Larson Texts, Inc. and its subsidiary Big Ideas Learning, LLC produce mathematics education materials for kindergarten through college calculus. For more than 45 years, we have been deeply committed to providing innovative and coherent products that inspire students and teachers and empower them to achieve greatness.
Our story began when Dr. Ron Larson, a mathematics professor at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, recognized the need for student-friendly math textbooks. Ron published his first textbook, Calculus, with D.C. Heath in 1978 after five years of development.
Since then, we invented several features students take for granted today, and our textbooks are known for their readability, accuracy, and instructional design.
Today we build companion web sites and mobile applications for all products. Math Musicals brings mathematics to life through animation with stories and songs. CalcChat and CalcView provide tutorial help for older students. Big Ideas Math is the only K-12 core curriculum product that is easily accessible online for personal use.
We formed Big Ideas Learning in 2008 to publish our own products, and have since published Big Ideas Math – a print and digital core mathematics curriculum from kindergarten through Algebra 2. We’re pleased that we’re now extending Ron’s original philosophy beyond students to include teachers and parents.
Our passion for classroom instruction includes utilizing technology to facilitate the best learning outcomes. In the 1980s, we wrote the first graphical hypertext engine used to deliver tutorials to students. In the 1990s, we created Interactive Calculus and Internet Calculus, the first multimedia mathematics textbook delivered via CD-ROM and internet, respectively. In the 2000s, we developed a complete internet-based mathematics tutorial curriculum.
We believe it is our responsibility to support local education programs.
We are the Corporate Partner at JoAnna Connell Elementary School via the United Way of Erie County Community Schools Program. This program levels the playing field for students facing barriers in school and provides support to families. The program also gives our employees the opportunity to donate time and resources to make this partnership a success.
In 2017, the Larson Texts Excellence Scholarship at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, was established with a $500,000 endowment. So far, more the $80,000 in scholarships have been awarded to juniors and seniors in the college's mathematics and secondary education in mathematics programs.
We are also a corporate sponsor of the Full STEAM Ahead Capital Campaign at the ExpERIEnce Children's Museum with a $500,000 commitment. The project is expanding the STEAM knowledge experience by doubling the size of the museum. So far, the campaign has raised more than $18 million dollars. The first phase of the expansion project opened in June of 2023.
