Working with the Number Line, PreK-3 (CD): Mathematical Models (Young Mathematicians at Work)

In their Young Mathematicians at Work series, Catherine Twomey Fosnot and Maarten Dolk described Mathematics in the City, an innovative project where teachers helped young children construct a deep understanding of number and operations in a math workshop environment. Now they and two colleagues from the project have developed a 21st-century approach that provides pre- and inservice teachers with an interactive, video-based, digital context for inquiry into the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Designed for workshop participants and preservice teachers, the Working with the Number Line CD-ROM offers users a multi-media learning environment for professional development on topics ranging from instruction to assessment, that stimulates action, reflection, and discussion with dynamic video clips, children's work samples, and interviews with students and teachers.

In Working with the Number Line, students construct a number line, initially as a model to represent a measurement situation, then as a model to represent their computational strategies, and, finally, as a tool for thinking. The CD-ROM helps teachers examine children's numeric thinking; investigate their strategies; and analyze how they model their world mathematically.

Users also study teachers at work: designing rich contexts for problem-solving; drawing connections between mathematical ideas and strategies; and developing a vibrant mathematical community. System Requirements for CD-ROM

Windows/PC
Pentium II Processor
266Mhz (or higher)
Windows 98 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
4X CD-ROM Drive (or faster)
Sound Card
16-bit Flash(TM) Player and Acrobat Reader(R)
Quicktime 6.0 (or higher)

MacIntosh
PowerPC Processor
G3/233Mhz (or higher)
System 9.2 (or higher)
64 MB RAM (more recommended)
SVGA Color Display (or better)
4X CD-ROM Drive (or faster)
Sound Card
16-bit Flash(TM) Player and Acrobat Reader(R) Quicktime 6.0 (or higher)