Action Plans

Context:Prior to coming to the workshop, each institution summarized QR programming, leaning goals, and assessment on their campus. In addition, teams identified institutional barriers and assets that may help them move their action plan forward.

Action Plan: At the workshop, each team wrote an explicit plan for action that identifies goals for the next 1 and 3 years, strategies for achieving those goals, and actions for carrying out those strategies. Because these plans were designed to be internal documents for the participating teams, the action plans are only accessible by workshop participants. A public abstract of each action plan is presented below.

• Augsburg College Contact: Lori Brandt Hale (hale@augsburg.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract
  

• Bates College Contact: Ellen Peters (cpeters@bates.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: At Bates College, we have implemented a new general education curriculum that requires our students to take "at least one (1) course or unit in which the understanding and use of quantitative techniques are essential to satisfactory performance." Our Quantitative Reasoning curriculum will increase our students' ability to understand and evaluate quantitative arguments, and will help them to develop quantitative skills to solve problems in multiple contexts. Quantitative reasoning is not the same as mathematics; it is data-based and anchored in context. It is a habit of mind usable in and across many fields. We will support this Quantitative Reasoning requirement by expanding the range and number of Quantitative Reasoning course offerings and by developing a structure to provide enduring resources and professional development for faculty who offer those courses. In addition, we will work with faculty to initiate a brief student questionnaire that maps to the intended outcomes of our Quantitative Reasoning requirement. We will examine the results of this direct assessment of student work and solicit faculty input about teaching Quantitative Reasoning courses. Both of these activities will allow us to continually revisit the aims of our Quantitative Reasoning requirement as well as our means of achieving them.
  
• Bowdoin College Contact: Nancy Jennings (njenning@bowdoin.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract
  
• Central Michigan University Contact: Jane Matty (matty1jm@cmich.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: Central Michigan University is planning for the implementation of a Quantitative Reasoning competency requirement for all students as part of its general education program. Our goals for the next year are as follows. First, confirm approval of the requirement by our Academic Senate and identify campus champions of the initiative. Second,formalize details of the requirement, foster development of QR courses in various disciplines, and plan faculty development and assessment activities. Longer-term goals for the QR initiative include integrating QR into the curriculum--with a special focus on teacher education programs--and promoting modification of the faculty reward structure to encourage broad participation in QR (and overall general education) by the faculty.
  

• Central Washington University Contact: Stuart Boersma (BoersmaS@cwu.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: We will increase the quantitative literacy of elementary education majors at CWU by incorporating quantitative reasoning elements in our introductory mathematics and science courses. A committee comprised of lead faculty for each targeted course will adapt current Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning Standards for elementary education majors. The committee will facilitate discussions among faculty concentrating on distinguishing between basic mathematical skills and quantitative reasoning tasks. Faculty development workshops will prepare faculty to engage students in QR tasks. Success will be determined through a clearly articulated assessment plan that includes both formative and summative measures.
  
• Colby-Sawyer College Contact: Semra Kilic-Bahi (skilic-bahi@colby-sawyer.edu) Action Plan Abstract: Colby-Sawyer College is a small, residential, liberal arts college in New Hampshire. Our QL efforts started in fall 2004 while we were revising our math curriculum and it grew rapidly to a college-wide program. Besides the collaborative, innovative culture at Colby-Sawyer, an NSF-DUECCLI grant (#0633133) was a major reason for this rapid growth. For more details about our program please see: 1) Colby-Sawyer College QL website: http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/academics/experience/quantitative/index.html 2) Benjamin Steele and Semra Kilic-Bahi (2008) "Quantitative Literacy Across the Curriculum: A Case Study," Numeracy: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2, Article 3. Available at: http://services.bepress.com/numeracy/vol1/iss2/art3
  
• The College of New Jersey
  Contact: Ed Conjura (conjura@tcnj.edu)
  Context
  Action Plan
  Abstract:
  The team has chosen not to provide a public abstract.
  
• Colorado College Contact: Mark Morgenstern (mmorgenstern@coloradocollege.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: A realistic starting point is for a CC QR/QL group to form and research into past "Q" initiatives that lost momentum and got shelved. In performing this research into the "Q" history it will be also possible to start informing faculty and staff of such an initiative so that discussions can begin to take place at many levels within the CC community. Once the CC campus agrees on a definition of QR/QL for our students we can start to develop an assessment tool to measure QR/QL in our student body as it now stands. Results of this initial assessment should serve to guide more long-term goals and actions.
  
• Fairfield University Contact: Curt Naser (cnaser@mail.fairfield.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: Fairfield University has no explicit Quantitative Reasoning or Quantitative Literacy requirement or assessment plan. There are programs within the University that have specified QR as a learning objective (Dolan School of Business) and at least one department that has worked on assessing QR (Biology). We have no doubt that QR is an important aspect of the educational experience of our students, but we do not have any objective evidence of this, nor has there been any systematic attempt to assess our students QR abilities across the University to date. The PKAL workshop attended by Linda Henkel, Laura McSweeney, Kathy Nantz, Curtis Naser and Michael Tucker afforded this group the opportunity to learn about existing QR initiatives at other institutions and develop an initial action plan to begin a more explicit focus on QR at the University. In order that the development of a QR program can be considered appropriately, our initial action plan focuses on educating faculty and administration about the concept of QR, what existing programs and models are in place at other institutions, in order that the faculty and administration can deliberate in an informed way on the desirability of creating an explicit institutional structure for fostering and assessing QR in our students.
  
• Knox College Contact: Richard Stout (rstout@knox.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: The first task back on campus of the Knox QR team will be to revisit the criteria Knox uses to designate QL courses. Initially we want to convene cross-disciplinary meetings of the faculty who teach QL/QR courses at Knox. This group includes faculty from mathematics, chemistry, physics, economics, psychology and environmental studies. We will invite faculty from ed studies, political science, and anthropology and sociology - in part because they either offer departmental statistical methods courses that are not designated QL or want to help to staff our non-calculus, cross-disciplinary stats course (Stats 200) that carries the QL designation. We will distribute minutes to the faculty and invite comments from and participation by others who wish to express their interests and views. Then we want to report our findings to the Curriculum Committee and possibly recommend changes in QL/QR criteria. Knox's upcoming North Central re-accreditation provides all academic departments with a motive to assess how well their majors are achieving QL/QR learning goals - even if the department teaches no QL/QR courses. So the Knox QR team members will share what we learned at Carleton with all interested departments in addition to working with the faculty and staff coordinating Knox's North Central re-accreditation effort. We hope these processes will elevate awareness across the faculty that QL/QR goals are integral to the educational mission of Knox College, that they are achievable and that we can and should assess how well our students achieve the learning goals for the purpose of improving our QL/QR curriculum.
  
• Linfield College Contact: Chuck Dunn (cdunn@linfield.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: The team has chosen not to provide a public abstract.
  
• University of Massachusetts-Boston
  Contact: Maura Mast (maura.mast@umb.edu)
  Context
  Action Plan
  Abstract
  
• Miami University Contact: James Kiper (James.Kiper@muohio.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: A group of faculty at Miami University has a vision for quantitative literacy that centers on ensuring that, when students walk across the stage at graduation, they can use quantitative reasoning needed to be informed and thoughtful citizens. This vision also includes a center for quantitative literacy that would provide help for students, and provide faculty development and consultation with regard to quantitative literacy issues, The first steps toward this goal are underway through a faculty learning community whose members are each involved in a project that will result in a change to include quantitative reasoning in one of their courses.
  
• University of Michigan
  Contact: Marjorie Horton (hortonm@umich.edu)
  Context
  Action Plan
  Abstract
• Minnesota State University Moorhead Contact: Jean Sando (sandoje@mnstate.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: Introduction of a Quantitative Reasoning (QR) program on Minnesota State University Moorhead's campus is the central long range goal. To this end, interest will be seeded and support sought across campus among various groups. The Mathematics Department and the Math 102 open forum as well as the Area 4 (science) open forums are the most important of these venues. Among the issues that will be discussed are additional QR requirement(s), classes that build or could potentially build on Math 102 (the required QR class), and discussion of whether or not Math 102, in its current form, adequately addresses QR goals. Eventually, the Dragon Core (MSUM's liberal studies) Committee will also be consulted, as ultimately any change to liberal studies requirements must go through them. The IFO (faculty union) Executive Board and Academic Affairs Council will also be approached to further generate broad-based support across various governing powers on campus. The librarians will be targeted specifically because they oversee an existing liberal studies requirement for Information Literacy, to which QR could be effectively tied. QR will be simultaneously pursued through indirect routes. A Center for Teaching and Learning grant will be sought to fund a CTL-QR workshop on campus to raise awareness and generate interest. Ideally, this interest will lead to a presentation (by Nathan?) at the 2009 Professional Development Day and to formation of a reading club on QR issues; both of these could increase faculty expertise and buy-in. Additionally, both current students in upper level classes and alumni will be survey regarding their ability to reason quantitatively and whether or not they feel adequately prepared. We suspect a need for additional QR classes will be demonstrated through these surveys. Finally, this interest will hopefully lead to several tangible goals. First a QR workgroup and eventually to a full QR committee would be established that would parallel the very successful Campus Writing Committee one task of this committee would be to assign QR designation to classes that use significant QR in their class, regardless of department. This QR designation would be necessary since the second goal would be the addition of QR class(es?) beyond the single class (Math 102) currently required for graduation. Finally, assessment would be necessary and likely worked out between the QR committee and the existing campus assessment structures.
  
• Mount Saint Mary College Contact: Amanda Maynard (maynard@msmc.edu) Context Context Action Plan Abstract: As part of the evaluation of our General Education curriculum, we will be collecting and analyzing data this year to establish a baseline of our students' quantitative reasoning (QR). These data will then be used to help establish the need for more comprehensive teaching of QR on our campus across disciplines. This process will begin with a Faculty Development Day which will include QR, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), and Information Literacy (IL). We plan to invite stakeholders from these areas to develop a module for the day. It is our hope that the baseline data will generate discussion and interest among faculty across disciplines, which might then generate future faculty development days to sustain momentum. Our second goal is to create a sustainable, cyclical assessment process for QR. Our present assessment of QR is built into our General Education pilot, and we wish to create a plan for a more sustainable assessment process after the pilot process is completed. We are considering establishing a standing committee to take responsibility for assessment of QR and other important skills in General Education. We believe that if the committee is established with representation across the disciplines and if the assessment process is cyclical, the plan would likely be sustainable.
  
• Roanoke College Contact: Adrienne Bloss (bloss@roanoke.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract
  
• Smith College Contact: Catherine McCune (cmccune@email.smith.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract
  
• St. Lawrence University Contact: Michael Schuckers (schuckers@stlawu.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract
  
• St. Olaf College Contact: Matt Richey (richeym@stolaf.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract: The team has chosen not to provide a public abstract.
  
• Trinity College (Hartford, CT) Contact: Judy Moran (judith.moran@trincoll.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract
  
• University of Queensland Contact: Peter Adams (p.adams@uq.edu.au) Context Action Plan Abstract
  
• Vassar College Contact: Molly Shanley (shanley@vassar.edu) Context Action Plan Abstract