Index of University Press Releases

May 21, 2009

Catalano attends National Science Foundation Workshop

Michael Catalano

MITCHELL –Michael Catalano, professor of mathematics at DWU, was invited as one of 15 faculty members from around the country to participate in a special workshop for National Science Foundation (NSF) projects related to quantitative literacy.

The workshop was April 30 through May 2 at the University of Washington Bothell in suburban Seattle.

The invitation was extended based on the NSF grant, “College Algebra in Context: A Learner-centered Approach Incorporating Data-driven Activities Related to Social Issues,” for which Catalano is the principal investigator.

The $66,000 grant supported work on the development of a textbook and related materials for a revised college algebra course and included funds for a mobile laptop computer laboratory at DWU. Work on the text is near completion and preliminary versions have been in use at DWU for several years.

The focus of the workshop was to develop a Web page that could serve as a central resource for those seeking information on NSF funded quantitative literacy (QL) projects. The page is part of the National Numeracy Network’s (NNN) Web site. The NNN is an interdisciplinary network of faculty working to promote QL among citizens through a variety of means including fostering the development of curriculum that enhances the QL skills of college students.

“Quantitative literacy is a relatively new concept that relates to the ability of people to understand quantitative information in context and use quantitative methods to inform decisions and solve problems,” said Catalano. “Because the college algebra text I have developed incorporates a lot of examples related to social issues such as hunger and poverty, energy and the environment, it fits well into the QL movement. I was pleased to be invited to the workshop, and the Web page should give my work much wider exposure. I’ve done several presentations at national meetings on the project, but having a permanent Web presence associated with a national organization should reach a lot more people.”

The course that uses Catalano’s text, MTH 125 College Algebra, is part of the new general education program at DWU.

“The QL focus of our college algebra course fits in well with the interdisciplinary aspect of our new general education curriculum,” says Catalano. “I am a great believer in connecting the content students learn in college algebra and other mathematics classes with problems and issues from other disciplines and the larger society.”

Catalano will be seeking a publisher for the textbook in the near future.