following letter quoted from John A. Brashear High School:

Brashear is a restructuring high school in an urban area of western Pennsylvania. I'm involved because I was tired of Chapters 1-2-3 ect. and students interest and involvement were flat. There didn't seem to be any purpose to the traditional course for the majority of my students. PUMP Algebra is a nontraditional approach of algebra for everyone. The course is consumable and technology is intrinsically entwined. Problems are make-sense situations which peak students' interest. The technology enhances the course. We used graphing calculators and computers. The computers are used every week.

The computer tutors are an important aspect of the course. For most of the students this is the first time they have used a computer. The first time the student sees the computer is to turn the machine on, impressed that they will have to start their own file. Each student returns to their "own" machine. The room is quiet, the decibel level is low. Some students talk to the machine, others to persons next door, but all are reading, thinking, and doing math. The immediate reinforcement takes the pressure off the teacher and so does "problem hint". The machine is set up so that students work at their own rate. With so many problems, students have a different problem from their neighbor encouraging working on their own and giving advice. These machines promote self-worth and self-satisfaction.

The tutor program is divided into two sections. The word problem tutor follows the text closely in regards to equation building and graphing. The solver makes solving equations fun with a point system reminiscent of Sega. Students come to school on computer day. Absenteeism is down on those days and makeup time after school is enticing for a few. No one complains about the computer room time except to say that the class should go one more day.

Students have their learning styles. Machines are able to accommodate most. Not only is this algebra, but reading is taking place all the time. Students see and use the coordinating style of the tutor to the course work. Students eventually see the pattern in the schedule of things. The major complaint is that it is easier on the machines then doing the same work with paper and pencil. Immediate correction is a plus. Using language at the same time as arithmetic intertwines the two subjects without being obvious.

I enjoy the tutor because it is new. It has forced me to learn to use the computer. The practical side of the situations have also been a learning experience for me. Unfortunately it also is a humbling experience when something goes wrong and I hoist the "SOS" flag. There is support from the CMU author.

I feel the PUMP course with the computer tutor is a new recipe for teaching algebra to a new era of teenagers growing up in an increasingly technological society used to instant gratification. I eagerly await the age of color and sound.


Mary Ellen Hamrock
mathematics ITL
Brashear High School
590 Crane Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15216