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Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (with Tools for Enriching Calculus, Interactive Video...
Product Review "I have appreciated two main things from this textbook. The first is the concise language that Stewart uses. It makes my job much easier. I can embellish, add, emphasize or not easily. The second item is the paring down of the calculus material to an amount that?allows me enough room to add the various exploratory activities that I have my classes use." "The single feature of this book that I like the most is the breadth in the exercises." "Stewart does a good job in extracting the best parts from calculus reform efforts and traditional approaches. The book is well organized, the material is clearly presented, and there is an abundance of problems of varying levels. The problems are the right type to engage students in thinking about the concepts and to develop skills and ability to apply the calculus?The organization and presentation is designed to develop perspective, conceptual understanding and ability to use the concepts and methods to actually solve problems." "I like the author?s approach very much?it combines the best features of both [the traditional and the reform approaches], making it possible to present a better course. Stewart?s approach contains the most important aspects of that [reform] approach?rule of four, use of projects, use of technology, focus on topics of value to clients, development of conceptual understanding over formalism, writing." "The text is well-informed about the use of calculus and makes good use of realistic settings, not just artificially manufactured information." "I want a text that stresses the numerical and graphical as well as the algebraic approach to calculus. But I also want a calculus text that still has a solid rigorous foundation, and the Stewart book provides both." "Among the strengths of this text are the clear writing styles of the author, the use of color and diagrams throughout the book, the great organization of the book, the superb set of ancillaries both for the student and the instructor, and the great homework exercises." Product Description Stewart's CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS, Third Edition offers a streamlined approach to teaching calculus, focusing on major concepts and supporting those with precise definitions, patient explanations, and carefully graded problems. CALCULUS: CONCEPTS AND CONTEXTS is highly regarded because it has successfully brought peace to departments that were split between reform and traditional approaches to teaching calculus. Not only does the text help reconcile the two schools of thought by skillfully merging the best of traditional calculus with the best of the reform movement, it does so with innovation and meticulous accuracy. Reader Reviews I was turned on to Stewart through his excellent multivariable calculus text. Having been so impressed by that book I decided to fork out the bucks for the this text. Yea - I know - the material in this text is a pre-requisite to the other but I own a kazillion mathematics books and at this point in my life, I've been through various levels of Calc so many times that order is irrelevent. Anyway, for me, this book is really worth the huge price tag. I frequently open it up and read it for pleasure. Sick, huh? But it's that good! Stewart is great at chosing examples to work out fully for your eddification. He also is great at selecting interesting and illustrative problems that aren't presumptuous of the student's abilities at clairvoyance (unlike some other textbook authors I could mention). Lastly, the everything about this book reeks of quality: from the mathematical content (btw - it has excellent graphics!) and Stewart's obvious underlying teaching abilities to the physical characteristics of the binding and page materials. The book is a jewell. Well, I could go on but you probably get the idea. I wish J. Stewart would do a textbook of similar quality on Linear Algebra or better yet, Differential Geometry! That would really destroy the myth that money can't buy happiness. Comment | | (Report this)
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