Due to the large number of students requiring developmental college math courses, a study was conducted to determine if a beginning algebra course focusing on function and integrating technology as a tool to explore mathematics would aid students with previously debilitating experiences in math. The study evaluated 92 students enrolled in…

This study describes a discrete mathematics course for second year college students majoring in computer science or mathematics. Students worked in cooperative learning groups on challenging projects using the computer algebra programming language DERIVE. Results indicate that DERIVE allowed students to verify their conjectures, students generally…

This report surveys the use of technology in mathematics at New Jersey's community colleges. Of the 19 colleges contacted, 16 responded. The first section discusses the use of graphics calculators in mathematics courses. A table summarizes the courses in which graphics calculators are used, whether they are recommended or required, and the brands…

Stresses the links between the technical work and the conceptual reflection in the learning of mathematics and argues that the potential of Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) is to be found in the more varied and richer techniques that CAS can offer. Reports on an experiment with DERIVE as well as findings of research on graphical calculators, and…

Reviews examination questions and categorizes them according to their usefulness in a Computer Algebra System (CAS) environment with respect to their significance for testing abilities and skills and from the point of view of using a CAS for their solution. Examination questions are presented as an important didactical tool in teaching…

Discusses software for geometric construction, measurement, and calculation, and software for numerical calculation and symbolic analysis that allows for new approaches to the solution of geometric problems. Illustrates these computer-aided graphical, numerical, and algebraic methods of solution and discusses examples using the appropriate choice…

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…

Which manual calculation skills are still needed when students use graphic/symbolic calculators or computers with computer algebra systems (CAS)? What should students be able to do manually, i.e. just using paper and pencil? This text is the outcome of a two-day discussion on these questions, held by the four authors. Our answers and proposals are…

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…

An approach to teaching problem-solving based on using the computer software Mathematica is applied to the study of electrostatics and is compared with the normal approach to the module. Learning outcomes for both approaches were not significantly different. The experimental course successfully addressed a number of misconceptions. Students in the…

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…

Today's technology gives us a great opportunity to complement the subtlety of human thought with the power and accuracy of modern computers. In this presentation I consider fundamental modes of human thinking to see how enactive, visual and symbolic methods can be used in a versatile way with the support of well-designed software. My analysis…

Reasons for poor performance in mathematics by students in the United States are discussed. According to the authors, too many students never experience arithmetic at a physical, concrete level. Students are drilled in arithmetic facts without any meaningful context and are given few opportunities to use numerical concepts in real-life…

Modeling, simulation, and discrete mathematics have all been identified by professional mathematics education organizations as important areas for secondary school study. This classroom study focused on the components and tools for modeling and how students use these tools to construct their understanding of contextual problems in the content area…