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Spreadsheets in Liberal Arts Mathematics

Spreadsheets in Liberal Arts Mathematics. Gisela Ahlbrandt Eastern Michigan University. Advantages over a graphing calculator. Cheaper, lab use is free Spreadsheets are used in the “real” world, Output is nicer and can be printed, More intuitive

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Spreadsheets in Liberal Arts Mathematics

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  1. Spreadsheets in Liberal Arts Mathematics Gisela Ahlbrandt Eastern Michigan University

  2. Advantages over a graphing calculator • Cheaper, lab use is free • Spreadsheets are used in the “real” world, • Output is nicer and can be printed, • More intuitive • More powerful, easy change of parameters

  3. Disadvantage wrt a graphing calculator • Not available in regular classroom, • Takes more time to learn, • Has so many features that it can feel overwhelming for a student • More work for the instructor to learn

  4. The Course: Mth110 • Terminal Math course, 3 credit hours, • Satisfies the general education requirement to prepare students to read the news paper, quantitative reasoning, elementary probability and statistics. • Text: For All Practical Purposes, COMAP

  5. The Students • Have usually no math requirement in their program of studies, should have one year of Algebra. • Large variations in background. • Many did not like math in school and resent that they have to take a course at all, many have never learnt basic concepts, many lack number sense. • Definitely a challenge to teach.

  6. Excel Unit • Comprises about 20% of the course • 5 lab meetings and discussions in class before and after the labs • Lab projects, term papers.

  7. Organization • Prepare the labs in the regular class room, do some hand computations, • Buddy-Pairs to spread computer expertise • Detailed lab instructions, I go through the lab and help students individually.

  8. Levels of Use • 1. Students use prepared worksheets • 2. Students set up worksheet with detailed instructions • 3. Students develop their own worksheet to solve a problem • 4. Students write a term paper/report: set up a worksheet to solve a problem, create tables and graphs from computations, import the results into a text document.

  9. Problems • Computer lab hard-ware problems • Software problems: compatibility, no money for latest versions, Mac versus PC, missing macros • No knowledgeable lab assistants

  10. Examples of Projects • Credit Card Finance Charges • Million Dollar Prize • Minimum Wage over Time

  11. http://www.emunix.emich.edu/~gisela/

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