Integrating Technology with Mathematical Modeling

Abstract

National conferences and committees have increasingly advocated an emphasis on problem solving and mathematical modeling. Technology is a natural tool for mathematical modeling. It would be less than optimal and sometimes difficult for us to teach and for students to explore mathematical modeling without using technology. This paper will describe the use of various technologies in the mathematical modeling activities that we designed for several mathematics and mathematics education courses in the teacher preparation programs at FIU. Many examples will be given to show how the students use the Internet, graphing and curve fitting software, and spreadsheets to collect, represent and analyze data, and to build mathematical models. The students' use of other technologies such as statistics software, dynamic geometry software, graphing calculators, and Calculator-based Laboratory (CBL) will also be introduced. Integrating technology with mathematical modeling can stimulate the students' problem solving and mathematical reasoning insights and their learning interest, and enable the future teachers to appreciate the power of mathematics that helps them understand the world.