This innovation makes use of a matrix process to establish connections between mathematics and science by using national standards. The use of the process and the generation of the Connections Matrix for mathematics and science is important to science teacher educators for a variety of reasons. The three most important reasons include developing an understanding by preservice and inservice teachers of the national standards, creating connections across content areas to improve student leaming in mathematics and science, and facilitating science teachers' growth into self-directed curriculum developers.
With the release of the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1995), the arena of science teacher preparation has a new set of rules. The science standards, as well as those established for mathematics, establish a set of expectations for curriculum, assessment, instruction, and professional development and are intended to serve as a guide to improving science teaching and science teacher preparation. It is important that our preservice and inservice science teachers become familiar with these standards and develop an understanding of the guiding philosophy and intent of the standards.
A second reason to make use of this innovation is to create connections across content areas to improve student learning in mathematics and science. The connection of mathematics and science content increases the opportunity for students to establish their own cognitive connections and build their own knowledge base of scientific knowledge. Mathematics plays such a large role in science that, to ensure student understanding in science, we must also ensure student performance in mathematics.
A third area for which this innovation has implications for science