Teaching Mathematics Contextually

The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

 1999, CORD

Published by: CORD Communications, Inc. P.O. Box 21206 Waco, Texas 76702-1206 (254) 776-1822 (800) 231-3015 Multiple copies can be purchased at a cost of $4 each.

Printed in the United States of America July 1999

Contents
Preface..................................................................................... v The Contextual Approach to Learning...................................... 1 Correcting False Assumptions About Learning ......................... 6 The Context of the Workplace................................................ 10 More Than One Kind of Intelligence....................................... 11 More Than One Way to Learn................................................ 14 Striving for Connectedness..................................................... 17 What Do We Know About the Learning Process?................... 18 Tools for Implementing the REACT Strategy......................... 20 CORD Bridges to Algebra and Geometry............................... 21 CORD Algebra 1.................................................................... 31 CORD Geometry.................................................................... 42 CORD Applied MathematicsA Contextual Approach to Integrated Mathematics ................................................. 50 How Can the Success of Contextual Learning Be Measured?.................................................................... 58 Empowering Teachers............................................................ 60

Preface
Tech Prep has become the leading educational reform movement in the United States because it focuses on improving student achievement in academic subjects, particularly for the middle 60 percent . . . those we call the neglected majority. We call them neglected because academic subjects such as mathematics, science, and English have traditionally been taught in a manner that benefits abstract learnersand most Tech Prep students are not abstract learners. In fact, research by learning theorist David A. Kolb and others concludes that less than one-fourth of our students are abstract learners; most students learn best when they can connect new concepts to the real world through their own experiences or experiences teachers can provide them. Tech Prep opens the door to higher education as well as to high-skill jobs because it requires the blending of high-level academic skills with technical and employability skills. Employers are no longer looking for workers who can perform only a prescribed set of tasks or operate equipment; they want workers who can continuously grasp new information and acquire new skills, who can improvise, solve open-ended problems, and work effectively in teams. The key to the door of higher education is mastery of academic disciplines; the key to successful employment is mastery of useful academics. One fundamental change in curriculum essential to the successful implementation of Tech Prep curricula in grades nine through fourteen is the teaching of a foundation of basic knowledge and skills. This must be done before further knowledge and skills can be added to that foundation. Technical (career-specific) courses cannot be taught

successfully without students first understanding the technical principles that underlie them (the academic or theoretical basis). We know it is realistic to have high expectations of academic achievement from nearly all students if we restructure our learning materials and teaching to match their learning styles, and use hands-on contextual teaching and learning methods to help them learn. For nearly a decade (1985 to 1995), the applied academics movement demonstrated that students who had previously performed poorly in abstract math and science courses could achieve high levels in those subject areas if they were taught in an applied or hands-on format. Instead of watering down the content (as had been done in courses for general education), CORDs applied academics courses maintained academic rigor but introduced real-world examples, applications, and problems, and engaged the students in laboratory activities using equipment familiar to life and actual work applications. In other words, it wasnt easier; it was just easier to learn. More than 5.5 million students nationwide have enjoyed success through applied academics curricula. More than ten thousand teachers have been trained in applied academics methodology. In the past five years, state and national standards for math and science have evolved; this has required adjustments to the content, organization, and pedagogy of specific courses and of assessments. In response to this, CORD, a not-for-profit education research and reform organization, has prepared this booklet to aid educators who are engaged in the vital and growing field of contextual learning. Facing the Challenge What is the best way to convey the many concepts that are taught in a particular classor any other classso that all students can use and retain that information? How can the individual lessons be understood as interconnected pieces that
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build upon each other? How can a teacher communicate effectively with students who wonder about the reason for, the meaning of, and the relevance of what they study? How can we open the minds of a diverse student population so they can learn concepts and techniques that will open doors of opportunity for them throughout their lives? These are the challenges teachers face every day, the challenges that a curriculum and an instructional approach based on contextual learning can help them face successfully. The majority of students in our schools are unable to make connections between what they are learning and how that knowledge will be used. This is because the way they process information and their motivation for learning are not touched by the traditional methods of classroom teaching. The students have a difficult time understanding academic concepts (such as math concepts) as they are commonly taught (that is, using an abstract, lecture method), but they desperately need to understand the concepts as they relate to the workplace and to the larger society in which they will live and work. As the need for higher-level academic and work skills increases, the challenge to help all students master these skills grows stronger. In many schools across the country, Tech Prep has become the agent for change in this areaopening doors for a fresh approach to teaching and learning. Tech Prep curricula require not only a stronger academic foundation and a higher caliber of work skills, but also a better understanding of how academic concepts relate to the workplace and how vocational skills connect with these academic concepts. This higher level of learning is not usually taught even to the academically above-average student, much less to the average student who needs it most. Traditionally, students have been expected to make these connections on their own, outside the classroom. However, growing numbers of teachers todayespecially those frustrated by repeated lack of student success in
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demonstrating basic proficiency on standard testsare discovering that most students interest and achievement in math, science, and language improve dramatically when they are helped to make connections between new information (knowledge) and experiences they have had, or with other knowledge they have already mastered. Students involvement in their schoolwork increases significantly when they are taught why they are learning the concepts and how those concepts can be used outside the classroom. And most students learn much more efficiently when they are allowed to work cooperatively with other students in groups or teams. Dan Hull President and Chief Executive Officer CORD February 1999

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The Contextual Approach to Learning

Contextual learning is a proven concept that incorporates much of the most recent research in cognitive science. It is also a reaction to the essentially behaviorist theories that have dominated American education for many decades. The contextual approach recognizes that learning is a complex and multifaceted process that goes far beyond drill-oriented, stimulus-and-response methodologies. According to contextual learning theory, learning occurs only when students (learners) process new information or knowledge in such a way that it makes sense to them in their own frames of reference (their own inner worlds of memory, experience, and response). This approach to learning and teaching assumes that the mind naturally seeks meaning in contextthat is, in relation to the persons current environmentand that it does so by searching for relationships that make sense and appear useful. Building upon this understanding, contextual learning theory focuses on the multiple aspects of any learning environment, whether a classroom, a laboratory, a computer lab, a worksite, or a wheat field. It encourages educators to choose and/or design learning environments that incorporate as many different forms of experience as possiblesocial, cultural, physical, and psychologicalin working toward the desired learning outcomes.

Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

Are You Teaching Mathematics Contextually?

Take this self-test and see. These standards appear to some degree in almost all texts. But contextual instruction is rich in all ten standards. 1. Are new concepts presented in real-life (outside the classroom) situations and experiences that are familiar to the student? Are concepts in examples and student exercises presented in the context of their use? Are new concepts presented in the context of what the student already knows? Do examples and student exercises include many real, believable problem-solving situations that students can recognize as being important to their current or possible future lives? Do examples and student exercises cultivate an attitude that says, I need to learn this? Do students gather and analyze their own data as they are guided in discovery of the important concepts? Are opportunities presented for students to gather and analyze their own data for enrichment and extension? Do lessons and activities encourage the student to apply concepts and information in useful contexts, projecting the student into imagined futures (e.g., possible careers) and unfamiliar locations (e.g., workplaces)? Are students expected to participate regularly in interactive groups where sharing, communicating, and responding to the important concepts and decision making occur? Do lessons, exercises, and labs improve students reading and other communication skills in addition to mathematical reasoning and achievement?

2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9.

10.

Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

In such an environment, students discover meaningful relationships between abstract ideas and practical applications in the context of the real world; concepts are internalized through the process of discovering, reinforcing, and relating. For example, a physics class studying thermal conductivity might measure how the quality and amount of building insulation material affect the amount of energy required to keep the building heated or cooled. Or a biology or chemistry class might learn basic scientific concepts by studying the spread of AIDS or the ways in which farmers suffer from and contribute to environmental degradation. Curricula and instruction based on this strategy will be structured to encourage five essential forms of learning: Relating, Experiencing, Applying, Cooperating, and Transferring (Figure 1).

Relating Experiencing Applying Cooperating Transferring

Figure 1. Essential elements of the REACT strategy

Relating. Learning in the context of life experience, or

relating, is the kind of contextual learning that typically occurs with very young children. For toddlers, the sources of learning are readily at hand in the form of toys, games, and everyday events such as meals, trips to the grocery store, and walks in the neighborhood.

Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

As children grow older, however, providing this meaningful context for learning becomes more difficult. Ours is a society in which the workplace is largely separated from domestic life, in which extended families are separated by great distances, and in which teens lack clear societal roles or responsibilities commensurate with their abilities. Under ideal conditions, teachers might simply lead students from one community-based activity to another, encouraging them to relate what they are learning to real-life experience. In most cases, however, given the range and complexity of concepts to be taught and the limitations of our resources, life experiences will have to be evoked through text, video, speech, and classroom activity. The curriculum that attempts to place learning in the context of life experiences must, first, call the students attention to everyday sights, events, and conditions. It must then relate those everyday situations to new information to be absorbed or a problem to be solved.

Experiencing. Experiencinglearning in the context of

exploration, discovery, and inventionis the heart of contextual learning. However motivated or tuned-in students may become as a result of other instructional strategies such as video, narrative, or text-based activities, these remain relatively passive forms of learning. And learning appears to take far more quickly when students are able to manipulate equipment and materials and to do other forms of active research. In contextual academics texts, laboratories are often based on actual workplace tasks. The aim is not to train students for specific jobs, but to allow them to experience activities that are directly related to real-life work. Many of the activities and skills selected for labs are cross-occupational; that is, they are used in a broad spectrum of occupations.

Applying. Applying concepts and information in a useful

context often projects students into an imagined future (a
4
Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

possible career) and/or into an unfamiliar location (a workplace). In contextual learning courses, applications are often based on occupational activities. As noted above, young people today generally lack access to the workplace; unlike members of previous generations, they do not see the modern-day counterpart of the blacksmith at the forge or the farmer in the field. Essentially isolated in the inner city or outer suburbia, many students have a greater knowledge of how to become a rock star or a model than of how to become a respiratory therapist or a power plant operator. If they are to get a realistic sense of connection between schoolwork and real-life jobs, therefore, the occupational context must be brought to them. This happens most commonly through text, video, labs, and activities, although, in many schools, these contextual learning experiences will be followed up with firsthand experiences such as plant tours, mentoring arrangements, and internships.

Cooperating. Cooperatinglearning in the context of sharing,

responding, and communicating with other learnersis a primary instructional strategy in contextual teaching. The experience of cooperating not only helps the majority of students learn the material, it also is consistent with the realworld focus of contextual teaching. Research interviews with employers reveal that employees who can communicate effectively, who share information freely, and who can work comfortably in a team setting are highly valued in the workplace. We have ample reason, therefore, to encourage students to develop these cooperative skills while they are still in the classroom. The laboratory, one of the primary instructional methods in applied academics, is essentially cooperative. Typically, students work with partners to do the laboratory exercises; in some cases, they work in groups of three or four. Completing the lab successfully requires delegation, observation, suggestion, and discussion. In many labs, the quality of the data
Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

collected by the team as a whole is dependent on the individual performance of each member of the team. Students also must cooperate to complete the many smallgroup activities that are included in the applied academics courses. Partnering can be a particularly effective strategy for encouraging students to cooperate.

Transferring. Learning in the context of existing knowledge,

or transferring, uses and builds upon what the student already knows. Such an approach is similar to relating, in that it calls upon the familiar. As adults, many of us are adept at avoiding situations that are unfamiliarthe part of town we dont know, the unusual food weve never eaten, the store we havent shopped. Sometimes we also avoid situations in which we have to gain new information or develop a new skill (especially if there are likely to be witnesses)using a new type of computer software or coping in another country with our fledgling foreign-language skills. Most traditionally taught high school students, however, rarely have the luxury of avoiding new learning situations; they are confronted with them every day. We can help them retain their sense of dignity and develop confidence if we make a point of building new learning experiences on what they already know.

Correcting False Assumptions About Learning

Contextual learning offers more than a tool for defragmenting the American educational system; it provides a more effective approach to teaching the majority of students because it is specifically geared to the way these students learn. In recent years, cognitive science and studies of the relationships between structured learning and the work
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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

environment have given us a better basis for evaluating the effectiveness of various methods of teaching and learning. Many educators, however, tend to interpret the learning environment according to their own experience as students. In other words, they teach the way they have been taught usually through traditional abstract lecture methods. But, while the traditional classroom model is valid, it is not necessarily the most effective strategy for teaching the majority of students. To increase their effectiveness in the classroom, many educators may need to change some of their basic assumptions about how people learn. Dr. Sue Berryman of the Institute on Education and the Economy at Columbia University has isolated five common misconceptions about the ways people learn: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. People predictably transfer learning from one situation to another. Learners are passive receivers of wisdomempty vessels into which knowledge is poured. Learning is the strengthening of bonds between stimuli and correct responses. What matters is getting the right answer. Skills and knowledge, to be transferable to new situations, should be acquired independent of their contexts of uses.

These are assumptions that may well be blocking many students from an effective learning experience. In each case, the contextual learning approach can help correct the false

Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

assumption and the inefficient educational processes that grow out of the assumptions.1 False Assumption #1. People predictably transfer learning from one situation to another. Berryman questions, for example, whether most people actually use in everyday practice the knowledge, skills, and strategies they acquired during their formal education. For instance, a student training to be a radiology technician may have difficulty relating the theories she learned in physics class to the technical skills she is learning in her electronics courses. False Assumption #2: Learners are passive receivers of wisdomempty vessels into which knowledge is poured. Each student approaches the task of learning equipped with a matrix of acquired skills, knowledge, and experience and a set of expectations and hopes. The most effective learning happens when the student is invited (and taught) to make connections between past learning and future actions. But teaching techniques that require an essentially passive response from students, such as lecturing, deprive them of this opportunity to actively involve themselves with the material. They may miss the most important means of learning exploration, discovery, and invention. Passive learners who are dependent upon the teacher for guidance and feedback may also fail to develop confidence in their own intuitive abilities.

Sue E. Berryman and Thomas Bailey, The Double Helix of Education and the Economy (New York: Institute on Education and the Economy, Columbia University, 1992), 45-68. Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

False Assumption #3: Learning is the strengthening of bonds between stimuli and correct responses. This misconception is based on a behaviorist approach to education, which tends to reward response instead of understanding. Education based on behaviorist theory typically leads to breaking down complex tasks and ideas into oversimplified components, unrelated subtasks, repetitive training, and an inappropriate focus on the right answer. It does not help students learn to solve problems on a more systemic level. False Assumption #4: What matters is getting the right answer. Students who focus primarily on getting the right answer tend to rely on memorized shortcuts instead of acquiring the problem-solving skills they will need in a real-life setting. False Assumption #5: Skills and knowledge, to be transferable to new situations, should be acquired independent of their contexts of uses. The process of abstracting knowledge, or taking it away from its specific context, has long been thought to make that knowledge more useful to a number of situations; this philosophy underlies much of our current educational system. However, Berryman points out that such decontextualization can easily rob students of a sense of motivation and purpose. They may have difficulty understanding why a concept is important and how it relates to reality, and this may make the material more difficult to retain. For example, the definition of a term may be difficult to learn and retain without an understanding of the context of its use.

Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

The Context of the Workplace

In 1991, the United States Department of Labor initiated the Secretarys Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) to analyze the future skills that would be needed by the American workforce. The commission, led by Dr. Arnold Packer of Johns Hopkins University, prepared a report on developing world-class standards for educational performance.2 The SCANS report reinforces the need for a more effective structure of learning that responds to the changing needs of the new workforceand contextually based teaching methods are especially effective in making this kind of connection. The SCANS report duly notes that traditional basic competencies such as reading, writing, and arithmetic have been and continue to be a key part of the total skills required of the workforce. However, the SCANS report strongly emphasizes two other sets of competencies as critical for the current and future workforce:
personal qualities: the ability to relate to others in and out

of the classroom and develop individual responsibility and self-esteem; and

thinking skills: the ability to think and problem-solve an

entire system rather than working with isolated tasks and problems. These two sets of abilities are now seen not only as skills that should be learned in combination with the three Rs, but also as the basis for strategies that all teachers should consider using to enhance the learning capacity of their students.

Secretarys Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, What Work Requires of Schools: A SCANS Report for America 2000, a letter to parents, employers, and educators (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1992). Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

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The process of learning interpersonal skills, for instance, requires students to work on teams, teach others, lead, negotiate, and work well with people from culturally diverse backgrounds. But these techniques, in addition to helping students learn to get along with others, also help them learn content more effectively. The math students working together on a project not only learn interpersonal skills; they also learn more math. Similarly, students acquire thinking skills best in a learning environment that requires them to be creative, make decisions, solve problems, and know how to learn and reason.3 And, once again, this kind of environment will facilitate the learning of the course content. The adoption of the SCANS report as a structure for learning can help students transfer knowledge from school to career and understand the context and meaning in which the curriculum is taught. It is therefore an important part of the contextual-learning model for Tech Prep curricula. Changes in the development of the workforce require employees who have multiple skills and abilities. Similarly, the changes in the educational system must reflect the fact that students cannot continue to learn in an isolated fashion. If educational reform reshapes the way students learn, the outcome could enhance the abilities of the future workforce.

More Than One Kind of Intelligence

In a sense, there is nothing new about contextual learning. There have always been teachers who intuitively understood how to teach concepts so that all learners could grasp them through example, illustration, and hands-on application. But even these naturally effective teachers can benefit from

What Work Requires of Schools, 4-5.

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understanding the findings of relatively recent cognitive research and from learning how to put these findings to use. The results of this seminal research explain the success of contextual teaching and learning approaches in the classroom. Cognitive science, similar in purpose and methodology to educational psychology, poses two important questions about the teaching and learning process:
How do the human mind and body work in their learning

capacity?
How can an understanding of the mind/bodys way of

learning be used in educational settings? In addressing the first question, Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University, has challenged traditional thinking by questioning whether intelligence is a single, measurable capacity. Gardner posits instead that the human capacity for learning is much broader than traditional measurements of intelligence would indicate. Alfred Binet, the inventor of the IQ test, standardized the assessment of intelligence through two measurements, verbal and analytical. Gardner argues, however, that people have as many as seven forms of intelligence: linguistic, logical/mathematical, musical, spatial, kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal (Figure 2). He bases this theory on his observance of the wide range of capabilities of adolescents.

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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

Figure 2. Traditional versus contemporary views of intelligence

For instance, Gardner describes a fourteen-year-old adolescent in Paris, who has learned how to program a computer and is beginning to compose works of music with the aid of a synthesizer. This young Parisian displays both musical and logical/mathematical intelligence, a combination of abilities that traditional educational assessment does not usually measure or even acknowledge. Gardner makes another important observation regarding multiple intelligences: While everyone has some measure of each of the seven intelligences, the specific strengths and combinations vary according to the individual. No two people have the same kind of mind. (His observations of adolescents strongly support this assertion by showing that not one of the adolescents could possibly master every intelligence.) For this
Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

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reason, Gardner argues against a uniform school system that does not allow students to make choices about what to learn and, even more important, how to learn.4

More Than One Way to Learn

Gardners theory that people have multiple intelligences helps answer the second question of cognitive sciencehow an understanding of the mind/bodys way of learning can be used in educational settings. The learning styles movement of the last twenty years also helps answer this question through an abundance of material it has produced concerning the various approaches students take to learning and the teaching techniques that are best suited to reaching certain students. In his discussion of the variety of learning styles, learning theorist David Kolb observes that learners tend to perceive information either abstractly (by conceptualizing/thinking) or concretely (by experiencing/feeling) and then process that information either actively (by experimenting/doing) or reflectively (by observing/watching). Kolb (as well as other learning theorists) has typically set each of these four learning styles on an axis as a way to understand the entire realm of students learning tendencies. Kolbs construction, like Gardners, clearly indicates that most students do not fit neatly into one category or the other. Almost all students can learn by and benefit from all four experiences (thinking, feeling, doing, and watching). And no one type of learning is superior to another; all contribute to the process of effective learning. Nevertheless, most students will show a preference for one or two particular kinds of learning, and this preference will indicate the individuals primary learning style(s).

Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (New York: Basic Books, 1983), 4-6. Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

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The emphasis for contextual learning is to use this process for effective learning to reach the strengths of all students. However, as Kolbs studies indicate, most students have a tendency to learn in a concrete manner (with an emphasis on feeling and doing), while the school system tends to teach in an abstract manner (with an emphasis on thinking and watching) (Figure 3). Kolbs study of student responses found that relatively few students tend to learn by thinking and watchingthe learning style catered to in the commonly used lecture method. Most students tend to perceive and process information through some kind of concrete experiences and/or experimentation. Most people, in other words, are extroverted learners; they learn best through interpersonal communication, group learning, sharing, mutual support, team processes, and positive reinforcement.

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Figure 3. Contextual learning should encompass all styles of learning.5

Nevertheless, Kolb encourages the use of teaching methods that develop all four learning styles so that students can broaden their learning abilities beyond natural inclination. After all, upon entering the workforce, even those few students who learn best by thinking and watching will be required to experience and act. And hands-on learners must be able to take the conceptual information they receive in traditional teaching and learning methods and transfer it into practice.

Adapted from David A. Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience As the Source of Learning and Development (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1984). Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

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Striving for Connectedness

Despite the individual differences in learning styles and intelligences, all learners strive for connectedness. Learning is cumulative. Isolated bits of information normally are not processed and retained by the mind for meaningful use unless connections are made and points of reference or relationships are established between what is known and what is not known. Teaching through illustrations and examples is a classical form of imbuing a learning experience with understanding and meaning. Many adults, for example, still remember at least one field trip or nature walk they took in kindergarten or elementary school. The children pick up leaves or study plants and insects, learning terms and concepts while seeing and experiencing nature for themselves. Instead of just memorizing a list of names, they are allowed to touch or smell the objects that go with the names. This concrete experience introduces meaning to the knowledge the children are acquiring. Later they will be able to rely on their experiences and their knowledge of nature to learn more about science, the environment, and the role played by nature in literature, art, and history. Learning theorists Renate Nummela Caine and Geoffrey Caine explain this connectedness theory by pointing out that all knowledge is embedded in other knowledge.6 Academic subjects such as English, math, and chemistry are at best artificial distinctions within a single body of knowledge. Allowing these subjects to overlap and integrating them into a single curriculum can therefore provide a better, more connected understanding.

Renate Nummela Caine and Geoffrey Caine, Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain (Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1991), 92-97.

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Caine and Caine suggest that any robot can be programmed to do rote memorization or acquire surface knowledge about a subject. However, using knowledge that a student already has in the context of new knowledge helps the student acquire deeper understanding as well as basic facts. In addition to making connections between different school subjects, teachers can enhance the learning process by engaging students in hands-on activities and concrete experiences as other ways of reinforcing the usefulness of the knowledge. Lab activities, experiments, and projects that require students to be actively involved in the community usually stimulate interest and motivation to learn. Integrating work-based learning with school subjects is another effective way to ground learning in actual experience.

What Do We Know About the Learning Process?

The convergence of intelligence theories and learning theories suggests similar methods for more effective teaching and learning. For instance, if we accept Gardners theory that the minds capacity for learning is much broader than traditionally assumed, we can probably go along with Kolbs assertion that individuals have a natural ability to learn through a variety of methods. We can further conclude from the studies of Caine and Caine that connectedness is a key to effective learning. The following summary statements about effective learning are a distillation of the theories of intelligence and learning that have been addressed here:
Most people learn best in a concrete manner involving

personal participation, physical or hands-on activities, and opportunities for personal discovery.
Learning is greatly enhanced when concepts are presented

in the context of relationships that are familiar to the student.

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 Most people relate better to concrete, tangible examples

and experiences than to abstract conceptual models.

Most students learn best through some sort of personal

interaction with other studentsthrough study groups, team learning, and so on.
Rote memorization of isolated fragments of knowledge is

a relatively inefficient and ineffective learning strategy for most students.

Transfer of learning from one situation to another is not

consistently predictable, and the ability to do so is a skill that must be learned. In the last forty years, only a few alterations in the content of elementary and secondary education have been necessary. Aside from a knowledge of computers, globalization, recent history, and environmental change, students need the same sound, solid education they needed four decades ago. Instead, the major changes needed in todays educational system center around processes. We need to
provide students with compelling reasons to remain in

school,
use the discoveries of cognitive science to help them

achieve enhanced learning, and

create learning environments that open their minds and

enable them to become more thoughtful, participative members of society and the workforce. Clearly, if the thrust of educational reform is on the classroom (and laboratories), the emphasis should be upon empowering teachers to facilitate these processes. The neglected majority can be successful learners, and they can be vital elements of Americas new workforce. But, for this to happen on a national level, teachers must be helped to understand how students learn, teachers and students must be provided with suitable resources that contain career-oriented
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motivational elements, and teachers must be provided with sufficient institutional support (including in-service training) to allow them to use new material and equipment effectively. In short, teachers and students must be immersed in contextual teaching and learning, and supported in their use of the REACT strategy. Tech Prep is the most successful framework for contextual teaching and learning, and can help educators bridge the gap between what isoften static classrooms with bored, tuned out studentsand what should beclassrooms alive with dynamic students actively engaged in learning.

Tools for Implementing the REACT Strategy

A prime reason for the struggle to transform the classroom is that most of todays textbook designers are stuck in the rut of traditional educational philosophies and see contextual learning as just another fad that will soon fade away. As a result, they take advantage of the word contextual in their advertising and book cover designs, but analysis of their instructional designs quickly shows minimal adherence to the REACT strategy or anything similar. CORD is different. CORD believes strongly in contextual learning and its ability to elevate the achievement of all students. This belief is not based on mere speculation, but rooted in years of experience and testing. CORD builds the REACT strategy into the substance and content of its educational products. Through CORDs reforms, the potential of contextual learning has been realized. CORDs research and reform initiatives have led to the development of new contextual learning materials in biology, applications in biology/chemistry, mathematics, and principles of technology. These materials provide mathematics teachers the tools they need for reaching all students, and in particular those in the middle 60 percent. The way these contextual-learning texts implement the REACT strategy is outlined in the pages that follow.
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CORD Bridges to Algebra and Geometry

CORD Bridges prepares students for first-year algebra and formal geometry using an interactive, real-world approach to teaching math concepts. CORD Bridges provides the content (Figure 4) for a rigorous course for eighth- or ninth-grade students, a course based on a contextual, hands-on approach to learning.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Decimals and Problem Solving Working with Data Integers Solving Equations Rational Numbers Ratio, Proportion, and Probability Percent Graphing on the Coordinate Plane Introduction to Geometry Powers and Roots Measurement Surface Area and Volume
Figure 4. Table of contents of CORD Bridges

CORD Bridges contains the following features:

a motivational Why should I learn this? introduction to

each chapter that gives students insight into how the mathematics in the chapter can be used to answer real-life questions
concepts that are introduced by putting the student into a

realistic scenario that stimulates learning

development of new concepts through student-led

discovery activities

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 numerous examples that clarify concepts and provide

students models for solving problems

student exercises that include many real, believable

problem-solving situations recognizable as being important to students current or future lives

cultivation of positive attitudes such as I need to learn

this and I can learn this

laboratory activities that support hands-on learners through

measurement, data collection, and real-world simulation

regular student participation in interactive groups where

sharing, communicating, and decision making occur

lessons, exercises, and labs that improve students reading

and other communication skills

a four-step problem-solving plan, reinforced in each

chapter with a different problem-solving strategy

technology integration that makes effective use of scientific

and graphing calculators and spreadsheet programs

a teachers annotated edition and a teacher resource book

that supplement the text with alternative teaching strategies, answers, additional assessments, practice problems, reteaching activities, and project-based learning ideas CORD Bridges implements the REACT strategy in meeting the needs of a widely diverse population of learners. Examples from the text that correspond to each REACT element are shown in the following sections. Relating Relating is learning in the context of life experiences. CORD Bridges uses relating as a tool by presenting situations completely familiar to the student and extracting new concepts or developing deeper understanding of concepts from those situations.
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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

For example, the lesson on ratio and proportion begins with a familiar situationmaking fruit punch from frozen concentrate. From the directions for the fruit punch, ratio is defined (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Students use a familiar situation to learn about ratios.

The rest of the lesson explores writing ratios for other situations and equating ratios in proportions. The lesson ends with an example of using ratios and proportions to decide how much water and concentrate are needed to make a large batch of punch (Figure 6).

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Figure 6. Examples provide students models for solving problems.

Experiencing Experiential learning takes events and learning out of the realm of abstract thought and brings them into the realm of concrete exploration, discovery, and invention. In addition to developmental activities in the lessons, CORD Bridges has three laboratory activities per chapter. These labs explore new concepts or enrich the students understanding of fundamental concepts presented in the lessons. Students work in groups to collect data, record data in tables formatted for the lab, analyze data, and answer discussion questions. In the lab from Chapter 2 shown in Figure 7, for example, students discover the power and utility of a correlation. They
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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

measure and record their heights and arm spans. After combining their groups data with those of the rest of the class, students plot the data on a coordinate plane and draw a line of best fit. At the end of the lab, students measure their teachers height and use the fitted line to predict his or her arm span. The concepts of ordered pairs, scatter plots, and lines of best fit come alive when students use their own data in analysis and discussion.

Figure 7. Students discover the power and utility of a correlation.

Applying Learning is enhanced when concepts are presented in the context of their use. Students are motivated to learn math when examples and student tasks include real-life problems that students can recognize from their current or possible future lives. These problems inherently answer the legitimate question, Why do I have to learn this? An example from one of the problem-solving features in CORD Bridges is shown in Figure 8.
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25

Figure 8. A sample problem-solving exercise from CORD Bridges

Students plot positive and negative integers on a number linethe lessons central themeto solve this real satellitelaunch problem. Even a student who does not aspire to become a computer engineer or to work with satellites can see and understand the applications of the mathematics concepts in solving this real-world problem, thus gaining confidence in his or her ability to solve similar problems outside the classroom. The best application problems and examples satisfy two criteria: They are real, not artificial or contrived, and they are important in some area of a students life, current or future. CORD Bridges presents a great number of diverse situations, so all students will find scenarios applicable to their lives outside the classroom, for example, as consumers, family members, recreationists, sports competitors, workers, and citizens.
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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

CORD Bridges cultivates two attitudes in students: I can learn this math, and I need to learn this math. Taken together, these attitudes motivate students to reach their fullest academic potential. Cooperating Cooperating is learning in the context of sharing, responding, and communicating with other learners. Cooperative learning has a positive effect on students achievement, interpersonal relationships, and communication skills. It also improves students attitudes toward the opposite gender and toward other racial and ethnic groups. Laboratory activities in CORD Bridges involve cooperative learning. They get the student involved in the learning process. For example, in a lab on triangle inequalities, three group members act as vertices of a triangle. A fourth acts as data recorder (Figure 9).

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Figure 9. A cooperative learning activity involving triangle inequalities

The group must decide which combinations of string lengths will form triangles and which will not. Then, as a group, they study their results and make a conjecture about the sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle. The group uses its conjecture to predict other combinations of lengths that will form triangles, and tests the predictions by trying to form the triangles with strings. In addition to lab activities in CORD Bridges, many of the developmental activities in the lessons provide opportunities for cooperative learning. In the example shown in Figure 10, students use a calculator or spreadsheet program to generate sequences of random numbers to simulate basketball free throws.

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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

Figure 10. Students generate sequences of random numbers to simulate basketball free throws.

Many students will not understand immediately why a number less than or equal to 7 should represent a free throw made. If the activity is done in a group, someone in the group will probably be able to explain the rationale. In addition, the 20 trials recorded by each group must be combined with those from the rest of the class to have enough data to estimate the final probability. This is an opportunity for a larger group interaction.

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Transferring Transferring is using knowledgeexisting or newly acquiredin a new context or situation. For example, when introducing dimensional analysis, CORD Bridges starts with students existing knowledge of the distance formula, ratios, and proportions. The familiar relationship between distance and time is used to find the speed (or rate) of an automobile. Rate is generalized as a ratio that compares two unlike quantities (such as miles and hours). A unit rate is then defined as a comparison to one unit. A method of finding unit rates is given using the automobile example and proportions. Students are very familiar with speed as miles per hour. At the beginning of the lesson shown in Figure 11, they learn that it is also a unit rate.

Figure 11. Students are introduced to the concept of unit rate through the familiar concept of miles per hour.

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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

Students are tasked immediately with using the new knowledge in writing unit rates in different situations. Thus, the foundation for using unit rates in dimensional analysis and conversion factors in a broad range of situations is established through the transference of existing knowledge in conjunction with the introduction of two new conceptsrate and unit rate.

CORD Algebra 1
CORD Algebra 1 employs an interactive, workplacecentered approach to teaching algebra concepts. This approach is consistent with the design philosophy of the CORD Applied Mathematics series from which CORD Algebra 1 was derived. CORD Algebra 1 provides the contents (Figure 12) for a rigorous secondary-level first-year algebra course and an instructional design that is based on a contextual, hands-on approach to learning.
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Integers and Vectors Scientific Notation Using Formulas Solving Linear Equations Linear Functions Nonlinear Functions Statistics and Probability Systems of Equations Inequalities Polynomials and Factors Quadratic Functions Right-Triangle Relationships

Figure 12. Table of contents of CORD Algebra 1

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CORD Algebra 1 contains the following features:

a Why should I learn this? segment whose answer gives

students insights and motivation into how the mathematics in a chapter can positively affect their lives and future careers
workplace and other real-life scenarios that introduce

concepts by putting students into contextually rich environments that stimulate learning by drawing on past experiences
activities that encourage students to actively engage with

the concepts presented in the text and make discoveries individually or in groups
numerous examples that clarify concepts and provide

students models for solving problems

real-world applied problems that provide students an

interesting and relevant way of translating mathematics from an abstract, theoretical approach to a concrete, applied approach
laboratories that support hands-on learners through

measurement, data collection, and real-world simulation

videos that bring the workplace into the classroom and

demonstrate the importance of mathematics as an essential workplace skill

technology integration that makes effective use of

graphing calculators and computers

a teacher resource book that supplements the text with

additional assessments and practice problems, reteaching activities, and project-based learning ideas CORD Algebra 1 prepares students for more advanced mathematics courses and helps diverse learners master algebraic concepts that are essential for success in todays high-tech workplace. The REACT strategy is a key element in meeting student learning needs and helping students reach their
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fullest intellectual potential. The following demonstrates how CORD Algebra 1 implements this strategy. Relating The curriculum that attempts to place learning in the context of life experiences must, first, call the students attention to everyday sights, events, and conditions. It must then relate those everyday situations to new information to be absorbed or a problem to be solved. In Chapter 3 of CORD Algebra 1, the familiar problem of finding the cost of doing a job is related to the mathematical concepts of variables and expressions (Figure 13). First, students are provided all the basic information needed to find the cost of a job, i.e., on-site fees, hourly rate, and total hours worked. Then a table is provided that enables students to discern the relationships between these parameters. Finally, students develop algebraic expressions that model these relationships. To check the validity of their expressions, students can relate their everyday experiences to the results generated by these expressions. For instance, students know intuitively that the longer an hourly employee works the more money she or he makes. They can relate this fact to their mathematical expressions to see if they generate commensurate results.

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Figure 13. Finding the cost of doing a job is related to the mathematical concepts of variables and expressions.

By relating common experiences to new problems, students gain an appreciation for the power of mathematics and its ability to model the real world. This appreciation eventually manifests itself as motivation, and motivation is a key ingredient for enhancing learning.

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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

Experiencing Using CORD Algebra 1 is a true hands-on learning experience. Through the thirty-five laboratories, students are placed in team situations in which they must make measurements, record data, and find graphical representations for discerning mathematical patterns. This experience actively engages students in the learning process and provides an alternate means for them to master mathematical concepts. For instance, in Chapter 9 of CORD Algebra 1, students are placed in a you are there scenario in which they are responsible for monitoring the quality of a product (Figure 14). During the laboratory they experience the variation in a sample of supposedly identical bolts. Through this experience they learn that manufacturing processes all lead to certain degrees of variation and that these variations can be represented as mathematical inequality statements. By doing this laboratory, students learn to work together, gain experience and confidence in making accurate measurements, and develop confidence in using mathematics for solving work-related problems.

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Figure 14. Students are placed in a you are there scenario in which they are responsible for monitoring the quality of a product.

Applying Job-related applications may be based on devices and systems used in occupations or based on occupational activities. In CORD Algebra 1, Chapter 8, the Workplace Communication feature challenges students to solve a real occupational problem related to the Internet (Figure 15). To solve this problem, students form teams and develop a strategy for dealing with the given data. They find that the statistical
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Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

techniques presented in the chapter are useful tools for formulating a solution. Students know of the Internet and see it as a part of their future. Thus, this problem is motivational and provides a forum for showing the relevance of mathematics to state-of-the-art technologies.

Figure 15. Students are challenged to solve a real occupational problem related to the Internet.

CORD Algebra 1 contains a feature called Math Applications, which appears in each chapter. These applications cover the areas of business and marketing, industrial technology, agribusiness and agriculture, health occupations, and family and consumer sciences. This feature highlights occupational activities. For instance, in Chapter 6, students are asked to interpret a nonlinear curve that displays the hematocrit value of the blood and how it is related to bloods thickness or viscosity (Figure 16).

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Figure 16. Blood flow is used as the context for explaining nonlinear functions.

Through this problem, students gain a contextual foundation for understanding the difference between nonlinear and linear effects. Students begin to understand that, at some point in a nonlinear process, small inputs can cause large changes. Because of the context of this problem, they can rationalize this behavior by picturing the density of the cells in an artery or vein and the interaction between these cells as the density increases. This picture provides a concrete example of how nonlinear effects occur and the power of mathematics in describing these effects. As seen by this problem, context adds a dimension to learning that allows students to use their senses as learning aids. For some students, this added dimension

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overcomes their inability to understand concepts from a purely conceptual perspective. Cooperating Cooperative learning is based on the belief that learning is inherently social. Since common inquiry is basic to the learning process, a teacher must challenge students to see that they will sink or swim together. The CORD Algebra 1 laboratories provide this level of challenge. Having been adequately prepared to understand the mathematics concepts underlying the laboratories, students are challenged to validate these concepts through measurement and data analysis. Given the uncertainties of some laboratory processes, students often must pool their thoughts, experiences, and expertise to troubleshoot the sources of erroneous results or poor experimental techniques. The synthesis of thought that results from these efforts shows students the power of working in teams and sets the environment for developing teamworking strategies. For instance, in Chapter 12 of CORD Algebra 1, students are asked to perform a surveyor task using right-triangle relations to find the length of one side of their school building (Figure 17). This laboratory requires a team of students to coordinate the necessary activities for collecting the required data, which involve angle and distance measurements. To get reasonable results, students must determine a method for accurately sighting the compass in the desired directions and keeping the string level over a 100-foot run. Since there is no set way for making these angle measurements or ensuring the levelness of the string, students are left with an opened-ended situation that invites brainstorming and cooperation.

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Figure 17. Using right-triangle relations to find the length of one side of their school building, students become familiar with tasks performed by surveyors.

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Transferring Sometimes students have knowledge of which they are not aware, simply because what they know has not been called to their attention or named or otherwise given a value. For example, virtually every student has experienced walking up and down hills. Yet chances are that no one has pointed out to them that they therefore have practical knowledge of the mathematical concept of slope. Transferring this practical knowledge requires making linkages between students experiences and the mathematical concepts underlying those experiences. In Chapter 5 of CORD Algebra 1, these linkages are made by relating the steepness or tilt of a hill to the slope parameters of rise and run (Figure 18). Using these linkages, students are able to relate their knowledge of steep and shallow hills to mathematical lines with large and small slopes. Slope is no longer an abstract mathematical concept, but rather an intuitive reality of their everyday lives.

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Figure 18. Students make linkages between mathematics and everyday experiences by relating the steepness of a hill to the slope parameters of rise and run.

CORD Geometry
CORD Geometry employs the same interactive, real-world approach to teaching math concepts as CORD Bridges and CORD Algebra 1. CORD Geometry provides the content (Figure 19) for a rigorous course that is based on a contextual, hands-on approach to learning.

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Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

Discovering Geometry Reasoning and Proof Parallel Lines Congruent Triangles Quadrilaterals Similar Triangles Coordinate Geometry Area Circles Surface Area and Volume Transformational Geometry

Figure 19. Table of contents of CORD Geometry

CORD Geometry contains the same features as CORD Algebra 1:

a Why should I learn this? segment whose answer gives

students insights and motivation into how the mathematics in a chapter can positively affect their lives and future careers
workplace and other real-life scenarios that introduce

concepts by putting students into contextually rich environments that stimulate learning by drawing on past experiences
activities that encourage students to actively engage with

the concepts presented in the text and make discoveries individually or in groups
numerous examples that clarify concepts and provide

students models for solving problems

real-world applied problems that provide students an

interesting and relevant way of translating mathematics from an abstract, theoretical approach to a concrete, applied approach
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 laboratories that support hands-on learners through

measurement, data collection, and real-world simulation

videos that bring the workplace into the classroom and

demonstrate the importance of mathematics as an essential workplace skill

technology integration that makes effective use of

graphing calculators and computers

a teacher resource book that supplements the text with

additional assessments and practice problems, reteaching activities, and project-based learning ideas CORD Geometry implements the REACT strategy in meeting the needs of a diverse population of learners. Some examples from the text that correspond to REACT elements are shown in the following sections. Relating Relating is learning in the context of life experiences. CORD Geometry uses relating as a tool by presenting situations familiar to the student and extracting new concepts or developing deeper understanding of concepts from those situations. For example, the lesson on deductive reasoning begins with a familiar situationa dead car battery (Figure 20).

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Figure 20. Students learn about deductive reasoning through a familiar situation.

Linking known facts logically to reach conclusions is deductive reasoning, and this is the cornerstone of constructing the geometric system. By relating this process to a common experience such as diagnosing the cause of a dead battery, students can more easily apply the process in other situations, including algebra and geometry. Relating is a key ingredient in fostering an attitude that says confidently, I can learn this.

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Experiencing CORD Geometry contains interactive discovery activities in which students learn the important geometry concepts by doing geometry. For example, in a lesson on triangle congruence postulates (Figure 21), students discover side-sideside congruence in an activity.

Figure 21. Students use ordinary materials in an activity on triangle congruence postulates.

In this activity, students create the physical environment for discovering an important geometric concept: If three sides of one triangle are congruent to three sides of another triangle, the triangles are congruent. Using three pencils of fixed
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length, students can see that any arrangement using the same three sides produces congruent triangles. After demonstrating the concept for themselves with the pencils, students make a conjecture that the congruence relationship holds for any two triangles. The concept is then summarized as the side-side-side postulate (SSS). Applying Students are motivated to learn math when examples and student exercises include real-life problems that students can recognize as being relevant in their current or possible future lives. These problems inherently answer the familiar question, Why do I have to learn this? Many of the real-life examples and exercises in CORD Geometry put students in workplace scenarios. In addition to geometry and problem solving, students learn something about the world of work in exercises such as the one shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22. Students are placed in a workplace scenario. Teaching Mathematics Contextually: The Cornerstone of Tech Prep

47

In the exercise shown in the preceding figure, students learn that, in addition to chemistry, a pharmacist must use geometry and algebra on the job. To find the volume of a capsule, the pharmacist uses formulas for the volumes of a cylinder and a sphere. To decide which capsule is appropriate, the pharmacist uses a problem-solving plan. Cooperating In addition to the lesson activities, there are thirty-three laboratory activities in CORD Geometry. These labs provide hands-on learning experiences in which students work in groups to explore new concepts or enrich their understanding of fundamental concepts presented in the lessons. Student groups collect data, record data in tables formatted for the labs, analyze data, and answer discussion questions. Many labs get the students out of the classroom, where more realistic measurements can be made. For example, in a lab on equations of circles (Figure 23), groups establish an xycoordinate plane on a basketball court. The groups then determine the equations of the free throw circles and center circles on the court.

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Figure 23. Students establish an xy-coordinate plane on a basketball court.

The group must decide where and how to establish the origin of the coordinate system, how to measure the coordinates of the centers of the circles, and how to write the equation of each circle. Then, as a group, students use their equations to predict the coordinates of points marked on the circles and test their predictions by measuring the coordinates. Transferring An indirect proof is one of the more difficult topics in mathematics. CORD Geometry introduces this method by comparing it to something many students already knowthe process of elimination. The method is used in an example that proves the opposite angle-side theorem in the context of a throw-in play in soccer (Figure 24).

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Figure 24. CORD Geometry introduces students to a difficult topicindirect proofsthrough familiar concepts.

CORD Applied MathematicsA Contextual Approach to Integrated Mathematics

CORD Applied Mathematics is a set of forty modular units (Figure 25) prepared to help students develop and refine job-related mathematics skills. These modules are based on an instructional design that emphasizes a contextual, hands-on approach to learning.

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A Getting to Know Your Calculator B Naming Numbers in Different Ways C Finding Answers with Your Calculator 1 Learning Problem-Solving Techniques 2 Estimating Answers 3 Measuring in English and Metric Units 4 Using Graphs, Charts, and Tables 5 Dealing with Data 6 Working with Lines and Angles 7 Working with Shapes in Two Dimensions 8 Working with Shapes in Three Dimensions 9 Using Ratios and Proportions 10 Working with Scale Drawings 11 Using Signed Numbers and Vectors 12 Using Scientific Notation 13 Precision, Accuracy, and Tolerance 14 Solving Problems with Powers and Roots 15 Using Formulas to Solve Problems

16 Solving Problems That Involve Linear Equations 17 Graphing Data 18 Solving Problems That Involve Nonlinear Equations 19 Working with Statistics 20 Working with Probabilities 21 Using Right-Triangle Relationships 22 Using Trigonometric Functions 23 Factoring 24 Patterns and Functions 25 Quadratics 26 Systems of Equations 27 Inequalities 28 Geometry in the Workplace 1 29 Geometry in the Workplace 2 30 Solving Problems with Computer Spreadsheets 31 Solving Problems with Computer Graphics 32 Quality Assurance and Process Control 1 33 Quality Assurance and Process Control 2 34 Spatial Visualization 35 Coordinate Geometry 36 Logic 37 Transformations

Figure 25. CORD Applied Mathematics units

CORD Applied Mathematics contains the following features:

an integrated approach to presenting mathematics mathematics materials that support specific occupational

studies in such areas as health occupations, industrial

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technology, home economics, agriculture, or business and marketing

motivational videos that introduce each mathematics unit

and set the stage for the relevance of mathematics in the world of work
concepts presented within a contextual setting student-led discovery activities numerous examples that clarify concepts and provide

students models for solving problems

student exercises that include many real-world problem-

solving situations recognizable as being important to students current or future lives

laboratory activities that support hands-on learners

through measurement, data collection, and real-world simulation

interactive group activities where sharing, communicating,

and decision making occur

lessons, exercises, and labs that improve students reading

and other communication skills

a four-step problem-solving process that students can

build on and refine throughout their lives

technology integration that makes effective use of

scientific and graphing calculators and spreadsheet programs

teachers guides that include complete student editions;

teacher notes; solutions and expected outcomes for video problems, laboratory activities, and problem-solving exercises; and blackline masters for end-of-unit tests, transparencies, and student handouts
supplementary materials that include multiple-choice

question banks, an implementation resource guide, skill

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drill practice problems, a test database, study guides, and a teachers resource guide CORD Applied Mathematics is structured using the REACT strategy to meet the needs of the contextual learner. Some examples from the CORD Applied Mathematics materials that correspond to the five essential elements of the REACT strategy are shown in the following sections. Relating Relating is learning in the context of life experiences. CORD Applied Mathematics links everyday experiences to new skills or concepts. For example, in Unit 28, an application of geometry in industrial technology (Figure 26) begins with an object familiar to everyonea television. The students are given two of the standards of the television industryaspect ratio and picture-tube size. The students link these standards to the mathematical concepts of hypotenuse and Pythagorean theorem. Students are then challenged to find other parameters related to the design of a television screen.

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Figure 26. In Unit 28, an explanation of the application of geometry in industrial technology begins with a familiar object.

Experiencing CORD Applied Mathematics has three laboratory activities at the end of each unit that provide hands-on experience for learning mathematics in team situations. Students are actively engaged in concrete learning in the context of exploration, discovery, and invention. These labs introduce new concepts or enrich the students understanding of fundamental concepts presented in the unit. Students work in groups to collect data, record data in tables formatted for the labs, make calculations, analyze data, discuss results, and solve special challenge problems. For example, in Unit 4, students measure the corresponding diameters and circumferences of several circular objects (Figure 27).

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Figure 27. In Unit 4, students gather data by measuring diameters and circumferences.

Students record the data as ordered pairs and then plot it on a coordinate plane. The students use the graph to determine the circumferences and diameters of other circular objects. Applying Applying concepts or information in a useful context enhances the learning process. Students are motivated to learn mathematical concepts when the information is presented in a setting that is relevant to them. An example problem from Unit 16 is shown in Figure 28.

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Figure 28. Students examine mathematical concepts in settings that are relevant to them.

In the example, the information is presented in a familiar contextual settingearning wages. Students find the application real and relevant to their lives. Thus, there is an intrinsic motivation to learn the mathematical concepts underlying the problem. Cooperating Cooperating is learning in the context of sharing, responding, and communicating. These skills are highly valued in the workplace. CORD Applied Mathematics provides three laboratory activities in each unit. These laboratories are designed to
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encourage teamworking and develop students interpersonal skills. Additionally, many of the activities and examples in CORD Applied Mathematics are very adaptable to the use of cooperative learning strategies. In the example from Unit 26 shown in Figure 29, students use a system of equations to determine the number of nuts and bolts in a mixture.

Figure 29. In Unit 26, students use the skills for solving a system of equations in a hands-on activity involving nuts and bolts.

Transferring Students are motivated and develop confidence when a new learning experience uses and builds upon what they already know. This learning process is known as transferring. For example, in the section Measuring Central Tendency from Unit 19, a table showing the production data for three workers is presented (Figure 30).

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Figure 30. In Unit 19, students learn how to make a frequency distribution by studying production data from a manufacturing setting.

The skill of reading charts and tables provides the background for teaching students how to make frequency distribution tables. From these tables students learn the three measures of central tendencymean, median, and mode. The section concludes with students determining when the mean, median, or mode best represents the requested measure of central tendency. Thus, students build on their knowledge of graphs and use this knowledge as a foundation for learning the more complete concepts of central tendency.

How Can the Success of Contextual Learning Be Measured?

It is important to understand that student performance is only one factor to consider in determining the success of applied academics. If we are truly looking for different approaches to teaching and learning, our expectations and assessments should reflect these differences.
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What should our expectations for success be? The following is a list of criteria that provide some metrics for measuring the effectiveness of the REACT strategy.
Students are able to transfer knowledge from academic

content to vocational applications and from school to the workplace.

Students are not afraid to take academic subjects such as

math and science.

Students are more interested and motivated and better

understand the value of the subject and of school in general than they did in classes taught using traditional methods.
The applied course is as challenging as the traditional

college-prep course on the same subjectnot low level or watered down.

The student population that has traditionally done poorly

in academic subjects displays improved performance.

Applied courses receive the same recognition and

acceptance from universities and colleges as do the traditional courses with the same content. Educators value quantitative evaluations in determining the effectiveness of new teaching strategies. To accurately evaluate the impact of a contextually based strategy, educators must understand the environment in which this strategy is being presented. The following list of assumptions helps define this environment:
Most of the students enrolled in an applied academics

course traditionally have not been high achievers in that subject or discipline.
Most of the students enrolled in applied academics courses

do not have significant learning disabilities.

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 Most of the teachers of applied academics curricula are

certified in the academic subjects/disciplines in which they teach.

Teachers have not necessarily used the pedagogy of

applied/contextual methodology in the teaching of their courses in the past.

All teachers of applied academics courses have received

training in the different teaching methods, the lab equipment, and the overall management of materials and activities related to the academic course in question.

Empowering Teachers
Implementing contextual learning in the classroom does not simply require new tools such as applied academics courses. It also requires new teaching techniques. For contextual learning to have its maximum effect on students, teachers must be empowered to effectively implement the REACT strategy. This empowerment can come only through professional development. This professional development must acquaint teachers with the theory of contextual learning and its translation into classroom-specific practices. An additional component of this professional development, which is often overlooked, must include providing the information teachers need about the relationships of academic curricula to personal, societal, and especially occupational life. We should not continue to expect teachers to do all the work of seeking out real-life applications and relating them to students through a variety of experiences. Instead, they need the help of employers and other community representatives to make the connection with the workplace that will enrich their teaching. They need adequate training and sufficient release time to learn new teaching methods and become familiar with new materials. (All of the research and field tests conducted on applied academics indicate clearly that the success of the

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curricula depends heavily on adequate teacher training prior to implementation of the curricula.) Said in a different way, the most powerful tool is effective only when placed in skilled hands. CORDs applied academic approach is a powerful educational tool. For its full impact on education to be realized, teachers must be trained in its effective use.

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