Designed for the non-traditional Liberal Arts course, Mathematical Thinking and Quantitative Reasoning focuses on practical topics that students need to learn in order to be better quantitative thinkers and decision-makers. The author team’s approach emphasizes collaborative learning and critical thinking while presenting problem solving in purposeful and meaningful contexts. While this text is more concise than the author team’s Mathematical Excursions (© 2007), it contains many of the same features and learning techniques, such as the proven Aufmann Interactive Method. An extensive technology package provides instructors and students with a comprehensive set of support tools. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Employs basic mathematical skills to teach students how to address topical, real-world problems using quantitative reasoning.

"Mathematical thinking is not the same as 'doing math'--unless you are a professional mathematician. For most people, 'doing math' means the application of procedures and symbolic manipulations. Mathematical thinking, in contrast, is what the name reflects, a way of thinking about things in the world that humans have developed over three thousand years. It does not have to be about mathematics at all, which means that many people can benefit from learning this powerful way of thinking, not just mathematicians and scientists."--Back cover.

Routines can keep your classroom running smoothly. Now imagine having a set of routines focused not on classroom management, but on helping students develop their mathematical thinking skills. Routines for Reasoning provides expert guidance for weaving the Standards for Mathematical Practice into your teaching by harnessing the power of classroom-tested instructional routines. Grace Kelemanik, Amy Lucenta, and Susan Janssen Creighton have applied their extensive experience teaching mathematics and supporting teachers to crafting routines that are practical teaching and learning tools. -- Provided by publisher.

Introduction to QR, Quantitative Reasoning and Discrete Mathematics was designed for the introductory college student who may not have fully understood mathematical concepts in secondary schools. With a focus on applications, this book is divided into small digestible pieces with lots of examples illustrating a variety of topics. Use the whole book for a two semester sequence, or pick and choose topics to make a single semester course. The most basic of algebra topics are reintroduced, with an emphasis on learning how to translate scenarios into problems that can be solved or modeled with linear functions. Scientific notation and significant figures are applied to problems involving unit conversion, including examples with the Consumer Price Index. The basics of personal finance are explained, including interest, loans, mortgages, and taxes. Statistical topics are introduced to give the students the ability to look critically at the myriad of numerical sound bites tossed out in today’s social media. Combinatorics and probability topics are introduced in a way to be accessible to students seeing the material for the first time. Logic and graph theory are used to solve some traditional types of games and puzzles. Applications are connected to issues in modern Christianity with references to 18th century philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg, including why Intelligent Design does not act as proof of God, and how random chance and Divine Providence work together. Each chapter ends with a project related to the chapter, often involving spreadsheet programs or website data collection. About the Author Neil Simonetti, PhD, Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Bryn Athyn College, has been teaching Mathematics, Computer Science and Operations Research courses for almost 20 years. He is committed to showing students who are afraid of mathematics that the basics of this subject do not have to be difficult and confusing. This work results from discovering what these students need in mathematics to succeed in business, science, and social science courses.

"Writing the first edition of a math text, especially in an evolving area like quantitative reasoning, is part art and part science. You use your training and experience as an instructor to decide on the approach and the most appropriate topics. You travel a lot and talk to anyone who doesn't run away when they see you coming to gather more professional opinions. You count on your crack publisher's team to conduct surveys and focus groups. Then you put it all together and make some educated guesses, hoping that the result hits the mark"--