Essays

Helping students develop quantitative reasoning skills via classroom engagement with data
Joseph Zume, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Joseph T. Zume, Geography & Earth Science, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania I am a firm believer in the experiential learning doctrine. I believe that, one of the most efficient ways to help students ...

Quantitative reasoning skills in laboratory courses
Kabindra Shakya, Villanova University
Kabindra Shakya, Geography and the Environment, Villanova University Quantitative reasoning (QR) and critical thinking are one of the important learning goals for students in environmental science. Analysis of ...

Improving quantitative and computational skills in under-graduate bioscience education
Tom Andersen, University of Oslo, Norway
Tom Andersen, Department of biosciences, University of Oslo, Norway The Department of Biosciences at the University of Oslo, Norway, has gone through a major revision in its bachelor's and master's ...

Opportunities and challenges in developing critical thinking in ecology students
Courtney Campany, Shepherd University
Courtney Campany, Biology, Colgate University Downloadable version of this essayOpportunities and challenges in developing critical thinking in ecology students (Acrobat (PDF) 62kB May2 19)

Improving Quantitative Attitudes in Environmental Issues
Sue Ebanks, Savannah State University
Sue Ebanks, Marine and Environmental Sciences, Savannah State University Considering that Environmental Issues (ENVS 1140) is a course for non-science majors, there are mostly business and liberal arts and social ...

Utilizing Real-World Data for Real-World Calculations
Walter Szeliga, Central Washington University
Walter Szeliga, Geological Sciences, Central Washington University My background in mathematics taught me that I never truly understood the methods of one course until I took the subsequent course. My view is that ...

The Importance of Teaching Quantitative Reasoning in Higher Education
Desiree Lonon, Savannah State University
Desiree Lonon, Chemistry & Forensic Science, Savannah State University Quantitative Reasoning "(QR) requires students to think critically and apply basic mathematics and statistics skills to interpret ...

Teaching Quantitative Reasoning to Promote Transferable Skills
Kimberly Coleman, SUNY College at Plattsburgh
Kimberly Coleman, Center for Earth and Environmental Science, SUNY - Plattsburgh As an educator, I believe that critical thinking, as well as oral and written communication, teamwork, and cultural competence, are ...

"Math mini-modules" to support and focus quantitative class activities
Megan Kelly, Loyola University Chicago
Megan Kelly, Arrupe College, Loyola University Chicago I frequently ask students to work with numbers during class in one way or another. I have often operated under the assumption that students are skilled with ...

Dear Students, don't be scared of quantitative reasoning!
Jennifer Bradham, Vanderbilt University
Jennifer Bradham, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University Despite regularly creating, manipulating, and interpreting large quantitative datasets in my own research, I still sometimes find myself ...