Technology in Science and Technology in Science and Mathematics InstructionMathematics Instruction

Session Five

EDT 612

Issues and ProblemsIssues and Problemsin Science Educationin Science Education

• Everyone needs to use scientific information to make daily choices

• More jobs require advanced skills that require people to be able to learn, reason, think creatively, make decisions, and solve problems.

• The opportunity to attain higher levels of scientific literacy is the principle of equity.

Science Education StandardsScience Education Standards

• Favor an inquiry approach

• Philosophy is depth over breadth

• Do not spell out clearly the role of instructional technology for teachers

• Will need a broader repertoire of teacher resources if schools are to elevate student’s science competency

How technology in integratedHow technology in integrated

• The Internet• Simulations• Hypermedia Authoring• Software/Video Resources• Probeware: instructional software tool

consisting of hardware devices (probes) and software that allows scientific data to be gathered and processed by computer

Useful web sites for scienceUseful web sites for science

• National Science Teachers Association http://www.nsta.org/

• FEMA for Kids Homepage http://www.fema.gov/kids/

• Classroom of the Future http://www.cotf.edu/

Issues and ProblemsIssues and Problemsin Math Educationin Math Education

• Students must become informed citizens capable of understanding issues in a technological society

• The Curriculum Standards call for major revisions in the way schools teach math

• The Standards for School Mathematics document outlines five broad goals to prepare students for a global economy.

Five goals of the standardsFive goals of the standards

• Value mathematics: connect it to the real world in ways that students can appreciate

• Reason mathematically

• Communicate mathematically

• Solve problems

• Develop confidence

How do we do this?How do we do this?

• Hands-on experiences with physical objects in the environment

• Minds-on which focuses on core concepts and critical thinking processes

• Authentic learning with exploration, discovery, discussions, and being able to meaningfully construct mathematical concepts and relationships in their own minds.

How technology is integratedHow technology is integrated

• Software that promotes “what if ” thinking

• The Internet

• Simulations such as video scenarios

• Spreadsheets: again the “what if ” possibilities

• Graphing Calculators with advanced capabilities that interact with probeware systems to capture data for experiments and concept demos

Useful web sites for mathUseful web sites for math

• National Council of Teachers in Mathematics http://www.nctm.org/index.htm

• Ask Dr. Math http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/dr-math.html

• Math Magic http://forum.swarthmore.edu/mathmagic/