Only after successfully answering computer questions on concepts in the textbook can students begin solving problems. Then, if the student fails to solve a problem, a computer tutorial explains the solution and asks the student to solve a similar but different problem. Instead of frustration, the student experiences success. The department will purchase 120 computers to equip special classrooms for UA students in beginning, intermediate, and college algebra as well as finite mathematics. In addition, the grant will be shared with participating institutions, which include Northwest Arkansas Community College in Rogers, WestArk College in Fort Smith, John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, and Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah.
More time is spent in the classroom on tutoring, less on formal lecturing.
Feldman and Wayne Mackey, director of the Mathematics Resource and Tutoring Center, are the co-principal investigators for the NSF grant.