kymatyc 2015 pat riley hopkinsville community college
TRANSCRIPT
KYMATYC 2015
Pat Riley
Hopkinsville Community College
MAT 150 For Everyone
GROUND RULES1. This is for sharing purposes only…I’m not here to
‘preach’ or ‘influence’……just give you something to think about.
2. I believe in teaching with an application approach.3. I believe in doing hands on activities instead of
lecturing.4. Competencies will be met, but enforcement changed.5. A few ‘good’ examples is better than many repetitive problems.
MAT 150 For Everyone
WHO ARE OUR STUDENTS?
1. Students planning to take Calculus sequence
2. Students needing to take Statistics or Business Calculus
3. Students needing an additional math course
4. Students needing just MAT 150 (math course)
MAT 150 For Everyone
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
PROS: Prepares students for traditional calculus sequence
What many faculty are “used to”
Appeals to students who are “good at math”
MAT 150 For Everyone
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
CONS: Limited use for students not going on to calculus
sequence
Doesn’t appeal to students who are “bad at math”
MAT 150 For Everyone
TRADITIONAL APPROACH
Bottom Line:We have been teaching to maybe 5% of the students at the expense of the other 95%.........and this is just at the MAT 150 level.
MAT 150 For Everyone
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY APPROACH
Teach to the 95% in a way that is meaningful for them and hopefully inspire them to join the 5% who are going to calculus….
MAT 150 For Everyone
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY APPROACH
….without harming the 5% who are planning to go on to
calculus.
MAT 150 For Everyone
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY APPROACH
What about MAT 146, MAT 126 or other “terminal” courses for those not going on to calculus?
MAT 150 For Everyone
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY APPROACH
Simple – Those courses close students off to STA 220, MAT
170, or Calculus track courses…..not a viable option
(in my opinion)
MAT 150 For Everyone
QUANTITATIVE LITERACY APPROACH
#1:Familiarity with graphs, variables, and function notation throughout course#2:Applications, applications, and applications#3:Extensive use of Excel for graphing#4:Hands-0n Demonstrations / Explorations#5:Assessment via homework / demonstration#6:Did I mention applications?
MAT 150 For Everyone
#1: Familiarity with graphs, variables, and function notation throughout course
-Opening “make a graph” activity-Re-enforce graphing, patterns, variables, and notation early and often-Good introduction to scatter plots / regression for Stats-Function notation is the original texting lingo
MAT 150 For Everyone
#1: Familiarity with graphs, variables, and function notation throughout course
“Five seconds after being launched, the toy rocket will be three hundred twenty-five feet in the air.”
MAT 150 For Everyone
#1: Familiarity with graphs, variables, and function notation throughout course
“Five seconds after being launched, the toy rocket will be three hundred twenty-five feet in the air.”
h(3) = 325
MAT 150 For Everyone
#1: Familiarity with graphs, variables, and function notation throughout course
ALL students are going to need to be able to read and interpret graphs. ALL students need to be able to understand how variables interact with each other. Students going on to higher level math needs a good handle with function notation.
MAT 150 For Everyone
#2: Applications, applications, and applications
-Most students think they do not like algebra because they don’t realize how much they already use it and actually understand it.
-They’ve never been shown it from this perspective.
MAT 150 For Everyone
#2: Applications, applications, and applications
-Instead of trying to bring students into the world of algebra….show them algebra is already in their world!
MAT 150 For Everyone
#2: Applications, applications, and applications
MAT 150 For Everyone
#2: Applications, applications, and applications
MAT 150 For Everyone
#3: Extensive use of Excel for graphing
-Rational functions / Asymptotes-Polynomial Roller Coasters-CSI Data Plotting-Olympic Systems Of Equations-Zombie Plague
MAT 150 For Everyone
#4: Hands-0n Demonstrations / Explorations
-Engage the students….even if it is silly-M&M decay-Nerf Gun Vertex-Making Ellipses-Design Beam-Whispering Rooms
MAT 150 For Everyone
#4: Hands-0n Demonstrations / Explorations
MAT 150 For Everyone
#4: Hands-0n Demonstrations / Explorations
MAT 150 For Everyone
#5: Assessment via homework / demonstration
-Drawing Ellipses-CSI Agents-Basketball Shooting
MAT 150 For Everyone
#5: Assessment via homework / demonstration
MAT 150 For Everyone
#6: Did I mention applications?
Critical Thinking Bonuses- Nerf Gun shooting-Cryptography-Spock
then Lisa Simpson then Leonard Hofstadter
MAT 150 For Everyone
ANOTHER POSSIBLE BENEFIT
MAT 150 For Everyone
ANOTHER POSSIBLE BENEFIT
Rethinking MAT 150 with a Quantitative Literacy approach will allow us to “remove” many
topics in the developmental courses making the CPE
decision doable.
MAT 150 For Everyone
WHAT ABOUT STUDENTS WHO “NEED” CALCULUS?
MAT 150 For Everyone
WHAT ABOUT STUDENTS WHO “NEED” CALCULUS?
MAT 160 – Pre-calculus
MAT 150 For Everyone
