Mathematical Literacy

    The artifact I chose to represent my mathematical literacy program outcome is an essay entitled “Covid in Egypt vs. South Korea,” which I wrote during my Statistical Methods I (MAT-152) course in the fall semester of 2022. In this essay, I compared the 2020 covid statistics of Egypt and South Korea and discussed some potential reasons their case numbers were drastically different. I have chosen this artifact because I am confident it portrays my ability to communicate mathematical concepts and ideas.
   The instructions for this essay were to choose two countries from a provided list and use the statistical concepts we discussed in class to compare the Covid-19 cases each country had in 2020. For this assignment, I decided to discuss Egypt and South Korea because I had already read about some of the effects covid had on South Korea in the news. In contrast, I had little to no knowledge of how covid had impacted Egypt. Thus, it was interesting to research the two countries further and learn about how covid has affected countries worldwide. Additionally, because the two countries are so regionally different, there were several contrasting factors to research. 
   My first goal in completing this artifact was to learn to transfer everything I knew about mathematics into words. I wanted to set this goal for myself because even though I have always been good at mathematics and equations, it can sometimes take work for me to translate that into well-composed ideas and explanations. That is why I needed to learn how to express what I was thinking clearly for this essay. One way I could do that was to abide strictly by the outline of the assignment. Luckily, my teachers provided a detailed outline of how we should construct our papers, so I made sure to stick with that and stay within the outline. This sense of structure was very comforting because it meant I could focus most of my time on finding the right way to express myself and not on what information I needed to add to the essay or how to format it. Additionally, I have copied this idea of starting to outline where precisely in my assignments I want specific information to go and then simply inserting my information into its designated spot instead of doing both simultaneously. 
   My second goal was to improve my multitasking skills while drafting this artifact. I set this goal for myself because this assignment required that I use more than four resources simultaneously. For example, I had to use a website called StatCrunch to retrieve my statistics, my textbook to revisit course concepts, constantly review the outline for formatting, research information on the countries my project focused on, and write my essay all at the same time. For that reason, I needed to develop some routine so that I did not become overwhelmed or accidentally miss pieces of information. I did this by focusing on one resource at a time. For example, I started by retrieving my statistics and creating all my graphs and charts, so they were prepared when I started writing. Next, I researched all the information I needed on the countries, so I would not have to research as I wrote. After that, I reviewed any concepts in my textbook that I should revise. So, when I finally sat down to write, I already had all the information I needed, and I only had to focus on one thing at a time. 
          After completing this artifact, I had new skills I could use throughout my academics. For example, I learned how to write essays using mathematical thinking and a few tips on effectively completing the outlining process so there is less stress for me while writing. I also gained a few multitasking skills, like splitting tasks into parts so they are more easily digestible. In the future, I can use these skills inside and outside the classroom—especially multitasking- as they are essential in daily life.