The class is a hands-on mathematical problem solving class, using business applications, working with data in the spreadsheet program Microsoft Excel. Each module features exercises alongside a downloadable data set for hands-on application. Students will develop three skills:


  • using Excel as a mathematical problem solving platform,

  • recognizing which mathematical operations to apply in business contexts, and

  • applying those mathematical operations correctly.

Let's get something out of the way up front: the issue of whether you think you are a "math person" or "not a math person."



If you like math, then we hope you will love this class. You will learn some really useful tools and get a chance to exercise your mathematical problem-solving muscles outside the bounds of a textbook. The math in this class won't be more advanced in the sense of the typical academic sequences, but it will be challenging.



If you don't like math, we ALSO hope you will love this class. We hope you will reconsider the "not a math person" label. Perhaps once you see what kinds of problems you can solve, you will feel motivated to master the topics and tools. Because this class isn't just the next step in the typical academic sequence, it can serve as a fresh start for you. Maybe you will surprise yourself.

Copyright 2017 Laura Kornish and Delphy Shaulis, available at http://leeds-faculty.colorado.edu/kornish/business-math-class/