Sonification is use of non-speech audio to convey information. One widely known and successful application of sonification is the Geiger counter, which represents the intensity of radiation by the tempo of the audible clicks. Sonification is finding new applications across several disciplines and offers another way to communicate, demonstrate, and discover mathematics. Sonifications are not limited to pitch, but include other properties of sound including volume, timbre, and tempo.
The primary goal of this proof-of-concept project is to integrate sonification into a one-semester calculus class. It builds on calculus reform efforts that emphasize multiple representations of mathematics including numerical, graphical, analytical, and oral or written representations. Thus the Rule of Four is being expanded to the Rule of Five. Secondary goals of the project include teaching students how to interpret sonifications, identifying design principles for mathematical sonifications, and engaging mathematics, mathematics education, and computer science students in undergraduate research in sonification.
Intellectual Merit: Sonification offers an important new method for engaging students who grew up in a multimedia environment. Many students have difficulty completing calculus successfully, and using sonification with the Rule of Four enhances conceptual understanding. The project is developing resources for use in teaching interpretation of sonifications in a laboratory setting and then testing them in classrooms.
Broader Impacts: This project is exposing the mathematics community to the use of sonifications in the teaching of calculus. Because properties of functions are central to mathematics, the instructional materials are useful across the mathematics curriculum (e.g., precalculus, algebra, statistics, mathematics for liberal arts majors, and mathematics for preservice teachers.) The project also offers mathematics and computer science majors accessible problems for undergraduate research, and provides students who cannot use graphics because they are not visual learners or are visually impaired a new channel for mathematics communications and discovery. The manuals and accompanying sound files and software are available on the Web and CD.
