College Algebra and Online Assessments

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College Algebra and Online Assessments
Paul Hadavas Department of Mathematics Armstrong
Atlantic State University Savannah, GA September
28, 2007 (funded in part by a PRISM Educational
Research Grant)
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Outline

• Background
• Grading Scheme
• Online Work
• Classroom Environments
• Results

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Background

• Effort to increase student performance in Math
  1111
• Started in Spring 2004 (Kilhefner Sanders)
• Every chapter section assigned online homework
• Tests were given in computer lab
• Major crash on last test discouraged other
  professors
• Since that semester only user of online
  assessments

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Background

• Use publishers website ThompsonNow
• west.iLrn.com
• Create assignments and tests
• Use questions from book, edit existing, or create
  own
• Students register with faculty-provided access
  key
• Work at home or in campus lab

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Current Grading Scheme

• Homework (200pts)
• Practice Tests (100pts)
• Tests (400 pts)
• Final Exam (300 pts)

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Online-Homework

• 20 of the 30 sections are each 10 points
• 10 questions (per section) each worth 1 point
• Questions are mostly (99) free response
• System tells if answer is right or wrong
• Unlimited takes/unlimited time
• Correct answers remain on future takes

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Online-Practice Test

• Each test is preceded by a Practice Test
• 25 questions each worth 1 point (25 pts)
• Questions are mainly multiple choice
• Will not know results until after the attempt
• 3 takes/2 hours per take
• Best of 3 tries is recorded
• Correct answers available after each take

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Online-Tests

• Each block of material (6 sections)
• 16 questions each worth 6.25 points
• Questions are mc/matching/tables/fr
• Will not know results until 6pm
• Check free response answers for partial credit
• 1 take/50 minutes per take
• Individual timer for each student

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Online-Results

• After 1st and 2nd tests, summary of progress is
  given to each student
• Point out good things
• Point out where student needs to work
• After 2nd test, praise the turnaround or
  emphasize the need to do better

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Classroom Environment-2004

• Standard 3-day a week lecture
• Testing split between two computer labs
• Difficult to engage students
• Mid Fall 2004 moved to lab

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Classroom Environment-2005

• Standard 3-day a week meeting in lab
• Half of classtime lecture
• Half of classtime computer work
• Easier to help troubled students
• Some students disengaged during/after lecture

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Classroom Environment-2006

• 2 days in-class lecture/ 1 day in lab
• Covered 3 days of material in 2 lectures
• Left questions and help for the 1 day in lab
• Only serious students showed up for lab class
• More than half the class skipped lab day

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Classroom Environment-2007

• Standard 3-day a week lecture
• Lecture large class size in powerpoint
• Office Hours held in lab immediately after
  class
• Beginning Fall 2007 moved to paper tests due
  to logistics of using lab for large number of
  students

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Example 4 (example of powerpoint lecture)

• Two cyclists, 90 miles apart, start riding toward
  each other at the same time. One cycles three
  times as fast as the other. If they meet 2 1/2
  hours later, at what average speed is each
  cyclist traveling?

90 miles
quantity looking for? Average speed of each
cyclist
Average speed for one cyclist x
Average speed for other cyclist 3x
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Results

• Mixed results as far as improved grades
• Student comments mostly(95) positive
• One wanted more feedback than correct/incorrect
• One liked powerpoint but not online work
• Using online work in Math 1113 Pre-Calculus

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Five Years of D-F-W