Recent research on mathematics education and the psychology of learning indicates that mathematics instruction should recognize and support the role that students play in constructing their own understanding of mathematics. This requires a curriculum that enables students to experience mathematics as serving useful and interesting purposes, that treats problem solving as the central mathematics activity, and that builds mathematical concepts on concrete experiences. This project will lay a foundation for a new elementary mathematics curriculum that responds to these needs. It will outline learning goals for a K-6 mathematics curriculum that will enable students to master the mathematical tools and procedures essential for literacy in an information age, define a complete scope and sequence, develop prototype curriculum modules, and produce supporting materials for teacher training and student assessment. The materials will emphasize problem solving and applications of mathematics, incorporate the best traditional materials, and fully integrate the calculator and computer, as tools, into the curriculum.
