admit it: not all students really need “that” from math class aacc 95 th annual convention san...
TRANSCRIPT
Admit It: Not All Students Really Need “That” from Math Class
AACC 95th Annual ConventionSan Antonio, Texas
April 20, 2015Parkland College
Your Presenters
• Kristine Young– Vice President for Academic Services
Parkland College (Champaign, IL)
• Geoffrey Griffiths– Mathematics Department Chair
Parkland College (Champaign, IL)
Illinois Community Colleges
39 Public Community College Districts
48 Public Community Colleges
Parkland College is the third largest in terms of geographical coverage
Parkland College We serve
26 public high schools
Over 66 communities
Over 280,000 residents
Parts of 12 Illinois counties
We serve with Parts of 12 Illinois
counties
42 administrators
188 full-time and 300+part-time faculty
335 full-time staff
Overview of Parkland CollegeWho are our students? 75% from our community college district
7% temporarily residing in our community college district (University of Illinois students)
15% from Illinois but out of our district
1% from out of state
2% on international visa
Parkland is the larger feeder college to U. of Illinois
Overview of Parkland CollegeWho are our students?
63 % of recent district high school grads require developmental mathematics
• COMPASS
• ACT Math Scores of 23/25/30
• PARCC (future – 4 or 5)
But do all of these students really need “that” kind of math to be successful students, graduates, employees, and citizens?
I hear that music majors solve these all the time.
1𝑥−
1
𝑥2−11
𝑥+1+ 1𝑥2
=9
The Motivation for Change
Developmental Math as it has been:
• Pre-Algebra• Beginning Algebra• Intermediate Algebra
Everyone is College Algebra Bound (CAB).
(For as long as anyone now alive can remember)
Pre-AlgebraSkills
$470.00(4 credit hours)
The old “one size fits all” algebra sequence:
College Algebra
(4 credit hours)
Introductionto AppliedStatistics
(3 credit hours)
GeneralEducation
Mathematics
(3 credit hours)
BeginningAlgebra
16 weeks$587.50
(5 credit hours)
IntermediateAlgebra
16 weeks$587.50
(5 credit hours)
It worked for me. Why should we change it?
• Not everyone wants to be a mathematician.
• Many fields don’t require that much Algebra.
But if they can do all of this, they can do whatever math they will need for
other careers, right?
• Yes, but…• Not everyone can pass these classes.
The magnitude of the problem
• 63% of the entering freshmen students from District 505 high schools place into developmental math classes.
Success rates overall
• Pre Algebra: 55%• Beginning Algebra: 51%• Intermediate Algebra: 54%
These numbers include multiple attempts.
First attempt success rates
• Pre Algebra:48%
• Beginning Algebra:41%
• Intermediate Algebra:42%
In fact:• Over a 5 year period ending with
AY2012, only 18% of students who started in Beginning Algebra ever completed their Gen-Ed elective.
• Most required multiple attempts at more than one level.
So…
• Many students have trouble passing Beginning Algebra and Intermediate Algebra.
• Many students spend years trying to complete the developmental math sequence.
• Many never make it past developmental math classes to the classes they need to reach their goals.
And…
• Hundreds of these students need only a transfer level General Education math class to complete their degree.
• Much of the content of Intermediate Algebra is not necessary for success in the Gen-Ed math classes.
Our Goals in the Redesign Effort (No ranking is implied.)
• Reduce time to completion of program or degree for students needing only Gen Ed transfer math classes
• Improve success rates in first attempt at initial placement
• Improve critical thinking and teamwork skills• Choose appropriate content for Gen Ed prep• Maintain academic rigor and standards
What we came up with…
• We created a second developmental math track intended to take students from Pre-Algebra into Gen Ed electives in a one semester, 6 credit hour sequence.
…………First iteration
The New Math Lit Sequence
Gen Ed Track
Old Track
MathematicalLiteracy A
8 weeks$352.50
(3 credit hours)
MathematicalLiteracy B
8 weeks$352.50
(3 credit hours)
IntermediateAlgebra
16 weeks$587.50
(5 credit hours)
BeginningAlgebra
16 weeks$587.50
(5 credit hours)
GeneralEducation
Mathematics
(3 credit hours)
Introductionto AppliedStatistics
(3 credit hours)
College Algebra
(4 credit hours)
Pre-AlgebraSkills
$470.00(4 credit hours)
Regular Sequence
Math Lit A Math Lit B
Fall
First8 Weeks
Second 8 Weeks
Intro Stats
Spring
16 Weeks
Math Lit B IntroStats
Spring
First 8 Weeks
Second 8 Weeks
Math Lit A Math Lit A
Fall
First 8 Weeks
Second 8 Weeks
Restart Sequence
The HighlightsMath Lit Sequence
(Math Lit A and Math Lit B)
• 1 semester• 6 credit hours• $705• Intended for Gen Ed prep• Emphasis on teamwork and
problem solving skills
Traditional Sequence(Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra)
• 2 semesters• 10 credit hours• $1175• Intended for CAB prep• Emphasis on fluency with
algebraic operations
We made a few changes in the developmental CAB track as well.
• We broke the full semester, 5 credit hour Beginning Algebra into two, 7 week, 2.5 credit hour courses and did the same for Intermediate Algebra.
The New Parkland Developmental Algebra Sequence
Gen Ed Track
College Algebra Bound Track
Pre-AlgebraSkills
$470.00(4 credit hours)
GeneralEducation
Mathematics
(3 credit hours)
Introductionto AppliedStatistics
(3 credit hours)
College Algebra
(4 credit hours)
MathematicalLiteracy A
8 weeks$352.50
(3 credit hours)
MathematicalLiteracy B
8 weeks$352.50
(3 credit hours)
BeginningAlgebra A
7 weeks$293.75
(2.5 credit hours)
Beginning Algebra B
7 weeks$293.75
(2.5 credit hours)
IntermediateAlgebra A
7 weeks$293.75
(2.5 credit hours)
IntermediateAlgebra B
7 weeks$293.75
(2.5 credit hours)
What we found after 1.5 years
The 7 and 8 week formats were a disaster.
• The Part A restart classes were filled with students who had been unsuccessful while the group leaders had moved on to Part B.
• Students were waiting up to a year between taking part A and Part B.
• Some restart sections had to be canceled because of low enrollment.
• Staffing was a major headache.
Metrics
First attempt success rates were higher in Math Lit.
Math Lit A: 73.3%Math Lit B: 74.5%(0.733 x 0.745 ~ 54.6%)
Compared to
Beginning Algebra: 41%Intermediate Algebra: 42%
Success in first attempt at General Education Math
• Coming from Intermediate Algebra:• 66.8%
• Coming from Math Lit: • 71.7%
• Not Bad
Success in first attempt atIntro to Applied Stats
• Coming from Intermediate Algebra:• 67.9%
• Coming from Math Lit: • 54.7% • (51.8% in AY2014, 57.9% in AY2015)
• Not as good as we had hoped, but improving
However, we are also interested in how students
progress through the sequence from
developmental through Intro to Applied Stats.
If we multiply success rates for each track, we see the following:
• Intermediate Alg. into Intro Stats 0.42 x 0.679 = 0.285 29%
• Beginning Alg. into Intermediate Alg. into Intro Stats 0.41 x 0.42 x 0.679 = 0.117 12%
• Math Lit into Intro Stats: 0.546 x 0.547 = 0.298 30%
How we have adjusted for the coming fall
We scrapped the 7 and 8 week formats in favor of full semester classes.
We increased the coverage and rigor of the algebra covered in Math Lit.
We reduced Math Lit from 6 to 5 hours. We replaced Beginning Algebra with Math Lit.
The Sequence for Fall 2015
IntermediateAlgebra
16 weeks(5 credit hours)
MathematicalLiteracy
16 weeks(5 credit hours)
GeneralEducation
Mathematics
(3 credit hours)
Introductionto AppliedStatistics
(3 credit hours)
College Algebra
(4 credit hours)
Pre-AlgebraSkills
(4 credit hours)
Final thoughts• Our redesign was a faculty initiative.• The result was 100% support in the math
faculty.
• We spent over 9 months introducing the concept and details to other college units, answering questions and getting feedback.
• The result was 100% support across the college.
If you like our approach
and go back to your Math Department Chair
and tell them to try this great approach,
It will probably not work!
Instead, go back to your Math Department Chair:
• Ask them to encourage the faculty to explore the possibility of redesigning their curriculum as they think best for their students.
• Offer them support for their efforts in release time and equipment.
• Offer them support in the effort to get their ideas approved by your state Community College Board.
Please encourage people to contact us at Parkland for
more information on:
• Course Content• Pedagogy• Updates on outcomes• Administrative aspects of the project
Thank you! Please contact:
Geoffrey Griffiths, [email protected]
217-351-2273
Brian Mercer, Course [email protected]
217-353-2311
Dr. Erin Wilding-Martin, Course [email protected]
217-353-2037