Last updated 04/11/2004
The MCP project represents a major effort by several UNCW faculty in mathematics, physics and chemistry to revamp instructional methods in undergraduate science and mathematics education. The project was created as a response to three major problems in mathematics and science programs:
The MCP project was started in the Fall of 1992 with support from the National Science Foundation. The project was designed to redefine teaching methods through the use of computer and multimedia technology, and to restructure the first year sequences in mathematics, physics and chemistry using a number of conceptual themes and pedagogical methods common to the three disciplines.
The MCP project emerged out of a concern for both locally and nationally decreasing enrollment and retention of students in mathematics and the physical sciences, and the inability of students to apply concepts learned in one course to similar material being studied in another. For example, it is not uncommon to hear anecdotes of students who have just learned tointegrate f(x) = 1/x in their calculus course and yet have trouble recognizing the integral of f(T) =1/T in the context of entropy in their physics course. Chemistry professors complain that their students do not know any physics, and physics students claim that they were never taught the mathematical concepts that their professors expect them to know. With these problems in mind, the MCP project established the following goals.
The MCP project consists of a coordinated (as opposed to integrated) method of instruction targeting the first year sequence of courses in calculus, physics and chemistry. The courses are separately taught by faculty in their respective departments, but share the same conceptual themes, pedagogical techniques, and technology. The conceptual themes employed in the MCP courses include:
The MCP project encourages instructors to frame the topics they have chosen to teach in terms of the conceptual themes outlined above. For example, a chemistry class might choose to consider kinetics from the perspective of scale, where macroscopic phenomena such as explosions or food spoilage are examined from the perspective of molecular interactions. On the other hand, a calculus course might study kinetics from the perspective of developing mathematical models to fit the experimental data that students have collected.
Each of the MCP courses utilizes a common set of instructional techniques. This is the aspect of the program that students notice the most as they move from one MCP course to another. These pedagogical features include:
These techniques result in a classroom/laboratory experience that is profoundly different, for both students and faculty, from that of a traditional science or mathematics course. Two welcome consequences attributable to these changes are an increase in student attendance and an increase in the quality of questions asked by students. While no firm evidence is yet available to show that MCP students outperform their traditional counterparts, there is no doubt that being in class more often and thinking more deeply about the material will enrich students' understanding and appreciation of the subject.
An unexpected outcome of the MCP project has been the interest shown by faculty both from within and without the participating departments in duplicating many of the elements of the program. In cooperation with the UNCW Center for Teaching Excellence, MCP faculty have assisted in training nearly one-third of the entire UNCW faculty in the use of hypermedia instruction.
For more information about the MCP project, please contact:
Mathematical Sciences and Physics:
Chemistry:
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina 28403
Gabriel Lugo, lugo@uncw.edu
Last updated
04/11/2004
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