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AIMS (Activities Integrating Mathematics and Science) is one of the oldest and most popular of the many reform curricula supported by the National Science Foundation. It's based on the well-known Chinese proverb:
I hear and I forget;
I see and I remember;
I do and I understand.
AIMS began in 1981 as an NSF project for grades 5-9 at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, California. The success of the project was so great, early grades teachers clamored for their own version, so the program was extended to cover all of grades K-9. Since 1986, AIMS has been administered by the AIMS Educational Foundation.
Usually based in science content, AIMS activities incorporate the mathematics relevant to each investigation. The activities are carefully designed to meet the needs of students at all stages of readiness in each grade level. In 16 years, hundreds of activities have been developed and published.
The Foundation arranges for teacher professional development across the country. More than 100,000 teachers have participated in AIMS workshops over the years, and currently about 20,000 per year sign up for new workshops. The AIMS magazine has about 14,000 subscribers.
In North Carolina, the ABC Plan has increased the importance of mathematics and science integration. Since science (like the arts and social studies) is not explicitly tested in the state-mandated tests, teachers have the challenge of integrating the subject with those subjects which are tested: mathematucs and language arts. With its long record of well-proven success, AIMS is an ideal vehicle for this effort. It's no surprise that AIMS workshops are among the most popular activities offered by CMSE and by other centers of the UNC Mathematics and Science Education Network.
CMSE's Associate Director, Pat Bowers, is a certified member of the AIMS Leadership Network, which allows CMSE to offer AIMS workshops on its own initiative and with its own instructional staff. These workshops are considerably less expensive than a workshop taught by AIMS staff flown in from California. In 1998, we're starting a rotation of AIMS courses, beginning with a workshop for teachers of grades K-2. In future years, we'll offer similar workshops for grades 3-5 and 6-8.
The AIMS Web site is a great source of additional information on the curriculum. It includes an archive of sample activities, a complete product catalog, and a database describing all activities in print. There's a Puzzle Corner with a monthly puzzle for students; in September 1997 this was extended to include every month an interactive puzzle students can attempt online. There's also a search engine and a form you can submit to request further information. Information on available workshops will be added to the site later this academic year.
If your school needs a way to fit science into the ABC Plan, consider using AIMS!
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CMSE Online Front Page | Features Index
Posted November 3, 1997. Features remain online as long as they remain current; they may be updated if new information becomes available.
Copyright © 1997, Center for Mathematics and Science Education. Teachers have permission to duplicate this page for use in teaching their own classes. All other rights reserved. You are welcome to link to this page, but do not copy its contents.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/cmse/curriculum/AIMS.html
Center for Mathematics and Science Education
CB # 3500, 309 Peabody Hall
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500
PHONE: voice (919) 966-5922; fax (919) 962-0588