Development and assessment of a continuing education unit in quantitative literacy for high school stem teachers

Abstract

Influencing the teaching of quantitative literacy at all levels of education can be difficult due to the many demands placed on educators. In a continuing education course, public high school science teachers participated in a pilot study of a program on quantitative literacy, involving defining quantitative literacy, how it is beneficial to students, examples of quantitative literacy education, and how it may be supported in the science classroom. Surveys administered before and after the unit indicate an improvement in the teachers’ understanding of quantitative literacy, and a follow-up survey indicates that the unit impacted classroom practice. Results support the conclusion that this program for secondary educators in science fields has a positive effect on their willingness and ability to teach quantitative literacy and may be an effective approach to supporting numeracy education at the secondary level.