Mathematics has a unique and powerful role to play in the teaching of social justice issues. There is substantial quantitative evidence for social injustice, but many citizens lack the quantitative skills to understand that evidence. A course in quantitative literacy is a unique opportunity to provide this quantitative understanding to a wide…

Students majoring in non-STEM fields often identify introductory biology courses as irrelevant and overly rigorous. Resistance to enroll in a required general education science course, coupled with negative attitudes toward the subject, can adversely affect the academic performance of students; this can especially be present in students from…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effects of new developmental statistics-based courses to traditional algebra-based developmental courses. The study used extant data from eight institutions and a matched sample of 2,041 students (Treatment, N = 748; Comparison, N = 1,293). All students enrolled in a treatment or…

We investigated curricular and pedagogical innovations in undergraduate science courses for non-science majors at a Historically Black Institution (HBI) and a Primarily White Institution (PWI). The aims were to improve students' understanding of science, increase their enthusiasm towards science by connecting their prior experience and interest to…

In 2000 the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Department of Biology began teaching year-long survey lecture and lab courses to majors and nonmajors alike. Last year, the lecture courses became required for biology majors (unless they choose to place out of these courses with biology advanced placement [AP] exam scores of 4 or 5). Prior to 2000, most…