Teaching Quantitative Skills Why is it hard and what can we do about it?

Who cares? Quantitative skills are often an important College outcome* Quantitative skills are requested by employers* (Geo)science is fundamentally quantitative Quantitative Skills are an foundation of Quantitative Literacy Quantitative Skills requirements are often the biggest barrier to completion of AA# *AACU LEAP report #NCES/IES

And, there is always the possibility…..

Why is it so hard for our students to do math in our classes?

Why is it so hard for our students to do math? Anxiety/Lack of confidence Wide range of QS that we require May have been lots of time since they have seen the math May never have seen the math we use Often differences in naming No support from textbook Differences between what we do and what the math folks do TRANSFER is HARD! We often are not the best teachers of QS

Why is it so hard for our students to do math? Anxiety/Lack of confidence Range of QS that we require Lots of time since they have seen the math we use May never have seen the math we use Differences in naming Little/No support from textbooks Differences between what we do and what the math folks do TRANSFER is HARD! We often are not the best teachers of QS

What can we do about it? Use multiple representations (e.g. graph, equation, data table) Revisit the same skills multiple times Place mathematical concepts in context Use technology appropriately Provide support outside of the classroom

The Math You Need, When You Need It Density Best-fit line Unit conversions Rates Plotting points Rearranging equations Hypsometric curve Trigonometry Calculating Slope Graph reading

The Math You Need, When You Need It Tested in 43 schools (19 2YC), 105 courses (42 2YC), 3282 students (1121 2YC)

Student perceptions N=3594 N=3154 N=3532

Data from pre- and post-tests shows that TMYN helps strong and weak students +47% +40% +23% +21% Very weak students Very strong students

The Math You Need, When You Need It Improves quantitative skills Students find it helpful Helps all student levels Doesn’t require large amounts of class time http://serc.carleton.edu/mathyouneed/

Can we extend the TMYN ideas to other areas?