What Works Mathematical concepts are distinctly personal. Students learn best when they work with each other and with their instructors to explore ideas, articulate possi-bilities, and critique analyses. They need to speak and argue, to listen and learn in a supportive environment that sets high expectations even while encouraging risks and supporting failures. To learn mathematics, students must be provided ample opportunities to investigate and explore in realistic contexts that encourage the development of important mathematical constructs. Today computer labs establish powerful environ-ments that permit students to experience mathematical patterns, thus enhancing motivation and understanding of more theoretical approaches.
Good mathematics teaching constantly reveals connections.
Such learning occurs most readily in a supportive environment built on a lean, active, experience-centered curriculum that stresses insight and principles over techniques of computation. Mathematics programs that work can be found in all strata of higher education, from small private colleges to large state universities, from average to highly selective campuses. The variety of mathematics programs that work reveal what can be achieved when circumstance and commitment permit it. Empowerment flows from motivation for learning.