Modeling with Mathematics in Learning Communities
                                                                         
    	Scott A. Smith
        Mathematics Department
        Columbia College
        1301 Columbia College Drive
        Columbia  SC  29210 
        (803) 786 - 3005   
                                                                   
     One of the ways many colleges are attempting to introduce
interdisciplinary programs within the context of their existing curriculum
is through the use of learning communities.  Simply described, these
communities are cohorts of students who agree to take two or more courses
from a specified set. These courses are from several different disciplines
and are all loosely connected by being devoted to single theme.  Thus,
students in learning communities are able to see the same theme from several
different perspectives.  Often, the students also meet at regular intervals
for an additional seminar which ties the disciplinary threads together.
     At Columbia College, the Mathematics Department is participating as one
of the disciplines in a learning community framework.  The department has
recently restructured its Basic Algebra and College Algebra  courses around
the concept of modeling and data analysis.  The motivation for this change
was to create a course which utilizes technology heavily and which maintains
a relevance to real life that seems necessary for college students today.
One of the many benefits that we have reaped from this change is the ability
to respond to requests to focus on specific areas of interest.  Simply by
using real data relevant to the chosen topic,  the students are able to see
the importance of data analysis (and mathematics in general) to the chosen
theme.  
     We received one such request from the learning community project.  The
theme chosen for the pilot learning community at Columbia College was the
environment which, fortunately, is a natural for data analysis.  Although it
is certain that later themes will be less suited to data analysis, we
believe that our courses and approach are flexible enough to handle nearly
every possible  theme, albeit with some necessary extra preparation time.
     Specifically, this talk will address the logistics of the learning
community project at Columbia College, the syllabi of the mathematics
courses involved, and how the mathematics courses fit into and comprise a
large part of the overall design of the learning community.  As time
permits, there will be a description of the other courses offered in the
learning community (at present, courses are being offered in mathematics,
English, religion, political science, speech, biology, and physical science)
as well as the team-taught interdisciplinary seminar required of all
students in the learning community.