Fluidmath: A Teaching Intervention for Algebra

Research demonstrates that technology-focused interventions to teach math and science require substantive professional development prior to classroom implementation. This project is creating an online professional development (OPD) platform for training teachers to integrate FluidMath into basic algebra practice. FluidMath is a software program that recognizes handwritten math formulae and sketches drawn on the screen of a pen-enabled computer. The software then generates solutions, graphs, and dynamic animations. For example, a teacher can write the algebraic equation of a straight line on the screen and prompt the computer to generate an exact plot of the line. Coefficients in the equation can be altered by the teacher to demonstrate the subsequent effect on the line on the graph.