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Math Attitudinal Survey Assessment Results
The Math You Need When You Need ItIncorporating quantitative skills to improve student success in introductory geoscience laboratory courses
Jacquelyn Hams, Department of Earth Science, Los Angeles Valley College, Valley Glen, CA 91401 [email protected]
Figure 1a.
Introduction
Student Profile
Classroom Implementation
Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) is one of the nine two-year colleges that comprise the Los Angeles Community College District. LAVC is located in the eastern San Fernando Valley, just north of downtown Los Angeles. The college enrollment is approximately 18,500 students. Student profile statistics for the college and TMYN surveyed classes are presented below.
TMYN modules were incorporated into LAVC classes as a pilot project in the summer 2010. The following modules are typically used for the Geology and Oceanography laboratory classes during the semester:
• Unit Conversions• Hypsometric Curves• Density• Slopes• Best Fit Line• Plotting Points
LAVC Primary Language
LAVC Ethnicity Math Attitudinal Survey Ethnicity
Math Attitudinal Survey Age
Math Attitudinal Survey Language
LAVC Age
“The Math You Need When You Need It” (TMYN) tutorial program is used at Los Angeles Valley College to provide supplemental instruction and give students the quantitative knowledge they need just before they use it in geoscience courses. TMYN modules were incorporated into an introductory Oceanography lecture class as a pilot study during summer 2010 and are currently used in the introductory Oceanography and Geology laboratory courses. This poster summarizes the implementation process, as well as results from the module assessments and a student attitudinal survey towards math.
Figures 1a and 1b below are tables prepared from current Oceanography and Geology introductory laboratory syllabi and illustrate how topics from the laboratory courses correlate with the TMYN modules.Geology Laboratory topic TMYN Module/s
Course Introduction TMYN Orientation TMYN Pre-test
Topographic Maps Slopes
Plate Tectonics Unit Conversions Rearranging Equations
Earthquakes and Seismology Plotting PointsBest Fit Line
Minerals Density
Oceanography Laboratory topic TMYN Module/sCourse Introduction TMYN Orientation
TMYN Pre-test
Bathymetry Hypsometric CurvesPlotting PointsBest Fit Line
Properties of Water Density
Plate Tectonics Unit ConversionsRearranging Equations
Figure 1c. (left) is a screenshot of the gradebook feature in TMYN tutorial program. Instructors can select questions to be assessed, assign point values, and view the total points. Grade information can also be downloaded into excel format and exported into other grading programs if needed.
Students complete TMYN modules in the computer lab before completing the class laboratory exercise for that class session.
Figure 1b.
Figure 1c.
Students complete practice problems and quizzes for each module before taking the final assessments.
The graph on the left shows the assessment results of the six modules incorporated into the summer 2010 pilot study.
Excellent Good Fair Poor
05
1015202530354045
14
36 43
7
How would you rate your past math expe-riences?
% Students
VeryImportant
Neutral
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
62
15 23
How important are math skills in your life?
% Students
BC
Not sure
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
5439
8
What was the average grade in these math classes?
% Students
Very Comforta
ble
Comfortable
Moderatel
y Comforta
ble
Uncomfortable
Very Uncomforta
ble
0
10
20
30
1531 31
815
What is your comfort level with mathemat -ics?
% Students
AlgebraGeometry
TrigonometryGeneral
Mathematics
05
101520253035404550
46
3115
8
What is the highest level of math class you took in high school?
% Students
General Mathematics Pre-Algebra
AlgebraGeometry
05
10152025303540
3139 39
23
What math classes have you taken in college?
% Students
020406080
100
64
84
90 7478
98
Oceanography Assessment Scores Summer 2010 Pi-lot Project
Unit Conversions
Hypsometric Curve
Density
Slopes
Best Fit Line
Plotting PointsAver
age
scor
es (%
)
020406080
100
55
80 51
Geology Lab Assessment Scores Fall 2010
Unit Conversions
Rearranging Equations
Interpreting Graphs
Aver
age
scor
es (%
)
020406080
100
35
94 8888
Geology Lab Assessment Scores Spring 2012
Slopes
Plotting Points
Interpreting Graphs
Best Fit Line
Aver
age
scor
es (
%)
020406080
100
9479
96 76
Oceanography Lab Fall 2012
Reading Points from a Curve
Best Fit Line
Plotting Points
Rearranging Equations
Aver
age
scor
es (%
)
657075808590
89 75
Oceanography Lab Fall 2011
Best Fit LineRearranging Equations
Aver
age
scor
es (%
)
020406080
100
60
8477
7055
Average scores for different classes using the same TMYN Modules
Unit Conversions
Best Fit Line
Rearranging Equations
Interpreting Graphs
Slopes
Aver
age
scor
es (%
)
8% 23%
30%
23% 15%
Have TMYN practice problems and assess-ments helped you understand the textbook
charts/diagrams and prepare you for the assignments in class?
AlwaysFrequentlyOccasionally Rarely Never
How do students feel about math? Many instructors have anecdotal evidence but data driven evidence of students’ attitudes, previous background and comfort level with math is collected as part of the implementation of TMYN program at LAVC. The graphs below display the results of representative questions from a Math Attitudinal Survey administered to students using TMYN instructional modules.
Conclusions
TMYN modules have been used in multiple earth science lab classes continuously since the summer 2010. The following conclusions are based upon results of the student surveys and are supported by the assessment data.
• 92% of the students completed all or some of TMYN modules and assessments.
• 31% of the students learned the most from the Unit Conversions modules.
• 33% of the students felt that the Unit Conversions modules were the most challenging.
• 54% of the students felt that Plotting Points was the easiest module.
31%
61%
8%
Did you complete all of TMYN modules?
Completed all modules
Some
None
TMYN modules are currently incorporated into classes based on the type of laboratory exercises covered in class. The graphs below show the average assessment scores from each of the laboratory classes using TMYN modules. The last graph shows average assessment scores from different classes which used the same module.
• 60% of the students reported that TMYN modules helped them understand quantitative material presented in the class.