Describes the ChemKits initiative devised by private colleges in Kansas to help high school science teachers meet their needs for laboratory equipment. Discusses conclusions from three years of running the ChemKits teacher-education program. (WRM)

Reviews three projects that use a graphing calculator linked to a calculator-based laboratory device as a portable data-collection system for students in chemistry classes. Projects include Isolation, Purification and Quantification of Buckminsterfullerene from Woodstove Ashes; Determination of the Activation Energy Associated with the…

An experienced mathematics teacher in a rural high school in the United States was studied as she first implemented a reform calculus curriculum. Her instruction was compared to her previous practice using a curriculum not constructed with the reform movement in mind. Despite her early attempts to make her instructions more student-centered, the…

Activities featured in this new compendium--a collection of 26 articles published in Science Scope, NSTA's member journal for middle school teachers--will show how. Technology-Based Inquiry offers fresh approaches that teachers and students can use to explore physical science, Earth and space science, life science, and more. It covers the…

This document contains both volumes of the proceedings of a conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). Three keynote papers by Gordon Knight, J. Michael Shaughnessy, and Robyn Zevenbergen, and a practical implications paper by Lyn English are included. Seventy-five conference papers are included in these…

Argues that while microcomputer and graphing calculators have evolved to a stage where they should be used routinely by mathematics students at all levels, there is sometimes potential to mislead students with computer generated graphs. Examples are included. (PK)

Mathematics software can be a great aid in understanding difficult mathematics concepts at all levels. This paper presents nine exercises on calculus concepts by using different software used in mathematics education. Each exercise includes instruction on how to use software in order to highlight a specific concept in mathematics. This paper also…

This paper presents an inquiry into teaching and learning practices in a Year 11 mathematics class at a private college for girls in Western Australia, studying a topic on vectors. The focus is on learning through problem-solving, where students used graphics calculators as a matter of routine. Constructivist and sociocultural theories were…

Describes the results of a teacher's exploration of the effects of using graphing calculators in calculus instruction in sections other than those that are experimental. Two experimental and two traditional sections of Calculus I and II participated in the study. (DDR)

Discussed are assumptions about technology and classroom equipment, teaching methods, getting started, pitfalls, and the role of algebra and calculus. Suggestions are given for implementing the spirit and vision of the standards. (YP)

Middle-school students were asked to determine the dimensions of a hotel atrium so that guests could enjoy the maximum area of scenic view, given that 650 feet of brass railing could be used around each floor. Several solution approaches are described. (MKR)

Presents suggestions for developing algebraic concepts beginning in the early grades to develop a gradual building from informal to formal algebraic concepts that progresses over the K-12 curriculum. Includes suggestions for representing relationships, solving equations, employing meaningful applications of algebra, and using of technology. (MDH)

Develops and validates an instrument for determining student preferences for multiple representations of functions and establishes baseline data for future research. Students showed preferences for representations of functions which varied between contextualized and noncontextualized settings. Students' preferences for the two settings were more…

Reflects on activities designed for computer-enhanced in-service training of high school mathematics teachers. Uses a computer-based graphing calculator, a dynamic geometry program, and a spreadsheet program to explore linear algebraic equations that bridge finite and infinite mathematics structures. (ASK)

This document presents the proceedings of the 17th Annual Research Forum held June 29, 2012, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included herein are the following 25 action research papers: (1) "Reading and Writing": A Study Comparing the Strengths of Peer Review and Visible Author Writing Strategies (Elizabeth Behar); (2)…