Mathematics educators, through the NCTM Standards and MAA Professional Standards for Teachers of Mathematics, call for more active learning at all levels of mathematics education. This project is developing a teaching approach for the finite mathematics course, taken by elementary education and business majors, which implements the goals of these standards in both curriculum and instruction. The course materials incorporate active and collaborative learning techniques, writing, and a problem-solving approach which emphasizes critical thinking. The software keep the structure of SEEN, an award-winning humanities software program, with tutorials that teach mathematical strategies plus a bulletin board that encourages peer collaboration. The SEEN-MATH software is being written so that the tutorial inculcates Polya's problem-solving model with tools such as graphing and calculator capabilities. In addition, to train and retrain mathematics teachers, thus affecting the educational infrastructure, SEEN-MATH is being used with elementary education and secondary mathematics education majors, and presented in an in-service workshops for teachers, allowing them to use the Polya tutorial and also adapt the software (in its author mode) to their students and classes as a model of active learning.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
9156086
Program Officer
Elizabeth Teles
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1992-07-15
Budget End
1996-12-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
$170,901
Indirect Cost
Name
Indiana University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Bloomington
State
IN
Country
United States
Zip Code
47401