2. Goals and Objectives

The goals of this project are:

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Primarily, to produce materials that show students that mathematics and modern computer technology are valuable tools in solving real problems that will arise in their careers, and to enable them to incorporate those tools effectively into their decisions and reports.

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In addition, to cultivate partnerships between mathematics and BPA faculty that will serve as a model for interdisciplinary curriculum development and team teaching.

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Finally, to develop a cadre of mathematics faculty knowledgable about the application of mathematics to BPA problems.

The vehicle to accomplish these goals is the case studies.

Managers make decisions every day; many of these decisions involve evaluating data. Yet our students in BPA programs often receive no training in using mathematics to make reasoned judgments from data. The mathematics they learn is frequently focussed on making calculations and not on making decisions. Not only are we short-changing our students, but we are also short-changing our nation's management.

How did we arrive at this situation? Historically, the only way to obtain a statistic from which to make a decision was by a paper-and-pencil calculation; thus, courses focussed on such calculations. In addition, the mathematics faculty teaching courses to BPA students often do not know exactly how the mathematics is to be used. Thus, the courses tend to focus on the mathematical mechanics, rather than on the decision-making.

Two forces are currently conspiring to change this. One is the advances in computer technology. On almost every desk in a US business there is a computer, which is used for word-processing and frequently also to run spreadsheet applications for forecasting, budgeting or cost-benefit analyses. Our students need to be agile with these computer tools.

The second force for change is a growing awareness of how students learn. There is mounting evidence that students learn better when instructional materials are presented in context (Brown et al., 1989) and when they fit the students' interests and prior experiences (Shymansky et al., 1997). This is particularly true for students who are uncomfortable with quantitative material. If a problem sounds like ``math,'' students' eyes glaze over; if a problem sounds like one they might have to solve at work, their common sense kicks into gear.

We propose to change the focus of the mathematics courses that BPA students take from an emphasis on calculation to an emphasis on decision-making. Our efforts to date have convinced us that it is possible to teach significant mathematics in the context of realistic case studies.