Faculty from three departments (Mathematics, Biology, Physical Science) prepared this group proposal. Its goal is to enhance understanding of mathematics, science, and their interactions and relevance to students. Objectives are to increase scientific literacy, student awareness of connections between mathematics and science, critical thinking and problem solving skills, and ability of future teachers to incorporate math into their classrooms. This proposal will develop a multidisciplinary, general education level quantitative reasoning course that will use basic algebra to answer science questions. Students completing this course should have better problem solving skills and exhibit a greater level of scientific literacy. Assessment will include comparison of students in newly developed and preexisting courses through value-added testing, performance on standardized tests, and tracking student success in subsequent courses. Dissemination may include presentations, publications, and a Web page. This project will encourage minority participation in math and science. Approximately 30% of the students at SOSU are Native American and less than 20% major in mathematics or science.
