Tools for Reform: A Preliminary Study of the MathFINDER CD-ROM

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This project will be an exploratory study of the dissemination of MathFINDER in two settings: a university-based preservice teacher education program and a field-based inservice teacher training program for mathematics teachers. (MathFINDER is a CD-ROM disc which presents mathematics resources and teaching strategies based on NCTM standards.) Using qualitative evaluation methods--questionnaires, interviews and observations--the researchers will provide data about the role and use of curriculum materials, technological innovations, and curricular standards that have been acquired from the MathFINDER disc. The findings should inform and shape the design of a more comprehensive evaluation and utilization study that (1) conceptually links curriculum materials to a set of reform standards, and (2) structures access to the materials that will support local reform initiatives. The findings of the exploratory study will be disseminated to several mathematics and science education reform networks, including the Statewide Systemic Initiative and Urban System Initiative projects. The researchers expect to tentatively identify and describe the factors that facilitate or inhibit change in reform settings in this study as a precursor for further study.