January 2001 — Features
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Faculty and Reference Librarians A Virtual Dynamic Duo
The resulting plan to enact this self-reflection of the departmental curriculum was identified as Project COMPUTE (Curriculum Overhaul in Mathematics with Pedagogy Updating and Technology Enhancement). Project COMPUTE provided a clear strategy for ushering the department into a technological era. Although technological innovation and its incorporation in the classroom were goals, these were not the only goals of the project. The implementation of research-based pedagogical changes designed to enhance mathematics learning for all students was equally important.
Six years ago, few faculty members in the department had access to personal computers as a means of incorporating technology in teaching and daily use. At the time, one or two teachers used graphing calculators in the instructional delivery of algebra. The teaching format of the majority of the faculty was fairly uniform, grounded in the theory of passive teaching and learning that was popular in the classroom of past decades. Classes invariably hosted a chalk and talk lecture, in which mathematics faculty talked while writing on the chalkboard. Students sat passively, listened, and dutifully took written notes.
X@XOpenTag004Project COMPUTE
X@XCloseTag004Faculty in the department applied for and won an NSF grant that became the source of funding for two instructional computer labs, which opened in a blue ribbon cutting ceremony in the fall of 1995. Initially, these department labs were equipped with non-Pentium computers, 15 of which were available for student use in pairs. One was reserved as the lead computer for instructor modeling and on-screen projection of concepts. Due to rapid changes in technological hardware and software, these computer labs were upgraded in the summer of 1999 to state-of-the-art Pentium computers, operating at 400 MHz in the Windows 95 environment. Offering 125 MB of RAM and a 6 GIG hard drive, each new computer is equipped with floppy, CD-ROM and internal ZIP drives, as well as a large screen color monitor. Various software programs, which are specific to mathematics – MATHCAD, DERIVE, CONVERGE, MINITAB – are available in these computer labs and are incorporated in the daily instructional delivery of subject matter. Overall, the department has taken a proactive approach to curricular reform. Faculty members have reported feeling empowered to infuse critical thinking skills into the mathematics curriculum for all students; mathematics classes have been revised and restructured, while preserving content integrity. Technology has been integrated as a teaching and learning tool in the classroom environment. Faculty members have generated handbooks and instructor manuals and are working in close concert with one another to ensure that the gains they have made remain in place. Full- and part-time faculty members interact as peer-trainers, mentors, and resource consultants. Students actively engage in the learning process and routinely utilize computer technology and graphing calculators as learning tools in the mathematics classroom. Retention rates in pre-calculus courses are up, and enrollment in introductory statistics (averaging over 2,100 in annual enrollment from 1996-1999) has never been higher.
