teaching mathematics students with real-world applications stefan baratto clackamas cc amatyc...
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Teaching Mathematics Studentswith Real-World Applications
Content in Context
Stefan Baratto Clackamas CC
AMATYC Conference (S178)
16 November 2014
Skills(of course)
Problem Solving(reduce fear)
Critical Thinking(advance and improve)
Developmental Math: Goals
Technical Communication(the point of it all)
Other?(barriers and anxieties)
Developmental Math: Goals
Learn Math Skills through ApplicationsLearn their skillsStudents become more comfortable
reading and solving problemsLead students to think critically about
the content
Meeting the Goals
Difficulties Posed by Reading LevelDevelopmental math & readingRelevant applications are easier to
understandDifficulties Posed by Abstract Math
We are not good at this
Applications
Wason Selection Tasks Activity
Relevant or Abstract
Activity: Wason Selection Tasks Four cards are laying on a table. Each card has a letter of the alphabet on one side and a number on the other side. You are given the rule: If there is a vowel on one side of the card, then there must be an even number on the other side. You are to determine which (if any) of the cards must be turned over in order to determine whether the rule is being followed. You want to flip the minimum number of cards necessary to accomplish this. The cards on the table are as follows:
T 6 E 9 You want to turn over the fewest number of cards possible to determine whether the rule is being followed. For each card, determine if you need to turn it over, and write a short sentence justifying your choice.
Activity: Wason Selection Tasks As a bartender in an all-ages club that serves alcohol, your job is to ensure compliance with the following rule: Patrons under 21 may not drink alcohol. Toward that end, you may ask an individual their age, or check what they are drinking, but you may not be more intrusive than absolutely necessary. Four people sitting at the bar are shown below. #1: Drinking Water #2: Over 21 #3: Drinking Beer #4: Under 21 In which cases (if any) should you ask a patron’s age, or determine what beverage they are consuming? For each patron, write a short sentence justifying your choice.
Wason Selection Tasks ActivityTeaches them my expectations
Careful reading; critical thinking Easy, shortProvides a wealth of teachable moments
on the first dayEspecially when they ask, “what does this
have to do with math?”Surprising how many get this activity wrong!
Relevant or Abstract
Math is relevant, even to the developmental studentMillennial generation needs relevance
Finding applications that students care about and are within their abilities is a challenge
Relevance
Set of transferable skills that B&I feels that students should have when they graduate collegeB&I felt (1990s) that too many
graduates didn’t possess these skillsSome of these skills are best learned
in math classes
SCANS Skills
Communicating technical information is high on the SCANS skills listThis involves the ability to read, take in,
and think critically about technical writing
It also involves the ability to communicate technical information
This is important!It can be dull!
Technical Communication
Reading Percent Problems
Reading and Understanding
Activity: Reading Percent Problems Definition: Base, Amount, and Rate The base B is the whole in a problem. It is the standard used for comparison. Often, the base is the initial quantity and may be paired with the word “of.” The amount A is the part of the whole being compared to the base. The amount is often paired with the word “is.” The rate R is the ratio of the amount to the base. The rate is usually given as a percent. Most any percent problem comes down to finding one of these three elements. Given two of them, we can always find the third. The first step is to identify the elements in a problem. Example 1: Identifying the Elements of a Percent Problem Identify B, A, and R in the statement: $40 is 20% of $200.
$200B We began with this. $40A $40 is a part of the original base. 20%R 20% is the percent. Often, it will be written as 0.20.
Activity: Reading Percent Problems Example 2: Identifying the Elements of a Percent Problem with
an Unknown Identify A, R, and B in the following percent problem. 60% of the 80 students who took MTH 050 last term are now
working. How many are working?
60%R 60% is the percent. 80B The base is 80 students; this is the total number of
students we began with. A is unknown
We do not know how many of the original number (80) are working.
Activity: Reading Percent Problems A state adds a 7.25% sales tax to the price of most goods. If a 30-GB iPod is listed for $299, how much will it cost after the sales tax has been added?
If we use the price, including tax, as the unknown amount, then the rate is
107.25% 1.0725R The base is the list price, $299.B We use the percent relationship to solve the problem.
1.0725 299
320.6775BR
A R B
Because our answer refers to a selling price, we round to two decimal places. The iPod sells for $320.68, after the sales tax has been included. Note: We could use 7.25%,R but then, after computing the amount, we would need to add it to the original price to get the actual selling price.
RelevanceThey all own iPods or the like; they can
relateThey all pay sales tax
Critical Thinking SkillsRate: 107.725%If using 7.725%, then add back at the
end
Reading and Understanding
Developmental Algebra SkillDistributing a negative sign always
gives them troubleEasier to teach in context
Distributing a Negative
Skills and Critical Thinking
Activity: Distributing a Negative Funghi Books pays $6.27 for each copy of The Forager’s Mushroom Cookbook (wholesale cost). They estimate that the weekly cost of selling the book is $285. The bookstore sells each copy for $14.95. a. Write an expression that describes the revenue Funghi Books
earns from selling this book. Let x be the number of books sold. 14.95x b. How much does the bookstore bring in if they sell 75 copies one
week? 14.95 75 1,121.25
They bring in $1,121.25 if they sell 75 copies. c. Write an expression for the weekly cost of selling this book. 6.27 285x
Activity: Distributing a Negative d. How much does it cost the bookstore to sell 75 copies in one
week? 6.27 75 285 755.25
It costs the store $755.25 to sell 75 copies in a week. e. Construct a simplified profit model for the sale of this book.
14.95 6.27 285 14.95 6.27 285
8.68 285
x x x x
x
f. How much profit does the store earn if they sell 75 copies in one
week? 8.68 75 285 366
They earn $366 if they sell 75 copies in a week.
Introduce a topic with an applicationDemonstrate how the application
requires the math they are about to learn
Move to the math content, in the abstract
Past Practices
Do examples; give students examples to do
Return to the application and complete the math
If time permits, students would have the opportunity to practice with an application, as well
Past Practices
Do your students maintain their motivation when you transition to more abstract math?
What have you done to help students be more successful with this skill?
Your Experiences
I introduce students to the basic business models of revenue, cost, and profit early in the course
Students maintain their interest when we discuss these models in classI think they keep expecting me to switch
to more abstract math; we don’t
Present Practice
If I give students an input and ask them for profit, most students will compute the revenue and cost separately and then find the differenceThis works well for a single inputThis does not work well when constructing
a model to use for many inputsOur job is to help them learn to generalize
so that they can take advantage of the power of algebra
Understanding Students
I now allow them to find a profit by finding the difference between revenue and cost one time
We talk about how they are subtracting the entire cost from the revenueThey understand this
Present Practice
My students gain a better understanding of the need to wrap the entire cost in parenthesesMore of them seem to understand that
they need to distribute the negative sign to encompass the entire cost
They gained a better understanding of the role of parentheses, in general
Present Practice
We moved on to abstract examplesMore students were able to demonstrate
mastery of this skillA month later, on their final exams,
more students demonstrated that they had learned this well than in any other class I could rememberThis continues term after term
The Upshot
I am stunned. And thrilled!!!I shouldn’t beThis is classic Wason Test materialIt is still awesome!
The Upshot
What works? What does not work?It is not enough to simply bring
applications into the classroomStudents need to be interested in the
applicationBut, inherent interest is merely a
beginning
Using Applications
Sometimes, I think that my students come to class just to tell me how much they hate math in general and word problems in particularWhy is it that humanities and social
science majors (students who “read for a living”) hate word problems?
Using Applications
Teach students to read a word problemHelp them discern the important “math”
in a paragraphSeparate the math into the parts of a
problem and help students to understand how these parts fit togetherThis is the basic challenge
Sound Fundamentals
Of course, in order to motivate students, they need to find an application relevant
How do you find your applications?
Your Experiences
ModernItems and brands
RelevantStudents “want” themCareersSurprises
Up-to-datePrices
Applications
Students know about gas prices and travelingUse what they know
Rates
Surprises: Thinking Critically
Activity: Rates A Boeing 747 can travel 8,336 mi on one 57,285-gal tank of airplane fuel. a. Report the gas mileage of this plane.
8,336
0.145557,285
The plane gets 0.1455 miles to the gallon. b. Report the passenger-miles flown if a Boeing 747 carries 156
passengers for one full tank. 156 8,336 1,300,416 The plane flies 1,300,416 passenger-miles. c. Report the passenger-miles per gallon.
Compare this to your answer in part a.
1,300,416
22.757,285
The plane gets about 22.7 passenger-miles per gallon. This is a much more reasonable means of determining the plane’s
fuel efficiency.
Activity: Rates d. A Ford Explorer gets about 15 mpg. If the driver is the only
person in the Explorer, how does its fuel efficiency compare to your answer in part c?
The plane is more fuel efficient. e. Compute the rate of gallons of fuel used by the plane per mile
flown.
57,285
6.878,336
The plane uses nearly 7 gal of fuel for each mile flown.
GovernmentNational Weather Service (NWS)Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES)Commercial
Amazon and GoogleMost popular lists
ZillowPopular (upscale and trendy brands)
Finding Applications
Use the NewsElectionsEvents
Math & Statistics
Relevance
Activity: Developmental Math and Statistics The total number of severe Atlantic hurricanes (Categories 4 and 5) are
given for each five-year period. Severe Atlantic Hurricanes 1981-85 1986-90 1991-95 1996-2000 2001-05 2006-10 4 5 5 11 14 11 Source: National Weather Service Construct a bar graph to display this information.
How many severe Atlantic hurricanes occurred between 2006 and 2010? There were 11 severe Atlantic hurricanes between 2006 and 2010. What was the percent increase in the number of severe Atlantic hurricanes
between the periods 1996-2000 and 2001-2005 (to the nearest whole percent)?
There was a 27% increase in the number of severe Atlantic hurricanes. Which period saw the largest increase over the period that came before it?
The largest increase occurred between the 1991-1995 and 1996-2000 periods.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1981-85 1986-90 1991-95 1996-00 2001-05 2006-10
Severe Atlantic Hurricanes
Use what they like
Math & Statistics
Students
Activity: Developemental Math and Statistics The table gives the cocoa bean production in a recent growing season, in millions of pounds, along with value of that season’s crop, in millions of dollars. Cocoa Bean Production and Value Production Share of Value Nation (millions of pounds) World’s Total (millions of dollars) Ivory Coast 2,706 34.75% $3,287 Ghana 1,608 20.62% 1,951 Indonesia 1,078 13.84% 1,309 Cameroon 462 5.93% 561 Nigeria 462 5.93% 561 Brazil 363 4.66% 441 Ecuador 286 3.67% 347 Malaysia 70 0.90% 86 Other 755 9.69% 917 Source: International Cocoa Organization; IndexMundi What was the world’s total production of cocoa beans that growing season? 7,788,000,000 lb of cocoa beans were grown. What was the total value of the world’s cocoa production that season? That year’s crop was worth $9,460,000,000
Activity: Developmental Math and Statistics In a subsequent year, the Ivory Coast’s production fell to 2,688 million
pounds. Find the percent decrease this represents (round to the nearest hundredth of a percent).
The percent decrease was 0.67%. In that same year, Indonesia’s production increased to 1,760 million pounds.
What percent increase does this represent (round to the nearest whole percent)?
This was a 63% increase.
Build on applicationsUse this same application when
teaching pie chartsStudents understand and you do not
need to completely introduce a new application
Math & Statistics
Students
Activity: Developmental Math and Statistics The pie chart shows the top cocoa producing nations in 2011.
Source: U.N. Food & Agricultural Organization
Which country was the largest cocoa bean producer in 2011? What
percent of the world’s cocoa beans were grown by this country?
The Ivory Coast was the largest producer with 30% of the world’s total production.
A global total of 8,980 million pounds of cocoa beans were grown
in 2011. How many pounds did Cameroon produce?
Cameroon produced about 539,000,000 lb of cocoa beans in 2011.
Ivory Coast30%
Indonesia20%Ghana
16%
Cameroon6%
Brazil5%
Other23%
Cocoa Production 2011
Many students who are less than strong in math see themselves as business majors.This explains a lot about our nation’s
economic situation over the last decade plus
Business and Finance can provide you with a rich source of applications which build one off of the other
Other Sources
Speak with faculty in other disciplines on campusThey know the employers that will hire
their studentsYou might be surprised at how willing
they are to helpCampus Data
Campus Resources
My students couldn’t care less about acid concentrations or alcohol solutionsThey do not envision themselves as chemists
Nor do they care about the number of student or general admission tickets soldCount the tickets
They do see themselves owning a business or in the health sciences fields
Likes and Dislikes
Real-World Applications
Likes and Dislikes
Activity: Real-World Applications Mixture Problems A coffee reseller wishes to mix two types of coffee beans for the House Blend. The Kona bean that she wants to use wholesales for $4.50 per pound; the Sumatran bean wholesales for $3.25 per pound. If she wishes to mix 200 pounds of beans for a wholesale price of $4 per pound, how many pounds of each type of coffee bean should she include in the mix? Check Yourself Minh splits his $20,000 investment between two funds. At the end of a year, one fund grows by 3.25% and the other grows 4.5%. If the total earnings on his investment came to $793.75, how much did he invest in each fund? Check Yourself Currently, 8% of a 42-gal mixture of patching compound is water. Local conditions require the mixture to be 13% water. How much water needs to be added to the mix in order for it to be 13% water (round to three decimal places)? What will the total volume of the mixture be after the water is added?
Activity: Real-World Applications Products A toy store is selling the Fisher-Price Rollin’ Rumblin’ Dump Truck at a 10% discount for $16.19. How much does the toy normally sell for? In order to make room for the new fall line of merchandise, a proprietor offers to discount all existing stock by 15%. How much would you pay for a Fendi handbag that the store usually sells for $229? A store sells a certain Kicker amplifier model for a car stereo system for $249.95. If the store pays $199.95 for the amplifier, what is their markup percentage for the item (to the nearest whole percent)?
Have you worked with faculty in other departments to improve course content?Have you worked with them to find
applications for your classroom?What careers are the developmental
math students at your college likely to enter?
Your Experiences
Courses are sometimes jam-packed with contentIt is difficult getting to it all in a term
without having to try and find the time to also do applications with students
Do not think of apps as cutting into class timeApplications and problem solving are what
math is all aboutApps are all about developing critical-
thinking skills
Motivating an Instructor
Good applications increase student interestIncreased student interest increases
student attentivenessIncreased attentiveness increases
student learning and retention
Apps in the Classroom
How much of what you teach do your students actually learn and retain?Even your best students?
Is it better to increase the proportion of content they learn by doing a better job with fewer topics?
Your Experiences
I want students to answer apps with sentencesI’ve learned to actually write sentences on the
board when I complete an app in classStudents should write the answer to an
application as a sentenceThis “forces” them to go back and re-read the
problem“Did they ask for the discount or the original
price?”Go back and see what the original question
asked!
Modeling for Students
Why is it that we assume they need help with the math (they do), but we also assume they are able to describe math in sentences?Why do we model the former but not the
latter?
Modeling for Students
Do you model what you want students to do?
Do your students get to practice in class?
Your Experiences
Just like working with abstract math, students need classroom practice working with apps
Strongly encourage students to work with their neighbors, especially when working on an application
Using Apps in Class
Students who watch us do math problems learn to watch us do math problems
Always follow an instructor-led example with student workMany faculty members need to be
taught thisUse a computer, document camera, or
hand-outs
Doing is Learning
Give the students time to work on a problem, then ask questions about how to proceedStrongly encourage them to work with
their neighborsComplete the problem for those who
had trouble; write the answer as a complete sentence
Doing is Learning
You can design these questions to elicit certain outcomesYou can write a revenue problem so that
they need to round up, even though the fraction part is less than a half
You can write a cost problem so they need to round down, even though the fraction part is greater than a half
Never pass up a teachable moment
Teachable Moments
Teachable MomentsCritical Thinking
Teachable Moments
Activity: Teachable Moments & Critical Thinking Recall Funghi Books pays $6.27 for each copy of The Forager’s Mushroom Cookbook (wholesale cost). They estimate that the weekly cost of selling the book is $285. The bookstore sells each copy for $14.95.
14.95
6.27 285
8.68 285
R x x
C x x
P x x
a. How many do they need to sell if they need at least $750 in
revenue?
14.95
14.95 750
75050.1
Round u
714.
!9
1 p5
5
R x x
x
x
They need to sell 51 books in order to earn at least $750 in revenue.
Activity: Teachable Moments & Critical Thinking
b. How many can they sell if their costs cannot exceed $1,200?
6.27 285
6.27 285 1,200
6.27 915
915145.9
6.27Round down!145
C x x
x
x
x
They can sell up to 145 books without costs exceeding $1,200.
Do your students even reach really teachable moments when working with math in the abstract?
Your Experiences
Applications make the math feel important to the students
They can relate to real world applications
Build on an applicationThey will feed off of your enthusiasmWorking in groups gives the class a
community feel and spirit
Summary
Thank you for joining and participating
Please Email me with thoughts, ideas, comments, or to request these files
Stefan [email protected] Community College Oregon City, OR
Thank you for your hospitalityEnjoy the rest of the weekend
Thank You