This volume is a case study of education reform and innovation using technology that examines the issue from a wide variety of perspectives. It brings together the views and experiences of software designers, curriculum writers, teachers and students, researchers and administrators. Thus, it stands in contrast to other analyses of innovation that tend to look through the particular prisms of research, classroom practice, or software design. The Geometric Supposer encourages a belief in a better tomorrow for schools. On its surface, the Geometric Supposer provides the means for radically altering the way in which geometry is taught and the quality of learning that can be achieved. At a deeper level, however, it suggests a powerful metaphor for improving education that can be played out in many different instructional contexts.

Proceedings originating from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Intelligent Learning Environments: the Case of Geometry, held in Grenoble, France, November 13-16, 1989

This volume reflects an appreciation of the interactive roles of subject matter, teacher, student, and technologies in designing classrooms that promote understanding of geometry and space. Although these elements of geometry education are mutually constituted, the book is organized to highlight, first, the editors' vision of a general geometry education; second, the development of student thinking in everyday and classroom contexts; and third, the role of technologies. Rather than looking to high school geometry as the locus--and all too often, the apex--of geometric reasoning, the contributors to this volume suggest that reasoning about space can and should be successfully integrated with other forms of mathematics, starting at the elementary level and continuing through high school. Reintegrating spatial reasoning into the mathematical mainstream--indeed, placing it at the core of K-12 mathematics environments that promote learning with understanding--will mean increased attention to problems in modeling, structure, and design and reinvigoration of traditional topics such as measure, dimension, and form. Further, the editors' position is that the teaching of geometry and spatial visualization in school should not be compressed into a characterization of Greek geometry, but should include attention to contributions to the mathematics of space that developed subsequent to those of the Greeks. This volume is essential reading for those involved in mathematics education at all levels, including university faculty, researchers, and graduate students.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Articles about the uses of active, exploratory geometry carried out with interactive computer software.

Software Goes to School brings together leading experts to offer an in-depth examination of how computer technology can play an invaluable part in educational efforts through its unique capacities to support the development of students' understanding of difficult concepts.

Two experienced educators present a fresh approach to mathematics learning in the middle grades with the transition from arithmetic to algebra. The authors provide a collection of balanced, multi-dimensional assessment tasks designed to evaluate students' ability to work with mathematical objects and perform mathematical actions. --from publisher description

Teaching Critical Thinking and Problem Solving to Truth-Functional Logic

The papers presented at the 1989 National Educational Computing Conference focused on ways of using technology to improve educational quality. Topics of the 50 papers and more than 120 abstracts provided in these proceedings include applications of artificial intelligence and the development of expert systems; authoring systems; using the computer and spreadsheets to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills; computer conferencing; computer networks; computer simulations; teaching programming skills; use of computer technology to assist at-risk students and those with disabilities; computers for math, science, and equity; using the Logo programming language; integrating computers into Star Schools; the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow; inservice training for teachers using computers in the classroom; using word processing programs in teaching writing; videodisk and hypertext (HyperCard) applications; and the use of telecommunications. An author index is included. (GL)

Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, p, e, i, s.