ection 2.1
Introduction

Marketing can be viewed as a form of leverage. This means that the investment of relatively small amounts of effort can produce much larger returns. To attain the benefits of leverage, it is important to develop a simple, but effective marketing plan tailored to the conditions of your college and the community in which it is located.

The Marketing Plans deal with communication about a Mathematical Journeys course. The Plans offer suggestions for communicating ideas that will assist the processes of initiating and sustaining the course. This includes public relations activities to recognize and publicize student accomplishments.

The Marketing Plans are designs for identifying and communicating with individuals, offices, and groups in the college community to build and maintain support for the course. Such communication implies the need to articulate the rationale for the course. The rationale must demonstrate that such a course helps to fill the educational needs of students and the professional development needs of faculty.

Any marketing plan that articulates the rationale for a Mathematical Journeys course should take account of a few underlying characteristics of the course. These include quality of the materials, flexibility, and research-based learning.

The labs are quality products that have been reviewed by technical experts and by various members of the mathematics education community. They were written by faculty who have extensive teaching experience at two-year colleges, who recognized the need for mathematics-related interdisciplinary courses, and who know the needs of the intended audiences. Furthermore, the research-driven, open-ended design of the labs makes them well suited to accommodate shifts in audience interest from one academic term to the next.

In discussing a Mathematical Journeys course, it is important to observe that it can assume various forms, serve a variety of purposes, accommodate a range of targeted audiences, and be implemented in numerous ways. The course could be: an honors course in mathematics, science, or mathematics/science; a special topics course; a capstone course; an integrated course; an interdisciplinary course; a science/mathematics seminar; an elective scientific inquiry course; etc.

A Mathematical Journeys course emphasizes research techniques and methods of scientific inquiry. These fundamental ways of learning and knowing transfer to other disciplines and domains. As such, Mathematical Journeys I should help students to develop habits of thought that they can use, not only in college courses, but throughout the rest of their lives.