Quantitative Literacy (QL) Course Proposal Procedures

Students seeking an A.B. degree in the CAS must complete at least one QL course. Courses fulfilling this requirement must receive a QL designation. This form explains how to propose a course for this purpose.


The vision statement of the National Numeracy Network is that we achieve "a society in which all citizens possess the power and habit of mind to search out quantitative information, critique it, reflect upon it and apply it in their public, personal and professional lives." Accordingly, the Miami University quantitative literacy competency promotes the abilities to interpret, reason with, make sound practical decisions based on, and effectively communicate numerical information.

Criteria

Courses seeking a QL designation must:

  1. Include at least 3 QL student learning outcomes (SLOs) from the following list of 6. These QL SLOs are based on Bloom's Taxonomy and each link to one or more of the Lumina Foundation's outcomes.

    Group A (Knowledge & Comprehension)
    • SLO 1: Identify the quantitative aspects of a problem or situation
    • SLO 2: Interpret numerical displays and information

    Group B (Application & Analysis)
    • SLO 3: Apply quantitative methods to a different situation
    • SLO 4: Analyze, compare and/or contrast components of numerical information

    Group C (Synthesis & Evaluation)
    • SLO 5: Communicate or create an idea with numeric information using multiple forms of representation
      (words, graphs, tables and other displays)
    • SLO 6: Evaluate, assess, or critique different forms of numerical evidence
  2. Include graded QL assignments and activities at multiple points, distributed over the course of the semester.
  3. Include graded assignments requiring students to translate a QL skill to a practical application or to solve a problem.

Guidance

  1. The QL SLOs above are deliberately phrased broadly so that they can (1) be modified to fit the goals and content of a variety of courses across cognate areas and (2) be implemented via myriad techniques and assignments.

    For instance, consider the SLO "evaluate, assess, or critique different forms of numerical evidence." A professor might phrase this SLO for a proposed class as, "Students should be able to critically assess whether a journalist drew appropriate conclusions in a newspaper article that involved quantitative information." Another example might be, "Students should be able to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different statistical procedures (e.g., correlational versus experimental procedures)."
  2. Though not every SLO need involve QL, at least one-third of all SLOs in the course should be QL SLOs (e.g., if a course has 9 SLOs, at least 3 should involve QL). Accordingly, at least one-third of the course activities should involve the pursuit of QL SLOs.
  3. A quantitatively literate person not only understands broad quantitative principles and methods but can use them across contexts to solve problems, answer questions or address practical applications. Therefore, a QL course should include graded assignments asking students to use QL skills for these purposes. See below for some examples of problems that require QL skills to answer. Many other examples are possible. Consider how your course will contribute to your students' quantitative literacy development.

How To Propose a QL Course

For those proposing newly created courses:

  1. All new courses in the College (whether seeking QL status or not) require approval from the CAS curriculum committee. So, first, complete their new course approval form.

    Item 5 on this form requests SLOs. Be sure at least three of these SLOs involve QL and that at least one-third of your total SLOs are QL-related.
  2. Attach to the new course approval form a separate document with the following information:
    1. The QL SLOs on the first page are ordered from those requiring the least degree of cognitive complexity to those requiring the most. That is, the higher-numbered SLOs involve greater cognitive sophistication. Identify the highest-numbered SLO included in your course. Then, provide either a course assignment or a description of a course assignment that facilitates this QL SLO. Please limit this response to 2 pages.
    2. Provide an estimation of the percentage of the course that will be spent in the pursuit of QL.
    3. Provide an assessment plan. During the third year post approval, an assessment (see below) of the course must be submitted to the department to determine if the course is meeting its stated QL learning outcomes. The results of all three tiers of this plan as outlined below will be included, as well as any changes planned for the course based on the assessment. This report will be included in the department's next Program Review. CELTUA will provide feedback to the department on the quality of the assessment and the conclusions/recommendations drawn from it. The Three Tiered Model of Assessment that you are to follow includes:
      • Tier 1 - Faculty Perceptions
      • Tier 2 - Student Perceptions
      • Tier 3 - Student Learning Outcome Assessment
      Please address each tier in describing your assessment plan.

For those proposing revisions of existing courses:

  1. All proposals for the revision or enhancement of an existing CAS course (whether seeking QL status or not) require approval from the CAS curriculum committee. So, first, complete their "significant change" form.

    Item 2 on this form requests SLOs. Be sure at least three of these SLOs involve QL and that at least one-third of your total SLOs are QL-related.
  2. Attach to the "significant change" form a separate document with the following information:
    1. The QL SLOs on the first page are ordered from those requiring the least degree of cognitive complexity to those requiring the most. That is, the higher-numbered SLOs involve greater cognitive sophistication. Identify the highest-numbered SLO included in your course. Then, provide either a course assignment or a description of a course assignment that facilitates this QL SLO. Please limit this response to 2 pages.
    2. Provide an estimation of the percentage of the course that will be spent in the pursuit of QL.
    3. Provide an assessment plan. During the third year post approval, an assessment (see below) of the course must be submitted to the department to determine if the course is meeting its stated QL learning outcomes. The results of all three tiers of this plan as outlined below will be included, as well as any changes planned for the course based on the assessment. This report will be included in the department's next Program Review. CELTUA will provide feedback to the department on the quality of the assessment and the conclusions/recommendations drawn from it. The Three Tiered Model of Assessment that you are to follow includes:
      • Tier 1 - Faculty Perceptions
      • Tier 2 - Student Perceptions
      • Tier 3 - Student Learning Outcome Assessment
      Please address each tier in describing your assessment plan.

Sample Questions Requiring QL Skills to Answer

The stimulus package involves a huge monetary investment by the U.S. government. Can this be understood by an informed citizen? In a related question, how is this information effectively communicated?

What is the basis of claims that Social Security will become insolvent in a particular number of years? Does this involve a projection of future population growth? What is the basis of these projections?

Different energy producing technologies are available (e.g., coal-burning, nuclear, solar). What climate, economic or health outcomes do each offer? Can the lifecycle cost of producing energy via these technologies be summarized and used to select a particular technology?

Two reports are issued summarizing the same political rally. One report says more than one million people participated while the other claimed fewer than 250,000. Which, if either, is correctly capturing the number of participants?

Global warming is accepted by the vast majority of environmental scientists. What are the models that underlie this belief? Why do we use models? Could these models be wrong? What is the uncertainty intrinsic in these models?

A newspaper article has reported that caffeine is bad for your health. An experiment was reported in which heavy coffee drinkers have higher rates of anxiety. Do you need additional information before you would believe this claim?

Millions, billions and trillions are all big numbers but they correspond to very different amounts of debt at a national scale. Parts per million (ppm), billion (ppb), trillion (ppt) are all small concentrations; however if chemical A kills 50% of organisms exposed to it at a concentration of 10 ppm and chemical B kills 50% of organisms exposed to it at a concentration of 15 ppb, then which chemical is more toxic? [Chemical B is relatively more toxic since it has the same effect at a much lower concentration. This requires an understanding that 15 ppb < 10 ppm (10 ppm = 10000 ppb).]

Is it worth stretching now to buy a house with a 15-year loan instead of a 30-year loan? Is it worth spending $15K more for an electric car relative to a gasoline car? [You need to be able to calculate the expected cost of operation over the duration over which you own the cars.]

Your doctor says you have a 10% risk of heart disease at your current cholesterol level. You can reduce this risk by lowering your cholesterol level through diet change, exercise or by taking a statin drug. Will diet and exercise changes suffice? How would you decide? What did 10% risk mean?

* Examples taken (and slightly modified) from Appendix L of the CAS QL Core Course Requirement Proposal