Fall 1998

Kinney leads state-funded project to improve mathematics skills

Thirty-two Indiana middle school and high school teachers returned to school this summer in a state-sponsored program organized by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Mathematics Professor Jack Kinney that will increase the teaching of probability, statistics and discrete mathematics in secondary schools throughout the state.

Sponsored by the Indiana State Department of Education, the “Mathematics for the 21st Century” program helped teachers develop new areas in the math curriculum of their schools.

Special emphasis was placed on the use of the graphing calculator and other computers.

West Lafayette middle school teacher Patricia Hufford was appreciative of Kinney’s efforts.

“The quality is here. This is the best,” she said. “We’ve learned new ways to teach the same concepts.”

“The stronger we become in math, the better job we do for our students. It is exciting,” stated Robert Kaylor, mathematics department chairman at Bluffton High School.

Kinney, who has conducted similar workshops since 1985, will spend the upcoming school year visiting teachers and developing an Internet site that provides teachers with curriculum materials. He will also develop in-service training programs for teachers.