A Summative Report on Exploring Quantitative Relationships.

Abstract During the years 2000-2003, a course on Exploring Quantitative Relationships (EQR) was created at Queens College under the support of the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of PostSecondary Education (DOE-FIPSE Grant# P116B000772). Exploratory in nature, the course goals were to acquaint liberal arts students with mathematical techniques that can be applied to a wide array of disciplines. This was accomplished using an Excel spreadsheet program that allowed students to set up systems of equations and to visualize scientific data, without the apprehensions associated with solving detailed mathematical systems. This paper comes at the summation of the three-year project and reports on extensive student surveys conducted throughout the semester and at various points of their learning. Specifically, the EQR course positively influenced liberal arts students in the following ways: 1. Introductory computer literacy courses encouraged liberal arts majors to enroll in science and mathematics courses. 2. By using spreadsheet applications, many students gained confidence for tackling/solving problems involving mathematical formulations. 3. Many students indicated interest in retaining the concepts learned by (re)viewing materials related to the course. 1. Introduction At Queens College, a novel first course for liberal arts majors, CS12: Exploring Quantative Relationships, was developed with the support of FIPSE for curriculum development and the ILI (Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement) program of NSF to build the corresponding laboratory. This course focused mostly on teaching non-technical students to reason quantitatively and program computationally within their own disciplines. FIPSE and this project is part of a consortium of universities to coordinate research on developmental mathematics. (Vasquez, 2002) Topics typically covered include DOS and Windows, for navigating the computer system; Word, for reporting scientific findings; Excel, for modeling systems of equations; WWW and HTML, for setting up a website to disseminate the results; and, time permitting, Access and UNIX. When applicable, these topics include macro programming in and between applications. The class meets four hours a week, for a fifteen-week semester.