touch: fibonacci:

• Touch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=lgw0CFD5SJg

• Fibonacci: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9cX_14rf4g

Math Across the Curriculum

Rob Kimball

Or

If we are not going to use it outside of math class, why do we have to learn it?

Or

We downloaded some data to a spreadsheet, calculated some

statistics, and used those statistics to support oral arguments….

In my English class!That math stuff must really be

important.

InnumeracyIt is everyone’s problem.

Or

The simple fact is that many students who enter college are

innumerate.

The simple fact is that many students who enter college are

innumerate.

Judging from what is going on in our society, you have to wonder how many college graduates are

as well.

Innumeracy

Innumeracy can make you poorer.Couple’s numeracy skills linked to greater

family wealth, study finds

Innumeracy

Innumeracy can make you unhealthier.

Understanding Food Nutrition Labels Challenging For Many People

InnumeracyInnumeracy can make you misunderstand important

information.Numbers Are Just Numbers, But How You Grasp Them Fills In Details

Innumeracy

Innumeracy can be passed down through the generations

Parents should talk about math early and often with their children — even before preschool, report finds

National Center for Educational

Statistics• 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan• 71% cannot calculate miles per

gallon on a trip• 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip for a

lunch bill

National Center for Educational

Statistics• 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan• 71% cannot calculate miles per

gallon on a trip• 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip for a

lunch bill

National Center for Educational

Statistics• 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan• 71% cannot calculate miles per

gallon on a trip• 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip for a

lunch bill

National Center for Educational

Statistics• 78% of adults cannot explain how to compute the interest paid on a loan• 71% cannot calculate miles per

gallon on a trip• 58% cannot calculate a 10% tip for a

lunch billIf you order the “Onion Soup” and “The Lancaster Special” compute the 10% tip you should leave.

Mathematical Literacyrequires

Conceptual Understanding

Explaining MPG

a recent YouTube video that went viral

Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics, 2001

Mathematics is also an intellectual achievement of great sophistication and beauty that epitomizes the power of deductive reasoning. For people to participate fully in society, they must know basic mathematics. Citizens who cannot reason mathematically are cut off from whole realms of human endeavor. Innumeracy deprives them not only of opportunity but also of competence in everyday tasks.

The ability to perform some of the basic operations of mathematics is

a necessary but not sufficient condition of quantitative literacy.

Solve

x - y = -17 25x + 8y = 532

Richardson and McCallumThe Third R in Literacy

{

…tests showing that the demand for the product is expected to decrease 3,125 units for every 1.00 increase in price from the current level of 31.5 thousand units. The supply is expected to increase 1,000 units for each 1.00 increase in price from the current 17,000 units.Find the break-even point.

A goal for mathematics departments:

A goal for mathematics departments:

“Create a mathematically

literate student.”

A goal for colleges:

A goal for colleges:

“Create a quantitatively

literate student.”

Promote Math Across the Curriculum

Non SMET students SMET students

Politicians

Business CEOs

Attorneys

VotersConsumers

Teachers

Quantitatively Literate

QL: A habit of mind

Quantitative literacy describes a habit of mind rather than a set of topics or a list of skills. It depends on the capacity to identify mathematical structure in context; it requires a mind searching for patterns rather than following instructions. A quantitatively literate person needs to know some mathematics, but literacy is not defined by the mathematics known.

Where is the Math?

MeasurementGeometry

EstimationReasonableness

Rates and ProportionsDensity

Data Analysisnumeric, graphic

Rate of Change

Statisticssamplingrepresentations of data (numeric/graphic)variability

ModelsOptimizationPredicting

Where is the Literacy?

DialogueDebate

Problem StatingProblem Solving

Investigating

ReasoningSense Making

ConnectingBridgingInferring

Curriculum Foundations Report (CRAFTY)

Life Sciences…the definition of mastery of a mathematical concept recognizes the importance of both conceptual understanding at the level of definition and understanding in terms of use, implementation, and/or computation.

Business …help prepare business students by stressing conceptual understanding of quantitative reasoning and enhancing critical thinking skills.

http://academic.bowdoin.edu/faculty/B/barker/dissemination/Curriculum_Foundations/

Where is the math?

The math found in other disciplines is often transparent –

to students (and instructors?)

Population Densities (by county)

Persons Per Sq Mile250-66,995

100-24950-9925-4910-24

5-91-4

Diagnostic Tool

Math in contextmeans

math is meaningful

Teaching Math In Context

It is difficult to teach students to identify mathematics in context – and many teachers have no experience doing this.

It is much easier to teach an algorithm than the insight needed to identify quantitative structure.

Teaching in context poses a tremendous challenge.

Teaching Math In Context

Problems in mathematics courses can be contextualized – StatWay and QuantWay

http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/developmental-math

Problems in other disciplines are already contextualized – we must help students identify the math.

Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA, 2000)

Mathematical Literacy: “An individual’s capacity to identify and understand the role that mathematics plays in the world, to make well-founded judgments and to use and engage with mathematics in ways that meet the needs of that individual’s life as a constructive, concerned, and reflective citizen.”

More info on PISA: http://www.icme12.org/upload/submission/2001_F.pdf

Other disciplines

APPLY the MATH

National Center On Education and the Economy

Math Panel – A review of first year courses; “What are the quantitative skills used in the course?”

Missing Math

The first-year courses students often take, in addition to a math class, require little in the way of mathematical thinking – numeracy – quantitative reasoning. Texts often focus on facts and procedures. Tests are often even worse. They are often computer - generated multiple choice questions that don’t require reasoning or sense making.(Rob’s review – not necessarily that of NCEE)

Math Across the Curriculum

Or

Interdisciplinary Studies

Models

Learning Communities

American History

English

College Algebra

Learning Communities

ArithmeticEnglish

Study Skills

Impact Studies at Queensborough and Houston Community Colleges Feb, 2011

Aligned Interdisciplinary Studies

Communications

Psychology

StatisticsA new paradigm.”…individuals must be broadly trained so that they can understand and contribute to research that overlaps different fields .”(National Research Council)

“Interdisciplinary learning is a 21st Century imperative. We are continually faced with societal and global challenges that require interdisciplinary thinking to identify suitable solutions, such as finding new energy sources, dealing with the effects of our changing climate, and ensuring populations across the globe have adequate food and healthy living environments.” Summary report from Project Kaleidoscope – “What Works in Facilitating Interdisciplinary Learning in Science and Mathematics”

Themed Studies

American History

Calculus

Economics

Energy Conservation, The Influence of Television, Exploration of Space, Obesity Epidemic, The Changing Demographics of the U S, US Debt…

Even in English ClassMath across the curriculum can occur in many directions and success can look very different at different institutions. It takes a champion, or two, to make it happen.

Quantitative WritingIn the increasingly complex, data-rich global environments of the 21st Century, successful students need to be equipped with flexible, adaptive analytical higher-order strategies.

Quantitative writing addresses the need for these higher-order thinking skills.

http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/carl_ltc/quantitative_writing/why.html

Q WMost issues of public policy have a significant quantitative dimension. Whether deliberating about health care, energy usage, or immigration policy, effective citizens must be able to interpret and analyze numbers, read graphs, understand simple statistics, and recognize the ways that numerical data can be manipulated for rhetorical effect. QW assignments help develop students for responsible citizenship.

SPREADSHEETS ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Spreadsheets are used throughout industry. Educators, and especially mathematics

educators, seem reluctant to utilize this ubiquitous tool.

http://www.serc.carleton.edu/sp/ssac_home

SPREADSHEETS ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

Criminal Justice – How long has the potato been dead?

Economics – Cost / Benefit Analysis of driving across town for cheaper gas

Medicine – Examining the effect of dose, time interval, and elimination rate on attaining a therapeutic drug level

Math Across the Curriculum

HOW?Friendly Conspiracies – collaboration between mathematics faculty and faculty from other departments(Hughes Hallett, 2001)Gateway Testing – mathematics competency tests in courses across the university (Bauman and Martin, 1995; University of Nevada, Reno)Instructional Support – provide support (equipment, lessons, collaboration) for teachers (Dartmouth College, 2001)Workshops – face-to-face discussions that help faculty outside of mathematics understand QL (Project Kaleidoscope, PKAL 2002; CRAFTY (MAA) Haver & Ganter)Quantitative Reasoning Requirements – a set of courses designated to meet QR requirements for undergraduates

WHAT?Lynn Steen Mathematics is far more than just a tool for research. In fact, its most common uses – and the reason for its prominent place in school curricula – are routine applications that are now part of all kinds of jobs.…If we look at these common uses of mathematics from the perspective of the school curriculum, we see that mathematics at work is very different from mathematics at school.

Operations Research Laboratory for Education (OREd)

Predicting membership by

grade using a historical model and the cohort survival ratio.

Challenges to MAC

• Time – the density of the syllabus• Ability – using mathematics may be

outside the comfort zone of some • Effort – it is extra work to find/write

projects that use and promote quantitative literacy

• What is Mathematics – too many people characterize mathematics as computation

HistoryA Rock Used As A Doorstop

Changed North Carolina

Numeracy Through North Carolina History Kimball, 2011

HistorySan Marcos

Numeracy Through Texas HistoryKimball 2011

Adding It Up

Mathematical proficiency, as we see it, has five strands:• conceptual understanding—comprehension of mathematical

concepts, operations, and relations• procedural fluency—skill in carrying out procedures flexibly,

accurately, efficiently, and appropriately• strategic competence—ability to formulate, represent, and

solve mathematical problems• adaptive reasoning—capacity for logical thought, reflection,

explanation, and justification• productive disposition—habitual inclination to see

mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy.

Standards For School Mathematics (NCTM)

Number and OperationsAlgebraGeometryMeasurementData Analysis and Probability

Adding It Up

Some animals that dwell on grassy plains are safeguarded against attacks by their large size; others are so small that they can protect themselves by burrowing into the ground. Still others must count on speed to escape their enemies.An animal’s speed depends on its size and the frequency of its strides. The tarsal (foot) bone of a horse is lengthened, with each foot having been reduced to only one toe. One thick bone is stronger than a number of thin ones. This single toe is surrounded by a solid hoof, which protects the bone against jolts when the animal is galloping over hard ground. The powerful leg muscles are joined together at the top of the leg so that just a slight muscle movement at that point can freely move the slip lower leg.

Change and Relationships

The fastest sprinter in the world is the cheetah. Its legs are shorter than those of a horse, but it can reach a speed of more than 110 km/hr in 17 seconds and maintain that speed for more than 450 meters. The cheetah tires easily, however, whereas the horse, whose top speed is 70 km/hr, can maintain a speed of 50 km/hr for more than 6 km. A cheetah is awakened by a horse’s hooves. At the moment the cheetah decides to give chase, the horse has a lead of 200 meters. The horse, traveling at top speed, still has plenty of energy. Taking into consideration the data that has been provided, can the cheetah catch the horse? Assume the cheetah will need around 300 meters to reach its top speed. Provide graphs to support your conclusions letting the vertical axis represent distance and the horizontal axis time. (Kindt, 1979)

Supporting Mathematics Across the Curriculum

What should it mean for the math curriculum?

1. The mathematics that is taught should be embedded in the real world of the students.

2. Mathematical literacy will lead to different curricula in different cultures.

3. The content of the mathematics curricula will have to be modernized at least every ten years.

Reforming a Failing Curriculum

Student at the end of the semester: “Thank God I’ll never have to take another math course in my life!”

Arnold Packer: Quantitative literacy, in my judgment, can save the day, not by being added to the curriculum but by altering required mathematics.

Specific Recommendations1. QL has a strong partner and advocate in the science

community. (Science for All Americans (Project 2061 1989)

2. Consider engaging the social sciences in the quest for QL.3. Adopt detailed and specific goals with benchmarks for

progress.4. Coordinate QL across disciplines by making QL part of

faculty development.5. Promote changes (improvements) in pedagogy advanced

by national organizations.6. Develop reliable and valid assessments of experiments in

curriculum and instruction that target QL and publish the results.

Resources

• http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/eBookshelf/

• http://www.mac3.amatyc.org• http://www.therightstuff.amatyc.org• http://www.maa.org/cupm/crafty