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The Gini Index: A Lens For Analyzing Inequality In An Interdisciplinary College Classroom, Jared Warner, Vivian Lim

Numeracy

The Gini index is one of the most commonly used indicators of income inequality, and its computation and interpretation require a thorough understanding of various quantitative literacy concepts. In this article, we describe a unit for an interdisciplinary quantitative literacy course at a community college that treats concepts of ratio and proportion, percentages, and mathematical modeling through an exploration of income inequality and the Gini index. The broader theme of the interdisciplinary course is immigration, so the unit also invites students to explore connections between the Gini index and immigration. Employing in-class simulations, interactive online applets, and real-world data sets, …

Investigating Levels Of Graphical Comprehension Using The Locus Assessments, Charlotte A. Bolch, Tim Jacobbe

Numeracy

Statistical literacy refers to two interrelated components: people’s ability to interpret and critically evaluate statistical information, and their ability to discuss or communicate their reactions to statistical information. The ability to read and interpret graphical displays is part of statistical literacy because much of the statistical information people encounter in their everyday lives are graphical displays or tables of data. The purpose of this study was to investigate college-level students’ graphical comprehension. Students’ graphical comprehension was assessed using items from the Levels of Conceptual Understanding in Statistics (LOCUS) assessments. Much can be learned about students’ graphical comprehension based on this …

Brave Spaces: Augmenting Interdisciplinary Stem Education By Using Quantitative Data Explorations To Engage Conversations On Equity And Social Justice, John R. Jungck, Jon Manon

Numeracy

In workshops and courses involving in-service teachers, participating teachers can engage in problem posing and exploration of difficult issues when they are asked to quantitatively model alternative scenarios, statistically analyze complex data, and visualize these data in multiple formats. Subsequent to these activities, discussions of sensitive issues, some even considered taboo in classrooms, can open up “brave spaces” in these teachers’ classrooms. Without coaching through elaborate facilitation strategies, the in-service teachers grappled openly with the nuances of such difficult issues and raised many alternatives involving quantitative reasoning as well as considering biological, cultural, economic, social, and political factors influencing social …

Social Justice, Numeracy, And Teaching Statistics At A Community College, Edward Volchok

Numeracy

The author of this article reflects on the issues of justice, democracy, and numeracy. As one who has taught statistics in a community college for over 12 years, spent 28 years as a Marketing Consultant, and holds a PhD in political science, the author’s thesis is that while an advanced, democratic society can only be just with a numerate citizenry, fostering numeracy is not easy. In this article the author describes the daunting tasks of trying to define what justice is and reviews activities from his statistics class that help students develop their numeracy.

Developing Mathematics Teachers’ Attention To Quantitative Reasoning In Task Design: A Modeling Approach, David Glassmeyer

Numeracy

This study examines how a models-and-modeling perspective affected teachers' attention to quantitative reasoning in task design. A Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA) was implemented with 21 teachers over four weeks, challenging teachers to design a quantitative reasoning task for their students. Teachers’ initial quantitative reasoning tasks did not incorporate quantities or quantitative relationships, two essential components of quantitative reasoning. As teachers revised their tasks through the MEA, most teachers began attending to these components. This article details how a modeling approach to teacher education provided a method to describe and support teachers to incorporate quantitative reasoning in their classroom tasks, though attending …

On "Icky" Data, The Political Classroom, And Towards Equity And Social Justice In Mathematics Education: A Conversation With Tonya Bartell, Samuel L. Tunstall, Oyemolade Osibodu, Tonya Gau Bartell

Numeracy

Tonya G. Bartell, ed. 2018. Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education (Switzerland: Springer International Publishing) 341 pp. ISBN 978-3319929064.

This brief interview with Tonya Bartell introduces Towards Equity and Social Justice in Mathematics Education to the Numeracy audience. The interviewers also discuss with Tonya connections between quantitative literacy and mathematics for social justice, particularly in the context of US K-12 schooling. Tonya shares her perspective on topics ranging from the placement of quantitative literacy in K-12 mathematics education and how one might get started in incorporating a social justice lens into their teaching to paradigms for research …

An Uncommon Textbook: Review Of Common Sense Mathematics By Ethan Bolker And Maura Mast, Bernard Madison

Numeracy

Ethan D. Bolker and Maura B. Mast. 2016. Common Sense Mathematics.(Washington DC.: Mathematics Association of America) ISBN-13: 978-1-93951-210-9.

Common Sense Mathematics is an integrative quantitative reasoning (QR) textbook that is built around scores of exercises derived from authentic circumstances from public media and other public sources. The exercises elicit responses from students requiring extensive communication and analyses and distinguish the book from ones typically encountered in a mathematics or science course. Responses to exercises often require one-half page or more of writing and can occupy considerable class time in discussion. The book has material for a one- or two-semester …