Teacher Preparation and Enhancement Workshop for the CSU-Alliance for Minority Participation
Alfonso F. Ratcliffe |
A workshop for K-12 teachers will be held at the annual meeting of the Society for Advancement for Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). The workshop will be based on the concept of providing open-ended, hands-on experiences for teachers using examples derived mostly from Native American cultures. The workshop team consists of: 1) a professor, who will serve as a resource for these teachers when they later use this information in their own classrooms; 2) master teachers who will provide the pedagogical expertise so that teachers may use this information at an appropriate grade and developmental level; and 3) those new teachers who will implement the workshop at their school with the assistance of the master teacher and the professor. Undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in teaching will be actively involved in preparing for the workshop, and will attend and assist at the workshop. The teachers will assess the value of the team approach and of the workshop after they have had six months to use the information in their classrooms.
Reforming the Preparation and Professional Development of Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teachers
Judith T. Sowder |
This project is producing mathematics content course modules for use in teacher preparation and teacher enhancement for elementary and middle school teachers of mathematics. Modules address: number sense with whole and rational numbers, proportional reasoning, measuring, spatial sense and geometry, exploring data, chance, patterns and functions, and mathematical change. The materials developed provide course instructors the opportunity to model the types of instructional delivery expected of teachers in grades K-8, both in their classroom and through the inclusion of videos of student interviews and classroom episodes from grade K-8 situations. Modules will be available nationwide upon completion. The modules will be in software and CD-ROM format giving each instructor the capability to modify the material to meet their individual needs.
A New Model for Physics Education in Physics Departments: Improving the Teaching of Physics from Elementary through Graduate School
Lillian C. McDermott |
A comprehensive, multifaceted program is being developed by the Physics Education Group in the Physics Department at the University of Washington. The program consists of a group of interrelated projects that focus on undergraduate course improvement, teacher preparation and enhancement, and university faculty development. The goals for the project are: 1) to expand the knowledge base of how students learn physics; 2) to increase student learning in the introductory physics course; 3) to prepare K-12 pre-service and in-service teachers to teach science as a process of inquiry; and 4) to improve the teaching effectiveness of present and future college and university faculty. Ongoing investigation of student understanding in physics guides the development of instructional materials for introductory physics students and for pre-service and in-service teachers. The project is conducting workshops for undergraduate faculty, and inviting faculty interns for short-term visits to observe the project activities first-hand. In addition, a Faculty Development Handbook is being produced to help prepare teaching assistants, postdoctoral research associates, and junior faculty for their role as physics instructors.
Interactive Mathematics Teacher Preparation Project
William Fisher, Richard Ford |
This proposal articulates the development of a new undergraduate mathematics education program consisting of three new courses for undergraduate pre-service secondary mathematics teachers and two new courses in developmental entry level mathematics based on a proven secondary reform curriculum. The developmental courses are adaptations of the highly acclaimed reform secondary mathematics curriculum, the Interactive Mathematics Project (IMP). The pre-service courses provide training in the philosophies, attitudes, objectives, and methods underlying the new reform curriculum and include specific training in the delivery of the adapted IMP materials. The pre-service teachers participate in a highly structured field experience based on reform ideas as they actually teach (under the supervision of mathematics education faculty) the two new developmental courses to college students with entry level mathematics deficiencies. The project is conducted in two distinct settings: CSU, Chico (a typical four year institution that has remedial students and a teacher preparation program) and in a collaborative setting between the University of California, Santa Barbara (a research institution with pre-service teachers) and Santa Barbara City College. Development of the curriculum, materials, and implementation design allows easy export to other higher educational settings throughout the nation. This innovative pre-service-developmental proposal provides both an important advancement in aligning secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs with reform ideas and an economical solution to the growing bottleneck of students with entry level mathematics problems.
The Development of Proof Understanding, Production, and Appreciation (PUPA) with Undergraduate Mathematics Majors
Guershon Harel
Purdue University |
The project has the potential to break new empirical and theoretical ground and further the understanding of what it means to understand mathematical proof and how that understanding develops. The knowledge gained from this study has the potential to impact significantly the way pre-service teachers develop their own abilities to teach proof and ultimately how mathematics and mathematical proofs will be taught and learned in school and college settings.
Institute in the History of Mathematics and Its Use in Teaching
Frederick V. Rickey |
The Mathematical Association of America (MAA), in cooperation with The American University, has created an Institute in the History of Mathematics and its Use in Teaching (IHMT). The goal of the Institute is to encourage the incorporation of history into the undergraduate mathematics curriculum at all levels. Special attention is focused on including the history of mathematics in teacher preparation programs, as called for in the NCTM Standards. Through intensive three-week programs in two successive summers, 80 mathematics faculty members are being prepared to teach special courses in the history of mathematics, as well as to use history to improve their teaching of courses in the standard mathematics curriculum. Thirteen historians of mathematics lead explorations of the history of mathematics from antiquity through the twentieth-century, stressing applications and links between different areas of mathematics. Specific techniques for incorporating history into undergraduate mathematics courses are a central theme. The information and techniques of IHMT are being disseminated nationally through presentations at national and regional mathematics meetings, publications, and electronic communications. The home institutions of the participants, the students at these institutions, and the collegiate mathematics community will benefit from this broader understanding of mathematics and its teaching. Through the inclusion of history in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum, a new generation of teachers will be able to enrich the courses they teach and benefit all students, at all grade levels, with interesting and relevant courses in mathematics.
A New Model for Introductory Biology at Two-Year and Community Colleges
Lynda B. Micikas |
In recognition of the importance of introductory biology courses at two-year and community colleges to the development of scientific literacy among college-educated individuals, BSCS is conceptualizing, writing, testing, and evaluating a set of innovative curriculum materials for biology students at the college level. Collaborating in the 36-month project are fifteen partners: biology faculty at eight community colleges (including several that offer programs in biotechnology and environmental technology); the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC); the two-year college section of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT); the Society for College Science Teaching (SCST), the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Inc., and Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company (college division). The completed program will offer an integrated and coherent approach to helping students achieve three major goals of biological literacy: 1) to understand the basic unifying principles of biology; 2) to develop the fundamental skills of critical thinking and scientific reasoning; and 3) to recognize the applications of science, especially relationships among science, technology, and society. The project will impact future teachers of science at the elementary and secondary levels. Students are encouraged to reflect on the overall design of the program, the strategies that help them learn, and the efficacy of the various teaching techniques and assessment practices employed in the course. Project products include student materials (readings, activities, and laboratory exercises) supporting both semester- and year-long introductory biology courses. The materials include an instructor's guide with extensive background reading and specific implementation support; use of a hands-on, open-ended inquiry, collaborative approach to learning; and emphasize the relationships among science, technology, and society. The project includes faculty development workshops (based on a model designed and tested by the partner faculty) that will be supported after the end of the project by revenues realized from sales of project materials.
ChemLinks Coalition: Making Chemical Connections
Brock Spencer |
The ChemLinks Coalition is undertaking a five-year project to change the way students learn chemistry, increase scientific literacy for all students taking chemistry, and promote the process of educational reform. Collaboration among faculty from different disciplines and a number of institutions supports and reinforces those who want to make changes. The coalition consists of leading liberal arts colleges (Beloit, Carleton, Colorado, Grinnell, Hope, Kalamazoo, Knox, Lawrence, Macalester, Rhodes, Spelman, St. Olaf, Wooster) and research universities (Chicago, Washington - St. Louis) which already have experience working together on chemistry curricular reform. In collaboration with the ModularChem Consortium, faculty are developing, testing, and disseminating modular course materials, focused on the first two years of the chemistry curriculum, that use active and collaborative approaches to learning. These materials start from interdisciplinary themes important to students and to society (e.g., the molecular basis of life, the environment, technology), and are designed to develop an appreciation of how science is actually done. This approach is designed to reach a broader student audience more effectively than do traditional courses; an audience that includes students who are members of groups traditionally under-represented in science, non-science majors and those taking chemistry as a supporting course, as well as chemistry majors. By providing a model for students preparing for careers in teaching, this approach has an impact on Teacher Preparation programs. In addition, an alliance with the Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center's coalition of two-year institutions assures an impact on Advanced Technological Education Programs. By using the extensive Project Kaleidoscope network to promote reform, the ChemLinks Coalition involves a large and diverse group of institutions in making systemic and sustainable changes in undergraduate chemistry education.
A Workshop Chemistry Curriculum
David K. Gosser |
The City College Consortium, which includes ten senior and community colleges at the City University of New York, and the Universities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, is developing and applying widely a new model of teaching chemistry. This model, called Workshop Chemistry, introduces participation and mentorship by recent graduates of the course. Each week two, hour-long student-led workshops complement the lecture and laboratory components, by providing a collaborative learning experience that increases student involvement and supports a new role for students as mentors. In Workshop Chemistry, students learn the problem solving, communication, and teamwork skills crucial for success in the workplace while learning chemistry more effectively. Working together with the faculty, students become an active part of the community of the department. A prototype workshop model has been developed at City College in a general chemistry course for science and engineering majors, and is being expanded and refined for a broad range of courses including preparatory chemistry, chemistry for allied health sciences, organic chemistry, instrumental, and analytical chemistry. The experience of students as workshop leaders provides a natural introduction to teaching that is being formalized through a Teacher Preparation component of the project. The workshop method is also being exploited and applied in curricula for technician training, an initiative relevant to Advanced Technological Education. The project evaluates the Workshop Chemistry approach and disseminates it beyond the bounds of the consortium. Student Manuals that include the problem solving, model building, and simulation activities of the workshops are being produced for each course.
Sweeping Change in Manageable Units: A Modular Approach for Chemistry Curriculum Reform
C. Bradley Moore |
The purpose of this program is to develop new curricula, materials, and teaching methods which will enhance the appreciation and learning of science, especially chemistry, for every undergraduate student. To this end, a modular approach to teaching chemistry in the first two years of the undergraduate curriculum is being developed and evaluated. Modules of one to four weeks present fundamental chemistry to students in the context of a real-world problem or application and emphasize the links between chemistry and other disciplines. In collaboration with the ChemLinks Coalition, modules are being developed, tested and refined at the two- and four-year colleges and research universities comprising the two consortia. Curriculum materials, including text, laboratory manuals, and multimedia components suitable for students from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and usable at a wide variety of undergraduate institutions are being produced and distributed by an established publisher. Teaching methods which utilize current understanding of learning processes and emphasize active learning and the full spectrum of modern technologies are being supported, tested and promulgated. A framework for continuous improvement of curricula resulting from the work will be institutionalized within the consortium. Faculty workshops and sessions at national and regional meetings will be conducted to guarantee dissemination. Since the consortium institutions participate significantly in pre-service teacher preparation and the education of advanced science or engineering technicians, special modular materials appropriate to the task of educating future teachers and technicians will be developed.
Establishing New Traditions: Revitalizing the Curriculum
John W. Moore |
This project establishes new traditions in the chemistry curriculum that optimize opportunities for all students to learn chemical facts and concepts, develop and pursue interests in chemistry and chemistry-related disciplines, and appreciate how an understanding of chemistry is important to life and living. Project materials and methods are intended to change fundamentally the ways students, faculty, and administrators view their roles, creating a student-centered, active-learning emphasis. Five main areas are addressed: student-focused active learning; inquiry-based/open-ended laboratories; interdisciplinary course clusters to create learning communities; a topic-oriented curriculum; and information technology/computer tools. Each development in each area is carefully evaluated, and only the best survive. Evaluation provides important information about the process of transfer of innovations among institutions of different types. To insure that reforms are useful for all students, the consortium includes industry, public and private four-year institutions, minority institutions, and two-year colleges. The project gives special emphasis to students who choose teaching as a career by main-streaming these students in courses which benefit them in both content and pedagogy. Students, including those in Science Education, are fully integrated in the development and implementation of the project, working on both research topics and evaluation. The project also gives special emphasis to community college students in Advanced Technological Education programs to ensure that they benefit from the newly developed curricula.
Mathematics Across the Curriculum
Dorothy W. Wallace |
This project integrates the study of mathematics with courses in physics, chemistry, geology, biology, social science, economics, art, music, philosophy, computer science, architecture, medicine, engineering, and literature. Faculty representing these disciplines at a large number of institutions are cooperating with faculty from Dartmouth to develop course materials for use in a variety of ways: in conjunction with other texts; as independent reference materials; and as bases for new interdisciplinary courses. Support materials for faculty, including documented software, on-line materials, and videotapes, are being developed. The project is expected to result in fundamental changes at the institutions in the project. In addition, through the materials being developed and a series of intensive summer workshops, the project will benefit faculty and institutions other than those directly involved in the project. The project will impact students in both upper and lower division courses, students taking courses in their majors as well as students taking courses as part of their general education, and students preparing to be teachers. Some materials, as appropriate, will be adapted for use at the secondary level.
Middle Atlantic Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications Throughout the Curriculum
Dennis M. DeTurck |
This project promotes a climate in which faculty from all disciplines view themselves as being jointly responsible for the scientific, mathematical, and technical education of undergraduates. A consortium comprised of the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Polytechnic University, Community College of Philadelphia, two Philadelphia public schools, and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) is undertaking a major initiative to integrate research and real-world applications from various disciplines into the mathematics curriculum, and to achieve more effective integration of advanced mathematics and computing into the curricula of disciplines that use mathematics. The project has four major components: 1) the creation of application modules for mathematics courses and mathematics modules for other-discipline courses; 2) the development of basic and advanced interdisciplinary courses that integrate mathematics with specific application areas; 3) the development of applications and laboratory-oriented courses for mathematics majors; and 4) the development of materials for students in courses such as business, economics, psychology, and liberal arts and humanities that focus on mathematical literacy issues. Teacher preparation is also an important component of the project, and will capitalize on the involvement of the two Philadelphia public schools. SIAM is providing expertise both in the development of the interdisciplinary modules and courses and in broad dissemination of materials through conferences, workshops, and products. Distribution of materials is planned through World Wide Web sites at the University of Pennsylvania and SIAM, as well as by commercial publication.
Mathematics and its Applications in Engineering and Science: Building the Links
William E. Boyce |
This project overcomes the traditional separation of courses into many different departments that often makes it difficult for students to grasp the intimate connections that exist between mathematics and its applications in engineering and science. It's three primary strategies are: 1) to stimulate greater cooperation among faculty in mathematics and other disciplines in the creation of instructional materials; 2) to encourage interactive teaching and learning strategies; and 3) to continue pioneering efforts in the application of contemporary technology for educational purposes. An important component of the project is the development of hypertext documents that link important mathematical topics with contemporary applications in fields of engineering and science. This involves collaboration among faculty at Rensselaer and a number of other institutions, including the University of Delaware, Siena College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Central State University, Hudson Valley Community College, and the University of Maryland. Through visiting faculty opportunities and workshops, additional institutions will become involved as the project develops. After careful testing and evaluation, the library of hypertext documents will be available on World Wide Web, on CDs, and in printed form. The project is expected to have broad impact, benefiting students at a variety of types of institutions. Two particularly important audiences for the project are students who preparing to be K-12 teachers and students seeking careers in advanced technological areas.
New Jersey Center for Advanced Technological Education
John Bakum |
The New Jersey Center for Advanced Technological Education is restructuring engineering technology education beginning in grade eleven, continuing through the associate degree, and articulating with baccalaureate programs. Project work covers interrelated curriculum and instructional materials development, faculty and teacher enhancement, and student outreach. Overall project management takes place at Middlesex Community College which serves as the lead institution in a consortium that includes Essex Community College (ECC), Mercer Community College (MCC), County College of Morris (CCM), Rariton Valley Community College (RVCC), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and Trenton State College (TSC). Each component of the Center's mission is being coordinated by a member institution: MCC is coordinating the curriculum development component; CMM is coordinating faculty development; ECC coordinates Student Outreach; TSC coordinates articulation of high school, associate degree and baccalaureate degree programs and courses; NJIT concentrates on strengthening partnerships with business and industry; MCCC operates the NJCAT communications clearing house; and RVCC coordinates efforts relating to social, environmental and ethical issues. Mecomtronics (MEchanical/ COMputer/ teleCOMmunications/ elecTRONlCS), the new program to be created under this plan, will respond to the widespread demand for a multifunctional engineering technician. An articulation agreement between the mecomtronics program and Trenton State's baccalaureate program in technology education is helping prepare secondary school teachers.
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