Steen, Lynn Arthur, (Editor). Why Numbers Count: Quantitative
Literacy for Tomorrow's America. New York, NY: The College Board,
1997. A collection of "front-line perspectives" on the types of
quantitative skills students will need if they are to thrive in a rapidly
changing society. Essays in this volume, reflecting society at large,
convey quite diverse expectations for quantitative literacy. The
Foreword by Robert Orrill and the Preface, The New
Literacy, by the editor are available on-line, as are excerpts
from selected essays.
Steen, Lynn A. and Forman, Susan L. Beyond Eighth Grade:
Report of a Workshop on Mathematical and Occupational Skill Standards.
National Center for Research in Vocational Education., Dec. 1997.
Tufte, Edward R. Visual Explanations--Images and Quantities,
Evidence and Narrative. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1997. Third
in a remarkable series of books, this one emphasizes the use of
illustrations to explain complex and abstract ideas. Together these
volumes offer pictures of numbers (Visual
Display of Quantitative Information),of nouns (Envisioning Information),and in this volume, of
verbs. Additional background can be found in a Computer Literacy
Bookshops interview with
Edward R. Tufte. [See also a review by Bill
Casselman, Notices of the American Mathematics Society, 46:1 (Jan.,
Vickers, Margaret. "Working to Learn: Building Science
Understandings Through Work-Based Learning." In Real Learning, Real
Work: School-to-Work as High School Reform, Adria Steinberg, Editor.
New York: Routledge, 1997 Analysis of the "tyranny" of abstraction
in science--the widely held view that in science and mathematics,
abstract thought is superior to practical knowledge. Argues that to
achieve scientific and mathematical literacy, science and mathematics
at school should resemble science and mathematics at work.
Wells, Al. "Does Numeracy Matter?" Adults Learning, 8:6
Wainer, Howard. Visual Revelations: Graphical Tales of Fate
and Deception from Napoleon Bonaparte to Ross Perot. New York, NY:
Copernicus (Springer-Verlag), 1997. A survey of statistical graphics
illustrated with a wide variety of examples, both good and bad. Covers
graphical forms, their uses, and strategies for improvement. Illustrates
how graphics can reveal or conceal essential truths.