Research - National Science Foundation Projects

Recent NSF Projects

Sketchpad for Young Learners of Mathematics: Dynamic Visualization Software in Grades 3-8 – Phase I (1/1/04 -6/30/05) Phase II (7/1/05 - 6/30/08) This project aims to identify and overcome barriers to the effective integration of The Geometer's Sketchpad® software in elementary and middle school math classes. This research-based educational software is already well known at the secondary level for its ability to foster dynamic mathematics visualization and exploration and to enhance student learning. This project developed as a response to clear calls for the software's application and adaptation to younger grades coming from teachers, curriculum development and research communities, and from standards bodies such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Dynamic Mathematics Visualization for Young Learners: Sketchpad in Grades 3-8 - (3/1/03-2/29/04) This working conference, held at the University of Illinois at Chicago in February 2003, aimed to bring together leaders in this community to begin formulating a response to the NCTM's professional call, and to begin developing a curriculum and software structure around The Geometer's Sketchpad technology in support of Dynamic Geometry® visualization for all young learners.

Census Microdata in the Classroom – Phase I (1/1/01 - 6/30/01) Phase II (3/1/02 - 2/29/04) This project proposed to research ways to increase accessibility and utilization of census microdata in secondary school mathematics classrooms. In collaboration with the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) project at the University of Minnesota, this project developed streamlined interfaces with which students can use the World Wide Web to gather data from one or more Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the country from any of the census back through 1850.

Handheld Geometer’s Sketchpad – Phase I (7/1/98 - 1/15/99) Phase II (1/15/99 - 12/31/00) This project aimed to leverage current understanding of Dynamic Geometry software to an emerging new category of classroom technology--handheld computers--that would greatly lower barriers to the financial, physical, and intellectual accessibility of technology across the 6-12 mathematics curriculum. The starting point for the project was The Geometer's Sketchpad.

The Mathematician's Sketchpad – Phase I (1/1/95 - 4/30/96) Phase II (10/1/96 - 3/31/98) This project built on the success of The Geometer's Sketchpad (one of very few pieces of educational software to have a real effect on the teaching of mathematics in secondary schools) to design and prototype a next generation of this software --The Mathematician's Sketchpad --an integrated exploratory environment for algebra and geometry utilizing declarative constraints as a new mathematical modeling tool.

Connecting to Data – Phase I (2/1/97 - 7/31/97) This project proposed to prototype and test software tools and curriculum resources for teachers and students to engage in data exploration, collaborative data gathering, and analysis among remote sites. The new curriculum materials and Internet-based software tools were integrated with the DataSpace™ computer learning environment for data analysis and statistics. The new software succeeded in giving learners direct access to data on the Internet, eliminating the downloading and importing processes.

Three-Dimensional Sketchpad: Geometry Visualization Software for the Classroom – Phase I (1/1/97 - 6/30/97) Building on the success of The Geometer's Sketchpad, a piece of educational software that has had an important impact on the teaching and learning of mathematics in secondary schools, this research prototyped a next generation of this software--3-D Sketchpad--an integrated exploratory environment for creating, analyzing, and investigating three- and higher-dimensional mathematics.

Probability and Statistics for Secondary Schools--A Computer Learning Environment and Curriculum – Phase I (1/15/93 - 9/30/93) Phase II (10/1/94 -9/30/96) This project proposed to break the curricular gridlock that prevents little teaching of probability and statistics in secondary school mathematics courses by developing new course materials and state-of-the-art computer software based on current understanding of students' conceptions of probability and statistics. The computer learning environment, named StochasticsLab, integrated simulation, data gathering, data display, exploratory data analysis, and statistical inferencing capabilities.