Dr. Bennett developed one of the nation’s first courses in Quantitative Reasoning at the University of Colorado (learn more with his Numeracy article about this). As a result, he has spoken to faculty from dozens of colleges and universities about his course and the needs of students in general education mathematics courses. Below is a title and short abstract for his seminar.
Title/abstract: Mathematics for Life: Are You Teaching Students What They Really Need?
Make a list of mathematical skills and concepts that are crucial to daily life in modern society. Does it match the content of your core mathematics requirement for students in non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors? Sadly, most college professors answer “no.” Moreover, even when course content does seem applicable to daily life, many students don’t seem to see the importance. We can trace the roots of these problems to two simple facts: First, most non-STEM students are still thrown into courses that were originally designed to prepare students for further work in mathematics (such as college algebra or developmental courses), when in reality this will almost certainly be the last mathematics course they ever take. Second, most of the students in these required courses will self-identify themselves either as “math phobics” (they’re afraid of math) or “math loathers” (they don’t like math). Clearly, such predispositions are an impediment to teaching. Fortunately, the solution to both problems is equally simple, at least in principle: Create a course that focuses on concepts and skills that your students will actually use in their other college courses, in their careers, and in their daily lives, and teach this material in a way that shows them its context and relevance so clearly that they cannot help but become engaged. In this talk, I will explain how a course in “quantitative reasoning” can do this, providing many examples (most drawn from my textbook, Using and Understanding Mathematics).
Note: Click to see a video of a past presentation at Lehman College or my keynote from a conference in North Carolina.
Scheduling: Please contact Dr. Bennett with any questions or to schedule a visit. I generally do not charge for these colloquia, but appreciate any standard departmental honorarium.