK and Saudi Universities. Materials/methods. An online questionnaire was administered to 150 UK faculty members and 156 Saudi faculty members specialising in curricula and methods of teaching mathematics and other related areas, such as pure mathematics. Results. The results revealed that the instructional strategies viewed as most helpful in enabling students to develop a solid understanding of calculus in UK and Saudi Universities were the Flipped Classroom Strategy (FCS) and the GeoGebra program. In addition, a few participants mentioned other tools such as graphing calculators, Desmos, GeoGebra, MATLAB, Maple, WolframAlpha, and Mathematica (a computerised algebra system), along with strategies such as inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, team-based learning, and the Modified Moore method. Regarding the challenges and difficulties encountered when teaching calculus, faculty members stated that students move to university with incorrect beliefs about the best method for teaching the concept of the derivative and the concepts of limit and continuity. For instance, they considered teachers and textbooks to be the sole sources of knowledge. Finally, a common theme that emerged from the results was that all lessons are usually straightforward for students when working with calculus, with the exception of the concept of the derivative and the concept of limit and continuity. Conclusion. This study concludes by presenting important recommendations for future practice.