PROFESSOR DANNY KAPLAN

CHARTING A NEW COURSE FOR EDUCATION

Daniel Kaplan, DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Macalester, makes his message clear from the outset. “The first thing you need to know is I am not a mathematician,” he says. Having come to mathematics from a rich academic and professional background that includes economics, physics, and biomedical engineering, Professor Kaplan’s interest in math is anything but traditional. “Mathematicians are really interested in proof,” he says, “But proofs generally have little connection to the world, and that’s where my interest lies.” Professor Kaplan is adamant that quantitative thinking and objective analysis are critical skills that all students need if Macalester is to fulfill its mission of sending out students to engage the world. While quantitative analysis has always figured prominently in math, science, and economics, until recently there was no guarantee that all students would leave Macalester with an understanding of basic quantitative thinking concepts, such as marginal cost or shadow prices—concepts Professor Kaplan views as essential to participation in public policy debates and civic life. Professor Kaplan was instrumental in devising new quantitative thinking course requirements for graduation, which have gone into effect for freshmen entering in the 2007–2008 school year. Rather than requiring a math course for all students, it was important to Kaplan that quantitative thinking be taught in context widely throughout the college. “Quantitative thinking can be taught in many departments and there’s general agreement about what’s central,” he explains. “We made sure our requirements reflected what’s important throughout the college.” Kaplan’s work casts aside the conservative images so often associated with professors. “Macalester is edgier than other schools, more open to experimentation,” he says. “The math department shows this par excellence.”

Case in point is the complete reengineering of a course that is the foundation of most math departments: Calculus I. By design, Calculus I is the start of a four- to five-semester math sequence that gives students powerful ways to think about the world. But in practice, most students don’t follow the sequence beyond the first course or two. “Those students aren’t exposed to the most important ideas or methods,” Kaplan says. “They need to see them in the beginning so that they can start using them from the beginning.”

At Macalester, Calculus I has been replaced by a new Applied Calculus course taken by a third of the student body. In it, the math faculty teach the mathematical topics—including functions of multiple variables—needed to carry out work in many scientific disciplines. The results have been overwhelmingly positive. “There has been huge support from the scientific community,” he says. Another shining example of breaking tradition is Kaplan’s introductory statistics course, the development of which was supported by grants from the Keck Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This course charts territory so new that there is not yet a textbook—though Professor Kaplan is currently writing one. Roughly a quarter of the student body takes the course. “It’s gratifying that so many students are willing to take a course without a textbook,” says Professor Kaplan.

The course introduces first-year students to concepts, such as multivariate statistical modeling, that have long been reserved for graduate students. This dramatic shift is made possible through the use of computer modeling technology that no longer requires students to carry out complex calculations by hand. “It’s arguably the most advanced introductory statistics course in the country,” Professor Kaplan says, pausing to add, “And it’s not hard! Macalester students are getting a statistical education that is far beyond what is available elsewhere.”