SUPPLEMENTS AND CONTINUATIONS

This project is producing mathematics content course modules for use in teacher preparation and teacher enhancement for elementary and middle school teachers of mathematics. Modules address: number sense with whole and rational numbers, proportional reasoning, measuring, spatial sense and geometry, exploring data, chance, patterns and functions, and mathematical change. The materials developed provide course instructors the opportunity to model the types of instructional delivery expected of teachers in grades K-8, both in their classroom and through the inclusion of videos of student interviews and classroom episodes from grade K-8 situations. Modules will be available nationwide upon completion. The modules will be in software and CD-ROM format giving each instructor the capability to modify the material to meet their individual needs.

The Development of Proof Understanding, Production, and Appreciation (PUPA) with Undergraduate Mathematics Majors

This project has the potential to break new empirical and theoretical ground and further the understanding of what it means to understand mathematical proof and how that understanding develops. The knowledge gained from this study has the potential to impact significantly the way pre-service teachers develop their own abilities to teach proof and ultimately how mathematics and mathematical proofs will be taught and learned in school and college settings.

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA), in cooperation with The American University, has created an Institute in the History of Mathematics and its Use in Teaching (IHMT). The goal of the Institute is to encourage the incorporation of history into the undergraduate mathematics curriculum at all levels. Special attention is focused on including the history of mathematics in teacher preparation programs, as called for in the NCTM Standards. Through intensive three-week programs in two successive summers, 80 mathematics faculty members are being prepared to teach special courses in the history of mathematics, as well as to use history to improve their teaching of courses in the standard mathematics curriculum. Thirteen historians of mathematics lead explorations of the history of mathematics from antiquity through the twentieth-century, stressing applications and links between different areas of mathematics. Specific techniques for incorporating history into undergraduate mathematics courses are a central theme. The information and techniques of IHMT are being disseminated nationally through presentations at national and regional mathematics meetings, publications, and electronic communications.

Three related activity-based introductory physics curricula, Workshop Physics, Tools for Scientific Thinking, and RealTime Physics, have been developed based on the findings of physics education research. All are activity-based and involve the design of computer hardware and software for investigation, data analysis, and dynamic modeling. This three-year collaboration between Dickinson College, University of Maryland, University of Oregon, Tufts University, and Millersville State University extends, enhances, evaluates and disseminates activity-based curricular materials, apparatus, and computer tools for teaching introductory physics. The ultimate goals of this program are to continue full-scale efforts to improve the scientific literacy of introductory physics students through the mastery of physics concepts, investigative skills, and mathematical modeling techniques and to motivate students to learn more science. Particular attention is being given to developing physics activities suitable for courses designed for future technicians at two year colleges and preservice teachers.

In recognition of the importance of introductory biology courses at two-year and community colleges to the development of scientific literacy among college-educated individuals, BSCS is conceptualizing, writing, testing, and evaluating a set of innovative curriculum materials for biology students at the college level. Collaborating in the 36-month project are fifteen partners: biology faculty at eight community colleges (including several that offer programs in biotechnology and environmental technology); the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC); the two-year college section of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT); the Society for College Science Teaching (SCST), the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Ward’s Natural Science Establishment, Inc., and Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company (college division). The completed program will offer an integrated and coherent approach to helping students achieve three major goals of biological literacy: 1) to understand the basic unifying principles of biology; 2) to develop the fundamental skills of critical thinking and scientific reasoning; and 3) to recognize the applications of science, especially relationships among science, technology, and society. The project will impact future teachers of science at the elementary and secondary levels. Students are encouraged to reflect on the overall design of the program, the strategies that help them learn, and the efficacy of the various teaching techniques and assessment practices employed in the course. Project products include student materials (readings, activities, and laboratory exercises) supporting both semester- and year-long introductory biology courses and an instructor’s guide with extensive background reading and specific implementation support. The materials use a hands-on, open-ended inquiry, collaborative approach to learning and emphasize the relationships among science, technology, and society. The project includes faculty development workshops (based on a model designed and tested by the partner faculty) to be supported after the end of the project by revenues realized from sales of project materials.

The ChemLinks Coalition is undertaking a five-year project to change the way students learn chemistry, increase scientific literacy for all students taking chemistry, and promote the process of educational reform. Collaboration among faculty from different disciplines and a number of institutions supports and reinforces those who want to make changes. The coalition consists of leading liberal arts colleges (Beloit, Carleton, Colorado, Grinnell, Hope, Kalamazoo, Knox, Lawrence, Macalester, Rhodes, Spelman, St. Olaf, Wooster) and research universities (Chicago, Washington - St. Louis) which already have experience working together on chemistry curricular reform. In collaboration with the ModularChem Consortium, faculties are developing, testing, and disseminating modular course materials, focused on the first two years of the chemistry curriculum, that use active and collaborative approaches to learning. These materials start from interdisciplinary themes important to students and to society (e.g., the molecular basis of life, the environment, and technology), and are designed to develop an appreciation of how science is actually done. This approach is designed to reach a broader student audience more effectively than do traditional courses. The audience includes students who are members of groups traditionally under-represented in science, non-science majors and those taking chemistry as a supporting course, as well as chemistry majors. By providing a model for students preparing for careers in teaching, this approach has an impact on Teacher Preparation programs. In addition, an alliance with the Advanced Technology Environmental Education Center’s coalition of two-year institutions assures an impact on Advanced Technological Education Programs. By using the extensive Project Kaleidoscope network to promote reform, the ChemLinks Coalition involves a large and diverse group of institutions in making systemic and sustainable changes in undergraduate chemistry education.

A Workshop Chemistry Curriculum

The purpose of this program is to develop new curricula, materials, and teaching methods, which will enhance the appreciation and learning of science, especially chemistry, for every undergraduate student. To this end, a modular approach to teaching chemistry in the first two years of the undergraduate curriculum is being developed and evaluated. Modules of one to four weeks present fundamental chemistry to students in the context of a real-world problem or application and emphasize the links between chemistry and other disciplines. In collaboration with the ChemLinks Coalition, modules are being developed, tested and refined at the two- and four-year colleges and research universities comprising the two consortia. Curriculum materials, including text, laboratory manuals, and multimedia components suitable for students from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds and usable at a wide variety of undergraduate institutions are being produced and distributed by an established publisher. Teaching methods, which utilize current understanding of learning processes and emphasize active learning and the full spectrum of modern technologies, are being supported, tested and promulgated. A framework for continuous improvement of curricula resulting from the work will be institutionalized within the consortium. Faculty workshops and sessions at national and regional meetings will be conducted to guarantee dissemination. Since the consortium institutions participate significantly in pre-service teacher preparation and the education of advanced science or engineering technicians, special modular materials appropriate to the task of educating future teachers and technicians are being developed.

This project establishes new traditions in the chemistry curriculum that optimize opportunities for all students to learn chemical facts and concepts, develop and pursue interests in chemistry and chemistry-related disciplines, and appreciate how an understanding of chemistry is important to life and living. Project materials and methods are intended to change fundamentally the ways students, faculty, and administrators view their roles, creating a student-centered, active-learning emphasis. Five main areas are addressed: student-focused active learning; inquiry-based/open-ended laboratories; interdisciplinary course clusters to create learning communities; a topic-oriented curriculum; and information technology/computer tools. Each development in each area is carefully evaluated. Evaluation provides important information about the process of transfer of innovations among institutions of different types. To insure that reforms are useful for all students, the consortium includes industry, public and private four-year institutions, minority institutions, and two-year colleges. The project gives special emphasis to students who choose teaching as a career by mainstreaming these students in courses, which benefit them in both content and pedagogy. Students, including those in Science Education, are fully integrated in the development and implementation of the project, working on both research topics and evaluation. The project also gives special emphasis to community college students in Advanced Technological Education programs to ensure that they benefit from the newly developed curricula.

This project integrates the study of mathematics with courses in physics, chemistry, geology, biology, social science, economics, art, music, philosophy, computer science, architecture, medicine, engineering, and literature. Faculties representing these disciplines at a large number of institutions are cooperating with faculty from Dartmouth to develop course materials for use in a variety of ways: in conjunction with other texts; as independent reference materials; and as bases for new interdisciplinary courses. Support materials for faculty, including documented software, on-line materials, and videotapes, are being developed. The project is expected to result in fundamental changes at the institutions in the project. In addition, through the materials being developed and a series of intensive summer workshops, the project will benefit faculty and institutions other than those directly involved in the project. The project will impact students in both upper and lower division courses, students taking courses in their majors as well as students taking courses as part of their general education, and students preparing to be teachers. Some materials, as appropriate, will be adapted for use at the secondary level.

This project overcomes the traditional separation of courses into many different departments that often makes it difficult for students to grasp the intimate connections that exist between mathematics and its applications in engineering and science. Its three primary strategies are: 1) to stimulate greater cooperation among faculty in mathematics and other disciplines in the creation of instructional materials; 2) to encourage interactive teaching and learning strategies; and 3) to continue pioneering efforts in the application of contemporary technology for educational purposes. An important component of the project is the development of hypertext documents that link important mathematical topics with contemporary applications in fields of engineering and science. This involves collaboration among faculty at Rensselaer and a number of other institutions, including the University of Delaware, Siena College, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Central State University, Hudson Valley Community College, and the University of Maryland. Through visiting faculty opportunities and workshops, additional institutions will become involved as the project develops. After careful testing and evaluation, the library of hypertext documents will be available on World Wide Web, on CDs, and in printed form. The project is expected to have broad impact, benefiting students at a variety of types of institutions. Two particularly important audiences for the project are students preparing to be K-12 teachers and students seeking careers in advanced technological areas.

The New Jersey Center for Advanced Technological Education is restructuring engineering technology education beginning in grade eleven, continuing through the associate degree, and articulating with baccalaureate programs. Project work covers interrelated curriculum and instructional materials development, faculty and teacher enhancement, and student outreach. Overall project management takes place at Middlesex Community College which serves as the lead institution in a consortium that includes Essex Community College (ECC), Mercer Community College (MCC), County College of Morris (CCM), Rariton Valley Community College (RVCC), the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), and Trenton State College (TSC). Each component of the Center’s mission is being coordinated by a member institution: MCC is coordinating the curriculum development component; CMM is coordinating faculty development; ECC coordinates Student Outreach; TSC coordinates articulation of high school, associate degree and baccalaureate degree programs and courses; NJIT concentrates on strengthening partnerships with business and industry; MCC operates the NJCAT communications clearing house; and RVCC coordinates efforts relating to social, environmental and ethical issues. Mecomtronics (MEchanical/ COMputer/ teleCOMmunications/ elecTRONlCS), the new program to be created under this plan, will respond to the widespread demand for a multifunctional engineering technician. An articulation agreement between the mecomtronics program and Trenton State’s baccalaureate program in technology education is helping prepare secondary school teachers.

The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) is encouraging and enabling colleges and universities to provide physical science courses which are appropriate to the entry-level background of students, which honor the learning process, and which are attuned to the exit-level needs of future elementary school science teachers. The AAPT is providing a carefully orchestrated program of awareness and training sessions and follow-up support activities for physics and physical science faculty using Powerful Ideas in Physical Science: A Model Course which is based on well-documented research findings about science learning. It features a hands-on constructivist approach, represents a "less is more" philosophy, includes content selected specifically for the needs of future primary teachers, and uses both traditional and alternative assessments. Physical science faculty from colleges and universities across the nation are being trained to use the model to reform their physical science courses for prospective elementary teachers.

This project includes three workshops (scheduled for the summers of 1996, 1997, and 1998). The workshops are of two-weeks’ duration, with 25 participants per workshop. The focus of each workshop is contemporary applications of mathematics in the broadly defined areas of mathematical modeling, discrete mathematics, and geometry. The workshops will feature mathematical topics of increasing emphasis and importance.

To address the dichotomy between teaching and research, the establishment of a long-term field experiment to improve undergraduate teaching in ecology and environmental science is being developed. The long-term experiment is designed to address topics of ecological succession contrasting the effects of mowing and fertilizer treatments in upland and lowland abandoned farm fields. Elementary, middle and high school pre-service and in-service teachers, and students taking courses in Southern Illinois University's Environmental Studies Program (as a minor for a wide range of major degree programs) participate in the establishment, management, data collection and analysis of the field experiment. The students participating in the experience assess the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of field experiments, and are prepared to integrate research data and results in an understanding of ecology. Students gain a better appreciation of the role of scientific research in understanding the natural world.

Building on a prior NSF Development Grant, faculty from the sciences, mathematics and education departments at SUNY Cortland, which has the largest elementary teacher preparation program in the State of New York, along with science/math faculty from five regional Community colleges are developing the curriculum and instructional materials to implement a 27 credit hour block of experiences based on course outlines developed for a restructured math/science/pedagogy/composition program for K-6 pre-teachers. A research/assessment team from Cornell University will evaluate all aspects of the project. Level One content courses specifically designed for K-6 pre-teachers will be taught utilizing a conceptual change approach. Pedagogy courses in both science and math will be taught in conjunction with Level One content courses and will involve pre-teachers in experiences with elementary school-aged students. The Level Two block is an integrated and interdisciplinary math/science experience in which students will be introduced to problem solving strategies and will utilize the strategies to investigate six significant real world science problems. The mathematical concepts will be developed through the context of science content. During the Level Two block, pre-teachers will work with elementary-aged children in a math/science lab setting. In a culminating math/science experience, the pre-teachers will participate in a Science, Technology and Society (STS) block in which they will be engaged in conducting real world STS research under the guidance of a faculty facilitator and a business/industry mentor. Each curricular block will be pilot tested three times before the curriculum is integrated into the academic program of the host institution and that of the five satellite campuses.

A consortium of faculty at ten colleges and universities on Long Island, in conjunction with the State University of New York (SUNY) system, is designing a comprehensive, multi-faceted project to develop an environment for interconnected learning in mathematics courses and in mathematically based disciplines. Headquartered at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, other institutions of the consortium include: C. W. Post College, Dowling College, Nassau Community College, New York Institute of Technology, St. Joseph’s College, Suffolk Community College, SUNY Agricultural and Technology College at Farmingdale, SUNY College at Old Westbury, and CUNY York College. The model for interconnected learning developed on Long Island is being extended to SUNY-wide implementation (64 institutions), and is being actively disseminated to other institutions inside and outside New York State. The enhanced learning environment has three components: 1) systemic change in instructional practices; 2) creation of new courses and curricular materials; and 3) development of human resources. The connections in this project involve: collaboration and cooperation in instruction among faculty across quantitative disciplines; regional networking of energized faculty at different types of institutions; and the enhanced effect of combining change in modes of instruction with curricular reform, educational technology, and coordination of instruction among departments.

Major project activities include: 1) changing modes of faculty instruction and student learning; 2) day-to-day and general coordination of instruction across the curriculum; 3) extensive use of educational technology across the curriculum; 4) completing reform throughout the calculus sequence and undertaking reform before calculus; 5) reworking all aspects of the curriculum for future mathematics teachers to reflect the needs of the NCTM Standards; 6) developing new multidisciplinary courses; 7) addressing student needs in Advanced Technological Education programs such as engineering and science technology through the development of appropriate mathematics courses and other mathematically oriented materials; 8) assisting groups that are underrepresented in quantitative disciplines; and 9) developing unified courses in statistics and other mathematical science topics now taught in multiple departments. This project involves an extensive organizational structure with: 1) departmental teams at each institution; 2) institutional coordinating committees; 3) consortium-wide disciplinary committees; and 4) task forces for specific projects such as development of new courses.

The goal of this consortium project led by the University of Nebraska and Oklahoma State University is to integrate the teaching and learning of mathematics and its applications in science, engineering, and quantitative subjects. This is being accomplished through a modern curriculum that provides students with a holistic view of mathematical science coherently tying together fundamental concepts from many disciplines. A critical success factor is a communications structure bringing together educators from many disciplines to share ideas, goals, and strategies. The project puts in place services and materials that encourage experimentation with and development of curricular innovations as well as new modes of presentation. The program focuses on the needs of many students from many disciplines and backgrounds. An especially important group consists of those students preparing for careers in K-12 teaching. The implementation plan provides for students who change majors or institutions. The curriculum is easily adaptable by other colleges and universities.

The primary product of the Oklahoma-Nebraska Consortium is integrated core mathematics, science and engineering curriculum based on a collection of cross-curricular, multimedia mathematics learning module clusters. Each module is a topic or application in itself, but is also be part of a larger vertical and horizontal structure. The horizontal focus refers to fundamental concepts from other disciplines that fit naturally with fundamental mathematics concepts learned at the same time. The vertical focus incorporates a program, which has students revisit topics on more than one occasion and in more than one course, showing the power of mathematics as it unfolds. This structure provides motivation for mathematical development, an appreciation for topics students are currently studying, and an understanding of how fundamental ideas from many disciplines fit together.

The University of California Los Angeles - California State University Fullerton (UCLA-CSUF) and the Community College Alliance (24 area community colleges that have worked together for more than 15 years) are restructuring the lower division chemistry curriculum and the auxiliary learning and assessment processes. The restructured curriculum emphasizes problem solving and exploratory learning and focuses on developing key skills, traits, and abilities of the students. The new curriculum, the Molecular Science Curriculum, cuts across departmental and disciplines to embrace all activities that involve the study of atoms and molecules. In particular, environmental science, materials science, and molecular life science have important positions in the lower-division chemistry curriculum. The new curriculum reflects current practice in research and the chemical industry. Students use problem-based modular learning units that define the molecular science curriculum; data sets organized for exploratory learning; prepackaged molecular, mathematical, and schematic models illustrating important principles and phenomena; and a client/server system that manages education. The learning units are used by several of the community colleges in technology programs, including programs for science technicians and hazardous materials technicians at Mount San Antonio CC. New assessment vehicles including cumulative electronic portfolios of group and individual work provide new insight into student development and potential.

The project also addresses the preparation of primary and secondary science teachers by involving them as active participants in the lower division courses of the molecular science curriculum. At both UCLA and CSUF, these students gain experience with the modules, associated learning methods, and electronic delivery system. These experiences result in teachers with a practical perspective on science teaching as well as the ability to utilize current technology to direct learning activities. The electronic delivery system enables students at UCLA to work with the science education faculty at CSUF to obtain certification. The alliance includes two high schools (Aliso Niguel and Crossroads) that have the facilities for exposing students, experienced teachers, and future teachers to both the content and learning methods of the molecular science curriculum.

The Pac-TEC Project is a grassroots, collaborative network of 24 faculty from eleven schools, from middle school grades through university level whose objective is to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented groups in science and engineering technician fields. In Phase I of the project, teachers are defining learning and teaching styles and preferences typical of many in traditionally underrepresented groups. Based on this information, teaching strategies are being developed and tested. Phase II of the Pac-TEC project is expanding the network of participating teachers and other professionals. The project is also broadening its research, establishing a center that coordinates and disseminates information, training preservice teachers, presenting models for authentic student assessment tools, and producing a second edition of its innovative manual for national distribution.

The Maricopa Advanced Technology Education Center (MATEC) is operated by the Maricopa County Community College District (90,000 students), the nation's second largest community college system. Maricopa is partnering with (a) ten semiconductor manufacturing/supporting industries, including Intel, Motorola, SGS-Thompson, and Microchip Technology; (b) two Tech Prep consortiums with 13 secondary school districts (60,000 students); (c) Arizona State University, the nation's largest public university (43,000 students); (d) three other Community College Districts in Arizona and Oregon; and (e) Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute.

The primary objectives of the Center are to: 1) create new curricular systems/materials which reduce the gap between what is taught and learned in schools and what is needed by technicians in semiconductor manufacturing/related supporting industries; 2) provide technical support, instructional support, and access to resources that faculty/trainers who are preparing students for careers as technicians need to ensure continuing relevance to workplace needs; and 3) increase the number of students, especially women and minorities, who prepare for and become employed as technicians in the semiconductor manufacturing/supportive industries. Targeted programs are Semiconductor Manufacturing/Processing Technology, Circuit Design Technology, and Facilities Maintenance Technology. MATEC's three components are Curriculum/Materials Development, Staff Development/Support, and Workforce Development Support. Examples of strategies are: Computer-Based Instructional Design System, Continuous Quality Curriculum System, Multimedia "Virtual" Materials, Electronic Resource Center/Form, On-line Q/A, Faculty Internships, Scholarships, and Workshops/Seminars for a national audience. There is also work with Arizona State University to help prepare the secondary school teachers of tomorrow for the programs in grades 7-12 that ensure the students who enter these programs are prepared to succeed. The Center is closely coordinating its work with the Phoenix Urban Systemic Initiative and the Arizona State Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation.

The South Carolina Advanced Technological Education (SC ATE) Center of Excellence is creating a learning environment that models the new technologically sophisticated work environment. Objectives are focused in three broad areas including curriculum reform, program improvement, and faculty development. Curriculum reform centers on developing integrated engineering technology core curricula using a systems-based approach. Program improvement encompasses recruitment/retention reforms as well as the development of an electronic communications infrastructure for statewide curriculum design and delivery. Faculty development emphasizes the use of interdisciplinary/intercampus teams for designing and implementing curriculum reforms. The primary target audience of the SC ATE Center is technical college students enrolled in, or desiring to enroll in, engineering technology programs with a particular emphasis on attracting women and underrepresented minorities. The Center seeks to impact the educational pipeline from middle school through the baccalaureate level. A particular emphasis involves working with Clemson University and other four-year colleges to help prepare the middle and secondary school technology teachers of the future. Collaborative partnerships encompass over twenty-five educational, governmental, and business/industrial entities including the State Department of Education, Clemson University, South Carolina State University, the Virginia Community College System, the Governor's Math/Science Advisory Board, the Governor's Commission on Women, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, AMP, Inc., Bell South Telecommunications Inc., Michelin North America, Bose Corporation, Robert Bosch Corporation, and NCR Corporation. A strong evaluation component, headed by the Academy for Educational Development, will facilitate the development of program improvement processes and curriculum products which will have a significant impact on engineering technology education nation wide.

Continuing work begun under the NSF Collaborative for Excellence in Teacher Preparation, TEAMS-BC, the MIT Teacher Education Program (TEP) is being developed into a full Teacher Certification Program during the academic years 1997-99. Education course revisions include an emphasis on educational technology and a focus on effectively understanding the lives and learning of inner city youth. The TEP staff is being expanded to include a mathematics teacher at the primary internship site, Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, and a current MIT faculty member drawn from the Schools of Science or Engineering.

The design and implementation of a new course initiated under the TEAMS-BC Collaborative is being completed. This course is designed to develop the distinction between evidence and inference as a conceptual framework in the context of mastering a few science concepts. Examples are explicitly drawn from the Standards with conclusions linked to the Standards.

The first three weeks of the course explore the distinction between evidence and inference using a few common exemplars, e.g., the heliocentric view of the solar system and the nature of floating and sinking. Examples are drawn from both the life and physical sciences. The method of teaching is based on the constructionist approach developed by the Epistemology and Learning Group at the MIT Media Lab (http://lcs.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/), among others. This approach is characterized in the following way: (1) the intended outcome must be clearly understood by the students; (2) achieving the outcome must require the students to act; and (3) students must be able to tell whether their actions are taking them closer to or further from the intended outcome.

Courses designed or revised under the TEAMS-BC Collaborative are being further developed and integrated into the teacher preparation curriculum. New courses in mathematics, science, and technology for prospective teachers are being developed. Faculties involved in the project are conducting formative evaluation research on student learning in newly developed and revised courses. Relationships with two Professional Development Sites, one elementary school in Boston and one in Cambridge, will be strengthened by the development of on-site courses for student teachers and greater cooperation with the school systems.

This project is: 1) developing and finalizing science and mathematics courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels which were revised and/or introduced during the first three years of TEAMS-BC; 2) completing the revision of the initial mathematics course sequence for Wheelock undergraduates; 3) continuing the development of two new programs at Wheelock focusing on mathematics and science education (Specialty in Teaching Mathematics and Science, Certificate in Teaching Mathematics); 4) continuing to collaborate with cooperating teachers on mentoring and science and mathematics teaching at three professional development sites - the Holmes School and the Young Achievers School in Boston and the King School in Cambridge; and 5) preparing portfolios of key courses for dissemination within the college and to other institutions.

This project is developing, refining, and investigating a calculus learning environment, called CalcLab, which is based on a set of interactive physical devices, with computer interface. In this environment, students are guided by written materials in activities that involve exploration, experimentation, and problem solving around the central concepts of calculus thereby enriching their understanding of these concepts. This learning environment provides access to calculus to those students who have traditionally not been well served by courses in the subject, in addition to deepening all students’ understanding of the subject. This project builds on themes underlying the current calculus reform movement and implements research findings of the Principal Investigators on a research project funded for the last four years by the National Science Foundation. In addition to those students in college calculus courses who will be helped by the CalcLab learning environment, pre-service and in-service high school mathematics teachers will benefit through the opportunity to think more deeply about the central concepts of calculus than they have in their past training. The principal activities over the 2 1/2 year funding period include the following: 1) CalcLab devices will be made more robust; 2) materials that will guide students in the use of these devices will be written in collaboration with college calculus teachers; 3) an instructor's manual will be written based on these collaborations; 4) in-depth studies of students' learning in this environment will be carried out and published; and 5) instructors' professional development in connection with the use of such environments will be undertaken.

The goals of this project are to: 1) disseminate biology lessons that have been developed for prospective elementary school teachers with each lesson including a hands-on laboratory activity, a computer-based knowledge construction activity, and a Teachers Guide; 2) develop and disseminate a multiple choice test for conceptual understanding of biology that will be useful for assessing learning among prospective elementary school teachers, other non-science majors, and biology majors so as to measure progress within a course and comparisons among courses; and 3) develop, refine and test several new biology lessons designed to provide tools to elementary school teachers for teaching about evolution through in-class studies of population.

The biology lessons are organized into three laboratory manuals: Molecular Biology; Organismal Biology; and Population Biology. Each biology laboratory is accompanied by "knowledge construction exercises" supported by the SemNet software. These exercises provide guidelines for organizing knowledge in the form of active, working mental models and include a mix of individual and collaborative work. Laboratories are available in both printed and electronic form. Potential users include undergraduate instructors of prospective elementary teachers, undergraduate education majors, and pre-service and practicing teachers. The project is developing a two-tiered, multiple-choice test to measure conceptual understanding of biology. The first part of each question assesses student knowledge about a biological phenomenon; the second part requires the student to explain the reasoning s/he used.