Workshop: Algebra as a Laboratory Course: Reform Style Herb Garrett and Wayne Mackey University of Arkansas Description of proposed presentation: During the last few years Beginning, Intermediate and College Algebra students at the University of Arkansas have failed or withdrawn at alarming rates. After conducting research on the Internet we concluded that many students at other colleges and universities were also not doing well in algebra. In response to this dilemma we first instituted uniform standards for grades. This was accomplished by developing computer software to provide randomly generated and selected short answer, multiple choice, and true-false questions and problems for tests. This allows us to provide each student a unique test. The computer assigns part, full or no credit for each student response. Thus, a grade of A in one class means the same as an A in any other class. The problems of effectively presenting algebra to students attending colleges or universities are well documented. Part of the problem is the rigorous scheduling requirements which necessitates that many topics must be covered in a very short time frame. This rush to cover the required materials makes learning extremely difficult, and as a result the ability of students to reason and solve problems becomes secondary to routine use of formulas. At the University of Arkansas Mathematics Department we have developed a program which provides students with an opportunity to be active learners working in small groups where meaningful applications and explorations are provided which help students develop mathematical literacy and a relevant base of knowledge. Approximately 1,500 students per year enroll in this program. Students do their homework on computers either in the Mathematics Resource and Tutoring Center (MRTC), on any campus network computer, or they can install the program on a computer where they live. We have designed homework which asks specific questions about a problem the student is working. Specific components of our Algebra Laboratory Course are: ) Approximately 60% of the class periods are conducted in the typical classroom and the remaining 40% in the MRTC. ) Classes held in the classroom have about a 20-30 minute lecture followed by in-class activities on the part of the students. ) The in-class activities are various, ranging from quizzes over just covered material to group writing projects that attempt synthesis of previously covered material. ) Classes that meet in the MRTC will work on the lessons on computers. These lessons consist of two parts, questions and problems. The questions are designed to determine the level of a student's comprehension of the materials in the lesson. As soon as the student has demonstrated a high level of understanding (90% or higher), the problems become available. ) The problems are both randomly selected and randomly generated so that a student may attempt each problem as many times as necessary to work it correctly. Each attempt will be on a slightly different problem. ) A Guided Tour accompanies each problem and guides the student step-by-step through the solution to the problem. ) A one hour test on each module and a final exam are administered by the computer during the semester. The tests are available when the student has successfully completed the module exercises. When all modules have been completed success-fully a student is ready to take the final exam. . The final exam (2 hours) is also available during the entire final exam period. A class reader program records the test scores. The results are printed and provided to the teachers. This proposed workshop will provide each participant the opportunity to interact in a small group using a sample classroom collaborative learning activity. Each student will complete a module homework assignment and take a test over the material. They will be provided with a copy of the text material. Workshop participants will be permitted to take the text and software materials with them. A question and answer period will be provided to assure the participants have a clear understanding of this program. Comparative results of this program, with the previous standard course structure will be discussed. We will briefly discuss the current semester restructuring of the College Algebra course using this laboratory approach.