156 – Statistical Literacy 2012
Teaching Quantitative Literacy/Quantitative Reasoning (QL/QR) Skills: A Numeracy Infusion Course for Higher Education (NICHE)
Esther Wilder
Scholars in the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) movement have repeatedly stressed the importance of multidisciplinary QR efforts. This paper describes how a QR faculty development workshop provided the foundation for a predominantly online Numeracy Infusion Course for Higher Education (NICHE) designed to train faculty in a wide range of disciplines. The workshop has led to the crystallization of several key components of NICHE. In particular, effective QR training must teach faculty how to (a) apply QR within a disciplinary context; (b) articulate QR learning goals/objectives; (c) identify and implement best practices for teaching QR: active learning, collaborative student learning, and writing with numerical information; (d) adapt and implement strategies for incorporating QR into course instruction; and (e) assess the effectiveness of QR initiatives, using the assessment results to further improve instruction. Successful QR initiatives must not only address students’ learning but reduce the QR anxieties and improve the QR competencies of participating faculty.
