1. Proposed Project: Describe your project involving the integration of mathematics across the disciplines, including what you will accomplish at the institute and later. Is your project an enhancement of an existing non-math course, a learning community, a new quantitative course, or other? Things you might want to include are specific examples of the mathematics integration, the specific mathematics (e.g. number sense, algebra, geometry,..) and math topics that will be integrated, and the depth and scope of integration. Identify at least 3 components of integration; you are welcome to use a list or table to show the correlation of topics.

Our project is to develop a learning community that integrates the following three courses: Basic Algebra II, English Composition I and Environmental Issues.

We attended the 2007 MAC3 winter institute in Miami. During this time our team built the foundation of a learning community that combines two courses: Basic Algebra II and English Composition I. The theme of this learning community is current environmental problems affecting our world. One of the main objectives of this integrated learning community is having the students complete a major research paper that has a significant quantitative component. The learning community is set to run during the Fall 07 semester and we have already had many students sign up for the learning community and many others express interest in doing the same. While we are very excited about our two-course LC, we do not want to stop here. Our ultimate goal is two have a three course learning community that integrates the three courses: Basic Algebra II, English Composition I and Environmental Issues.

We will use the summer institute to construct the outline of our future three-course LC. This will be a large undertaking since we are trying to integrate three courses. However, we are confident that this learning environment is the type of situation that will present students with the best opportunity to develop the abilities needed for a successful future.

Our team believes that students learn best when they experience Math and English in a context, such as environmental issues, which is important to their lives as informed citizens and productive workers. The addition of the Environmental Issues course is the missing piece of the puzzle. A lab science course where students complete experiments that produce real data for analysis provides the ideal context to apply what is learned in Basic Algebra II and English Composition I.

Marcy, the team’s Science guru, states that her students have little trouble solving context free math problems that are set up in a template fashion, however when put into a real scientific context they are at a loss of how to apply their mathematical skills. There is no transfer of knowledge from their math class to a science class that applies math to solving real life problems. Therefore, one of our major goals is to connect Basic Algebra II and Environmental Science so that students learn how to problem solve in context using mathematical concepts and skills.

Marcy’s Environmental Issues students’ also struggle transferring what they have learned in Writing and English class to the science courses she teaches. Here students need to write lab reports, projects, and papers that require English Composition skills.

2. Purpose: Answer any or all of the following questions that apply. How does your project support the goal of MAC3 to create a mathematically literate society that ensures a workforce equipped to compete in a technologically advanced global economy? Are you launching or expanding a “Math Across the Curriculum” program? What institutional needs are you trying to address? Which students are you trying to support? What challenges (pedagogical, curricular, and administrative) do you anticipate? What practices on your campus lend themselves to integrating math Across the disciplines?

To create a mathematically literate society that can compete in our modern technological world students need to be active learners engaged in solving real world problems where Math, English, and Science come together in a seamless way. Our team’s LC will give students the opportunity to work on problems that require them to think in an interdisciplinary manner.

We have just started a Mathematics Across the Curriculum program at Northern Essex Community College. Our team made a presentation at NECC’s Professional Day entitled “Quantitative Reasoning Across the Curriculum.” This presentation was well received by the faculty and staff at the college. We will use some time at the institute to strategize on ways to continue this work.

Northern Essex Community College runs about 6 learning communities per semester. It is the goal of the Learning Community Steering committee to expand the number of LCs so that they become a natural part of the college culture. The LC we propose is the beginning of a larger movement at changing the nature of the way people learn at our college.

3. Goals for the institute: Describe which components of your proposed project (above) does your team hope to accomplish at the summer institute.

We need to develop a clear outline of how we will integrate the topics of Basic Algebra II, English Composition I and Environmental Issues so that students have a real interdisciplinary experience. We need to have a plan that insures that students feel like a community of learners that are using the tools of Math, English, and Science to think critically about the environmental issues that affect our lives. How will our classes change as a result of this integration? What will be the major learning outcomes expected from a student who successfully completes this learning community?

4. Rationale for team members: Give reason(s) for the selection of your team members and how the proposed team supports your goals. Include how your math team member(s) will be utilized at the institute and later in your implementation plan.

Our learning community wants to integrate the three classes: Basic Algebra II, English Composition I and Environmental Issues. Hence it makes sense to bring together a Math, English, and Science teacher that believe in interdisciplinary learning. The team believes that learning Math and English is best done in the context of a subject that interests many students and will help them make informed decisions about the future of our planet. A familiar complaint of many science teachers is that their students cannot write and cannot do math. The real problem is that they are not able to transfer what they learned in English and Math to another discipline. For this reason we need an interesting academic course, like Environmental Issues, as the focus for learning the skills and concepts of English and Math.