This report researches the use of a standard deck of playing cards in entry-level college mathematics classrooms. The study looks at published research on the use of cards, and reviews pedagogic concerns directly related to the implementation of playing cards in the classroom--including the appropriateness of manipulatives, the link to cooperative…

Suffolk County Community College has embarked on a three-year pilot project using multimedia learner-centered environments to deliver developmental mathematics. The project's outcome assessment model will measure the effectiveness of this delivery system, as well as student achievement in mathematics courses. New initiative funding was invested in…

As part of the Electrical Engineering program at the Univesity of Southern Maine, students are typically introduced to Two's Complement algebra and representation, a method to include negative numbers in the binary representation of integers that is widely used in microprocessors and related digital systems. The traditional, procedural method to…

This report presents results from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) tests administered in the spring of 1997 and results from end of course tests in Algebra and Biology. Only a slight decrease in the percentage passing the eighth-grade social studies test marred the otherwise across-the-board rise in percentages meeting minimum…

Many colleges and universities use a mathematics placement process to guide students to the appropriate entry-level mathematics course. The mathematics placement process presented here was developed over a four year period to make placement recommendations to Calculus I, Precalculus, and College Algebra. Placement recommendations are based on the…

We examine the long term history of the development of fundamental representational infrastructures such as writing and algebra, and how they were physically implemented via such devices as the printing press and computers, in order to (1) gain insight into what is occurring today both in terms of representational infrastructure change and in…

MathView is a computer algebra system designed to foster interactive exploration of mathematics. MathView is designed so that mathematics, both symbolic and graphic, is highly interactive. Change to a proposition in a MathView notebook produces a cascade of changes to the conclusions that are tied to the proposition. This structure helps to create…

This paper reviews an approach for finding optimal solutions to the traveling salesman problem, a well-known problem in combinational optimization, and describes implementing the approach using the MAPLE computer algebra system. The method employed in this approach to the problem is similar to the way ant colonies manage to establish shortest…

This booklet, designed to provide educational materials on Arab history and culture, describes the contributions of Islamic civilization to western civilization. To be Arab, like American, was and is a cultural trait rather than a racial mark. To be Arab meant to be from the Arabic speaking world of common traditions, customs, and values shaped by…

In an effort to increase the number of graduating Kauai High School (KHS) seniors prepared to enter the Kauai Community College (KCC) Career Ladder Nursing Program, a special 2 + 2 program was initiated involving college/high school curriculum articulation, academic and career counseling, and early admission to KCC. At the outset of the project,…

The generic workplace curricula in this document were developed in a workplace education project conducted in Pima County, Arizona, which served 524 workers (58 percent from minority groups) at 14 worksites. Generic curriculum and competencies were developed for each subject area rather than each specific worksite. Of 374 workers who completed the…

The North Carolina End-of-Course Testing Program is based on the assessment of higher level skills in the context of specific subject-area content. These tests inform students, parents, the community, and educators about the achievement of North Carolina students in given areas. This report describes the development and psychometric properties of…

This document contains a description of the Georgia High School Graduation Test in mathematics. The test item specifications, reflecting the Georgia State Quality Core Curriculum, are used by writers and reviewers who are responsible for the development of test items. Much of the content in the description is based on earlier test versions…

This report outlines student performance results from the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) for the 1997-1998 school year as well as results from the Spanish TAAS tests and the Biology I and Algebra I end-of-course examinations. Data represent test results for students not in special education. The chapters are: (1) "Executive…

This collection of activities demonstrates how the study of elementary mathematics can be extended beyond the school and involve teachers and students in investigative, problem-based experiences. The activities include topics in geometry, concept of number, algebra, measurement, graphing, statistics, and probability, and are organized into five…