Nathan Grawe (Economics) will serve as the director of Carleton’s Quantitative Reasoning, Inquiry, and Knowledge (QuIRK) program, which is supported by two recently-received grants. In September 2007, Carleton was awarded a $499,994 National Science Foundation (NSF) CCLI Phase 2 grant to use the writing-based assessment of student quantitative reasoning improvements to guide and evaluate curricular reform. With advice from representatives from six other institutions and following the completion of feasibility studies at four partner colleges and universities, Carleton will adapt its assessment/professional development model for dissemination to two- and four-year colleges and universities. In late 2007, the Keck Foundation granted $300,000 to Carleton to extend QR teaching and learning into fields and departments where quantitative skills and data are less commonly used. Modeled after and integrated with the College’s well-established Writing Program, QuIRK’s professional development workshops and curricular revisions flow from assessment of QR in student writing samples using QuIRK’s novel rubric. The focus on student writing and integration with the Writing Program has allowed QuIRK to implement reforms rapidly and to engage faculty with broad disciplinary representation
These two grants will enable the QuIRK initiative to raise awareness of quantitative reasoning around campus (through LTC talks, workshops to assess QR proficiency in student writing, and other means), to share best QR-teaching practices among faculty throughout the College, and to support curricular reform by funding course development and revision. Read more on recent grants.