Back to NCTM San Diego: Multicultural Issues

This is the summary of a presentation given at the 74th Annual NCTM Meeting, 25-28 April 1996, San Diego, CA.

Algebra For Everyone by the end of Grade 8 is at center stage in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Urban Systemic Initiative. The CPS Algebra I Instructional Framework uses situations from life experiences to give students a "jump start" that results in mastery of an Algebra I curriculum, which goes beyond the content of the traditional curriculum. Abstract algebraic symbols, models, patterns, language, and processes are connected to culturally relevant applications and historically accurate information. This brings the student into the algebraic equation and makes algebra meaningful. The Framework begins with Unit I: A Graphical Introduction to Algebra: Interpreting and Relating Tables, Graphs, and Charts; and ends with Unit X: Rational and Irrational Expressions and Equations: Using Algebraic Fractions and Radicals. Unit I provides an immediate panoramic view of algebra through relating situations, tables of values, graphs, equations, and calculators. The "whole" story of algebra is told before it is dissected into its various parts.

Dr. Dorothy S. Strong (Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL)

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