UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 26, Page 2
April 8, 1993
Statewide coalition pushes the pluses of mathematics

Without mathematics, the world is a mystery.

Mathematics is the doorway to opportunity.

Mathematics is nourishment for 21st-century minds.


     These are just some of the messages about math and its importance in
everyday life being distributed to the First State this month by the
Delaware Mathematics Coalition Board. A special flyer was developed to
celebrate Math Month, according to coalition director Ronald Wenger,
associate dean of the College of Arts and Science and director of the
Mathematical Sciences Teaching and Learning Center. William Geppert, state
superintendent of mathematics, serves as co-director.
     In addition to the flyer, Math Power for All!, the coalition is
sponsoring a poster contest in schools and is encouraging schools to make
Math Month banners.
     The Delaware State Board of Education has approved a proclamation to
celebrate Math Month, and Gov. Thomas Carper will visit math classrooms in
the Brandywine School District to emphasize the importance of math to
students.
     The coalition, an alliance of representatives from local corporations,
businesses, government, education and the community, is working to improve
mathematics educaton for students at all levels, according to Wenger. The
chairperson is University President David P. Roselle, and Henry N. Tisdale,
vice president for academic affairs at Delaware State College, co-chairs
the coalition.
     Formed two years ago, the coalition promotes public understanding and
support of major improvements in students' math achievement, by raising the
levels of expectations and performances of parents, students and teachers.
     One of the objectives of the coalition is to promote the National
Council of Teacher of Mathematics' (NCTM) Standards, according to Wenger.
When a 1982 international evaluation showed that American students lagged
behind the rest of the industrial world in math skills, a reform movement
got under way. One result was the publication of Curriculum and Evaluation
Standards for School Mathematics, followed by Professional Standards for
Teaching Mathematics.
     The Standards place more emphasis on cooperative group learning and
real-world problem solving, Wenger said, and University math educators are
involved in implementing the Standards through teacher training and
creating new math curricula, working with the Delaware Department of Public
Instruction.
     The broad-based coalition plays an important role in math education in
the state in raising awareness of the importance of math education and
bringing about reform in Delaware classrooms, Wenger said.
     "Math Power for All! says it the way it is," Wenger said. "Our
children's future-and ours-depends on the mathematics they learn."
     Others from the University serving on the coalition are James Hiebert
and William Moody, professors of education development; Kathleen A.
Hollowell, coordinator of secondary mathematics inservice programs at the
math center; William B. Keene, director of the Office of the
School/University Partnership in the College of Education; and Ivar
Stakgold and Henry Tingey, professors of mathematical sciences.
                                        -Sue Swyers Moncure