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Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education
Numeracy Tasks: Inspiring Transfer Between Concrete And Abstract Thinking Spaces, Taras Gula, Miroslav Lovric
Numeracy Tasks: Inspiring Transfer Between Concrete And Abstract Thinking Spaces, Taras Gula, Miroslav Lovric
Numeracy
In our paper we build a case for conceptualizing numeracy tasks as distinct from mathematical tasks (or at least as a special type of mathematical task), and for abstraction and interpretation as a set of key activities necessary for designating a numeracy task as being high-quality. We start with an attempt to tame the fuzziness of numeracy and its family members (including quantitative reasoning, quantitative literacy, mathematical literacy, and the word problem cousins) by outlining six areas of consensus gleaned from literature. These provide the foundation for a core mandate of numeracy. We then build our case for the distinctness …
Instructional Decision Making In A Gateway Quantitative Reasoning Course, Deependra Budhathoki, Gregory D. Foley, Stephen Shadik
Instructional Decision Making In A Gateway Quantitative Reasoning Course, Deependra Budhathoki, Gregory D. Foley, Stephen Shadik
Numeracy
Many educators and professional organizations recommend Quantitative Reasoning as the best entry-level postsecondary mathematics course for non-STEM majors. However, novice and veteran instructors who have no prior experience in teaching a QR course often express their ignorance of the content to choose for this course, the instruction to offer students, and the assessments to measure student learning. We conducted a case study to investigate the initial implementation of an entry-level university quantitative reasoning course during fall semester, 2018. The participants were the course instructor and students. We examined the instructor’s motives and actions and the students’ responses to the course. …
Covid-19: A Developing Crisis For Quantitative Reasoning, Nathan D. Grawe
Covid-19: A Developing Crisis For Quantitative Reasoning, Nathan D. Grawe
Numeracy
Assessment data show substantial learning losses resulting from pandemic-era teaching and learning. While all learning domains have been affected, mathematics performance shows particularly large losses among elementary and secondary school students. Advocates for quantitative reasoning in high schools and colleges should anticipate weaker levels of basic numeracy among entering cohorts for a decade to come. As a consequence, the urgency to reform curricula and student support has never been greater.
Qualitative Analysis Of Corequisite Instruction In A Quantitative Reasoning Course, Zachary Beamer
Qualitative Analysis Of Corequisite Instruction In A Quantitative Reasoning Course, Zachary Beamer
Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges
In corequisite models of instruction, marginally prepared students are placed directly into college-level coursework, taught with a paired support course. Initial research suggests that such models yield significant improvements in the number of students passing credit-level mathematics when compared to previous models of prerequisite remediation. The present study employs qualitative methods to investigate methods of instruction at one community colleges to understand how instructors identify and respond to student needs. It concludes with recommendations for practice and highlights advantages of small format corequisite classes taught by the same instructor.
A Comparison Of Students’ Quantitative Reasoning Skills In Stem And Non-Stem Math Pathways, Emily Elrod, Joo Young Park
A Comparison Of Students’ Quantitative Reasoning Skills In Stem And Non-Stem Math Pathways, Emily Elrod, Joo Young Park
Numeracy
Quantitative Reasoning (QR) is essential for today’s students, yet most higher education institutions have not effectively addressed this issue. This study investigates students’ quantitative reasoning in STEM and Non-STEM math pathways using a non-proprietary, NSF grant-funded instrument, the Quantitative Literacy & Reasoning Assessment (QLRA). Participants were students enrolled in at least one college-level math pathway course at a large public institution in the southeastern US. The results showed a significant difference between STEM and Non-STEM students’ QLRA scores, with STEM students (n = 244, M = 27%, SD = 16.21%) scoring, on average, about 6% higher than Non-STEM students …
Parts Of The Whole: Teaching Quantitative Reasoning In The Predator-Prey Model, Dorothy Wallace
Parts Of The Whole: Teaching Quantitative Reasoning In The Predator-Prey Model, Dorothy Wallace
Numeracy
The classical predator-prey equations are in nearly every differential equations text and mathematical biology text. Usually they are presented fait accompli, leaving the student to analyze them or play with a computer program. Here we show that the process of fully understanding where these equations come from and how they are derived provides numerous opportunities to teach or reinforce quantitative reasoning skills necessary to future scientists. This example is used to invoke logic, systems thinking, causal reasoning, understanding functions of one or more variables, quantities versus rates of change, proportional reasoning, unit analysis, and comparison to data.