Advanced Educational Technologies for Mathematics and Science

This book contains revised and updated versions of papers presented at a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Milton Keynes, U.K., in summer 1990.The workshop brought together about 30 world leaders in the use of advanced technologies in the teaching of mathematics and science. The papers demonstrate how technology is impacting the view in the teaching profession of what should be taught, what can be taught, and how teachers should go about their work in the various disciplines. They offer great insight into the central issues of teaching and learning in a wide range of disciplines and across many grade levels, ranging from elementary school through college and undergraduate education. The book has two major parts, on advanced technologies in the teaching of science and mathematics respectively, although many of the papers address topics of interest to specialists in both areas. The papers reflect examples drawn from a wide range of fields, including mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering, chemistry, and biology. Some demonstrate the use of software inteaching difficult but restricted concepts within a discipline. Other show an integrated approach that exploits the power of educational software throughout a course. The notions of discovery, representation, qualitative models for reasoning, model building, and the management of complexity are key elements in numerous papers.