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“Why Do We Need to Know This?”
OPENING STUDENTS’ EYES TO REAL-WORLD
APPLICATIONS OF MATH
Laura Billing and Scott Hagan, Math Dept., BCIT
“Why Do We Need to Know This?”
Students often do not see how math is relevant to them.
Real-life applications motivate students to learn the related math.
Young adults are not choosing technical careers in the numbers necessary to sustain the workforce.
Lack of Young Adults in Technical Fields
“…Students are often not aware of the fact that they cause a foreclosure of many exciting and interesting professions to choose from by not enrolling in mathematics and physics during the last year in school.”
See also: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/Details/education/graduates-science-math-computer-science-engineerin.aspx
Addressing British Columbia's Technological and Engineering Skills Shortage (BC Chamber of Commerce Report, 2009):“…eligibility for an enrolment in science and engineering related faculties is very low, which causes an insufficient supply of technologists and engineers for the future.”
“The Project”
We know you have no time to collect applications from diverse fields so we would like to do it for you.
The plan is to develop a package of application questions relevant to high school curriculum topics.
Each problem is completely self-contained, requiring nothing other than a knowledge of the requisite math.
Web-Based Delivery
On-line delivery of individualized assignments that are automatically graded
Maple T.A. has been used successfully for on-line assessment at BCIT, so was the natural choice to deliver these application problems
Oh, and it’s a Canadian product
Maple T.A. allows a variety of question formats and elements, versatility in assignments, and is supported by a world-renowned analytical engine.
Diverse Applications of Mathematics
Our math department teaches to a variety of fields, tailoring problems to each program.
BCIT’s math faculty are uniquely placed to know how math is applied.
Sample problems shown are related to a number of different fields.
Individualized Visual Elements
Visual elements keyed to numbers in the problem improve students’ grasp of the application context
Animations clarify context and the role that the math plays
Plots are regenerated for each student
Students can pin their memory and understanding to something concrete
Collaborative Learning
Every student receives a slightly different problem.
Allows students to discuss how to solve the problem not what the answer is.
Could be used for a class project or enrichment homework.
Portability
Questions can be answered on-line or printed for off-line work
Can be used in either the computer lab or the classroomStudents can access questions at home, for extra practice and enrichment
Ability to Redo Assignments
Teachers can set up assignments to allow students to retake them – once, twice or as often as the student likes
Students love it because they’re allowed to improve their grade……but they’re really
just getting more practice and improving their understanding
Feedback
Many different customizable levels of feedback: Grading an assignment provides instant
feedback, including (optionally) the correct answer.
Teacher can choose whether or not to allow students to “check” their answers before grading.
Full solutions will be available to teachers and, if desired, students.
The Problem
Young adults are not choosing technical careers
They may not be aware of the opportunity cost involved in neglecting math
Not knowing that math plays a role in some of their prospective careers might erode students’ motivation
Our Proposal
What we can offer: APPLICATIONS Questions that demonstrate real
applications of topics in the high school curriculum
A delivery mechanism that allows students to learn from each other
What we would like from you: FEEDBACK What did you like? What didn’t you like? Would you use a product like this? Why or
why not? What curriculum topics and grade levels
would you like to see addressed?
“The Project” - Are You Interested?
LAURA BILLING, Math Dept., [email protected]
SCOTT HAGAN, Math Dept., [email protected]
