Making Math is a new math teaching platform rooted in the Calculus & Mathematica project created by Jerry Uhl (pictured to the left sporting a tie while coaching a student in class), Bill Davis, and Horacio Porta (UDP).
In 1988, UDP received an NSF grant to develop the Mathematics-based calculus reform project, Calculus&Mathematica. At the same time, Uhl and Porta began teaching these reform calculus classes at the University of Illinois. Right away there was a noticeable change in student enthusiasm for mathematics; students experimented and asked questions that went beyond material consistently. At first, students went to a lecture and then spent time in a computer lab to work on assignments. By student suggestion, the classroom was soon flipped and students began their work in the lab and were taken to the classroom at the end of the week for a “literacy session,” where discussion regarding what had been learned in the lab took place. The professors found that once students had experience with the material, they were better able to discuss the topics and were more engaged in learning. These successful classes are still taught at the University of Illinois today.
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