▼ The standards-based reform has changed the way mathematics is taught in the United States. The emerging research shows that the reform movement has brought about greater student achievement in mathematics. This paper looks at specific examples of student performance as a result of using reform-based curricula while concentrating on a group that has largely been ignored in mathematics—students from a lower socioeconomic background. There is evidence that suggests that the reforms are helping these students achieve in mathematics, but others have found that not all aspects of the reform are beneficial to them. The paper then emphasizes the important role that teachers play in making mathematics accessible to all students, no matter their background. Advisors/Committee Members: Wanko, Jeffrey.

▼ Somewhere along their educational journey, many students develop a fear of mathematics. They begin to view their math courses as the study of tricks and often seemingly unsolvable puzzles. There is a demand for teachers to provide students with real life applicable problems with the intention of building upon the mathematics content taught in the classroom. This paper discusses how to integrate one specific problem, involving the Fermat Point, into a high school geometry curriculum. It also calls educators to integrate challenging problems into the classes they teach to encourage students to use their mathematical problem solving skills. The purpose of this paper is to inspire other educators to pursue similar investigations in the classroom in order to help students view mathematics as more useful. After a discussion of the Fermat Point, this paper invites the reader to research other useful centers of a triangle in a similar manner. Advisors/Committee Members: Harper, Suzanne.