Mathematics for Everyday Life: A Compassionate Approach

Catalog description

This course will revitalize students’ relationship with math, leading them to develop practical mathematical skills in contexts that are rewarding and meaningful both in and out of school. Students will strengthen their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills through important, THE CURRICULUM 106 real-world applications, including measurement, finances, critical consumption of statistics in the media, scientific thinking, and epidemiology. This course will give students the tools and the confidence to engage with mathematical concepts in other academic areas, leading students to discover the joy of engaging with the beautiful ideas of mathematics. Each group conference will address a special topic in mathematics based on students’ interests. Topics might include mathematics and democracy, mathematics in the arts, or children’s understanding of mathematics. No prior mathematics knowledge is required, as everyone can learn mathematics with understanding. The Friday conference will address precalculus topics for students wishing to better prepare themselves for the study of calculus. Closed to students who have taken Learning Mathematics With Understanding (MATH 3055), Calculus I (MATH 2030, MATH 3005), Calculus II (MATH 3010), and/or Multivariable Mathematics (MATH 3516). Courses offered in related disciplines this year are listed below. Full descriptions of the courses may be found under the appropriate disciplines. First-Year Studies: Privacy, Technology, and the Law (p. 6), Michael Siff Computer Science Introduction to Computer Science: The Way of the Program (p. 40), James Marshall Computer Science The Computational Beauty of Nature (p. 40), James Marshall Computer Science Games Computers Play (p. 40), Michael Siff Computer Science Biologically-Inspired Artificial Intelligence (p. 41), James Marshall Computer Science Let’s Talk Data and Let Data Talk: An…