Grand Valley Math Texts
My U is really committed to free textbooks in all of our classes, and have produced some really good OER options. Our focus is teaching, so these are pretty pedagogically sound compared to some others.
Beginning Algebra Made Useful, Charlene Beckmann, MTH 180, pre-intermediate algebra text. Focuses on mindset, and tries to do something for these learners who have seen the material multiple times. Trigonometry by T, Sundstrom & S. Schlicker (free PDF download - used in MTH 123). More trig than you need for calculus, but a more sensible approach than a lot of textbooks I've seen.
Active Prelude to Calculus, by M. Boelkins -- used in MTH 124 Active Calculus Single Variable by M. Boelkins, D. Austin, & S. Schlicker (free PDF or Google Docs download) -- used in MTH 201 (Calculus) and MTH 202 (Calculus 2) Active Calculus Multivariable, by S. Schlicker, D. Austin, & M. Boelkins -- used in MTH 203 (Calculus 3)
All three Active Calculus titles are interactive, with dynamic elements. Matt & crew have done some great work.
Mathematical Reasoning: Writing and Proof by T. Sundstrom (free PDF download) -- used in MTH 210 (Communicating in Mathematics)
Ted won a prestigious MAA teaching award for this text. It's the start of our post-calc math major and a strong support for proof writing. There's a lot of writing in our courses!
Linear Algebra and Applications: An Inquiry-Based Approach, by F. Alayont and S. Schlicker. This textbook was used for a traditional two-semester linear algebra course with application projects included in each section. Understanding Linear Algebra by D. Austin available at https://www.gvsu.edu/s/0Cl Love this one. David also teaches our applied math senior seminar, so he builds some amazing applications.
We've developed a track where you can start college math with linear algebra rather than calculus. It's really promising.
There are many more OER textbooks and these at OpenStax. The College Algebra text I'm sort of almost using this semester is from Abramson, one of the few we don't have a GV book for.
I'm hoping some R1 schools start developing their own graduate texts. Nigel Higson's first year analysis would be insane!













