Precalculus First Edition by Julie Miller 

Julie Miller wrote her developmental math series because students were coming into her Precalculus course underprepared. They weren’t mathematically mature enough to understand the concepts of math nor were they fully engaged with the material. She began her developmental mathematics offerings with intermediate algebra to help bridge that gap. The Precalculus series is a carefully constructed end to that bridge that uses the highly effective pedagogical features from her fastest growing developmental math series. What sets Julie Miller’s series apart is that it addresses course issues through an author-created digital package that maintains a consistent voice and notation throughout the program. This consistency–in videos, PowerPoints, Lecture Notes, and Group Activities–coupled with the power of ALEKS and Connect Hosted by ALEKS, ensures that students master the skills necessary to be successful in Precalculus and can carry them through to the calculus sequence.

Julie Miller is from Daytona State College, where she has taught developmental and upper-level mathematics courses for 20 years. Prior to her work at Daytona State College, she worked as a software engineer for General Electric in the area of flight and radar simulation. Julie earned a bachelor of science in applied mathematics from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and a master of science in mathematics from the University of Florida. In addition to this textbook, she has authored several course supplements for college algebra, trigonometry, and precalculus, as well as several short works of fiction and nonfiction for young readers.
My father is a medical researcher, and I got hooked on math and science when I was young and would visit his laboratory. I can remember using graph paper to plot data points for his experiments and doing simple calculations. He would then tell me what the peaks and features in the graph meant in the context of his experiment. I think that applications and hands-on experience made math come alive for me and I’d like to see math come alive for my students.