{"id":44670,"date":"2017-05-03T15:38:50","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T19:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=44670"},"modified":"2017-05-03T16:20:49","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T20:20:49","slug":"math-skills-put-to-the-test-in-real-world-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2017\/05\/math-skills-put-to-the-test-in-real-world-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"Math skills put to the test in real-world settings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><\/b><span class=\"dropcap\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bill Ralph\u2019s students are taking their math studies beyond the classroom.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Brock professor is teaching a course in the University\u2019s Department of Mathematics and Statistics that allows students to assist local organizations with their real-world math issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen the program was designed, we wanted to make sure we were training people for the workforce,\u201d Ralph said. \u201cExperiential learning is exactly what we want.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting beyond the classroom is a cornerstone of Brock\u2019s commitment to Experiential Education. In Ralph\u2019s class, this means going past the conventional chalkboard approach and using computers to engage students, while also helping others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His students came out swinging, undertaking innovative projects with real-world applications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One saw an athletic assessment system and growth model created for a corporate client, who wished not to be named; another initiative created an algorithm for Distress Centre Niagara to aid telephone operators who help individuals access support for addictions and mental health. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wPJoO_KdgAI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As each project supports a client in need, it also forces the students to apply their mathematics studies in the working world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s definitely good to get out and see how mathematics can help other people in an industry setting, and how valuable we are to people who need help with math,\u201d said second-year math and statistics student Brad Klassen. \u201cIt\u2019s great work experience, and it shows us that our skills are useful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Klassen, a member of the group working on the athletic assessment tool, was quick to note that he had learned about more than just math in the course.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe learned that communication is important,\u201d he said, when referencing the exchange of ideas with the client.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For second-year concurrent education student Joyce Khouzam, the Experiential Education portion of the class was deeply inspirational.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMany of us are going to be teachers,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing able to see the difference between learning something abstract and actually applying something in real life helps to get students more excited about what they are learning. We want to do experiential learning in our classrooms when we are teachers, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Khouzam, a member of the group working with Distress Centre Niagara, was excited about being able to partner with an organization that has such a positive effect on the community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn an organization like Distress Centre Niagara, where you are trying to assist people in need, everyone\u2019s goal is to help in the best way they possibly can, and to give the individuals calling in and the operators answering the phone the best quality experience,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their professor says clients of both projects have been happy with the help the students have provided.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThey are really excited,\u201d Ralph said. \u201cThey get expertise and terrific ideas for free.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stacy Terry, Executive Director of Distress Centre Niagara, echoed the sentiment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are extremely pleased with the overall outcome of the project and the effort the group put in,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was a lot of work involved and they did it in a relatively short amount of time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She also described the overall impact of such an important project.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt will help make things more streamlined and efficient on our end. The community may not notice, but we will notice how we are more efficiently able to deliver service. There is validation and accountability for our responders when the program assists with service choices for individuals who call in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for Ralph, he was particularly proud of the creative freedom students are given in what is, after all, a math class.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cStudents often don\u2019t have a chance for creative expression,\u201d he said. \u201cIn this program they do, and I love that.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also emphasized that the most important aspect of experiential learning is applied well after the second-year course is complete.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt helps them define their careers. They see what they can do and what is required, and the course allows them to redirect their careers to what our society is interested in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beyond student creativity and experience, Ralph summed up the importance of helping local organizations with their math issues for the betterment of the community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt\u2019s tough to do, and our people can help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bill Ralph\u2019s students are taking their math studies beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":44674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,41,1,4],"tags":[4399,5050,2156,5295,4811],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44670"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44676,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44670\/revisions\/44676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}