Are We at a Watershed Moment for the Quantitative Literacy Movement?: Review of \u3cem\u3eShifting Context, Stable Core: Advancing Quantitative Literacy in Higher Education,\u3c/em\u3e by Luke Tunstall, Gizem Karaali, and Victor Piercey, eds.

Abstract

Luke Tunstall, Gizem Karaali, and Victor Piercey, eds. 2019. Shifting Concepts, Stable Core: Advancing Quantitative Literacy in Higher Education. Math Notes 88. (Mathematics Association of America, MAA Press). Print ISBN 978-0-88385-198-2. Electronic ISBN 978-1-61444-324-7. The thematic approach of the edited MAA Notes volume Shifting Contexts, Stable Core: Advancing Quantitative Literacy in Higher Education is that the “construct” of quantitative literacy is now fairly stable, but the contexts in which quantitative literacy is taught (and practiced) continue to change. Several chapters give the reader much to consider regarding what constitutes the foundation of this stable core and, relatedly, how quantitative literacy is defined. Still, the depth and range of contributions in this book provide strong evidence that quantitative literacy has matured and is thriving in higher education. The approximately twenty chapters include retrospectives on the history of quantitative literacy (primarily in the United States), as well as perspectives on its current state; both lessons and “lessons learned” about teaching quantitative literacy in mathematical and interdisciplinary contexts; discussions of assessment; and critical reflections of the relationship between quantitative literacy and social justice. This rich and, at times, provocative book is an excellent addition to the growing collection of quantitative literacy scholarship