The National Science Foundation will fund a three-year, $1.5 million research project to study teaching and learning of mathematical modeling in elementary education. Julia Aguirre, an associate professor of mathematics education at the ÌìÃÀÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½ Tacoma, is one of four principal investigators leading the endeavor. “Mathematical modeling is a process of using mathematics to analyze a ‘real-world’ problem, represent it using mathematical concepts, make predictions and take action,” said Aguirre. “It’s used widely in business, science, technology and engineering…

