Enhancing and Implementing an Internet-Based System for Mathematics Homework Problems

California State University-Long Beach, Long Beach CA

Investigators

Abstract

Mathematical Sciences (21) This project enhances, implements and disseminates a technologically innovative software application, WeBWorK. WeBWork, an Internet-based system for generating and delivering homework math problems to students, was developed at the University of Rochester and is in use at several other major universities. This project adapts WeBWork to meet mathematics content and populations specific to the institution. It also enhances the tool so that other faculty can use it easily and can contribute to the database that supports the tool. The goals of this project are to improve mathematical literacy for undergraduate math students, to enhance the educational effectiveness of homework in a wide variety of lower division classes, to improve the content and capabilities of the national WeBWorK database program, and to pioneer the extension of WeBWorK throughout the university system and to community high schools. The project broadens the base of faculty who can author problems by developing additional software tools for instructors that will enable them to create mathematical problems to be used on WeBWorK without writing code. The project includes development of WeBWorK instructor's guide and web-based teaching guides for distribution to university and high school faculty members from the community. The final enhancement is development of a mechanism to enable faculty to conduct a keyword search of the database for searches on the national database.