Faculty in the Maricopa Community Colleges began the project, The Maricopa Mathematics Consortium (NSF grants: DUE9352897 and DUE9602386), in 1993, at the convergence of two significant reform movements: Calculus reform and the implementation of the 1989 NCTM Standards. We believed that the mathematics curriculum before calculus would need to change, not only to prepare students for a reformed calculus course, but also because our entering students will have had a different preparation in their school mathematics. We decided to reconstruct the entire curriculum below calculus and to write appropriate course materials. Since several college algebra/precalculus reform projects were already underway, we concentrated on course materials for three precursor courses: arithmetic review, elementary algebra, and intermediate algebra. Materials for these courses are commercially available as The Maricopa Mathematics Modules [1] and Beginning Algebra with Arithmetic Review [2]. From 15 available modules, course instructors can select three or four modules to match their own course objectives. The Modules won the AMATYC 2000 Input Award, highlighting exemplary mathematics programs revitalized in accordance with the Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for Introductory College Mathematics Before Calculus [3].

Features and content

The Modules embody four attributes: student centered, activity driven, context centered, and technology inclusive. These attributes flow from our belief that students need to gain a strong conceptual foundation of mathematics and that learning mathematics means building connections among various mathematical topics. We recognize that students do not build conceptual knowledge quickly, nor do they build conceptual knowledge by merely becoming proficient at template exercises.