Argues that the types of systematic quantitative reasoning skills developed by the study of statistics have intellectual and practical merits and that quantitative reasoning is better taught as an element of general education by concentrating on descriptive statistics rather than on more complex techniques. (DMM)

Conference papers on the state of mathematics in the two-year college are presented. The papers are grouped according to main topic areas and each group of papers is followed by a summary of conference discussions. The topics addressed are: a case for curriculum change, technical mathematics, the influence of new technologies on mathematics…

Preparing students for transfer to four-year colleges remains a significant part of the mission of most community college mathematicians. For some 30 years, calculus has been synonymous with entry-level college mathematics. Recent educational and technological changes, however, demand that the definition of college-level work in mathematics be…

Discusses the needs and the content of a philosophy of mathematics course. Provided are sample term paper topics, sample final exam items, and an annotated bibliography. (YP)

In light of substantial declines in enrollments in liberal arts mathematics courses in two-year colleges, this paper looks at some of the reasons for these declines and suggests ways of revitalizing the traditional "great ideas" mathematics course. First, a brief outline is presented of the history of liberal arts mathematics, focusing on the…

The question of the advisability of incorporating discrete mathematics into the mathematics curriculum is addressed by examining the different types of courses typically offered in the first two years of college and the appropriateness of including discrete mathematics topics in these courses. The introductory section explains how the advent of…

In the past 5 years, the Mathematics Department at Saint Louis Community College (SLCC) in Meramec, Missouri, has made major curricular modifications and changed the role of faculty members in helping students succeed. These changes have been made in an effort to bring the curriculum in line with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics'…

In an effort to balance common academic outcomes, as measured by common course finals, with faculty's individual teaching styles, Johnson County Community College (Kansas) mathematics faculty developed "core components" for 10 of the mathematics courses offered in Spring 1995. The core components were designed by faculty teaching each…

This paper discusses the author's personal experiences in developing and implementing a problem-based college mathematics course for liberal arts majors. This project was initiated in response to the realization that most students are dependent on "patterning" learning algorithms and have no expectation that self-initiated thinking is a…