Patricia Dean
Senior Lecturer in Mathematics
Mary Washington College
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Panel
pdean@mwc.edu
Co-author: Debra Hydorn
Associate Prof. of Mathematics
Mary Washington College
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Marie Sheckels
Prof. of Mathematics and Education
Mary Washington College
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Suzanne Sumner
Associate Prof. of Mathematics
Mary Washington College
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Jeffrey Edmunds
Asst. Professor of Mathematics
Mary Washington College
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Across-the-Curriculum Mathematics Courses at Mary Washington College
Short Abstract:
Students seeking a liberal arts education benefit from an inclusive and integrated
approach to learning. The panel will discuss mathematics courses that are taught with
emphasis on one or more of the following areas: Writing Intensive, Speaking Intensive,
Race/Gender Intensive, Environmental Awareness, and Global Awareness.
Long Abstract:
In addition to completing the Mary Washington College General Education
requirements each student must meet the College's Across-the-Curriculum requirements
in the following five areas: Environmental Awareness, Global Awareness, Race/Gender
Intensive, Speaking Intensive, and Writing Intensive. The mathematics department has
modified both lower level and upper level undergraduate courses to satisfy the
requirements for one or more of these designations.
Environmental Awareness courses are designed to promote an understanding of
the fragility of the biosphere and the degree to which human activity has affected it.
Students identify environmental issues, gain an appreciation of nature and examine
methods that might be used to insure a balanced biosphere. Global Awareness courses
foster understanding based on the knowledge and awareness of people, places, cultures
and societies other than the student's own. Race and Gender Intensive courses emphasize
the social construction of race and/or gender and examine how these categories relate to
the formation of culture and institutional power in different societies and disciplines.
Speaking Intensive courses use speaking activities appropriate to the subject matter and
the goals of the course as a means to increase learning in the course and to develop oral
communication competence. Writing Intensive courses teach writing appropriate to the
subject matter. Their goal is to help students improve their writing over time and help
them understand course material better.
The faculty panelists will discuss the construction of across-the-curriculum
mathematics courses, elaborating on the design of assignments, methods of assessment,
advantages and disadvantages of teaching these courses, and student and faculty reactions
to these courses.