Structuring an introductory acoustics course to be a vehicle for improving pre-calculus math skills and recruiting students to technical careers

Abstract

“Why do I have to take this math course—when will I ever use this stuff?” and “I could never be a scientist—I'm terrible at math.” These statements are familiar to educators the world over, much to our frustration... and to the detriment of society's goals of being scientifically and mathematically literate and having a large and diverse population of STEM professionals. The present paper describes elements of a general education course in acoustics at Central Washington University (“Physics of Musical Sound”) that serve vital secondary functions of improving math skills and fostering an appreciation of acoustics-related careers, appropriate for the typical demographic of students from diverse academic and social backgrounds, many of whom have not declared a major, that are attracted to the interdisciplinary nature of the course. These secondary goals, as well as the subject matter, are also highly appropriate for high school students. The content, the skills, and the applications are closely linked, leve...