Incorporating Quantitative
Literacy into General
Education Courses
John Holcomb
October 9, 2007
Overview
 New General Education Criteria
 Why should we care about quantitative
literacy?
 Criteria
 Objectives
 Examples of ways to incorporate QL into
courses
 Thinking about your own course
 Applying for the QL skill area
General Education
 Breadth of Knowledge



Arts and Humanities
Social Sciences
Natural Sciences
 Social Diversity


African-American
Human Diversity
Skill Areas
 Writing
 Oral Communication
 Quantitative Literacy
 Group Work
 Critical Thinking
 Information Literacy
Why care about QL?
 Necessary for Democracy (Taken from Mathematics
and Democracy: The Case for Quantitative Literacy)
 Historian Lawrence Cremin sees literacy as
“liberating” in which individuals command both the
enabling skills needed to search out information
and the power of mind necessary to critique it,
reflect upon it, and apply it in making decisions.
 John Dewey calls this “popular enlightenment,”
that can inform and animate a vital democracy.
Ideal
Quantitatively literate citizens need to know more than
formulas and equations. They need a predisposition to
look through the world though mathematical eyes, to see
the benefits (and risks) of thinking quantitatively about
commonplace issues, and to approach complex
problems with confidence in the value of careful
reasoning. Quantitative literacy empowers people by
giving them tools to think for themselves, to ask
intelligent questions of experts, and to confront authority
confidently. These are skills required to thrive in a
modern world.
Criteria
 Involve quantitative work distributed over the
course of the semester.
 Provide explicit instruction in quantitative
methods and quantitative reasoning.
 Designate that at least 15% of the student’s
grade is based on an evaluation of
quantitative literacy.
 Address at least the first three objectives.
Objectives
Interpret mathematical models such as
formulae, graphs, tables, and schematics
and draw inferences from them.
2. Represent and interpret mathematical
information that is presented symbolically,
visually, numerically, or verbally.
3. Use arithmetic, algebraic, geometric,
statistical models and technology, or
appropriate combinations of these to solve
problems.
1.
Objectives (con’t)
Estimate and check answers to
mathematical problems in order to
determine their reasonableness, identify
alternatives, and select optimal results.
5. Recognize the limits of mathematical and
statistical models and be able to explain
those limitations in context.
4.
Examples of Subjects requiring QL
 Much of this information taken from the
Mathematics Across the Curriculum Project at
Dartmouth College
 Electronic Bookshelf for College Courses
 http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/eBookshelf/index.html
The Golden Ratio
φ= w/l = 1.618
The Golden Rectangle
Construction: Subdivide a square of side 1 into
two equal rectangles. Then lay out a distance
equal to the diagonal of one of these halfsquares, plus half the side of the original
square. The ratio of this new distance to the
original side, 1, is the golden ratio.
Other Manifestations
The Great Pyramid of Cheops
Environmental Science
Squaring the Circle: Geometry in Art
and Architecture
 Paul Calter
 Book to be published by Key Curriculum
Press in late 2007
 http://math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/math5.geometry/
Other Biology Areas
 BIOMATH: Problem Solving for
Biology Students
 Addison-Wesley
 This problem-solving supplement teaches
biology students the mathematical concepts
they need to succeed in their introductory
biology courses. Instructors can either
incorporate the biological math problems
into their courses or ask students to use the
booklet as a self-study tool.
Biology (con’t)
 Better Nutrition by Analyzing Food Labels
 In this module students learn how to interpret food
labels and analyze the nutritional composition of
foods.
 The math includes calculating percents; writing
formulas; reading, interpreting, and graphing data.
 http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/UNR/Nutrition/Nutrition.phtml
Biology (con’t)
 Likelihood of Cancer
 In this module students will determine the likelihood of
developing cancer by examining various data. They will
be presented with two pie charts, one showing the
leading cause of death in the United States for people
ages 10-24 and one for people ages 25 and older (pie
chart data for 33 individual states are also available on
line).
 The mathematics involved is reading and interpreting pie
charts; calculating and understanding percentages and
proportions.
 http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/UNR/Cancer/Cancer.phtml
Biology (con’t)
 VACCINES:
An Introduction to Risk
 Three case studies of diseases and their vaccines
are described in this monograph. Smallpox, swine flu,
and whooping cough have presented different sorts
of problems for people trying to decide whether to be
vaccinated or take their chances with the disease.
 The mathematics is all elementary probability. There
are nine problems, six of which are mathematical in
nature.

http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/NLA/Vaccines/Vaccines.phtml
Physical Science Possibilities
 GASOLINE:
From Unwanted By-product to Essential Fuel
for the Twentieth Century
 Gasoline is divided into three parts: historical studies,
technological discussions, and questions for
students.
 In addition to historical background, this volume
includes a description of chemical process
calculations based on mass and energy balances.
The mathematics involves solving two linear
equations in two unknowns.

http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/NLA/Gasoline/Gasoline.phtml
Physical Science (con’t)
 THE ELECTRIFICATION OF LOS ANGELES:
Engineering, Science, and History
 This module identifies selected scientific principles
associated with major technological advances in
electrical power production.
 The mathematics is an application of basic algebra to
calculate physical quantities. Five multi-part problems
are provided.

http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/NLA/Electrification/Electrification.phtml
Music
 COMPUTER MUSIC:
Science and Technology of a New Art
 Topics covered in this monograph (all written in easy-
to-understand fashion) include the MIDI System,
waves, synthesizers, coding, and computer music
applications.
 In addition to algebra applications, this volume
provides an application of the trigonometric functions
to analyzing sound waves, including a novice's
introduction to Fourier series.

http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~mqed/NLA/CompuMusic/CompuMusic.phtml
Music (con’t)
 Music and Computers: A Theoretical and Historical
Approach
 Key Curriculum Press
 Focuses on the history and theory of computer music
composition. The text seamlessly integrates the fields of
mathematics, computer science and music. This online
course is supplemented with a student Course Guide.

http://www.keycollege.com/catalog/titles/music_and_computers.html
Literature
 Chaos Theory, Fractals, etc. in Tom
Stoppard's Arcadia
 Robert Devaney
Boston University
 Lecture viewed on Real Player
 http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/video/video.html
Writing
 Essay Writing for ESL Students
 This module consists of writing assignments (one
essay assignment with lead-in exercises pertaining to
statistics) that could be used in a high school English
class, an advanced ESL class, or an introductory
college writing course.
 The mathematics needed for this module are an
ability to compute basic operations on numbers,
decimals, and percents and a basic understanding of
descriptive Statistics.
 http://www.math.dartmouth.edu/~matc/eBookshelf/literature/EAP.phtml
Communication
 The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
 Edward Tufte
 http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/
Duck Hunting Assignment
 Find a graphic in the mainstream media that
is misleading to the viewer. Provide the
complete source. Clearly explain the
components of the graphic that are
misleading or confusing. Conjecture as to
whether you believe the graphic was
constructed to be misleading or was the
confusion accidental.
Good Graphic
 Find a graphic in the mainstream media that
successfully communicates sophisticated
quantitative information. Provide the complete
source. Explain the components of the
graphic that are successful.
QL in a course from your Dept.
 Breadth of Knowledge



Arts and Humanities
Social Sciences
Natural Sciences
 Social Diversity


African-American
Human Diversity
Think about QL as one of the key skill areas.
Questions for Skill Area Certification
How (e.g. based on what assignments) will
quantitative literacy constitute at least 15%
of a student’s grade?
2. How will at least the first three objectives
outlined above be addressed?
3. How will the instructor be involved in
teaching quantitative literacy skills?
4. How will quantitative literacy assignments
be distributed over the course of the
semester?
1.