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Using Connected Curriculum Project Modules

Author(s): 
John Hannah

This article is about my experiences, and those of my students, the first time we used modules from the Connected Curriculum Project (CCP). The CCP modules are part of an integrated approach to learning mathematics, taking in not just the use of technology, but also problem solving, cooperative learning and communication skills. The modules aim to combine the interactivity and accessibility of the Web with the power of a computer algebra system like Maple. They are quite adaptable, and could be used either as an integral part of a course, or as supplements to classroom discussion, or even for independent study by individuals. Each of the modules I used was a single-topic unit designed to be completed in one to two hours with students working in pairs in a computer lab environment. For more about the philosophy behind CCP see SmithBookman and Malone, or the For Teachers link on the CCP home page.

John Hanmnah is Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The rest of the article is laid out as follows:

  1. Background : Information about my students; which CCP modules were used and how they were integrated into the course.
  2. Sources of Data : How the data presented here were collected.

The next four sections deal with issues raised by what happened during the lab sessions.

  1. Do the CCP modules encourage greater understanding?
  2. Technology: help or hindrance
  3. Cooperative learning
  4. Getting students to check their answers

The article concludes with

  1. Summary and discussion
  2. References
Copyright 2001 by John Hannah
Published December, 2001

John Hannah, "Using Connected Curriculum Project Modules," Convergence (December 2004)