Some of the Major Changes to the Textbooks and Teaching Methods 

• Algebraic manipulations are no longer heavily emphasized. The preface of an earlier edition of Hughes-Hallet et. al's calculus text states:

 "We have found this curriculum to be thought-provoking for well-prepared students while still accessible to students with weak algebra backgrounds. Providing numerical and graphical approaches as well as the algebraic gives the students several ways of mastering the material. This approach encourages students to persist, thereby lowering failure rates."

(See Rule of Four Below)

• Several definitions from "standard" Calculus courses have been de-emphasized or trimmed to allow the student to study a few topics in depth rather than a multitude of wide-ranging ones.

Some examples: The definition of a real power of a positive number and logarithms, The definition of limit, The definition of continuity, L'Hopital's rule, The intermediate Value Theorem, the proof for Differentiability implies Continuity, Polar coordinates, Parametric equations, Partial Fractions, and related rates.

• New topics have been added to the curriculum, for example, differential equations.

• Students can now choose from real-life-application classes such as 'Calculus for Business' and 'Calculus for Biology'. 

• Four "Guiding Principles" exist for teachers.
  
  1. Rule of Four: (Sound Familiar anyone?) Topics should be presented geometrically, numerically, analytically, and verbally.
  
  2. Problem Driven: Start with a 'Real-World' practical problem and derive the general results from it.
  
  3. Open-Ended Real World Problems: There may be more than one solution depending on a student's analysis and common sense abilities.
  
  4. Plain English: Encourages the students to read the text in detail.