On "Animals", QL Converts, and Transfer - An Interview

Abstract

In March 2017, Gizem Karaali interviewed Len Vacher, at the time the lead editor of Numeracy, the flagship journal of the National Numeracy Network. What follows is the extended transcript of this conversation, which ranges from quantitative literacy to computational geology, from transfer of learned content and skills to interdisciplinary collaboration. The interview was first published in Shifting Contexts Stable Core: Advancing Quantitative Literacy in Higher Education, edited by Luke Tunstall, Gizem Karaali, and Victor Piercey, and published in 2019 as MAA Notes Volume 88. It is reprinted here with the permission of the publisher. 1

Concluding Thoughts

“…Despite the many papers that attempt to clarify what QL actually means (e.g., Steen 2001;Vacher 2014;Karaali et al 2016), everyone seems to salute "QL is math in context." Meanwhile, on the ground, that characterization leads to word problems being used by mathematicians to bring context they understand to the math concepts they are teaching in math class (Karaali and Vacher 2020). It also leads to word problems used to assess skills one would like to think students would learn in their math classes (e.g., Gaze et al 2014;Roohr et al 2017).…”

Innovative Strategies for Talent Cultivation in New Ventures Under Higher Education

“…Among them, Higher Education in the 21st Century: Prospects and Actions in the World has made a new definition of higher education, that is, adopted the Recommendations on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications and Qualifications approved by the 27th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 1993. “In the definition ( Karaali and Vacher, 2020 ), higher education includes all types of post-secondary education, training or research training approved by universities or other educational institutions of higher education institutions ( Pominova and Zaretskaya, 2019 ). In addition to highlighting the advanced nature of higher education, this definition also uses the broadest possible definition to reflect its tolerance to various situations in countries and regions around the world ( Anton et al, 2019 ).…”