The Effective Use of Computers in Applied Mathematics
John Crotty and Joseph Cummins
Guide Entry to 81.06.02
This unit is designed to assist any teacher who is teaching a unit on fractions. The teacher who would benefit the most from this unit would be one who is teaching Applied Mathematics. However, it is possible that this unit could also be used very effectively by the middle school teacher. This unit presents a fresh, new approach to the teaching of fractions. By the use of programmed graphical models, we will allow the students to see what happens when any mathematical operation takes place. Also the student will be able to see what a fraction is, comparison of fractions and the reducing of fractions to lowest terms. The program we developed is a very easy one to follow and neither the teacher nor the student should have any trouble making excellent use of our unit. We believe that the use of our unit in conjunction with traditional teaching methods will make it possible for many students to learn how to work with fractions with much more success than previously experienced. We invite all Applied Mathematics teachers to use our unit in its entirety or to modify it to meet their individual needs.
(Recommended for 9th grade Applied Mathematics and 7th and 8th grade General Mathematics.)
Key Words
Fractions Mathematics Computers Assisted Basic Skills
