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University of South Florida

Numeracy

2014

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Parts Of The Whole: Strategies For The Spread Of Quantitative Literacy: What Models Can Tell Us, Dorothy Wallace Jul 2014

Parts Of The Whole: Strategies For The Spread Of Quantitative Literacy: What Models Can Tell Us, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

Two conceptual frameworks, one from graph theory and one from dynamical systems, have been offered as explanations for complex phenomena in biology and also as possible models for the spread of ideas. The two models are based on different assumptions and thus predict quite different outcomes for the fate of either biological species or ideas. We argue that, depending on the culture in which they exist, one can identify which model is more likely to reflect the survival of two competing ideas. Based on this argument we suggest how two strategies for embedding and normalizing quantitative literacy in a given …

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Review Of The Joy Of X: A Guided Tour Of Math, From One To Infinity By Steven Strogatz, Michael T. Catalano Jul 2014

Review Of The Joy Of X: A Guided Tour Of Math, From One To Infinity By Steven Strogatz, Michael T. Catalano

Numeracy

Strogatz, Steven. The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity, (New York, NY, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012). 316 pp. ISBN 978-0-547-51765-0

The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity, by Steven Strogatz, is an engaging and example-filled argument for mathematics as a valuable and enjoyable activity. The thirty chapters are divided into six parts, entitled Numbers, Relationships, Shapes, Change, Data, and Frontiers. The discussion ranges from intuitive explanations of basic concepts such as place value, the four arithmetic operations, percentage increase and decrease, and solving equations, to “higher” levels …

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Quantitative Reasoning Learning Progression: The Matrix, Robert L. Mayes, Jennifer Forrester, Jennifer Schuttlefield Christus, Franziska Peterson, Rachel Walker Jul 2014

Quantitative Reasoning Learning Progression: The Matrix, Robert L. Mayes, Jennifer Forrester, Jennifer Schuttlefield Christus, Franziska Peterson, Rachel Walker

Numeracy

The NSF Pathways Project studied the development of environmental literacy in students from grades six through high school. Learning progressions for environmental literacy were developed to explicate the trajectory of learning. The Pathways QR research team supported this effort by studying the role of quantitative reasoning (QR) as a support or barrier to developing environmental literacy. An iterative research methodology was employed which included targeted student interviews to establish QR learning progression progress variables and elements comprising those progress variables, development of a QR learning progression framework, and closed-form QR assessments to verify the progression. In this paper the focus …

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Towards Developing A Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning Assessment Instrument, Eric C. Gaze, Aaron Montgomery, Semra Kilic-Bahi, Deann Leoni, Linda Misener, Corrine Taylor Jul 2014

Towards Developing A Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning Assessment Instrument, Eric C. Gaze, Aaron Montgomery, Semra Kilic-Bahi, Deann Leoni, Linda Misener, Corrine Taylor

Numeracy

This article reports on the development and implementation of a non-proprietary assessment instrument for Quantitative Literacy/Reasoning. This instrument was based on prior work by Bowdoin College, Colby-Sawyer College, and Wellesley College and was piloted in 2012 and 2013. This article presents a discussion of its development as well as the results of the pilot implementation. This work was supported by a TUES Type 1 grant from the National Science Foundation.

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How Does One Design Or Evaluate A Course In Quantitative Reasoning?, Bernard L. Madison Jul 2014

How Does One Design Or Evaluate A Course In Quantitative Reasoning?, Bernard L. Madison

Numeracy

In the absence of generally accepted content standards and with little evidence on the learning for long-term retrieval and transfer, how does one design or evaluate a course in quantitative reasoning (QR)? This is a report on one way to do so. The subject QR course, which has college algebra as a prerequisite and has been taught for 8 years, is being modified slightly to be offered as an alternative to college algebra. One modification is adding a significant formal writing component. As the modification occurs, the current course and the modified one are judged according to six sets of …

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History Of Numeracy Education And Training For Print Journalists In England, Steven Harrison Jul 2014

History Of Numeracy Education And Training For Print Journalists In England, Steven Harrison

Numeracy

If the history of journalism education has been a footnote to accounts of the profession’s development, then the history of numeracy training for journalists must be considered a footnote to a footnote. Despite the universally acknowledged centrality of numbers to a clear understanding of the world, many journalism students and entrants are proudly number-phobic; it is even suggested that an aversion to maths is a key reason why some choose journalism as a career. This study traces the development of numeracy education for journalists in England. It is only with the incipient professionalisation of journalism from the mid-19th century that …

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Looking At The Multiple Meanings Of Numeracy, Quantitative Literacy, And Quantitative Reasoning, H. L. Vacher Jul 2014

Looking At The Multiple Meanings Of Numeracy, Quantitative Literacy, And Quantitative Reasoning, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

The subject of this journal goes by a variety of names: numeracy, quantitative literacy, and quantitative reasoning. Some authors use the terms interchangeably. Others see distinctions between them. Study of psycholinguistic and ontological concepts laid out in the literature of WordNet and familiarity with the papers in this journal suggests a vocabulary matrix consisting of four rows (word senses) and three columns (word forms, namely numeracy, QL, and QR). The four word senses correspond to four sets of synonyms: {numeracy}, {numeracy, QL}, {QL, QR}, and {numeracy, QL, QR}. Each of the word forms is polysemous: “numeracy” points to the first, …

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Parts Of The Whole: Only Connect, Dorothy Wallace Jan 2014

Parts Of The Whole: Only Connect, Dorothy Wallace

Numeracy

This is the first of several columns that will focus on the mechanisms by which new ideas become accepted by a culture, offering some familiar examples, deriving basic principles from these examples, and applying them to the problem of promoting quantitative literacy in an educational system. In this essay we describe how new concepts become embedded in a culture through their connections to existing ideas, and use this principle to suggest strategies of discourse about numeracy that promote it among various constituencies in the culture.

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A Sampling Of Popular Books For Numeracy Readers, Michael T. Catalano Jan 2014

A Sampling Of Popular Books For Numeracy Readers, Michael T. Catalano

Numeracy

Popular books on quantitative themes are seemingly more available than ever. In this book review, we look at five such books from a wide range of authors. Although the books are written for diverse audiences, all provide examples and discussion of concepts that could be used in courses with quantitative literacy objectives. The books are Guesstimation and Guesstimation 2.0 by Lawrence Weinstein and John A. Adam, and Weinstein, respectively; Turning Numbers into Knowledge: Mastering the Art of Problem Solving, by Jonathan G. Koomey; How to Measure Anything: Finding The Value of “Intangibles” in Business, by Douglas W. Hubbard; and …

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The Language Of Comparisons: Communicating About Percentages, Jessica Polito Jan 2014

The Language Of Comparisons: Communicating About Percentages, Jessica Polito

Numeracy

While comparisons between percentages or rates appear frequently in journalism and advertising, and are an essential component of quantitative writing, many students fail to understand precisely what percentages mean, and lack fluency with the language used for comparisons. After reviewing evidence demonstrating this weakness, this experience-based perspective lays out a framework for teaching the language of comparisons in a structured way, and illustrates it with several authentic examples that exemplify mistaken or misleading uses of such numbers. The framework includes three common types of erroneous or misleading quantitative writing: the missing comparison, where a key number is omitted; the apples-to-pineapples …

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Reflections On The Introduction Of Quantitative Assessment In Persuasive Writing Classes, Paul H. Grawe, Robin J. Grawe Jan 2014

Reflections On The Introduction Of Quantitative Assessment In Persuasive Writing Classes, Paul H. Grawe, Robin J. Grawe

Numeracy

If quantitative reasoning is to be a legitimate part of composition curricula, it must be seen as a valuable tool for composition instructors to use in exploring their own subject. Composition instructors must see the relevance of QR not merely to their students in other subject areas but also directly in their literary and rhetorical studies and careers. Here we reflect on a highly successful program of using quantitative techniques in teaching advanced levels of professional rhetoric, namely persuasive speech and writing. We recount our 15-year experience of running an in-class, empirical and progressive experiment in group negotiations, the Legislative …

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Sixth Graders Benefit From Educational Software When Learning About Fractions: A Controlled Classroom Study, Susanne Scharnagl, Petra Evanschitzky, Judith Streb, Manfred Spitzer, Katrin Hille Jan 2014

Sixth Graders Benefit From Educational Software When Learning About Fractions: A Controlled Classroom Study, Susanne Scharnagl, Petra Evanschitzky, Judith Streb, Manfred Spitzer, Katrin Hille

Numeracy

This study analyses the effectiveness of an educational web-based software package for teaching mathematics in schools. In all, 864 sixth graders and their teachers took part in the controlled study. Students learned the addition and subtraction of fractions with (intervention group; n = 469) or without (control group; n = 395) the support of the educational software. Compared to the controls, students who used the software showed better results in the post-test. Gains were dose dependent and particularly marked in high-ability students and students with lower scores of math anxiety.

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Financial Literacy And The Success Of Small Businesses: An Observation From A Small Business Development Center, Pearl Dahmen, Eileen Rodríguez Jan 2014

Financial Literacy And The Success Of Small Businesses: An Observation From A Small Business Development Center, Pearl Dahmen, Eileen Rodríguez

Numeracy

Small business is the backbone of the U.S. economy; when the financial literacy skills of entrepreneurs fall short of those needed to operate a successful business, it is more than the individual business at risk. In 2012, 14 small businesses requesting growth-acceleration consulting services from the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida were assessed financially as part of the service provided by the Center. Financial ratios were used to analyze the business’s financial condition. While performing the financial analysis of these firms, we also surveyed the business owners to determine their level of financial understanding …

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How The Mass Media Use Numbers To Tell A Story: The Case Of The Crack Scare Of 1986, Jerome L. Himmelstein Jan 2014

How The Mass Media Use Numbers To Tell A Story: The Case Of The Crack Scare Of 1986, Jerome L. Himmelstein

Numeracy

Scholars, notably Joel Best and Milo Schield, have emphasized the importance of incorporating social construction into the study of quantitative literacy. Studying social construction involves examining how numbers are produced, how they travel into the mass media, and how the media use them to depict a social problem or discuss an issue. This article presents a case study in the last of these. It asks in particular how important numbers really are in media constructions of a social problem. It focuses on the “Crack Scare” of 1986 in the United States and a classic study in social construction, Orcutt and …

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Teaching Quantitative Reasoning: A Better Context For Algebra, Eric Gaze Jan 2014

Teaching Quantitative Reasoning: A Better Context For Algebra, Eric Gaze

Numeracy

This editorial questions the preeminence of algebra in our mathematics curriculum. The GATC (Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus) sequence abandons the fundamental middle school math topics necessary for quantitative literacy, while the standard super-abundance of algebra taught in the abstract fosters math phobia and supports a culturally acceptable stance that math is not relevant to everyday life. Although GATC is seen as a pipeline to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), it is a mistake to think that the objective of producing quantitatively literate citizens is at odds with creating more scientists and engineers. The goal must be to create a curriculum …

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