The purpose of this project is to study several pilot programs whose central feature is GIS/GPS technologies; to identify issues that appear to have been critical for successful implementation of GIs/GPs in these new programs; and to test these implementation issues in a different educational setting. 
 

This project aimed to promote a new style of differential equations instruction, one that emphasizes concepts and applications and one that involves faculty members from both the mathematics and engineering communities. The goal was to promote a style of differential equations instruction that better engages and serves students throughout their college and professional careers.  

The goal of this planning grant project was to review energy-based materials used in the precollege curriculum and analyze the methods and materials that have been most effective. Its goal was to outline a way to develop materials which are appropriate for middle and high school students who are at risk of failing in mathematics and science. Modules were planned which focus on topics of interest to students, particularly in their home environments. Energy is the unifying theme, but content would be drawn from all areas of science. Many of the concepts would be developed through hands-on and microcomputer-based activities.

This project was a collaborative effort between Boston University and several school districts in the Boston area. Its purpose was to train high school mathematics teachers to incorporate new topics from dynamical systems and fractal geometry into the secondary school mathematics curriculum (grades 7-12). Teachers attended seminars during the summer and learned the new knowledge base. They also used computers, software and related materials to gain the practical experience needed to explore the new mathematical concepts in their classrooms. It is anticipated that within five years the teachers will have enough confidence with the new topics to incorporate them into the mathematics curricula at their schools.
 

This project was a natural extension of Contemporary Mathematics and Technology as a Driving Force for School Reform (see above). Its goal was to develop teaching materials that will allow high school teachers to introduce various concepts from dynamical systems theory and fractal geometry into their curricula. Videotapes, software, HyperCard stacks, worksheets and teacher guides were developed. These materials will help teachers to both enhance their curricula and demonstrate to students the vitality of modern mathematics.
 

This project aims to: (1) design and implement an introduction to quantum science for high school students and undergraduates in biology, chemistry and physics through activities integrating computer modeling tools, data resource base, and hands-on experiments; (2) do research on student response to materials intended to introduce quantum science at a level appropriate for interdisciplinary inquiry with hooks and paths between biology, chemistry and physics; and (3) investigate the extent to which technologically rich approaches to teaching interdisciplinary science can fundamentally change high school and college instructional practices.
See the QSAD page. 
 

This project developed a three step sequential undergraduate biology-chemistry experience to retain science majors and to inspire them to enter research careers. Its integrated biological-chemical modular format directly relates to and prepares science majors for modern research-oriented upper division courses which parallel realistic career research experiences. Materials developed are being disseminated through many organization including the American Chemical Society.
 

Mathematics has been neglected at the preschool and Kindergarten levels. New programs in this area are necessary first to enable young children to pursue and enjoy their mathematical interests, and second to prepare them for elementary school. In this project, mathematics educators and psychologists will develop, evaluate and disseminate a mathematics program - "Investigating the Big Ideas" - for 4- to 5- year-old children. At the core will be a two year sequence of explorations and learning activities aimed at extending and elaborating on preschoolers' informal mathematical interests and abilities, and developing their understanding of core mathematical concepts in an enjoyable and exciting way. The materials will be developed and evaluated over a four year period, with an eye towards large-scale dissemination in the near future, especially for low-income children.

This project aims to advance understanding of how the brain generates intelligent behavior by examining our capacity to think about sequences of events. The problem is being studied within the project through an interdisciplinary approach. To directly probe brain mechanisms, neurophysiological experiments are being performed on awake behaving animals. Computer-based experiments with young children are being used to discover how children learn sequential behaviors and to test how to optimize such learning. Behavioral studies are being done on how human infants learn sequences. Cognitive and neural modeling is being used to discover brain designs and mechanisms to link the animal neuorphysiological data to the human cognitive data. Through the analyses of how we learn and remember sequences of events, a foundation will be built for studying the neural basis of high-level cognitive operations such as planning and reasoning; for developing better educational software; and for applying models towards the solution of outstanding technological problems that require algorithms which emulate human intelligence.
 

The core of this project was an intensive six-week practicum designed to teach college faculty members the modern methods of recombinant DNA and protein analysis. These procedures underlie much of current research and development in biotechnology, an experimental field which has evolved rapidly over the past 10-15 years. Since many college bioscience teachers were trained in an earlier period, they have little or no immediate relevant experience in this field. However, many of their students will need to use the methods of biotechnology in their future careers. The project aimed to bridge this gulf by providing college faculty with the expertise necessary to introduce the "new biology" into their curricula. Recognizing that college faculty must operate within financial and time constraints, the practicum taught low-cost and time-efficient experimental methods appropriate to the teaching setting. 
 

This project harnesses the tremendous power of computer technology as a resource for teaching specific topics in mathematics and science. It focused on random processes in nature and their strong connection to concepts in probability and fractal geometry. Computer simulations and visualizations were used to aid the understanding and study of phenomena not visible to the naked eye, such as the growth of snowflakes or the disordered geometric configurations of polymer chains. In the process of doing hands-on experiments and computer simulations, students learn abstract mathematical concepts in a context that is both concrete and inherently motivating.
See the OGAF page. 
 

This project produced an interdisciplinary set of curriculum modules, which introduced high school students to the role of microscopic randomness in creating macroscopic patterns in nature. These curriculum materials are based on incorporating hands-on activities, laboratory experiments, computer simulations and data analysis software developed through previous research and development projects (WAMNET and OGAF, discussed above). The projects resulted in workbooks for use in biology, chemistry, earth science and physics courses.
See the Random Universe page. 
 

The aim of this project is to put into students hands the computer tools to model and visualize many physical, chemical, biological and other scientific phenomena at microscopic scales. The project is making use of several new computer tools. One is JAVA, the platform independent language which enables developers to build applications distributable over the World Wide Web which run on any computer. The other is the application of "distributed parallel processing" whereby each computer might be viewed as a piece of a much larger computational fabric accessible to each student. Students will make use of this capability to work with a "virtual" parallel computer.
See the The Teacher Researcher Collaboration page.
 

Patterns in Nature (PINS)  
H. E. Stanley - P.I.
G. Abegg - Co-P.I.  
  

The focus of this project is to: (1) introduce high school science teachers to the use of materials developed by the WAMNET and OGAF projects; (2)prepare teachers for new roles as mentors in a cooperative learning classroom environment in which students act a research workers, learning through hands-on activities, laboratory experiments, and visual interactive computer models of physical systems; (3) identify potential "master teachers" and work with them to become resource agents for colleagues in their home regions; and (4) prepare a teacher resource book and leader training kit for national dissemination of this model.
See the PINS page. 
 

Boston University, in partnership with the Museum of Science, Boston is designing and fabricating an exhibit entitled "The Dance of Chance ...Growing Order out of Randomness." The exhibit will integrate graphics, artifacts, interactive electromechanical demonstration devices together with state of the art interactive educational computer technology to demonstrate how probability shapes nature. It is planned as a permanent addition to the Museum's exhibition program, but is being designed to facilitate easy reproduction for individual copies or for circulation as a traveling exhibit.
See the Dance of Chance page.
 

This project will create a new undergraduate interdisciplinary course in which students explore the key role of randomness in biology, chemistry, physics and earth science. The curriculum materials used will be adapted and augmented from activities, experiments, simulations and data analysis software already developed as individual modules for high school science classes. Existing modules will be recast into a coherent one-semester course for liberal arts undergraduates.
See the Role of Randomness in Science page.
 

This project is a national scale-up of the project "Liquid Water and Molecular Networks". A modular, multidisciplinary curriculum will be produced, consisting of an integrated set of materials designed to allow students to discover for themselves a molecular-scale view of a wide range of materials from simple liquids and gases to complex proteins. A special emphasis is placed on investigations of water, a material whose properties play a critical role in living systems. All the materials will be integrated into a textbook that will feature a CD-ROM containing complete computer programs, supporting teaching materials, and laboratory exercises.
See the Bridging the Gap page.