Incorporating Computers, Calculators and Manipulatives Into Middle School Mathematics Through Teacher In-Service

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The availability of computers, calculators, and manipulatives has raised various questions about the impact of these technologies on the mathematical content and instructional methodology that are related to the mathematics curricula at the elementary school level. The purpose of this project is to extend the work of the proposer and her colleagues who have, with previous support from the National Science Foundation, developed a future-oriented mathematics curriculum for grades K-6 along with a teacher inservice outline. The work in this project is to conduct intensive inservice workshops for about forty teachers at the middle school level who have been designated as master teachers by their school districts. The teachers work within the framework of their present teaching situation, including use of curriculum guides and textbooks, to infuse as appropriate the instructional materials and methods of the project. The workshops will be videotaped and analyzed by the teachers and the project staff. The master teachers will work with the project staff to develop inservice models that are appropriate to their districts. During the year the master teachers will experiment with the instructional methods in their classrooms and prepare to conduct their own workshops for about twenty teachers each in their districts during the year and the following summer, thereby effecting upwards of 800 teachers with this effort. Products to come from this project are videotapes of the inservice workshops on the use of computers, calculators and manipulatives in the teaching of mathematics at the middle school level; evaluations and reports by master teachers on how to modernize an existing curriculum; and documentation on how the materials that were developed under a previous project were implemented in this experiment. The proposer has a long and distinguised record in mathematics curriculum development, preservice and inservice teacher education. In addition, she has established a model and highly functional mathematics laboratory that has serviced the schools and colleges in her region. She has a reputation for accomplishing excellent results from cost effective projects.