Mathematics Professors Author Invited Article on Advances in Quantitative Education

Assistant professor Shannon W. Dingman and professor Bernard L. Madison, both of the department of mathematical sciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, authored one of seven invited articles in the just released summer issue of Peer Review that focuses on current trends and emerging practices in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

Dingman and Madison report on their findings from developing and teaching MATH 2813, Mathematical Reasoning, in an article titled “Twenty-First-Century Quantitative Education: Beyond Content.” This is one of the four invited articles in this issue focused on classroom practices.  

Mathematical Reasoning began as an experimental course, unofficially called NewsMath, offered by Madison in 2004, and joined by Dingman in 2007. While teaching MATH 2183 over the past five years, Madison and Dingman have studied how students learn to reason quantitatively. They have published three other research papers on their findings and co-authored two editions of the casebook that is the primary source for course materials. Along with colleagues Stuart Boersma of Central Washington University and Caren Diefenderfer of Hollins University, Dingman and Madison’s work on quantitative reasoning has been supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.       

Published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Peer Review provides a quarterly briefing on emerging trends and key debates in undergraduate education. Each issue is focused on a specific topic, provides comprehensive analysis, and features campus perspectives. This issue of Peer Review emerges from the new partnership between Project Kaleidoscope and the Association of American Colleges and Universities and provides a critical lens on current trends and emerging practices in STEM education. 

This is the second invited article for Madison in Peer Review. In 2004, he wrote one of two analysis articles, “Two Mathematics: Ever the Twain Shall Meet,” in an issue focused on quantitative literacy. Madison said he was doubly pleased that his colleague Dingman was included in this invitation from the Peer Review editor and that their work received this significant recognition. But Dingman and Madison are most pleased with improved student learning in quantitative reasoning as result of their work.