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Lynn Arthur Steen (St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, USA) has edited or
co-edited five booklets on quantitative literacy (QL). These booklets
helped define QL as the use of mathematical and logical thinking in context.
Lynn Steen is arguably the father of the Quantitative Literacy
(numeracy) movement while Richard Schaeffer and Linda Sons are the god
parents. Biography
Lynn Steen (1941-2015)
Obituary
Schield eulogy
MAA Obituary.
St. Olaf Obituary.
Star-Tribune Obituary
The need for Quantitative Literacy (QL) is generally accepted. But
the content and teaching of
QL is under active discussion and debate. The quotes from the
following publications present some of that discussion.
While four of the six booklets shown here are edited by
Lynn
Arthur Steen (pictured above) and two more are co-edited by
Bernard Madison and
Lynn Steen, they
all contain ideas presented by many people. In the Steen-Madison
books, Robert Orrill (to name just
one) worked tirelessly in support of
QL as have the members of the Mathematics and Democracy Design team and the
members of the National Numeracy Steering Committee. [Note: this US National
Numeracy effort
is different from the National Numeracy Strategy in the UK.].
[While the following are all quotes from the listed publications, this page has not
been reviewed or approved by any of those mentioned on this page.]
For more on Quantitative Literacy, see the
MAA webpage.
General Comments on
Numeracy and QL:
-
Numeracy
takes years of study and experience to achieve.
-
An innumerate
citizen today is as vulnerable as the illiterate peasant of Gutenberg's
time.
-
In the
twenty-first century, literacy and numeracy will become inseparable
qualities of an educated person.
-
It is time
for a change, time to recognize the unique quantitative requirements of
universal education in the computer age.
-
The essence
of QL is to use mathematical and logical thinking in context.
Leadership in Undergraduate Mathematics Education: An Example
by Joel Cunningham, Sewanee: The U of the South.
Abstract: "Lynn Arthur Steen, Professor
Emeritus of Mathematics at St. Olaf College and former President of the
Mathematical Association of America, is recognized widely for the
extraordinarily valuable leadership he has given in undergraduate
mathematics education, at his college, nationally, and internationally. This
article outlines some of his remarkable contributions, shares some of his
thinking about his experience, and includes a few further reflections."
Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers Colleges Vol 4:
Spring-Summer 2013, P 34-39.
Articles on Quantitative Literacy by Lynn Steen
Citations of
Steen's QL articles as of March 2017. ## indicates booklet listed
below
-
2011 "Reflections
on the 10th Anniversary of Mathematics and Democracy" (with Bernard
L. Madison). Numeracy, 4:1 (January 2011).
- 2009 "Adrift
in a Sea of Numbers." Honors Day Convocation, St. Olaf College, May
1, 2009.
- 2009
Confronting
Challenges, Overcoming Obstacles: A Conversation about Quantitative
Literacy (with B. Madison). Numeracy 2:1 (Jan)
- 2008
## Booklet
Calculation vs. Context: Quantitative Literacy and Its Implications for
Teacher Education. (Co-editor: B. Madison) See below.
- 2008
Reflections
on Wingspread Workshop by Lynn Steen. P 11-23 in Calculation vs. Context: QL and Its Implications for Teacher Education
- 2008
Evolution of Numeracy
and the National Numeracy Network by Steen and Madison.
Numeracy. 2008 Vol 1, Issue 1. P.1-18.
- 2008 "The
National Numeracy Network: A Brief History (with B. Madison).
Numeracy: Advancing Education in Quantitative Literacy, 1:1 (Jan)
- 2005
Asking the Right Question by Lynn
Steen. Focus Nov P. 41-48.
- 2004
Everything I Needed to Know
about Averages ... I Learned in College by Lynn Steen. AAC&U Peer
Review, 6:4 (Summer 2004) pp. 4-8.
- *2004 Achieving Quantitative Literacy:
An Urgent Challenge for Higher Education. MAA 2004. $34
MAA Bookstore
- 2003 ## Booklet
Quantitative Literacy: Why Numeracy Matters for Schools and Colleges,
editor (with B. Madison). See below.
- 2003
Review of Damned
Lies and Statistics, by Joel Best. Notices of the American
Mathematical Society, 50:2 (February 2003) 228-231.
- 2002
Reading, Writing and Numeracy by
Lynn Steen.
-
Quantitative Literacy: Why
Numeracy Matters for Schools and Colleges. Focus, 22:2
(February 2002) 8-9. [PDF Version.]
- 2001
Quantitative Literacy: A
World Awash in Numbers. Education Week, 21 (September 2001)
58. [PDF Version.]
- 2001
Mathematics
and Numeracy: Two Literacies, One Language The Mathematics Educator, Jrnl Singapore Assoc.Math Educators 6:1-10-16
- 2001
The Case for Quantitative
Literacy by Lynn Steen. P 1-22. Mathematics and
Democracy: The Case for Quantitative Literacy. NCED
- 2001
Epilogue: Embracing
Numeracy by Lynn Steen. P.107-115. Mathematics and
Democracy: The Case for Quantitative Literacy. NCED
- 2000
Mathematics, Numeracy, and
Statistics Proceedings of the 2000 AMESA National Congress, pp.
367-372.
- 2000
Reading,
Writing, and Numeracy, by Lynn Steen in Liberal Education, 86:2 (Spring 2000) pp.
26-37. [Alternate Version.]
- 1999
Bibliography
of Quantitative Literacy Compiled by Lynn Steen.
- 1999
Numeracy:
The New Literacy for a Data-Drenched Society, Educational
Leadership, 57:2 (October 1999), pp. 8-13.
- 1999
Beyond 8th Grade: Functional
Mathematics for Life and Work by Susan Forman & Lynn Steen. Nat
Center for Research Vocational Educ.
- 1997
The
New Literacy by Lynn Steen. Opening chapter in Why Numbers Count: QL for Tomorrow's America.
The College Board, pp. xv-xxviii.
- 1997 ## Booklet. Why Numbers Count: Quantitative
Literacy for Tomorrow's America (Lynn Steen). The College Entrance
Exam Board, 1997.
- 1995 "Reckoning vs. Reasoning: A
Struggle for the Soul of Mathematics'' (with Susan L. Forman). The
Condition of American Liberal Education, Robert Orrill, Editor. The
College Board, 1995, pp. 259-264.
- 1992 ## Booklet
Heeding the
Call for Change. Edited by Lynn Steen MAA. [Entire
book. See below]
- 1990
Numeracy. Daedalus, 119:2 (Spring 1990) 211-231.
- 1990 ## Booklet
On the Shoulders
of Giants: New Approaches to Numeracy. National Academy Press.
Calculation vs. Context:
Quantitative Literacy and Its
Implications for Teacher Education (2008).
Local PDF
Editors: Bernard L. Madison and Lynn Arthur Steen
"Innovative and more effective quantitative literacy
education is urgent both as a part of revitalization of liberal education
and as a response to the increasing quantitative reasoning demands of US
society. In the information age of today and tomorrow, lives are
increasingly governed by numbers. The ubiquity of data and analyses of data
require one to use sound quantitative reasoning to cope intelligently with
the requirements of citizenship, job and family, and to be prepared for a
healthy, happy and productive life. But quantitative reasoning for the
practical circumstances of life is not part of the school or college
curriculum - even for those taking a large complement of mathematics and
science courses. In particular, it is not part of the college education of
prospective teachers, and it is not a major part of the current national
agenda reshaping school curricula. Achieving a quantitatively literate
citizenry requires serious changes in the education of teachers and the
curricula they teach. Thus, the need for a conference on Quantitative
Literacy and Its Implications for Teacher Education." - From the letter of
invitation to conference participants
"Innovative and more effective quantitative literacy education is urgent
both as a part of revitalization of liberal education and as a response to
the increasing quantitative reasoning demands of US society. Thus, the need
for a conference on Quantitative Literacy and Its Implications for Teacher
Education. " MAA Bookstore.
"This volume contains the broadest interpretation yet of quantitative
literacy (QL) as it should play out across the school and college
curriculum. Nine commissioned essays on QL and teacher education by scholars
in eight academic disciplines both challenge and expand more traditional
views of QL. These essays, introductions by editors Bernard Madison and Lynn
Steen, and brief summaries of discussions summarize the proceedings of a
June 2007 multi-disciplinary conference held at Wingspread Conference Center
and sponsored by the MAA's NSF-funded PMET project." MAA 2008 Fall/Winter
Catalog
Conference Steering Committee: Stanley Katz, Princeton
University; Bernard L. Madison, University of Arkansas; Robert Orrill,
National Council on Education and the Disciplines; Richard Scheaffer,
University of Florida; Carol Geary Schneider, Association of American
Colleges and Universities; Lynn Arthur Steen, St. Olaf College; Corrine
Taylor, Wellesley College; Alan Tucker, State University of New York at Stony
Brook
PDF 2008.
PDF 2009
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION:
Planning a Conversation about Quantitative Literacy and Teacher Education,
Bernard L. Madison
Reflections on Wingspread Workshop, Lynn Arthur Steen.
Keynote
Presentation:
Reflections on Quantitative Reasoning: An Assessment Perspective, Richard J.
Shavelson
"The teaching of mathematics K-16 ... has not met the challenge of
creating a quantitatively literacy citizenry."
Commissioned
Papers:
Humanism and Quantitative
Literacy, Robert Orrill "Humanists seem always to have kept a
worried eye on quantification."
"Opposition to quantification has become deeply-seated in the
heritage of humanism."
Arguing with Numbers: Teaching QR through Argument and
Writing, Neil Lutsky
"Mathematicians are least-well prepared to deal with the meaning of
socially-constructed numbers, which is the essence of QL."
Fractions and Units in Everyday Life, Alan Tucker
Quantitative Literacy and School
Mathematics: Percentages and Fractions, Milo Schield
"[To improve algebra,] introduce rates and
percentages as presented in tables and graphs in middle school as a
pre-Algebra bridging course",
[As an alternative to Algebra II],
introduce a Quantitative Literacy course or a Statistical Literacy course.
Preparing Students for the Business of the Real (and Highly Quantitative)
World, Corrine Taylor
Beyond Calculation: Quantitative Literacy and Critical Thinking about
Public Issues, Joel Best
"the cause of quantitative literacy faces two
challenges: first recognizing that Q/L must encompass more than matters of
calculation, and
second, finding ways to integrate Q/L --
and critical thinking more generally -- into the curriculum."
Quantitative Literacy for All: How Can We Make it Happen, Hugh
Burkhardt
"If QL is not taught in Mathematics, it will not happen."
The Licensure of Teachers for Quantitative Literacy: Who
Should Be Entitled to Teach QL?, Frank B. Murray
"Lasting change begins with a clear
conception of the measurable features of numeracy."
List of
Participants.
Institutional Audit
Questions.
Achieving Quantitative Literacy
(2004)
MAA or
Amazon
An Urgent Challenge for Higher Education (edited by Lynn Arthur Steen)
MAA review.
Literacy includes "prose, document and
quantitative literacy."
"Document literacy refers to reading
charts and tables." p. xi.
"Quantitative literacy refers to
interpreting and reasoning with numbers." p. xi
"The essence of QL is to use mathematical
and logical thinking in context." p.47
QL skills involve "sophisticated reasoning with elementary mathematics
rather than elementary reasoning with sophisticated mathematics." p. 9
"Because of their education
and training, most teachers are not prepared for or comfortable with the
mathematics required for quantitative literacy." p.47
"According to Johnny Lott,
former president of NCTM, it is simply unrealistic to expect that
teachers of other subjects will either know or understand what might be
considered quantitative literacy." p. 47
"QL advocates need to be
very clear about what all students need to know and be able to do, starting
with where it fits into the mathematics program." Janice
Somerville, p.3.
Earlier innovative, QL-type
courses "had one thing in common that contributed to their remaining a
small elective rather than a major requirement -- they were designed
specifically to focus on ideas -- generally QL-like ideas -- rather than
techniques. This made them more difficult for teachers
to teach and for students to master, and for that reason they thrived
only in special niches out of the mainstream of college mathematics." p.
39
"Thus, on both sides of the
school-college boundary, policy related to quantitative literacy is
inextricably tied with mathematics and statistics." p. 33
"In reality, data analysis
-- what most statisticians actually practice -- is typically more than
the average person needs to be an informed citizen, intelligent consumer
or skilled worker. What everyone needs is typically called
statistical thinking or statistical literacy, a crucial component of
quantitative literacy." p. 43
"Although most adults see
probabilistic and statistical arguments every day, few have any
preparation to make sense out of them." Deborah Hughes Hallet, p. 43
Not withstanding the
importance of quantitative literacy to health, politics, work and
personal finance, in our discipline-dominated education system, QL has
neither an academic home or an administrative promoter." p. xi
"Although mathematics
certainly cannot bear the sole burden of quantitative literacy, it is
the discipline best suited to play a leadership role." p.44
"It may well be that with
regard to our democratic conception of higher education, it is
undergraduate mathematics that is most out of date." p. 5
"It is time for a
change, time to recognize the unique quantitative requirements
of universal education in the computer age." p.9
Reviewed in
The American Statistician (2006) V 1. "Many of the
problems that are cited as reasons why typical citizens need to be
quantitatively literate are in fact subtle and difficult. A good example
mentioned in the book is that of false positives in screening for cancers.
Can a QL curriculum be expected to emphasize basic skills also introduce
such tough cases? And how can we measure whether the students are
essentially literate? It is in the development of tools for the assessment
of quantitative skills that statisticians have some experience and perhaps
can offer assistance in solving this problem."
Reviewed in the
MAA online by
Charlotte Chell: "The great accomplishment of Achieving
Quantitative Literacy is that it articulates the urgent need with an
eloquent philosophy of education and democracy, and a vision that is both
compelling and awesome; yet it never forgets that the real-world
mathematical/QL problems to be solved are everyday tasks that will often be
contextually messy. As the Responses to the Findings demonstrate, the
real-world implementation of QL education will also require everyday tasks
that are not always elegant, and not always comfortable for mathematicians."
Quantitative Literacy: Peer Review 2004
Everything I learned about Numbers..., I learned in College by
Lynn Arthur Steen
"QL is anchored in context; the objects of
QL are data."
"Quantitative reasoning relies on concepts
first introduced in middle school
--averages, percentages, graphs."
"Averages, like percentages, are also a
source of mysteries."
"my point is that QL is sufficiently
sophisticated to warrant inclusion
in college study and,
more
important, that without it
students cannot intelligently achieve
major goals of college education."
"Quantitative literacy is not just a set
of precollege skills.
It is as important, as complex,
and as
fundamental as
the more traditional branches of mathematics."
"One clear priority has emerged: the need
to develop benchmarks
for quantitative literacy
that can guide both
curriculum and assessment in grades 10-16."
Other
Related Publications
Quantitative Literacy
Why Numeracy Matters
for Schools and Colleges (2003)
MAA or
Amazon
Edited by
Bernard L. Madison and Lynn
Arthur Steen
"Quantitative
literacy, in my view, means knowing how to reason and how to
think and it is all but absent from our curricula today."
Users of quantitative information "have to learn how to think
for themselves, and that is what an education in quantitative
reasoning can teach them." Gina Kolata (1997)
"The
attention to quantitative reasoning that she [Gina Kolata, see
above] thinks so essential to sound judgment simply does not
exist in the academic programs of most of our schools and
colleges. Robert Orrill
"To expand the conversation about QL, the NCED subsequently
sponsored a national forum, Quantitative Literacy: Why
Numeracy Matters for Schools and Colleges, held at the
National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. on December 1-2,
2001. This volume represents the proceedings of this Forum
and includes papers commissioned as background for that Forum,
essays presented at that Forum, and selected reactions to that
Forum." Bernard Madison
-
"Numeracy lies at the
intersection of statistics, mathematics and democracy. Like
statistics, numeracy is centered on interpretation of data; like
mathematics, numeracy builds on arithmetic and logic. But the
unique niche filled by numeracy is to support citizens in making
decisions informed by evidence." " Numeracy is largely an
approach to thinking about issues that employs and enhances both
statistics (the science of data) and mathematics (the science of
patterns). Yet unlike statistics, which is primarily about
uncertainty, numeracy is often about the logic of certainty.
And unlike mathematics, which is primarily about the Platonic realm
of abstract structures, numeracy often is anchored in data derived
from and attached to the empirical world." Lynn Steen,
p. 62-63.
-
"Quantitative Literacy (QL), the
ability to use numbers and data analysis in everyday life, is
everybody's orphan. Despite every person's need for QL, in the
discipline-dominated K-16 education system in the United States,
there is neither an academic home nor an administrative promoter for
this critical competency." p. 153 Bernard Madison
-
"In reality, full-bore data
analysis is more than most people need to deal with the
statistical issues of everyday life and work." P.
146 "Many
statisticians would probably disagree with the statement in
Mathematics and Democracy that QL is "not the
same as statistics." Indeed many think that a very
large part of QL is statistics..." p.147 "Those experienced
with teaching statistics suggest that one way to garner
administrative support [for QL across the curriculum] and
foster institutional change is to tie much of QL to the
statistics curriculum, everywhere it is housed." p.149
"Statistics and quantitative literacy have much in common.
Although few would disagree with this, statisticians would
probably argue that QL is mainly statistics while
mathematicians and mathematics educators tend to argue that
QL is only partly statistics. p. 151
Richard Scheaffer
-
"Statistical
methods are about logic as well as numbers. For this
reason, as well as on account of their pervasiveness in
modern life, statistics cannot be the business of
statisticians alone, but should enter into the schooling of
every educated person. To achieve this would be a
worthy goal for statistics in the coming decades."
Porter, 2001
-
"many aspects of
statistical thinking are not about numbers as much as about
concepts and habits of mind. For example, the idea of
a lurking variable upsetting an apparent bivariate
relationship with observational data is a conceptual idea,
part of statistical thinking, but not particularly about
numbers." p. 150 Richard Scheaffer.
Entire document:
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Background Papers:
-
Introduction:
The
Many faces of Quantitative Literacy, Bernard Madison.
-
Need for Work and Learning:
The Many Faces of Quantitative Literacy, Bernard
Madison; Democracy and the Numerate Citizen, Patricia
Cohen; The Democratization of Mathematics, Carnaevale
and Desrochers; What Mathematics should "Everyone" Know
and Be Able to Do, Arnold Packer; Quantitative
Literacy in the Workplace, Linda Rosen.
-
Curriculum Issues:
Data,
Shapes, Symbols: Achieving Balance in School Mathematics,
Lynn Steen; Mathematics for Literacy, Jan de Lange;
The Role of Mathematics Courses in the Development of
Quantitative Literacy, Deborah Hughes-Hallett; The
Third R in Literacy, Richardson and McCallum.
-
Policy Challenges:
Articulation and Mathematical Literacy: Political and
Policy Issues, Michael Kirst;
"Get Real!"
Assessing for Quantitative Literacy, Grant Wiggins;
Statistics and Quantitative Literacy, Richard Scheaffer;
Articulation and Quantitative Literacy, Bernard
Madison.
Forum Papers:
-
Need for Work and Learning:
Addressing Societal and Workforce Needs, David
Brakke; Making Mathematics Meaningful, Arnold Packer;
Grounding Mathematics in Quantitative Literacy,
Johnny Lott; Quantitative Literacy: A Science Literacy
Perspective, George Nelson; Learning and Work in
Context, William Steenken; Of the Teachers, by the
Teachers and for the Teachers, Roger Howe;
Impediments to and Potentials for Quantitative Literacy,
J. T. Sutcliffe.
-
Policy Perspectives:
Say What you Mean (and Mean What You Say), Janis
Somerville; Education Policy and Decision Making,
Margaret Cozzens; Policies on Placement and Proficiency
Tests: A Community College's Role, Sadie Bragg;
Standards are Not Enough: Challenges of Urban Education,
Judith Rizzo; Creating Networks as a Vehicle for Change,
Susan Ganter.
-
International Perspectives:
Numeracy in an International Context, Lynn Steen;
Quantitative Literacy and Mathematical Competencies,
Morgan Niss; Defining Mathematical Literacy in France,
Michel Merle; What Mathematics for All?, A.
Geoffrey Howson; Numeracy: A Challenge for Adult
Education, Mieke van Groenestijn; The Role of
Mathematics in Building a Democratic Society, Ubiratan
D'Ambrosio.
-
Reflection Papers:
Why Are We Here?, Jeanne Narum; Quantitative
Literacy Goals: Are We Making Progress?, Rita Colwell;
What Have We Learned.. and Have Yet to Learn?, Hyman
Bass; Reflections from several forum
participants.
Mathematics and Democracy
The Case for Quantitative Literacy (2001) Edited by Lynn
Steen
MAA or
PDF
MAA review
"Despite its occasional use as a euphemism for statistics in school
curricula, quantitative literacy is not the same as statistics. Neither
is it the same as mathematics, nor is it (as some fear) watered-down
mathematics. Quantitative literacy is more a habit of mind, an
approach to problems that employs and enhances both statistics and
mathematics. Unlike statistics, which is primarily about uncertainty,
numeracy is often about the logic of certainty. Unlike mathematics,
which is primarily about a Platonic realm of abstract structures,
numeracy is often anchored in data derived from and attached to the
empirical world. Surprisingly to some, this inextricable link to reality
makes quantitative reasoning every bit as challenging and rigorous as
mathematical reasoning."
"In the twenty-first century, literacy
and numeracy will become inseparable qualities of an educated person."
-
"Numeracy takes years of study and
experience to achieve."
-
"Although quantitative literacy is a
recent and still uncommon
addition to the curriculum, its roots in data give it staying
power."
-
"Numeracy will thrive similarly because
it is the natural tool for
comprehending information in the computer age."
-
"Numeracy embodies the capacity to
communicate in this new language."
-
"colleges seem to have no clear vision
about the goals of quantitative literacy
or the means by which these goals can most readily be achieved."
-
"Numeracy is not the same as mathematics,
nor is it an alternative to mathematics."
-
MAA Online Book Review of "Mathematics
and Democracy"
Mathematics and
Democracy: The Case for Quantitative Literacy, PDF (Lynn Steen,
editor). National Council on Education & the Disciplines
Chapters:
|
|
Why
Numbers Count
Quantitative Literacy for Tomorrow's
America (1997) Edited by Lynn
Steen
College
Entrance Exam Board
"Numeracy is the new literacy of our age"
"The relentless quantification of society
continues unabated."
"In short an innumerate citizen today is
as vulnerable
as the illiterate peasant of Gutenberg's time."
"The ascendancy of quantitative
information has changed profoundly
not only the environment in which
we live and work, but also
the entire framework of civic life."
"The tendency to reduce complex information to a few numbers is
overwhelming--in health care, in social policy, in political
analysis, in education. ... Although the widespread availability of
data should enrich public discourse, inevitable over-simplifications
and misinterpretations may ultimately cheapen it. ... Instead of
enhancing Jeffersonian democracy, limited numeracy can easily shift
the balance to a technocracy.
"Innumeracy thus becomes another means of
disenfranchisement: by reinforcing the idea that truth is relative
and unknowable, people with the least defenses against charlatans
will be most vulnerable."
CONTENTS:
-
Numeracy and Quantitative Literacy
(Table of Contents)
-
Why
Numbers Count: Foreword by Robert Orrill,
-
The New
Literacy (PDF) by Lynn Steen,
-
Defining
Quantitative Literacy,
-
The
Triumph of Numbers: Civic Implications of Quantitative Literacy by
Theodore Porter. "Rarely do they [students] learn what a stratified
sample is, or how an unemployment rate is determined, or what the smog index
measures. The sorts of numbers that modern citizens are likely to confront
in their lives as citizens and voters have little place in the modern
curriculum."
-
Civic
Numeracy: Does the Public Care? by Deborah Wadsworth,
-
Making
Mathematics The Great Equalizer by Shirley Malcom (AAAS),
-
Numeracy:
Imperative of a Forgotten Goal by Iddo Gal,
-
Thinking Quantitatively about Science by James Rutherford (AAAS)
-
Mere
Literacy is not Enough by George Cobb,
-
Solving
Problems in the Real World by James Pollak,
-
Quantitative Practices by Peter J. Denning
-
Organizing Mathematics Education around Work by Gary Hoachlander
QUANTITATIVE REASONING FOR COLLEGE GRADUATES. CUPM.
HEADING
THE CALL FOR CHANGE Edited by Lynn Steen.
MAA 1992.
Standing on
the Shoulders of Giants: New Approaches to Numeracy.
Edited
by Lynn Steen. National Academy Press, 1990.
Abstract: Forces created
by the proliferation of computer hardware and. software, by
innovative methods of mathematical modelling and applications,
by broader demographic considerations, and by schools themselves
are profoundly changing the way mathematics is practiced, the
way mathematics is is taught, and the way mathematics is
learned. In this volume, a vision of the richness of mathematics
is expressed and illustrated as five different possible strands
of school mathematics through the expansion on the theme of
mathematics as the language and science of patterns with
emphases on interconnections and communalit1es. Included
are: (1) an introduction to the five sample strands with
examples of the continuity underlying the fundamentals of
mathematics, of the mathematical connections that both unite and
rapeat[?], and of the mathematical perspective necessary to view
both the variety and the regularity of patterns, (2) the
Dimension strand, which focuses on the development of
relationships between the different dimensions with emphasis on
three-dimensional topics; (3) the Quantity strand, which
provides insights into the three basic tasks of measuring;,
ordering, and coding with attendant symbologies and procedures1
(4) the Uncertainty strand, which develops ideas about the
natural themes and strategies within the twin concepts of data
and chance; (5) the Shape strand, which uses classification to
discover similarities and differences among objects, analysis to
discern the components of form, and representation to recognize
and comprehend shapes within different contexts; and {6)vthe
Change strand, which advocates imaginative and sensitive
responses to the constantly emerging new types of patterns,
including patterns of thinking about nature, as well as
mathematics. (31 references) (JJK)
CONTENTS: PREFACE (Lynn Steen).
PATTERN (Lynn Steen), DIMENSION (Thomas Banchoff), QUANTITY
(James Few), UNCERTAINTY (David Moore), SHAPE (Majorie Senechal),
CHANGE (Ian Stwwart). BIOGRAPHIES and INDEX.
Numeracy-Related Items
1998 CUPM-MAA First 40 Years of
Recommendations
CUPM Panel on Statistics:
For
non-Statisticians (1972)
For
Statisticians (1971).
Lynn Steen's
Mathematically-based articles and publications
- 2007
Developing
Mathematical Literacy (with R. Turner and H. Burkhardt). In Modeling
and Applications in Mathematics Education. pp 285-294.
- 2007
How
Mathematics Counts by Lynn Steen. Educational
Leadership Assoc. for Supervision & Curriculum
Development (ASCD). Nov. p. 9-14
- 2007
On Being a
Mathematical Citizen: The Natural NExT Step by Lynn
Steen. The Ninth James R. C. Leitzel Lecture MAA San Jose
CA.
- 2007
Facing
Facts: Achieving Balance in High School Mathematics by
Lynn Steen. The Mathematics Teacher Vol 100. P 86-95.
- 2002
Growing Math
Majors at St. Olaf by Lynn Steen. The Educational
Trust. Summer 2002.
- 2002
Achieving Mathematical
Proficiency for All: Moving Beyond the Math Wars by Lynn
Steen. College Board Review, 196 (Spring 2002) 4-11.
- 2001
Twenty Questions about
Pre-Calculus. Keynote by Lynn Steen at "Rethinking the
Preparation for Calculus" Conference. P. 8-12.
- 2000
Analysis 2000:
Challenges and Opportunities by Lynn Steen. p. 193-210.
- 2000
Review of "A
Mathematical Mystery Tour" by A. K. Dewdney. Reviewed by
Lynn Steen in Notices of the AMS Vol 47, N2. P
221-224.
- 1999
Twenty Questions
about Mathematics by Lynn Steen. Concluding chapter in
1999 NCTM Yearbook. P. 270-285.
- 1998
Reflections on
Mathematical Patterns, Relationships, and Functions by
Lynn Steen. Minn. K-12 Mathematics Framework, SciMath-MN
- 1998
CUPM Recommendations:
The First 40 Years Introduction by Lynn Steen. MAA.
[Entire document]
- 1997 The New Literacy.
Opening chapter in Why Numbers don't Count.
- 1992
Does
Everybody Need to Study Algebra? Mathematics
Teacher. [Copy
of original]
- 1991
"Foreword"
to Math Panic by Laurie Buxton. Heinemann Educational Books,
1991.
- 1991
Reaching
for Science Literacy. Change, 23:4 (July-Aug. 1991) 10-19.
[PDF Original.]
- 1990 Mathematical
News That's Fit to Print. The Popularization of Mathematics,
Howson & Kahane ed.. Cambridge U. Press, pp. 176-193.
- 1988
Mathematics: The
Science of Patterns by Lynn Steen.
Science Vol 240. 29 April, 1988. P 611-616.
- 1988
Mathematics for a New
Century by Lynn Steen. ICME-VI, Budapest, July 27 - Aug.
4, 1988.
- 1988
Celebrating
Mathematics by Lynn Steen. The American
Mathematical Monthly. Vol. 95, No. 5 (May, 1988), pp.
414-427.
- 1987
Calculus for a New Century:
A Pump, Not a Filter. Edited by Lynn Steen.
National Research Council.
- 1987
Mathematics
Education: A Predictor of Scientific Competitiveness by
Lynn Steen. Science Vol 237. Policy Forum 17
July p 251-252, 302
- 1986
Twenty Questions for
Calculus Reformers by Lynn Steen. Presented at Tulane
University.
- 1986
Mathematics: Our
Invisible Culture. Lynn Steen. Opening
address at a symposium on science and the liberal arts at
Dickinson College.
- 1985 A 'Minds-On' World. Focus,
March-April 1985, p. 4.
- 1984 "1 + 1 = 0: New Math for a New
Age (editorial)." Science, 225 (7 Sep. 1984) 981; [Excerpt. The
Washington Post, (4 Sep. 1984) A18.]
- 1978
Math is a Four Letter Word.
The Mathematical Intelligencer, 1 (1978) 171-172.
- 1975
Foundations of
Mathematics: Unsolvable Problems. Science New
Series, Vol. 189, No. 4198 (Jul. 18, 1975), pp. 209-210
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