Differential Equations with Dynamical Systems I

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:  MATH 2270
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract:  This open textbook is being utilized in a mathematics course for undergraduate or graduate students by Dr. Youngsu Kim at CSU San Bernardino.  The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was [to reduce the cost while providing tailored materials]. Most student access the open textbook in Canvas.

Course Title and Number: MATH 2270 - Differential Equations with Dynamical Systems I
Brief Description of course highlights:  Differential equations theory and applications. First-order linear and nonlinear differential equations with analytic and numerical techniques. Planar and higher order systems of linear differential equations with constant coefficients. Slope fields and phase portraits. Catalog available at https://catalog.csusb.edu/coursesaz/math/.

Student Population: The course is mixed with students majoring in mathematics and students from several other majors. They are equipped with Calculus II.

Learning or student outcomes: 
Goal 1 Students will demonstrate a conceptual understanding of mathematics

• 1.1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of fundamental concepts,
   algorithms, operations, and relations.

Goal 2 Students will attain procedural fluency in mathematics

• 2.1. Students will correctly apply mathematical theorems, properties and
   definitions.

Goal 3 Students will demonstrate adaptive reasoning and problem-solving skills in mathematics

• 3.1. Students will justify solutions using a variety of strategies and
   representation

Key challenges faced and how resolved: 
Challenges
- Textbooks are excellent, but they are sometimes expensive, while the course typically covers about 20% of them.
- Often, minor modifications lead to another edition
Given 
- The instructor taught the course several times before joining CSU San Bernardino and
- had a good set of notes: some work needs to be done
Solution
- Two Note-takers with incentive
- MyOpenMath (Online-HW platform, IMathAS)
- Instructor prepared in-class worksheets
- PlayPosit Videos
- OER Textbooks

Instructor Name: Youngsu Kim 
I am an assistant professor at the California State University, San Bernardino.

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.csusb.edu/mathematics/faculty-staff

Please describe the courses you teach.
I teach both undergraduate and graduate courses. In recent semesters, I have been teaching differential equations and introduction to statistics.

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching. Sharing my understanding of abstract topics with concrete examples.

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. The main motivation to adopt the textbook was to provide the most suitable level of materials at a reasonable cost.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course?  I mainly relied on my lecture notes.

Sharing Best Practices:   Not everything was smooth, and several items needed to be modified. It was great that my students provided invaluable feedback early in the semester. They liked to work as a group and wanted more videos.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned.  Exploring, modifying, and adopting materials from various sources required much time. MyOpenMath had a great set of problems, but I wish I had time to write my own problems.

Textbook or OER Used: 

Brief Description: The course is mainly built on instructors' lecture notes and in-class worksheets. In addition, we utilized the online HW system MyOpenMath, which is available at no cost and easily integrated into Canvas. For those who like to learn from textbooks, a link to OER material was shared on Canvas: Differential Equations by Chasnov, https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Differential_Equations/Differential_Equations_(Chasnov)

Authors:  Chasnov -
Student access:  All materials were available from our Canvas section and no additional account needed to be created.

Supplemental resources: In addition to the materials above, the instructor shared YouTube and instructor-prepared videos and shared via PlayPosit to make them interactive.

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  $1400

License: Differential Equations (Chasnov) is shared under a CC BY 3.0 license