Upon entering the university as freshmen, students are required to take up subjects similar to those they had taken up in high school: English and literature, Filipino, science and mathematics.
Of these, no subject comes close to inducing headaches and consternation in students like math can. Though some students may have entered their degree programs expecting to get away from the terror of numbers, all students, to their disdain, are required to take up a minimum of six units of math.
For most School of Humanities (SOH) and School of Social Sciences (SOSS) majors this generally means taking up Modern Mathematics I and II (Ma 11 and Ma 12). For School of Science and Engineering and School of Management (SOM) majors who do need math more, the math subjects taken get more complicated.
Being a part of the core curriculum, math never fails to make an impact on a student’s stay in the university—no matter what his or her degree program is.
Management engineering juniorBryan Ang, for instance, recalls the first time he felt intimidated by math. According to him, it started in high school when he was chosen to be part of an advanced math class. However, he notes that his appreciation for the subject grew over time. “I guess fear is still there, but it’s only a matter of translating that fear into love.”
For others, like applied mathematics in finance sophomore Jayvee Angala, math is a source of beauty. He gives the example of being able to graph heart shapes and infinity symbols using polar coordinates. He still does find the subject difficult and he does not necessarily like working with math.
On the other hand, Natalie Ann Unson, a European studies sophomore, says that she can handle other subjects such as history, literature and biology without any problems. However, when it comes to learning math, she ends up having a much more difficult time. She says, “It’s just a subject that doesn’t come naturally to me.” Others may find that her experience is similar to their own.
Many frustrated students wonder when they would ever need math in real life. Unson thought that she could escape math because it had nothing to do with her major. Math, however, is a core subject that the school deems necessary for and relevant to all students–similar to how the school treats philosophy and theology.
The question is: Why?
In the “real world”
Asked about what math actually offers to students, Flordeliza Francisco, who has a doctorate in mathematics and is an assistant professor in the Mathematics Department, says that the math classes in the core curriculum actually have two main purposes. To prepare students for the mathematical demands of their respective degree programs and careers is only the first.
The second purpose is to develop and help a student reach a certain level of mathematical literacy. According to Francisco, mathematical literacy is “partly number sense and partly some kind of logical reasoning.”[blockquote author=”” pull=”pullright”]According to [Mathematics Department Assistant Professor Flordeliza] Francisco, mathematical literacy is ‘partly number sense and partly some kind of logical reasoning.'[/blockquote]
Number sense, she says, is being able to comprehend different number sizes and values and doing basic mathematical operations. Students study functions, for example, to understand how different quantities affect each other. “If this amount is doubled, what happens to this one?” she demonstrates. “If my income increases this much, what will be the effect on my tax?”
Francisco also relates math to logical reasoning through the ability math gives to validate different assertions and arguments. “[Math is] a skills course. It’s not something that you read and you get it. It is something that you practice by doing other tasks, then [the skill] develops,” she says.
“‘P200 a day [spent] commuting? Buy that person a car!’” she says in a mix of English and Filipino, recalling a billboard she saw along the street once. She then went on to explain that evaluating that statement would entail comparing the monthly cost of a car loan, and all associated ownership expenses such as gas and parking, to the monthly cost of a commute.
Taking a deeper look at the applications of math in the “real world,” Queena Lee-Chua, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology and is a full-time professor of the Mathematics Department, wrote about math’s roles in different fields in her books Eureka!: Thoughts on Math (1995) and Why Be Afraid of Math? And Other Intellectual Adventures (1991). In the former, she discusses the application of math in cracking codes and securing information through different frequency counts. In the latter, she focuses on how math can aid different branches of science.
According to Lee-Chua, math can help the social sciences conduct their studies through various statistical techniques and programming tools. Some math concepts also help some sciences in developing the framework of their own theories. For example, combinatorics helped develop the hereditary theory.
Cataloging relevance
Since both the field of math and each course are so diverse, a certain level of nuance is needed in talking about relevance. The university strives to ensure relevant math programs for each degree program as much as it is able to. To do this, it adjusts variables such as the focus, the examples and the rigor of each class.
For example, Francisco notes that most of the disciplines in SOH and SOSS are not heavily dependent on math, so the focus of their math classes leans towards the general mathematical literacy mentioned above.
While Ma 11 is there to teach collegiate level algebra, Ma 12 is there to develop practical skills, so it includes topics such as statistics and probability in its syllabus. In order to be more relevant to other programs, the last two chapters in Ma 12 are changed depending on the program the students belong in, according to Francisco.
Both Francisco and Lee-Chua also share that students from political science are given lessons on logic. Similarly, those in information design are given geometry to help with their own discipline.
Math classes that concentrate on calculus are even more tailored to the degree programs of those taking them, to the point that they are listed as separate classes. Most SOM students take Applied Calculus for Business (Ma 19), which focuses on calculus and topics such as calculating marginal costs and optimizing profit. Much like Ma 19, courses such as Calculus for Economists (Ma 20) and Applied Calculus for Life Sciences (Ma 20.3a) are given to economics and life sciences majors, respectively.
“[Calculus is] specifically requested by the Economics Department,” Francisco shares. “They tell us, ‘This is the kind of calculus our students need.’ And they specifically said, ‘Just teach calculus, we’ll do the applications.’”[blockquote author=”Flordeliza Francisco, Assistant professor, Mathematics Department” pull=”pullright”]And [the Economics Department] specifically said, ‘Just teach calculus, we’ll do the applications.'[/blockquote]
The department does make sure to vary the examples and word problems it uses across different classes for the same concepts with a mind towards eventual application. Where a management student might get examples dealing with breakeven points in a business, a life sciences student might get examples dealing with blood pressure in a patient instead.
Another variable at play is rigor and depth. For certain courses where higher mathematics will eventually be faced, even the pre-calculus classes are made more rigorous and difficult to better ready the students. In these cases, students no longer take Ma 11 but instead take the Principles of Modern Mathematics I and Principles of Modern Mathematics II (Ma 18a and Ma 18b) series of subjects. These classes are worth six units in total, as opposed to the three units of Ma 11.
Adjusting the pace
While most students take Ma 11 as their first math class, others take up Introduction to College Algebra I (Ma 1) beforehand. In some special cases, Preparatory Course to College Algebra I and II (Ma 1.1 and Ma 1.2) are taken before Ma 1 when a student’s pre-algebra education needs reinforcing as well.
To further assess the math skills of those in Ma 1, students have the opportunity to advance to Ma 11 by taking a diagnostic test. However, the converse of this is that those in Ma 11 also take a diagnostic test to see if they can continue on the regular track or if they have to take Ma 1 first.
Talking about these preparatory courses, Francisco mentions that some students who are required to take Ma 18a and Ma 18b in the same semester are placed on the basic track.
She says, “You’re supposed to take [Ma 18a and Ma 18b in the same semester], but after the first month, some students—not because they’re weak, but [because their] background in high school has not sufficiently prepared [them] for Ma 18—[have to take] a slower track.” Taking the “slower track” means taking Ma 18 separately: Ma 18a in one semester and Ma 18b in the next. However, some degree programs officially require their students to take Ma 18 separately.
The goal of the basic track and preparatory courses is to fill gaps in mathematical proficiency for students. They ensure that the students can put up with what their degree programs—and their careers—will later demand of them.
These adjustments in pace and relevance for the math classes prove to be useful to students. “Five years from now I’m probably going to forget everything I learned in Ma 11 and Ma 12, but I probably won’t forget how to analyze or think critically—skills that math is supposed to help you develop,” says Unson.
Despite not being everyone’s favorite subject, math continues to play a very important and irreplaceable role in the university’s core curriculum. According to Francisco, math develops a student’s analytical, practical and critical skills to help them function in the real world.
Lee-Chua says that math makes students think. More than just honing analytical skills, perhaps the value of math is how it instills in students the discipline of thought.
[seperator style=”style1″]Numbers of the core[/seperator]
By: Nicolo A. Fortuna and Mivan V. Ong
[columns][four-columns] Preparatory Course to Algebra I and II (Ma 1.1 and Ma 1.2,)
For: Students on their bridge year and those who score low on the Ateneo College Entrance Test’s (ACET) math component.
Description: This series covers pre-algebra topics deemed necessary for a student to effectively learn college level algebra.
Units: 0
[/four-columns][four-columns]
Introduction to College Algebra (Ma 1)
For: Students who score low on the ACET, those who do not fare well on the Ma 11 diagnostic test and those who complete Ma 1.2.
Description: Ma 1 is designed to further develop students’ skills in algebra in preparation for Ma 11.
Units: 0
[/four-columns][four-columns]
Modern Mathematics I (Ma 11)
For: All non-School of Science and Engineering (SOSE) majors and management of information systems (MIS) majors (except management engineering (ME), economics-honors (Eco-H) and information technology entrepreneurship (ITE) majors).
Description: The coverage of Ma 11 includes collegiate-level algebra and linear and quadratic functions. Ma 11 serves as a pre-calculus course.
Units: 3
[/four-columns][four-columns]
Modern Mathematics II (Ma 12)
For: All School of Humanities and School of Social Sciences students (except economics majors).
Description: The course teaches the practical applications of math through basic finance, statistics and probability. The last topics covered change based on the degree programs of the class being taught to be better suited to them.
Units: 3
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[columns][three-columns]
Applied Calculus for Business (Ma 19), Calculus for Economists (Ma 20), Applied Calculus for Computer Sciences (Ma 20.2) and Calculus for Life Sciences (Ma 20.3a)
For: School of Management majors except ME, and ITE majors; economics majors; MIS, ITE and computer science (CS) majors; and life sciences (LfSc), health sciences (HSc), biology and environmental science (ES) majors, respectively.
Description: This Ma 20 group of courses tackles calculus as preparation for the subjects its students are expected to face. While dealing with similar subjects, the focus of the course draws heavily from the particular degree programs of the students.
Units: 6 for Ma 19, Ma 20 and Ma 20.2; 3 for Ma 20.3a
[/three-columns][three-columns]
Principles of Modern Mathematics I and II (Ma 18a and Ma 18b)
For: All SOSE majors (except MIS majors), Eco-H, ITE and ME majors; LfSc, HSc, ES and biology majors take only Ma 18a.
Description: The Ma 18 series of subjects presents a more rigorous take on pre-calculus algebra topics for students who are expected to need a stronger base in math for their degree programs. The classes tackle a higher level of math and cover topics not taken in Ma 11, such as trigonometric functions.
Units: 3 each
[/three-columns][three-columns]
Mathematical Analysis I and II (Ma 21 and Ma 22)
For: Students who take Ma 18a and Ma 18b (except CS majors).
Description: The Mathematical Analysis series of courses, which includes the non-core Mathematical Analysis III (Ma 101) course, provides an intensive program of calculus similar to what Math 18a and 18b provide for algebra. Ma 21 and Ma 22 also take up application, but they emphasize the deriving of theorems.
Units: 6 for Ma 21; 3 for Ma 22
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