Sinclair Community College

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Sinclair Community College

• USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
  AND SUCCESS IN PRE-COLLEGE ALGEBRA
• James Willis
• Richard Uchida

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About Our Students

• Success in Elementary Algebra
• Success in Intermediate Algebra
• Success in College Algebra
• Success in Statistics I
• Success in Calculus I
• Success

• Math 10145
• Math 10248
• Math 11661
• Math 12274
• Math 20162

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About Our Courses

• 27 different math courses, 178 sections, or
  3,165 students
• 2 algebra tracks84 sections or 1,583 students
• 4 quarter calculus sequence
• 2 quarter statistics sequence
• Specialty courses to support programs

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New Three-Quarter Algebra Sequence
Richard UchidaAssociate ProfessorBackground

• In the Fall of 2006, the math department began
  offering a three quarter algebra sequence (Math
  191-192-193) which is equivalent in content to
  the two quarter Math 101/102 (Beginning and
  Intermediate Algebra) sequence.

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Lessons Learned

• In year one of the pilot, additional time, by
  itself, did not improve overall success rates
  relative to non-pilot sections.
• Other strategies must be incorporated into the
  sequence to improve student success.
• More structure must be included to allow the
  department to deliver consistent quality despite
  using a large number of faculty teaching the
  course.

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Strategies to Increase Success

• Group collaboration among students.
• Use of MyMathLab.
• Use of tablet PCs in classrooms.
• Use of an audience response system (Turning Point
  XR)
• Offering exam review sessions for all students.
• Use of a video-conferencing program (Adobe
  Connect) for online communication.

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Group Collaboration

• Decrease lecturing and increase student
  engagement
• Reinforce lecture material through peer
  interaction on worksheets.
• Apply basic skills learned to solve more
  challenging problem types using collaborative
  approach.

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Online Homework/Quiz Program

• Use of online homework program (MyMathLab) to
  increase student engagement outside of the
  classroom.
• Homework assignments (online and paper-pencil)
  and quizzes due 6 days a week.
• Allow students multiple attempts at homework
  assignments with instantaneous response.
• Other online resources available on MyMathLab.

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Tablet PCs

• Record daily lectures using LectureScribe to post
  online.
• Demonstrate various online programs.
• Add colors and graphics to enhance presentations.
• Allow students to record video presentations to
  post online.
• Ease of use with audience response system.

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Audience Response System

• Use of Turning Points XR Classroom Response
  System.
• Use as a pre-assessment and post-assessment for
  each chapter.
• Quick assessment for both the instructor and
  students.

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Solve and write in lowest terms
a)
b)
c)
d)
Section 6.4
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Solve and write in lowest terms
a)
b)
c)
d)
Section 6.4
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Review Sessions Video Conferencing

• For each exam, at least two on campus review
  sessions are held. Students from all sections
  are welcome to the review sessions.
• With the use of Adobe Connect, we are able to
  offer online exam review sessions on evenings
  and/or weekends.
• For students unable to attend the sessions, we
  record the review sessions and post them online.

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Elementary Algebra ReVisioning Grant
James Willis Associate ProfessorMathematics
Photos by Gary Honnert
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Overview

• Community Investigation
• Fall 2008 Pilot

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nnnmmm

Community Investigation

• Software Research
• Other Community Colleges
• Research
• Student Interviews

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Software Criteria

• Assessment to assign content
• Content delivery
• Homework
• Mastery assessment
• Reporting
• Cost

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Software Researched

• Plato
• Aleks
• Carnegie
• Modumath
• Hawkes
• Enhanced WebAssign

• Academic Systems Algebra
• Eduspace
• MathZone
• MyMathLab
• Maplesoft

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Software Choice
Carnegie Learning Systems
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Student Interviews
Live half hour interviews were conducted in 27
(of 28) sections of Elementary Algebra in winter
2008. This represents close to the entire
target student population for a representative
Quarter.
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Interview Questions

• I would be interested in taking a math course
  which allows me to come into a lab at any time
  during the week to do course work with
  instructor help always available.
• Yes, definitely 55
• Maybe, but not sure 32
• No 13

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Interview Questions, continued

• Would you like the flexibility to quickly
  move through parts of the course that were not
  challenging?
• Yes, definitely 49
• Maybe, not sure 37
• Not important 14

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Fall 2008 Pilot Flexibility

• An approach to reach a variety of students
  including
• ones needing to refresh, needing to master
  only a
• portion of the material and repeaters.
• Students were able to accelerate through content
  with which they are already familiar or able to
  master at their own pace, but with final
  deadlines for
• evaluations.

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Fall 2008 Pilot Class Hours

• Hybrid Emporium Model
• 10 sections meeting two days a week for a one
  class hour session.
• The other two class hours were required in a
  dedicated lab.
• Peer tutors available during class time and in
  the lab.
• Group activities during classroom sessions

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Fall 2008 Pilot Structure

• A common Course Management System shell with
  student links to all aspects of the course,
  including common assignments
• Common Carnegie units created in module form
• Common syllabus
• Constant consultation among faculty learning
  group members
• Student surveys three weeks in and at the end

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Fall 2008 Pilot The Facilities

• A dedicated classroom and adjoining lab
• Open dedicated lab staffed by faculty and
  assistants available for extended hours.
• Required student use for two class hours a week.

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Results Analysis
Due to the highly structured format we are able
to look in more depth at the patterns behind
successes and failures. In the Fall 2008 pilot
there were 2 components to the home work,
Carnegie online work and written homework, which
were common to all sections.
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Homework Pattern Analysis
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Lab Usage Analysis
1836 lab visits, but

• Students were required to complete 2 class hours
  in the
• lab each week at a time of their choice.
• The average amount of time it was used per
  student
• per week was 55 minutes.
• 173 of the 209 students of record actually used
  the lab.

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Lessons Learned

• Not only do freshman not do optional
• but most dont do whats required.
• (homework and lab usage)
• Students wanted more feedback and
• more in-class help
• Students in Mat 101 need help with
• managing time and study skills
• Limited student follow-through on the acellerated
  pace

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Overall Final Exam Results
What lies ahead? A Re-envision
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Q

Questions? Comments? Thank you for
attending! Richard.Uchida_at_Sinclair.edu James.Will
is_at_Sinclair.edu