Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Science and Mathematics Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Numeracy

Classroom practice

2008

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Word Problems: Reflections On Embedding Quantitative Literacy In A Calculus Course, Gizem Karaali Jul 2008

Word Problems: Reflections On Embedding Quantitative Literacy In A Calculus Course, Gizem Karaali

Numeracy

Even though Quantitative Literacy (QL) programs are currently being developed and implemented in several colleges and universities, most schools still depend on traditional mathematics courses to reach their quantitative literacy goals. This note is a case study of how a traditional mathematics course sequence intended for students majoring in social and life sciences may be modified and adapted to at least partially fulfill the need in the absence of a stand-alone QL program. In particular, we focus on a freshman-level mathematics course sequence that serves various client departments. This sequence covers the traditional content of a first-year calculus sequence along …


False Positives And Referral Bias: Content For A Quantitative Literacy Course, Stuart Boersma, Teri Willard Jul 2008

False Positives And Referral Bias: Content For A Quantitative Literacy Course, Stuart Boersma, Teri Willard

Numeracy

An extended study of accuracy in medical screening is presented as a useful application to increase students’ quantitative reasoning skills. Two detailed examples are presented. The first explores the frequency of obtaining false positive results from a medical screening tool while the second examines the issue of referral bias and its effect on the apparent sensitivity and specificity of the screening tool. Results from student assessments indicate that the activity increases one’s ability to define terms such as “false positive” and “false negative” and increases one’s ability to read and compute with information obtained from a two-way table. Teacher assessment …