Curriculum Unit on Risk Literacy Using Case Study and Probability to Teach Risk to Post-Secondary Students in Non-STEM Programs

Abstract

This study was designed as a resource to develop risk literacy for students enrolled in non-STEM programs at the post-secondary level using case studies, context analysis, basic mathematics, geometry and statistics. Risks are an outcome of human activity that impact individuals personally, professionally, politically and globally. Numerous issues influence risk literacy education such as adult literacy and numeracy, mathematics curriculum, socio-political and equity issues in mathematics education, teacher education and access to education. The study consists of eleven lessons in varied contexts. Review of the curriculum unit was conducted and confirmed that risk literacy education requires contextual material, deconstruction of language used to express probability, greater attention to language use, and visual representation of data to facilitate comprehension. Review of the unit also revealed that risk literacy can be achieved by learners from different occupational backgrounds who do not have detailed prior working knowledge of risk. Reviewer feedback was used to guide unit development. Participants were provided with lessons for evaluation and agreed that risk literacy was a relevant and practical skill.