Mathematics Practicum at St. Olaf College: Project-Based Learning through Academic Civic Engagement

Abstract

The Mathematics Practicum has been offered at St. Olaf College for over 30 years. The Practicum is a 4-week, January Interim course where three teams of five students work on consulting problems solicited from area businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These problems have significant mathematical, statistical, and computational components. The projects end with a professional-quality student presentation at the client’s home office. This project-based, interdisciplinary, experience encourages problem solving, collaboration, inquiry, and communication skills. We discuss the logistics of the course, key factors that make this a positive experience for both the students and the sponsoring organizations, continuing challenges, and benefits to the students.

Keywords:

• Project-based learning
• collaboration
• interdisciplinary
• oral communication
• academic civic engagement
• service learning

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to extend gratitude and thanks to Tom Savage who introduced the course; to Arnold Ostebee for pioneering the Mathematics Practicum; and to Steve McKelvey for continuing to make this a successful course. We are grateful to St. Olaf College for continued institutional support. Moreover, we thank Dana Gross and AAC&U for initiating this paper with the support and feedback from Faculty Leadership for Integrative Liberal Learning workshops.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rebecca Sanft

Rebecca Sanft is an assistant professor of Mathematics at University of North Carolina Asheville. Rebecca received her B.S. in Mathematics from The College of William and Mary and her Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arizona. She spent 2 years at Bryn Mawr College as a postdoc funded by HHMI, and then worked as an Assistant Professor in Mathematics at St. Olaf College for 4 years. She has a broad interest at the interface of mathematics, biology, and mechanics. She also has a great passion for the development of curriculum and programs in mathematical biology.

Kathryn Ziegler-Graham

Kathryn Ziegler-Graham is an associate professor of Statistics in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Kathryn received her B.A. in Mathematics from the College of Wooster and her Ph.D. in Biostatistics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Kathryn began her teaching career with a 2-year NSF-funded postdoctoral fellow as part of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at St. Olaf College. In addition to mentored undergraduate research Kathryn is interested in undergraduate Biostatistics and Public Health curriculum development and student advising.