SHELDON P. GORDON, Suffolk Community College, Selden, NY  11784

 Functioning in the Real World:  A Precalculus Experience with 
               Applications across the Disciplines

The Math Modeling/PreCalculus Reform Project has developed and tested an 
alternative to traditional precalculus/college algebra and trigonometry 
courses that is based on the broad applicability of mathematics and which is 
in the spirit of the calculus reform movement.  The course, "Functioning in 
the Real World", is currently being class-tested at ove 50 schools around the 
country. Some of the major themes in the course are the behavior of functions, 
fitting functions to real-world data, difference equation models and their 
applications, the modeling of periodic pehnomena, probability simulations and 
their applications, and matrix algebra and its applications. The ideas and 
skills needed for calculus and related courses are developed in the context of solving interesting and important problems, not as toics in their own right.  
The course provides the students with a strong introduction to the way that 
mathematics is actually used in all the associated quantitative fields, 
including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, business and economics, 
computer sciences, and so forth.

In this presentation, the speaker will give an overview of the course and its 
philosophy and describe the experiences of various people who have taught it.  
He will also address student reactions and performance in the course.