Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-45l2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T07:39:33.712Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

Quantitative Reasoning at the University of Massachusetts Boston

from Interdisciplinary and Interdepartmental Programs

Maura Mast
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts Boston
Mark Pawlak
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts Boston
Rick Gillman
Affiliation:
Valparaiso University
Get access

Summary

After years of watching students graduate from the University without taking a math course or having failed a math course when they did attempt one, a group of faculty at the University of Massachusetts Boston recently began to seriously address the following problems: How could they teach meaningful mathematics to students who do not like mathematics and who think that mathematics has no place in their lives? How could they better prepare students for the work they will do at the University? How could they help students to be better members of their communities, able to process and analyze the vast amount of information that is part of our complex society? The answer was to develop a Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning requirement and new courses designed specifically for that requirement. All students, both incoming freshmen and transfer, would have to satisfy the requirement by taking a newly designed Quantitative Reasoning course or Mathematics course from an approved list, or by showing proficiency in Mathematics at the PreCalculus level or above. Since the introduction of the requirement, the results have been encouraging and astounding, particularly for students who take a Quantitative Reasoning course and for the faculty who teach it. One student's reflection captures the experience of many: “this course has changed the way I have looked at Math almost my entire life. Despite the fact that I do like Math, I was often discouraged by my inability to find a connection between what I was learning in class and things going on in real life.…

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Mathematical Association of America
Print publication year: 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×