Two trains are heading in opposite directions on a Friday morning. One is traveling slower because it’s carrying buffalo. Which train will pass a medium-sized body of water first? Are you sweating yet? Having flashbacks to tenth grade algebra? What is the value of X? WHAT IS THE VALUE OF X?
A new approach to math called Quantitative Reasoning, or QR, asserts that the value of X matters if students understand that X is everywhere in their normal lives. X matters if it’s the result on your child’s medical test. X matters if it’s the interest rate that you are paying on your credit card. X matters if someone is trying to sell you something or persuade you of something with numbers and you need to figure out if that person is honest or trying to scam you. QR focuses on giving students math “survival skills” like basic principles, statistical reasoning, critical thinking, and problem solving, and it always keeps these lessons relevant and rooted in real life. “It’s a way of thought,” said Patricia Wilkinson, chairperson of the Mathematics Department, “a way of looking at life.”
The American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges is recommending that all community colleges have a Quantitative Reasoning course available by the year 2007, but BMCC began offering the course, MAT 160, this fall. Professor Klement Teixeira, Instructor, and Professor Frederick Reese, Lecturer, are both teaching the math course.
More than half of the students currently taking the course identify themselves as math phobic. But all of the students agreed that the combination of excellent instruction from Professors Teixeira and Reese, and the relevance and broad applicability of the course have given them a new perspective on math.
“No matter what your major is, you can apply this course,” said one Fine Arts student. “Everything relates to real life in this course.”
“We talked about investing, and now I’m looking into setting up a retirement savings account,” another woman shared.
“My uncle worked with Einstein on quantum theory,” said a soft-spoken woman in the front row of Professor Reese’s class. “But I didn’t inherit the math gene. This class empowers us to make intelligent decisions. It’s a tool to use forever.”
“I am one class away from my bachelor’s degree,” a student in the back of the room said. “I’m a SUNY student, but I didn’t want to take math there. The way they teach it is too rushed and confusing. I lucked into this class. I’m getting an A in math – I’ve never gotten an A in math.”
An older student raised his hand. “I’ve got a PhD, but I needed a math class for a teaching certification. I was scared to death – I mean terrified. But I love this course. Now my wife asks me to turn out the light at night because I sit up in bed working math problems – just because it’s fun.”
For more information about MAT 160, Quantitative Reasoning, contact Professor Teixeira at 212-220-1359 or Professor Reese at 212-220-1355.
