We examine teachers' classroom activities with the spreadsheet, focusing especially on episodes marked by improvisation and uncertainty. The framework is based on Saxe's cultural approach to cognitive development. The study considers two teachers, one positively disposed towards classroom use of technology, and the other not, both of them…

Describes the generation of all the tables required for school-level study of statistics using Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet package. Highlights cumulative binomial probabilities, cumulative Poisson probabilities, normal distribution, t-distribution, chi-squared distribution, F-distribution, random numbers, and accuracy. (JRH)

Presents an example of an introductory lesson on spreadsheets which provides a quick overview/revision of the essential elements of spreadsheeting before progressing to programmed exercises. (ASK)

Discusses ways in which datalogging equipment can enable titration curves to be measured accurately and how computing power can be used to predict the shape of curves. Highlights include sources of error, use of spreadsheets to generate titration curves, titration of a weak acid with a strong alkali, dibasic acids, weak acid and weak base, and…

Describes the use of spreadsheets to discuss mathematical concepts without using algebraic notation. Presents examples using Fibonacci numbers and factorials. (MKR)

Presents a graphing activity to show transverse and longitudinal waves using spreadsheets. (Author/NB)

Presents attributes of different types of software including Logo, geometric packages, graphical packages, and spreadsheets, each of which offers different opportunities for learning. Investigates the different ways in which the software allows for performing the given task so as to make the mathematics of the task explicit to users. (KHR)

Discusses the use of a spreadsheet program to vary the parameters in multiloop circuit problems. Enables students to better understand how the elements in a multiloop circuit determine the current by allowing them to see the results of the changes immediately. (JRH)

Describes two spreadsheets for producing acid-base titration curves, one uses relatively simple cell formulae that can be written into the spreadsheet by inexperienced students and the second uses more complex formulae that are best written by the teacher. (JRH)

Describes the use of spreadsheets as an alternative means of teaching complex mathematical concepts through simulation using the topic of the statistical power of tests as an example. Through the simulation it is possible for the learner to explore the design factors that influence power. Also provides a simple way of calculating power as a…

Presents an example from probability and statistics that ties together several topics including the mean and variance of a discrete random variable, the binomial distribution and its particular mean and variance, the sum of independent random variables, the mean and variance of the sum, and the central limit theorem. Uses Excel to illustrate these…

Describes student-friendly data sets accessible over the Internet that enable students to use large sets of real data to create graphs, apply basic statistical techniques, construct models, and draw conclusions about how the earth functions. Lists useful online data sets. (JRH)

Presents examples that illustrate how spreadsheets can be used to ask and answer all sorts of scientific questions given suitable automation of useful spreadsheet procedures. Examples include data exploration, data analysis, project presentation, simulations, and students writing their own models. (Author/JRH)

Analyzes the results of a Mexican/British project that used the sociocultural approach to investigate ways in which mathematics is used in the practice of school science and the role of spreadsheets as a mathematical modeling tool. Suggests the possibility of enhancing students' capability to shift between a wider range of representations using…

This paper is concerned with the role of spreadsheets as a tool for the development of mathematical models in science, one aspect of a collaborative project which worked with two groups of pre-university students from Mexico and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the modeling activities designed was to engage students in creating an…