SBIR Phase II: A Visual Language for Mathematical Model-Making

This Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II project continues the development of a visual interface that allows students to construct and investigate mathematical models. This research is undertaken with the goal of creating a general-purpose environment in which students, teachers, and content developers may benefit from being able to create such models for classroom use. The specific research objectives for this project address the following issues: 1) the underlying algorithmic support to achieve a concrete user interface; 2) the completion of the core functionality; 3) classroom usability and curricular integration; and 4) learning outcomes. The innovation embodied in this project responds to a national need for improved algebra education, and to increased emphasis on, and demand for, environments that provide visual, dynamic access to mathematical ideas and thinking processes.