Main presenter			Co-presenter(s)
Name :	Sandy Van Wonterghem		Name:
E-mail:	svw@cage.ugent.be		E-mail:
Institution or Company:	Ghent University		Name:
Department:	Department of Mathematical Analysis		E-mail:
City:	Ghent		Name:
State/Province:			E-mail:
Country:	Belgium		Name:
Type of presentation:	Lecture :  25 minutes.		E-mail:
Conference strand and number:	ACDCA ,    Number: A48		Schedule:   Room:	Thursday, 11h30   1340
Related website:
Title of presentation:	Can CAS improve the Mathematical Abilities of Pupils?
Abstract:
In Belgian secondary schools the number of pupils is going down in the sections with eight mathematics lessons a week compared to those pupils in the sections with six mathematics lessons a week. To avoid a detrimental influence on engineering, mathematics, physics and IT education, a radical reform of the curriculum of the six-lesson sections should take place. These pupils aren’t lacking in knowledge, but their understanding of mathematics, skills in problem solving and mathematical creativity need greater attention. Using Computer Algebra Systems (CAS) can increase improvement in these three areas in the mathematics lessons. To prove this thesis with an experiment, two groups of pupils from six-lesson sections (an Intervention group and a Control group) will be compared. In the first phase (September 2003) the mathematical skill level of these groups has been determined with respect to mathematical understanding, problem solving skills and mathematical creativity. Over a period of several weeks, the mathematics lessons of the Intervention group will be extensively supported with CAS, while the lessons of the Control group remain traditional (November 2003 – May 2004). In the last phase (May 2004) both groups will be tested again, and it is expected that the mathematical level of the Intervention group will increase more than the mathematical level of the Test group. During the lecture, I would like to talk about this experiment and give the (first) results.