Applied Mathematics
Purpose
Graduates with the Applied Mathematics Degree, a Bachelor of Science program, will have knowledge and appreciation of the breadth and depth of mathematics, including the connections between different areas of mathematics, and between mathematics and other disciplines. They will be prepared for immediate participation in the workforce or for graduate study.
Educational Objectives
Graduates of the Applied Mathematics Program will be able to do the following:
Apply mathematics and technology tools to solve problems.
- Understand the use of mathematical tools and concepts in other fields.
- Communicate, and work, with people of diverse backgrounds in individual and group settings, in an ethical and professional manner..
- Critically analyze information and concepts to adapt to advances in knowledge and technology in the workplace.
Expected Student Learning Outcomes
Upon graduation, students will be able to:
apply mathematical concepts and principles to perform symbolic computations
solve applied problems
create, use and analyze graphical representations of mathematical relationships
demonstrate mathematical knowledge and understanding
apply technology tools to solve problems
perform abstract mathematical reasoning
learn independently
understand or apply the methods of scientific inquiry
work effectively in teams
Curriculum Map
The curriculum map for the Applied Mathematics program can be found on the program's web page on the OIT web site.
Summary of Student Learning Outcomes
During the 2007-08 academic year, the Mathematics faculty formally assessed the student learning outcomes summarized below. Additional details can be found in the attached assessment report and in department assessment records.
Outcome 1: Apply mathematical concepts and principles to perform symbolic computations.
For Outcome 1, results were not felt to be as good as we would like to see. It is felt that students need to spend more quality time on their own working with mathematical concepts. Members of the department have, and will continue to, experiment with ways to motivate students to spend this time. Several department members are currently using WeBWorK, an online homework system, and some data has been gathered relating to its use. That data can be found in the Math Department assessment binder, kept by the department assessment coordinator.
Outcome 4: Interpret mathematical results.
Results for Outcome 4 were extremely varied. The overall feeling of the department is that student skills in this area are neither outstanding nor disappointing. It is clear that more care will need to be taken when assessing this in the future.
Outcome 6: Perform abstract mathematical reasoning.
The sample of students used for Outcome 6 was fairly small, but we feel that the results have some use. Overall performance was adequate in stating definitions, determining whether an object meets a definition and making conjectures based on concrete observations. Performance was lacking in constructing examples or counterexamples and in constructing proofs. We feel that progress can be made in the first of these tow areas by giving it a bit more emphasis in class, assigned work and exams. As mentioned before, constructing proofs is an area of difficulty for students everywhere, and the performance we saw may not be able to be improved.
The area that we feel needs most attention at this point is further refinement and reorganization of our learning outcomes. In retrospect we think that Outcomes 1 and 4 above should actually be individual criteria under some broader outcomes. Outcome 6 seems to be fairly well-designed and will not need any revision. The department has determined a plan for revising our outcomes, and we will do that in a one-day retreat during the 2008 Fall Convocation. Greater consistency in assessing across courses and levels will receive greater attention in the future as well.
A further note may be in order. The number of students in the Applied Mathematics degree program is relatively small (10-20) and the individual students are difficult to track for several reasons. It is possible that none of the students whose performance was assessed are actually Applied Mathematics majors; we may wish in the future to try to determine which of the students assessed are majors. Informal observations and anecdotal evidence at this point seem to indicate that our majors are fairly proficient, at least in the area of mathematics. The level of sophistication in thinking we are seeing in students taking our most challenging courses is high. Two recent graduates who received math minors have been very successful in an Applied Physics graduate program at Oregon State University. One of them reported that MATLAB skills learned at OIT gave the two of them a huge advantage over classmates on one major class assignment, and the same student claimed to have had an easy time in a graduate probability course at PSU because of taking Math 465 at OIT. These things are encouraging!