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Science and Mathematics Education Commons

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Higher Education

Quantitative literacy

2017

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

A Twenty-Year Look At “Computational Geology,” An Evolving, In-Discipline Course In Quantitative Literacy At The University Of South Florida, Victor J. Ricchezza, H. L. Vacher Jan 2017

A Twenty-Year Look At “Computational Geology,” An Evolving, In-Discipline Course In Quantitative Literacy At The University Of South Florida, Victor J. Ricchezza, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

Since 1996, the Geology (GLY) program at the USF has offered “Computational Geology” as part of its commitment to prepare undergraduate majors for the quantitative aspects of their field. The course focuses on geological-mathematical problem solving. Over its twenty years, the course has evolved from a GATC (geometry-algebra-trigonometry-calculus) in-discipline capstone to a quantitative literacy (QL) course taught within a natural science major. With the formation of the new School of Geosciences in 2013, the merging departments re-examined their various curricular programs. An online survey of the Geology Alumni Society found that “express quantitative evidence in support of an argument” was …


The Quantitative Reasoning For College Science (Quarcs) Assessment 2: Demographic, Academic And Attitudinal Variables As Predictors Of Quantitative Ability, Katherine Follette, Sanlyn Buxner, Erin Dokter, Donald Mccarthy, Beau Vezino, Laci Brock, Edward Prather Jan 2017

The Quantitative Reasoning For College Science (Quarcs) Assessment 2: Demographic, Academic And Attitudinal Variables As Predictors Of Quantitative Ability, Katherine Follette, Sanlyn Buxner, Erin Dokter, Donald Mccarthy, Beau Vezino, Laci Brock, Edward Prather

Numeracy

In this article, we explore the ability of demographic and attitudinal variables to predict student scores on the Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment. Variables measured by the assessment include: students' academic choices and plans, attitudes and perceptions regarding mathematics, self-reported effort level, and basic demographics such as age, race/ethnicity, gender and disability status. As in previously published numeracy studies, we find significant score deviations according to gender, race/ethnicity, and disability status; however, the effect size of these correlations pale in comparison to the effect size of affective/attitudinal variables on QuaRCS score. A large number of variables with …