Quantitative Literacy (GQ)

Required Course:
1 course, 4 credits
Replacing:
Quantitative Reasoning (QA and QB) in University Core
Note:
All students are required to take the Math placement test before registering for GQ courses. See the "New Student Orientation" section for more information about the placement test.

Gen Ed Quantitative Literacy courses present mathematical thinking as a tool for solving everyday problems, and as a way of understanding how to represent aspects of a complex world. They are designed to prepare students as citizens to have the ability to think critically about quantitative statements, to recognize when they are misleading or false, and to appreciate how they relate to significant social or political issues. While computation may be part a QL course, the primary focus is not computational skills.

Quantitative Literacy courses are intended to teach students how to:

  • Become familiar with quantitative models that describe real world phenomena and be able to recognize limitations of those models;
  • Develop an ability to perform simple mathematical computations associated with a quantitative model and make conclusions based on the results; and
  • Appreciate mathematical thinking as an important tool for solving a large number of problems that are part of everyday life.

GQ requirement may be satisfied by successfully completing one of the following:

  1. Any GQ General Education course.
  2. Mathematics 1031, Math 1041, Math 1042, Math 1941, Math 1942 or Math 2043.
  3. Statistics 2101 or 2103. Available to continuing BBA, and THM students and Business Administration minor only.
  4. An appropriate course from BSIBS required sequence.

Courses Offered at TUJ from Fall 2009

Following courses in the Quantitative Literacy area will be offered from Fall 2009 at TUJ.


Mathematical Patterns
Math 0824

News stories, everyday situations, and puzzling vignettes will be used to illuminate basic math concepts. Learn probability, for example, by discussing the gambler's fallacy and gambler's ruin, the drunkard's random walks, the Monty Hall problem, the St. Petersburg paradox, the hot hand, monkeys randomly typing on a typewriter, and many others. A similar approach involving estimation problems and puzzles will be taken in the units on basic numeracy and logic. Throughout the course, lectures and readings will examine the mathematical angles of stories in the news, suggesting fresh perspectives, questions, and ideas on current issues from google searches to the randomness of the iPod shuffle.



Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences
Anthropology 0825 / Political Science 0825 / Psychology 0825 / Sociology 0825

Psychological, political, social, and economic arguments and knowledge frequently depend on the use of numerical data. A psychologist might hypothesize that I.Q. is attributable to environmental or genetic factors; a politician might claim that hand gun control legislation will reduce crime; a sociologist might assert that social mobility is more limited in the United States than in other countries, and an economist might declare that globalization lowers the incomes of U.S. workers. How can we evaluate these arguments? Using examples from psychology, sociology, political science, and economics, students will examine how social science methods and statistics help us understand the social world. The goal is to become critical consumers of quantitative material that appears in scholarship, the media, and everyday life.