The Math You Need, When You Need It
Math tutorials for students in introductory geosciences

by Dr. Jennifer M. Wenner, UW Oshkosh Geology Department
and Dr. Eric M. Baer, Highline Community College Geology Program

Jump to: Why? | How? | References and Resources | Funding Sources

What is The Math You Need, When You Need It?

A series of student-centered web-based quantitative topics that can be customized to and run concurrently with any introductory geoscience course

The Math You Need, When You Need It modules cover quantitative topics that are important in introductory geoscience courses. Each topic includes a page for the instructor, quantitative information for the students, a set of practice problems and culminates in an on-line quiz that is automatically graded and submitted to the instructor. The project is designed to give students the quantitative knowledge that they need, just before they need to use it in their concurrent geoscience course. This program includes pre- and post-testing and self-paced modules.

learn more here

Why use The Math You Need, When You Need It?

To support and promote students' quantitative learning without using valuable classroom time

The goal of the project is to provide on-line supplemental instruction to increase the quantitative literacy of all introductory geoscience students by recognizing their needs (review and/or instruction in mathematical techniques) and supporting learning of quantitative skills without losing valuable classroom time that is needed for geologic content.

One of three main factors for improving student retention at both two- and four-year institutions is learning support including supplemental instruction -- What works in Student Retention, ACT, 2004

We use innovative instructional techniques based in best practices in mathematical education, thereby generating modules that advance students' knowledge and understanding of mathematics across the geosciences curriculum. Combined with classroom examples of quantitative concepts in a geoscience context, this project addresses many concerns about the nation's STEM education (NSF 2006; NRC, 2003; 2005), including difficulties with teaching large numbers of students from diverse backgrounds, course adaptation to students' preexisting knowledge, and student self-assessment and monitoring.learn more here

How do I use The Math You Need, When You Need It?

Assess student needs using the pre-test, assign students appropriate modules and quizzes, and use quantitative examples in a geoscience context in your classroom

The modules are designed to be used in conjunction with a course in introductory geoscience (e.g., Physical Geology, Environmental Geology, Natural Hazards, etc.). A pre-test determines the modules that students need to complete to get up to speed. Students complete appropriate modules just before this material is covered in lab or class. Students are given appropriate background information and practice problems before they take a "quiz" to determine how well they learned the material. Because many concepts get revisited numerous times in an introductory course, quizzes are designed so that you can choose questions that are appropriate for your course. learn more here

References and Resources

The Teaching Quantitative Skills in the Geosciences website has activities, teaching techniques, student resources and issues faced by instructors wishing to include quantitative skills in their courses.

• The teaching techniques portion of this site also has a section specifically geared toward teaching quantitative literacy in introductory geoscience courses

The Journal of Geoscience Education runs a regular column on mathematics in the geosciences: Computational Geology

Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education has a page about quantitative literacy.

• One of Washington Center's projects is Len Vacher's Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum.

---

Funding Sources

This project is supported by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education through awards

DUE-0633402 and DUE-0633755

Disclaimer: Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.