Math Lit: A Pathway to College Mathematics, 2nd edition

The textbook content is organized into cycles (rather than linear chapters) that take a spiral approach to covering topics that relate to four thematic strands—numeracy, proportional reasoning, algebraic reasoning, and functions. Topics from geometry and statistics are also included. Once introduced, these thematic topics are revisited several times as appropriate, going into a little more detail each time.

• Updated! A simple structure divides each cycle into halves. Each half contains a set of cohesive sections to help students develop mathematical skills and concepts. The previous edition’s organization into Parts has been simplified.
• New! A Mid-Cycle Recap is provided at the halfway point of the cycle as a way for students to check on their progress. These Recaps are also assignable in MyMathLab.
• Cycles are composed of a mix of open-ended problems, worked-out examples, group activities, and assessments. Activity-based sections include carefully designed tasks, explorations, and instruction—all paced for the developmental learner. Most lessons are divided into 4 segments:
• Explore—offers an interesting problem or group activity to open the lesson and set the stage for the new material
• Discover—presents a new theory with examples and practice problems.  NEW! Each Discover includes Guiding questions to help students focus on important ideas.
• Connect—connects content to past or future lessons through a group or class problem.
• Reflect—provides an opportunity to look back at what has been learned.
• With a spiraled approach, topics are not intended to be mastered in full the first time they are introduced. Instead, they are revisited throughout the cycles, either more in-depth or from a different perspective. In doing so, students begin to layer their understanding, making it more durable and building mathematical maturity.
• Updated! End-of-Cycle Wrap-Ups provide a five-step action plan to help students study and prepare for the Cycle test. Updated Wrap-Ups now contain a new Study Sheet, a one-page review that students can use to study from. The end-of-cycle Wrap Ups also include a vocabulary review, practice problems in the worktext, and an assignable MyMathLab review. The last part of the Wrap-Up is devoted to helping students overcome test anxiety by having them place themselves in a realistic test situation.
• End-of-lesson homework begins with skills-based assignments in MyMathLab^® and the worktext. Students are also asked to complete conceptual and application-based problems in the text to expand their understanding beyond a procedural level. For instructors who want homework completed only in MyMathLab, there are now assignable exercises that cover all of the Skills exercises from the text, along with many of the Conceptual and Applications questions from the text.
• NEW! Looking forward, looking back problems are included in every homework assignment to preview important ideas and practice skills and concepts that students often find challenging.

The Math Lit approach encourages contextual learning, helping students see the relevance of math and cultivate conceptual thinking. Topics are put into real-world context and explored before the procedures and details are explained.

• Rather than focusing on skills-based algebra, Math Lit focuses on solving realistic problems, teaching number sense, and building mathematical literacy.
• An open-ended Focus Problem introduces each cycle. Focus problems can be solved in groups and present current, real-world issues that challenge and engage students. These problems allow students to apply knowledge gained during the cycle to a larger, more involved problem that does not have just one correct solution. Focus Problems are referred to throughout the cycle through Sticky Notes, which remind students they’ve just learned a concept that can help them solve the Problem.  
• New! Alternate Focus Problems are available in MyMathLab. These can be used by instructors who want to add some variety to their Focus Problems semester-to-semester, and allow instructors to choose what Focus Problems are most relevant to their particular students. Writing templates for students and grad ing rubrics are included along with a detailed sample solution.
• New! Assignable Focus Problem questions, labeled “FP” in the Assignment Manager, are available to assign in MyMathLab. Because these questions require students to write an explanation, they must be graded manually by instructors - but allow Focus Problems to be assigned and used in any course format,  including online courses.
• New! Spreadsheet icons identify problems well-suited to use with Microsoft Excel, which can be a very powerful tool to help students not only solve problems, but start to analyze numbers as well. Gaining familiarity with Excel is a  useful skill that can benefit students long after college.  The use of Excel is optional, but an Excel Appendix in MyMathLab is available and has been updated with more functions.
• Some sections begin with a Getting Ready for the Section preview assignment. These include an article from the media with accompanying questions related to the math in the article, and preview topics that will be further explored in class. New Getting Ready for the Section articles and problems have been added to be as current as possible. ,

Flexible content allows Math Lit to be used in a variety of different class formats, and to meet the varying goals of developmental math courses.

• Students will gain a solid understanding of many beginning algebra topics, but algebra is approached in a new way to engage students who may not have been successful in the past with algebra. Algebra is presented as a means to solve a problem.
• Students will also encounter some topics that stretch into intermediate algebra, such as quadratic functions and logarithmic scales, as applicable within context. Students should be able to transition from a Math Lit course into Intermediate Algebra easily, if needed.
• NEW! All key sections are covered in the first 3 cycles, making it easy to implement for a 4-credit course. For those who want to go further or have more class hours, additional topics in Cycle 4 make for a richer or more rigorous course.
• Important topics like integers, means, and writing equations of lines have been moved earlier.
• Later topics like logarithmic scales, function notation, and direct variation are covered in Cycle 4. Sections in Cycle 4 can be covered as their own discrete cycle, or these topics can be pulled in earlier to provide a deeper dive on a topic–suggestions from the authors are provided in the preface.

Math Lit’s emphasis on study skills provides students with a solid foundation for college, while carefully crafted pedagogical features support students’ understanding of the topics by encouraging conceptual connections, productive struggle, and self-assessment.

• Several student-friendly features help support good study habits and increase ease of use:
• Cycle 1 covers topics such as understanding the syllabus, working in groups, and thinking about the difference between attitude and ability in math.
• NEW! A Cycle Study Sheet replaces the Cycle Profile at the beginning of the  Cycle Wrap-Up. The  Study Sheet mimics a notecard that students would make to study for a test with key skills, concepts, and a few examples for illustration.
• Revised! The  Self-Assessment: Review includes section numbers for easy reference when students study.
• How It Works boxes summarize important procedures and skills and provide a quick reference to help with the homework.
• Look It Up boxes present short definitions of key terms, along with an example.
• Updated! Tech Tips contain helpful hints for using calculators or other technologies and now include information about Texas Instruments graphing calculators and Microsoft Excel. The use of Excel is optional, but an Excel Appendix in MyMathLab is available and has been updated with more functions.
• Remember? blurbs remind students of skills that have been presented previously but might need to be reviewed.
• More worked-out examples illustrate theory in action and demonstrate problem solving techniques.
• Sticky Notes briefly provide students with pointers and study tips.
• Math Lit’s loose-leaf, 3-hole-punched format encourages students to write and keep their work and use the worktext as the start of a class notebook. This also encourages further student engagement during class - using the text as their own notebook allows them to only take notes on what’s additional or essential, giving them more time to pay attention and interact in class.

Also Available with MyMathLab®

MyMathLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. Within its structured environment, students practice what they learn, test their understanding, and pursue a personalized study plan that helps them absorb course material and understand difficult concepts. The Almy/Foes course includes all of MyMathLab’s robust features, plus these additional highlights:

• Updated! A learning path guides students through the steps they should be following - encouraging them to use their resources before opening their homework.
• Learn directs students to eText content that they should read on their own, and/or activities they should work on in small groups or with the entire class. It also encourages students to take advantage of the animations and videos that pertain to that section in the course.
• Practice prompts students to complete their homework, which may entail both MyMathLab homework and problems in the text.
• Expanded! MyMathLab exercise coverage has been expanded. A common approach to homework with Math Lit involves completing both skills-based exercises in MyMathLab, and solving problems in the worktext to assess mastery of skills and apply the concepts.

Skills Exercises

• Skills Exercises in MyMathLab® Only are carefully chosen skills-based exercises that allow students to practice all the skills necessary for solving applied problems. These problems complement the Skills exercises in the worktext - they do not mirror them exactly - and allow for instructors to assign a larger pool of questions for repetitive practice. These exercises are designated in the Assignment Manager with “MML Only” (e.g. MML Only 1.1.1).
• Skills Exercises in the Worktext include two exercises at the start of each homework assignment that provide the opportunity for students to work a few exercises like ones in MyMathLab® on their own, without learning aids. They also allow students to have a written record of their work on paper to refer back to.  The authors recommend that students complete the Skills exercises in their text after they complete the MyMathLab exercises. Algorithmic versions of these problems are available for instructors to assign via MyMathLab®, designated with “Text Skills” in the Assignment Manager.

Concepts and Applications Problems

• Concepts and Applications problems in the Worktext appear after the Skills exercises and focus more on applications to help students connect and apply ideas. In the revision, some of these are also available for instructors to assign via MyMathLab®.
• Premade assignments are available to copy and assign in the Assignment Manager. These assignments make getting started simple, and include:
• Premade end-of-section Homework assignments. The sample section homeworks contain a selection of skills-based exercises from the pool in the Assignment Manager. Instructors who wish to also include the Concepts and Applications exercises can modify the assignments as needed.
• Mid-Cycle Recaps are premade and available to assign in MyMathLab.
• Cycle Wrap-Up Homework assignments serve as review for students before a test. Similar to the section homework assignments, the questions in the premade Cycle Wrap-Up Homework assignment are meant to work in conjunction with the Wrap-Up exercises in the text.
• Premade tests are also available to assign for assessment.
• NEW! Workspace exercises are a new question type that allow students to naturally write out their work, step-by-step, and receive instant feedback at each step. Specific hints and videos are available at each step to guide students through the problem-solving process. Each student’s work is captured in the MyMathLab gradebook so instructors can easily pinpoint exactly where they need to focus instruction. Workspace exercises are not included in the premade assignments by default, but an assignment using this new exercise type can be created in the Assignment Manager.
• Expanded! Additional Videos in MyMathLab give students even more resources to use outside the classroom, and give instructors added flexibility and resources for various class formats. These videos can be used to supplement learning as students practice, or they can be assigned to prepare students for classroom activities. All videos were created specifically for the Math Lit content, and many feature the authors themselves. These videos walk students through examples or concepts, reinforcing key ideas.

• Learning Catalytics™ is a student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more interactive tasks and thinking. Now included with MyMathLab, Learning Catalytics enables instructors to generate classroom discussion, guide the lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. Instructors can:
• Pose a variety of open-ended questions that help students develop critical thinking skills.
• Monitor responses to find out where students are struggling.
• Use real-time data to adjust instructional strategy and try other ways of engaging students during class.
• Manage student interactions by automatically grouping students for discussion, teamwork, and peer-to-peer learning.

NEW! For Math Lit, Learning Catalytics includes premade questions that correlate to the “Explore” portion in each section to give instructors a starting point for using Learning Catalytics in their Math Lit classroom.

• Student Success Module is an interactive module that students access in MyMathLab and includes videos, activities, and post-tests for three student success areas. Instructors can assign these as media assignments, along with prebuilt post-tests or integrate the assignments with their traditional MyMathLab homework assignments.
• Math-Reading Connections, including topics such as “Using Word Clues” and “Looking for Patterns.”
• Study Skills, including topics such as “Time Management” and “Preparing for and Taking Exams.”
• College Success, including topics such as “College Transition” and “Online Learning.”
• UPDATED! Instructor Teaching Tip Videos, produced by the authors, present helpful suggestions based on their own experiences teaching a Math Lit or Pathways style course. Including topics such as a typical day teaching with Math Lit and suggestions for group work, these videos provide the guidance an instructor might find useful in teaching this course for the first time.
• NEW! Downloadable Homework Master sheets are available in MyMathLab, for instructors who want their students to turn in hard copy answers to homework from the text, without loss of content from the sections themselves.
• Accessibility Enhancements—Pearson is committed to making our products accessible to as many students as possible. This latest course release is compatible with the JAWS screen reader, enabling print-disabled students to access and interact with numerous problems as noted by an icon within the Assignment Manager. The course also works with the ZoomText enlarger, and includes an HTML eBook that is compatible with JAWS and other Windows screen readers, allowing all students to access the same text, at the same place, and at the same price. Additionally all videos include closed captioning.

• Enhanced appearance and simplified structure makes the text more familiar to students and easier to implement for instructors.
• A full-color design maximizes visual appeal for students.
• A simplified structure divides each cycle into halves. Each half contains a set of cohesive sections to help students develop mathematical skills and concepts. The previous edition’s organization into Parts has been simplified.
• A Mid-Cycle Recap is provided at the halfway point of the cycle as a way for students to check on their progress. These Recaps are also assignable in MyMathLab.
• Cross references between sections have been reduced, making it easier for instructors to omit sections. While content is still spiraled to allow students to revisit topics more deeply, it’s spiraled less tightly to allow for greater versatility.
• Section format and length are more standardized throughout the text, making it easier for instructors to plan out their class lessons. Lengthy sections have been divided into two sections, while shorter sections have been combined with compatible content.
• Some sections begin with a Getting Ready for the Section preview assignment. These include an article from the media with accompanying questions related to the math in the article, and preview topics that will be further explored in class. New, current Getting Ready for the Section articles and problems have been added.

• Increased ease of use and flexibility has been emphasized throughout this entire revision, from improvements in features to additional resources, making it possible to implement for any course format and easing the transition for instructors.
• Downloadable section exercise sets are available for students to record and turn in their work without any loss of content from the text itself. These are ideal for students who need to turn in hard copies of their homework sets.
• Alternate focus problems are available in MyMathLab for instructors who want a variety to choose from, or want them to vary each semester. Rubrics for instructors are included for all alternate focus problems.
• For instructors who wish to omit them entirely it will be easier to do so, as they are referenced less frequently. Focus problems are revisited now mostly through Sticky Notes that remind students they learned something that can help with the problem - rather than devoting entire sections to it.
• All key sections are covered in the first 3 cycles, making it easy to implement for a 4-credit course. For those who want to go further or have more class hours, additional topics in Cycle 4 make for a richer or more rigorous course.
• Important topics like integers, means, and writing equations of lines have been moved earlier.
• Later topics like logarithmic scales, function notation, and direct variation are covered in Cycle 4. Sections in Cycle 4 can be covered as its own discrete cycle, or these topics can be pulled in earlier to provide a deeper dive on a topic - suggestions from the authors are provided in the preface.
• Section subtitles and objectives (as Instructor Notes) have been added at the beginning of each section to clarify the mathematical objectives of the section, making it easier for instructors to see what is covered where, at a glance.
• Spreadsheet icons identify problems well suited to use with Microsoft Excel.  The use of Excel is optional, but an Excel Appendix in MyMathLab is available and has been updated with more functions.
• A “Getting Ready for Math Lit” appendix in MyMathLab allows for review of prerequisite skills, helping students who come into the course at varying levels to get up to speed and be better prepared to get the most out of their Math Lit course.
• New and updated videos from the authors give instructors more flexibility in terms of course format - instructors can flip the classroom by preparing students for class with a video assignment, can teach more easily online, or can supplement their face-to-face course with videos.

• Updated pedagogical features continue to help students not only understand the skills, but improve their college readiness.
• More worked-out examples give students even more support to refer to when they are struggling or missed class. While the content from the sections is often activity-based, asking students to construct the concepts, worked-out examples provide a valuable reference resource for students who need it, and allow instructors greater versatility in terms of course format.
• Expanded! Looking forward, looking back problems are included in every homework assignment to preview important ideas and practice skills and concepts that students often find challenging.
• A Cycle Study Sheet replaces the Cycle Profile at the beginning of the  Cycle Wrap-Up. The  Study Sheet mimics a notecard that students would make to study for a test with key skills, concepts, and a few examples for illustration.
• Revised! The  Self-Assessment: Review includes section numbers for easy reference when students study.
• Updated! Tech Tip Notes contain helpful hints for using calculators or other technologies and now include information about Texas Instruments graphing calculators and Microsoft Excel.
• Larger spaces on the page for students to write out their work increase the usability of the worktext, encouraging students to use their text as a resource that integrates the authors’ content and their own notes.

• Content coverage has been modified, added, or emphasized completely based on user feedback.
• Select topics have been added or emphasized–such as factoring, function notation, and quadratic equations.
• Factoring coverage has been increased with an additional section:  topics include trinomial factoring, difference of two squares, sum and difference of two cubes.
• Quadratic coverage has been increased to include quadratic patterns (Section 3.16), zeros of quadratic functions (Section 3.13), solving quadratics by factoring (Section 3.12), the quadratic formula (Section 3.13), and the vertex form of quadratic functions (Section 4.11).
• Function coverage has been increased to include function notation (Section 4.9), zeros (Section 3.13), domain, range, and the vertical line test (Section 4.10).
• Exponential function coverage has been increased to include more about writing and graphing exponential functions (Section 3.8).
• Emphasis on units has been increased.
• Use of patterns and functions has been increased.
• Additional algebraic concepts have been added, including midpoint formula, zeros of functions, solving systems of equations with elimination, and more.
• A greater emphasis on statistical literacy is included. Statistical topics appear in each cycle and include  measures of center and spread, correlation, residuals, z -scores, probability, and graphs. Preparedness for a statistics course is developed through reading, interpreting notation, the use of technology, emphasis on numeracy, interpretation of slope and y-intercept of lines, equation solving, rewriting formulas, and the emphasis on relationships between variables.
• Fraction emphasis and practice throughout have been increased.
• Additional topics in the fourth Cycle allow instructors to customize their courses. For those who can offer more than 4 credits, the fourth Cycle offers a rich, deeper dive into many of the topics.
• More Excel has been incorporated with the inclusion of an icon near any problem or procedure well-suited for use with Excel.  The use of Excel is optional, but an Excel Appendix in MyMathLab is available and has been updated with more functions.

• New and enhanced instructor resources help to make Math Lit easier to implement for faculty—from adjuncts to full-timers.
• PowerPoint® slides are newly available for Math Lit through www.pearsonhighered.com and in MyMathLab. These lecture slides include key concepts and examples, giving instructors even more resources to implement Math Lit in different class settings.
• The Annotated Instructor’s Edition contains a wealth of information for instructors teaching this course for the first time.
• An updated, streamlined Instructor Guide is available in the Annotated Instructor’s Edition, providing details from the authors on suggestions for implementing this approach, group-work, and more.
• Instructor Notes in the Annotated Instructor’s Edition provide ample tips from the authors at point-of-use.
• Learning Catalytics questions available in MyMathLab for the “Explore” steps of each Math Lit section give instructors a starting point with which to use this new student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more interactive tasks and thinking.

Also Available with MyMathLab®

MyMathLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program designed to work with this text to engage students and improve results. Within its structured environment, students practice what they learn, test their understanding, and pursue a personalized study plan that helps them absorb course material and understand difficult concepts. The Almy/Foes course includes all of MyMathLab’s robust features, plus these new highlights:

• Updated! A learning path guides students through the steps they should be following - encouraging them to use their resources before opening their homework.
• Learn directs students to eText content that they should read on their own, and/or activities they should work on in small groups or with the entire class. It also encourages students to take advantage of the animations and videos that pertain to that section in the course.
• Practice prompts students to complete their homework, which may entail both MyMathLab homework and problems in the text.

• Expanded! MyMathLab exercise coverage has been expanded. A common approach to homework with Math Lit involves both completing both skills-based exercises in MyMathLab, and solving problems in the worktext to assess mastery of skills and apply the concepts.

Skills Exercises

• Skills Exercises in MyMathLab Only are carefully chosen skills-based exercises that allow students to practice all the skills necessary for solving applied problems. These problems complement the Skills exercises in the worktext - they do not mirror them exactly - and allow for instructors to assign a larger pool of questions for repetitive practice. These exercises are designated in the Assignment Manager with “MML Only” (e.g. MML Only 1.1.1).
• Skills Exercises in the Worktext include two exercises at the start of each homework assignment that provide the opportunity for students to work a few exercises like ones in MyMathLab® on their own, without learning aids. They also allow students to have a written record of their work on paper to refer back to.  The authors recommend that students complete the Skills exercises in their text after they complete the MyMathLab exercises. Algorithmic versions of these problems are available for instructors to assign via MyMathLab®, designated with “Text Skills” in the Assignment Manager.

Concepts and Applications Problems

• Concepts and Applications problems in the Worktext appear after the Skills exercises and focus more on applications to help students connect and apply ideas. In the revision, algorithmic versions for many of these are also available for instructors to assign via MyMathLab®
• Learning Catalytics™ is a student response tool that uses students’ smartphones, tablets, or laptops to engage them in more interactive tasks and thinking. Now included with MyMathLab, Learning Catalytics enables instructors to generate classroom discussion, guide your lecture, and promote peer-to-peer learning with real-time analytics. Instructors can:
• Pose a variety of open-ended questions that help your students develop critical thinking skills.
• Monitor responses to find out where students are struggling.
• Use real-time data to adjust your instructional strategy and try other ways of engaging your students during class.
• Manage student interactions by automatically grouping students for discussion, teamwork, and peer-to-peer learning.

For Math Lit, Learning Catalytics includes premade questions that correlate to the “Explore” in each section to give instructors a starting point for using Learning Catalytics in their Math Lit classroom.

• NEW! Workspace exercises are a new question type that allow students to naturally write out their work, step-by-step, and receive instant feedback at each step. Specific hints and videos are available at each step to guide students through the problem-solving process. Each student’s work is captured in the MyMathLab gradebook so instructors can easily pinpoint exactly where they need to focus instruction. Workspace exercises are not included in the premade assignments by default, but an assignment using this new question type can be created in the Assignment Manager.
• Expanded! Additional Videos in MyMathLab provide students even more resources for outside the classroom and give instructors added flexibility and resources for various class formats. These videos can be used to supplement learning as students practice, or they can be assigned to prepare students for classroom activities. All videos were created specifically for the Math Lit content, and many feature the authors themselves. These videos walk students through examples or concepts, giving them the opportunity to reinforce concepts.
• A “Getting Ready for Math Lit” appendix in MyMathLab allows for review of prerequisite skills, helping students who come into the course at varying levels to get up to speed and be better prepared to get the most out of their Math Lit course.