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Quantitative Literacy is a cultural field where
language and quantitative constructs merge and
are no longer one or the other.
Robert Orrill, circa 2001
Wingspread Conference on QL
June 22-24, 2007
“STEM/non-STEM Differences in Engagement at US Institutions”
Nelson Laird, Sullivan, Zimmerman, and McCormick in Peer Review, Summer 2011
“For good or ill, [numbers] are today’s preeminent public
language – and those who speak it rule. Quick and cool,
numbers seem to have conquered fact.”
Michael Blastland and Andrew Dilnot in The Numbers Game
Numbers are not only important because they are pervasive;
they are pervasive because they are important.
Neal Lutsky, Calculation vs Context
Reasons to merge writing and QR
•
•
•
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To strengthen academic arguments
To strengthen quantitative literacy/reasoning
To interpret and improve public discourse
To encourage cross disciplinary cooperation
and understanding
• To prepare for the workforce
More Mothers of Babies Under 1 Are Staying Home
New York Times
After a quarter-century in which women with young children
poured into the workplace, last year brought the first decline in
the percentage of women who have babies younger than 1 year
old and are in the work force.
After a quarter-century in which women with young children
poured into the workplace, the percentage of women in the
labor force who had babies younger than 1-year old declined last
year.
USA Today July 6, 2004
Who says USA Today is
written at the 6th grade level?
Are these two views compatible?
Can one determine how much the tax cut is?
Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying
Dubious Data by Joel Best
The Tiger that Isn’t by Michael Blastland and
Andrew Dilnot – the US version is The Numbers
Game
Forbes Magazine
January 21, 2002
Why Journalists Can't Add
Dan Seligman, 01.21.02
Liberal arts graduates control the media,
which doubtless helps the prose--but
generates endless screwups in numbers.
.
.
.
If only the math majors could write.
Numbed by the Numbers
Dan Okrent – New York Times
Sometimes the absence of a number is as deflating to an
article's credibility as the presence of a deceptive one. Few
articles noting that President Bush received more votes than
any candidate in history also mentioned that more people voted
against him than any candidate in history. Quoting Michael
Moore's assertion that standing ovations in Greensboro, N.C.,
proved that "Fahrenheit 9/11" is "a red state movie" disregards
the fact that metropolitan Greensboro has over 1.2 million
people. You could probably find in a population that large
enough people to give a standing O for a reading of the bylaws
of the American Dental Association.
Does this Index Make Me Look Fat?
Gina Kolata – New York Times
THERE'S an overweight man in the White House and his name is
George W. Bush.
Yes, the president of the United States, known for his robust good
health, is officially overweight, according to the standards of the
National Institutes of Health. At 6 feet and 194 pounds, his body
mass index, or B.M.I., a measurement of height relative to weight,
is 26.4, and 25 or above is officially overweight for both sexes.
And so President Bush joins about 65 percent of Americans who
are overweight or obese - a status derived solely from that body
mass index dividing line of 25.
Interpretation
152/234 or 65%
Representation
29%
Calculation
43%
Analysis/Synthesis
34%
Assumptions
14%
Communication
23%
QLAR and Study Questions from Casebook for QR
Interpretation
Ability to glean and explain
mathematical information
presented in various forms (e.g.
equations, graphs, diagrams,
tables, words)
Representation
Ability to convert information
from one mathematical form (e.g.
equations, graphs, diagrams,
tables, words) into another.
Calculation
Ability to perform arithmetical and
mathematical calculations.
Analysis/Synthesis
Ability to make and draw
conclusions based on quantitative
analysis.
Assumptions
Ability to make and evaluate
important assumptions in
estimation, modeling, and data
analysis.
Communication
Ability to explain thoughts and
processes in terms of what
evidence is used, how it is
organized, presented, and
contextualized.
Four major paper assignments:
1-2 page critical response essay on understanding a large quantity.
2-3 page evaluative synthesis on selecting a desired purchase and
devising a savings plan to achieve the purchase
2-3 page argumentative synthesis on “state of the union” of a
selected situation with a population
5-6 page research paper on a current, negative issue that is
important to the student and propose a solution
greater vs more
less vs fewer
quantity vs number
with mass nouns: greater, less. & quantity
with count nouns: more, fewer, and number
count nouns – people, cars, bottles of wine
mass nouns – happiness, butter, population, traffic, wine
less vs fewer
… there are less tickets being sold in 2010 than in 2000.
Quantity (amount) vs number
The quotient of this was 4,563,492 which was the amount of
people that would be able to go Disney World for ten days by
purchasing the ten day pass.
The simple interest plan is the worst of option of all three,
because it will take either a lot more amount of time or a lot
more initial input to reach my goal, too large of one for a college
kid on meager funds.
This means that the 167,857 children that $4.7 million could
sponsor for one month is approximately 2.192 times the amount
of people living in Fayetteville, Arkansas in 2010.
That equals out to roughly 961 dollars a
week and slightly over 24 dollars an hour.
On a money market savings account there
is a .35% interest rate compounded
monthly, which equals 4.2% interest
annually.
On a money market savings account there is a .35% interest rate
compounded monthly, which equals 4.2% interest annually.
When comparing the three different types of savings plans, it is clear
that the simple interest savings plan will not work for the budget I
have and the time limit I want in order to reach my goal of
$6,661.33. But the modified simple interest savings plan and the
installment savings plan will both do extremely well. By the end of
the 4 years I anticipated to wait, for both plans, I will have exceeded
my goal.
In 2000, the voting-age population came out to be a total of
205,815,000 with a voter registration consisting of 156,421,311
people. The voter turnout was 105,586,274 and the percentage
pertaining to the turnout of the voting-age population was 51.3%.
… but that money could have been used on more useful things.