Promoting Mathematics as a Tool for a PBL Type High School Mathematics Curriculum - Its Design and Evaluation

We have designed a PBL curriculum for "period for integrated study" using mathematics as a tool for problem solving and evaluated its effectiveness. Students learned two methods, which were how to use differential equation as a tool, and how to choose their own problems, and solve them. We introduced a method using spreadsheet in order to calculate numeric solutions of differential equations. We instructed students so that they would choose a problem that required differential equation in order to solve it. The curriculum was practiced at Kyoto Municipal Horikawa Senior High School in Kyoto, Japan from October 2005 to September 2006. The curriculum was proved effective according to the outcome of students' researches, the results of questionnaires given after finishing the curriculum, and the impressions by the teachers who participated in it. We also found ideas for future improvement.