Quantitative Reasoning Sandy Gilpin, Assistant Dean of First Year Programs Fort Lewis College

National and State Scene

Math for Liberal Arts Then Dumping ground for students who couldn’t “hack it” in other math courses Place for professors to teach their “pet” topics Survey course to instill appreciation of mathematics in students – lots of topics, little depth

Quantitative Reasoning Now Emphasis on critical thinking and quantitative reasoning Challenging, rigorous course Connected to student majors and life as an informed citizen

Quantitative Reasoning at Fort Lewis College

Majors Served Art Elementary Education EnglishHistoryMusicPhilosophy Political Science PsychologySociologySpanishTheatre

Meaningful Content Percentages in the real world (relative change, of vs. more than/less than, recognizing problems with percent calculations) Statistical studies (identifying characteristics and types of studies, evaluating studies) Characteristics of data (descriptive statistics, graphs) Inferential statistics (confidence intervals, natural variation, emphasis on interpretation, not calculation) Financial literacy (exponential growth, characteristics of investments and types of debt)

Challenging Activities

Art Museum Attendance Data CategoryDifference from 2013 to 2014 CategoryDifference from 2013 to 2014 Member -786 Child -356 Non- Member 596 Senior Citizen -342 Category% Change from 2013 to 2014 Category% Change from 2013 to 2014 Member -8% Child -15% Non- Member 11% Senior Citizen -40%

Full Data Set Museum Category Difference% change Member 10,4589, % Non- Member 5,4356, % Child 2,3401, % Senior Citizen % Totals 19,09618, %

A company’s sales in 2007 were $10,000. In 2008 the sales were $9,000. Which statement(s) are true? a.The 2008 sales are 90% of the 2007 sales. b.The 2008 sales are 110% of the 2007 sales. c.The 2008 sales are 10% less than the 2007 sales. d.The 2007 sales are 10% more than the 2008 sales. e. The 2007 sales are 110% of the 2008 sales. f.The 2008 sales are.9 times the 2007 sales. g.The 2007 sales are.9 times the 2008 sales.

An item was on sale at a store for 25% off. Complete the statements below. The sale price is _______% of the original price. The sale price is _______% less than the original price. The sale price is _______ times the original price. The original price is _______ % of the sales price.

John is taking a History class. He has had 10 assignments in class and has an 83 average. Each assignment is worth 100 points. The history professor discovered he made a mistake in recording one of the grades for an assignment and changes the grade from a 70 to a 90. What is John’s new average in class?

Supplemental Academic Instruction (SAI) Co-requisite instruction in mathematics for students with limited academic deficiencies who are placed into college-level course work that is approved for statewide transfer [i.e., gtPathways].

SAI Success* Fall 2013 Spring 2014 Fall 2014 Spring 2015 Overall Students in SAI 89% n = 9 100% n = 14 78% n = % n = 15 90% n = 61 Overall 81% n = 64 81% n = 73 83% n = % n = 63 83% n = 334 *Success is defined as A,B, or C

Questions?

Thank You! Sandy Gilpin