In considering the age-old question, "What good is math?", a math instructor can quietly answer, "I use it every day!" However, what do others in our society have to say in answer to this question? What are the real applications of math in our society and in the real world of business?

For over thirty years I have been teaching mathematics, assuring students of its many applications and uses in careers, business, and life. While different topics in math have many different applications in many different arenas of business, some majors such as engineering, science, and many in technology require the highest levels mathematics. However, even most traditionally "non-math" fields of study require considerable math skills. A large question in Tech Prep education today concerns what we are doing in math classes to make math relevant for these non-math students who will be in the workforce of tomorrow.

Most math instructors have an intuitive idea of what math skills provide fertile fields for applications in life. We have our own ideas of how to make the curriculum useful, but we have rarely consulted the world of business to see how closely our ideas match up with reality. Perhaps our approach has been like that of the scientists who were philosophically and scientifically attempting to determine how many teeth a horse has. After lengthy debate, finally one of them suggested that they find a horse and actually count his/her teeth. In the same way, if we really want to know how math is used in the world of business, we should go out into the world of business and "count" the math skills.

This is a very real need for math in Tech Prep--to determine what math skills are actually needed in the world of business, and to develop a curriculum of math skills that can in turn be integrated into math courses that are currently taught in the school systems. Thus, we can better prepare our students in schools for what they will actually face in business and in life. Moreover, the key to motivating students to learn any curriculum is to help them understand the value of and the ultimate need for that curriculum. Why would anyone be motivated to learn something that is perceived to have no future use or application? If we can make math relevant and actually show students the value of math concepts, we give them a reason to learn math.

The purpose of this study is to use questionnaires from current students of Seminole State College of Florida, and interviews of employers/employees from local businesses and industries to determine the most important math skills needed by the work force of our society. Based upon the results of these questionnaires and interviews, a curriculum will be developed, with user-friendly explanations, examples, and exercises to illustrate and explain the most important skills. These materials will be available in handout form and also in the College website. Such materials would be helpful to math instructors who can integrate these applications with the current curriculum increasing the relevance of math in the classroom and thus better preparing students for the real world of work. The materials will also be of value to employers and employees already in the world of business to enhance their own understanding of these skills.

The following steps are proposed from March to August 2001, to accomplish the work outlined above.

1. FORMULATE QUESTIONNAIRE AND INTERVIEW FORM.  Devise a questionnaire to distribute to students in math classes and to people in the work place (business) inquiring as to potential math problems that have been or will be
encountered in their work.  Develop an interview form to be used to collect information from visits to work sites and telephone interviews. Modifications and improvements in these instruments will be made as necessary.

2. DISTRIBUTE QUESTIONNAIRE AND CONDUCT INTERVIEWS.  Collect information by questionnaire from students. Visit work sites (businesses) to interview managers and employees concerning applications of math to business. 

3. LIST MATH SKILLS.  Determine a list of math skills (a curriculum of
sorts) that are necessary to accomplish the applications revealed in
responses to questionnaires and interviews.  This will essentially establish
a math curriculum necessary for successful employment in these arenas of
business. 

4. DEVELOP MATH MATERIALS.  Write appropriate math materials (explanations, examples, and exercises) to serve as supplementary handouts or website to meet the needs identified above.  These math materials will be determined from the most important math skills revealed by questionnaires and interviews. Handouts will be written in MS Word with MathType Equation Editor.  These will be appropriate materials for a website to be developed by Sharon Sitler and the Seminole State Webmaster. 

Proposed by: Dr. Robert J. Rapalje March 7, 2001

When the student questionnaires were summarized, it was clear that, while most of the students acknowledged that math skills were needed in their work experience, most of these were low-level skills, especially percents and arithmetic skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

It should be remembered that those who completed the questionnaires were students, most of whom were working to support themselves and their families. For the most part, these students were not employed in career positions. Rather, most were in temporary service jobs while pursuing the education that would hopefully prepare them for the career of their choice. To the engineering major who is working as a waiter in a restaurant, math skills involving percents and arithmetic skills are extremely important for now. In a few years, when the engineering career is achieved, his/her interview about math in the workplace will reveal considerably different responses.

Between the questionnaire phase and the interview phase, we wondered how the population of aspiring students would compare to employees and employers who were already in the workplace. We were not surprised to find a variety of responses from employees and employers, best summarized by Mr. Andy McNeill of Seminole County Human Resources. According to Mr. McNeill, there are several levels of positions requiring various levels of expertise in math. First, there are entry-level positions and secretarial positions that require knowledge of spreadsheets, tracking budgets, and use of simple formulas. Second, there are more technical positions that require use of AutoCAD, geometric shapes, and medium-level math skills. Third, there are positions (like surveyors and engineers) that require trigonometry and more sophisticated math. In addition, there are financial managers who need quite different math and managerial skills in order to handle multimillion-dollar budgets.

In my interviews, I found that, like Mr. McNeill’s summary, many positions require very little knowledge of math beyond basic computations. So many of these skills today can be accomplished through calculators, computers, and spreadsheets. Then again, there are many positions, especially those in fields of technology and certain areas of engineering, where medium-level math skills are required on a daily basis. Finally, there are a few occupations that require considerable expertise in math, even sophisticated math.

In addition, my interviews revealed that some employees could benefit from improved math skills. Many employees need help with percents and decimals, as well as conversion of units, especially English/metric conversions. It is important that employees be able to estimate distances and other computations and be able to recognize when an answer does not look right. Most importantly, employers need employees who can follow instructions and carry out responsibilities with accuracy and efficiency. For the most part, that is what math is all about!

It was no surprise to learn from the interviews that math skills are essential in the workplace. Mathematics instructors should continue to try to teach balance between handheld calculators and mental computations. Calculators truly are tools of the trades, and they cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, calculator dependence is a problem for many in the workforce, as well as our mathematics classrooms. A general knowledge of math (especially in the form of computational skills, fractions/decimals/percents, and general estimating skills) is essential in all levels of employment. Beyond this, there are positions that require considerable use of math. Students who aspire to these positions should be encouraged to strive for excellence in their math classes and to look for math in the world around them. There is a lot of math outside the math classroom! It usually comes in the form of applications—i.e., word problems!

Recommendations

It was due to budgetary constraints that we were forced to conduct this project in two phases. As it turned out, conducting the project in two phases was actually the best way to accomplish the task, both professionally and personally. In the first portion, the questionnaire phase, I was able to consult my most immediate resource, my own students, and gather a few thoughts about possible topics to consider. Also, I began writing a few explanations, exercises, and examples that might be useful for the project.

In the second phase of the project, the interview phase, I made some contacts with people from the world of business to determine some very specific math problems and math skills that are needed to solve these problems. During the time between the first and second phase of the project, I was able to work on my own project, the revision of my own Basic Algebra: One Step at a Time. Two sections from this book, Basic Equation Solving and Theorem of Pythagoras, were adapted and donated to this project.

Clearly, much room is left for the development of additional topics of study, and expanding the topics I have written so far. There is a need for a simple explanation of fractions/decimals/percents, and more real-world applications of this topic. Considering my limited number of contacts for the second phase, it seems reasonable to propose that additional contacts, and a more specific search for real math problems be made to further this project.

Finally, I hope the materials I have written will be helpful on the Tech Prep website, and perhaps to others in the form of handouts. Hopefully these materials will provide evidence that math does indeed apply to the real world. Not only that, but I hope in some way I have presented math as do-able, even in applications. Most importantly, math is fun, especially when you get it right!

If you find errors, please let me know about it. Send me an email at .

Dr. Robert J. Rapalje

June 3, 2002

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