The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is donating the syllabus to 2,500 high school mathematics teachers throughout the United States. "How will students be motivated to become scientists and mathematicians if they don't realize that math is an integral part of real life?" asked Dr. Kenneth Chelst, a Professor of Operations Research at Wayne State University in Detroit. Dr. Chelst is available for interview.
Operations research and management science apply mathematics to decision-making, management, and operations. INFORMS developed the program to motivate students to learn concepts that seem far removed from their daily lives - but are applied routinely in business and government. The team created the Teacher Instructional Modules Project as self-contained supplements to both a traditional high school math curriculum and one based on new National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) guidelines. The basic material is designed for introductory algebra and the extensions can be used for more advanced grade levels. The initial modules provide material related to linear programming, a fundamental mathematical model used in operations research and management science.
The project is a series of six modules, of which the first two are complete; four more are expected to be ready by the end of the year and additional modules will follow. Every module contains a four-page example for classroom use, extensions to the basic example, teacher instructions and sample overheads, practice problems for students at different high school grade levels, summaries of applications at companies and government agencies, and suggestions for team and interdisciplinary projects.
Students receiving the instruction learn to schedule workers at a mythical pizza parlor and develop a product mix at a fictional shoe factory. They also look at case studies of operations research/management science from the files of companies like United Airlines, Nabisco, and McDonald's; the U.S. Department of Defense; and companies based in China and Mexico.
The project was prepared by Dr. Chelst and Dr. Thomas Edwards, both professors at Wayne State University, and coordinated by Ret. Col. Frank Trippi. The program has been developed in cooperation with one team of high school teachers in the Fairfax County Virginia Public School System and another in Southeastern Michigan. The program is a project of INFORMS and Wayne State University that was funded by a grant from the National Security Agency. The modules can be accessed on the Internet at http://mie.eng.wayne.edu/faculty/chelst/informs. Teachers can request copies by phoning Col. Frank Trippi at 703 922-6775 or calling toll-free at (800) 4INFORMS.
The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international scientific society with 12,000 members, including Nobel Prize laureates, dedicated to applying scientific methods to help improve decision-making, management, and operations. Members of INFORMS work primarily in business, government, and academia. They are represented in fields as diverse as airlines, health care, law enforcement, the military, the stock market, and telecommunications.