The purpose of this Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Program proposal is to revitalize and renew physics and mathematics courses at College of the Ozarks. The goal of the proposal is the active participation of their students in learning physics and mathematics. The program is carrying out the following objectives, in order of priority: 1) It is putting in the hands of the General Physics students significant new computer-based tools to learn physics and do physics, specifically, a symbolic algebra system (Mathematica) on a powerful computer (Macintosh II Ci). These tools are engaging the students and are requiring the students to actively participating the learning process. 2) The program is maintaining and improving the numerical computational component of the General Physics Course. 3) It is updating the microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) capability to utilize the Macintosh platform. 4) The project is using Mathematica to begin a similar revitalization and renewal process of the Calculus sequence and the upper-division Mathematics courses. 5) The astronomy software--Voyager--is being introduced into the Physical Science and Astronomy laboratories. 6) The project is creating a Scientific Computing Facility for all of the natural sciences and mathematics at College of the Ozarks.
