Todays Community College Student and How to Reach Them

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Todays Community College Student and How to
Reach Them

• Michael Sullivan
• msulliva_at_jjc.edu
• November 3, 2006

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Fortune favors the prepared mind.-- Louis
PasteurThe advancement and perfection of
mathematics are intimately connected with the
prosperity of the state.--NapoleonMathematica
l knowledge adds vigor to the mind, frees it from
prejudice, credulity, and superstition.--John
Arbuthnot
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Who Is Enrolling in Community College?

• Percentage Distribution of Students Enrolling in
  Community College
• 29.7 place at Level 1 or below
• 46.0 place at Level 2 3
• 24.4 place at Level 4 or 5
• Level 1 Simple arithmetic
• Level 2 Simple operations with decimals,
  fractions, powers, or roots
• Level 3 Simple problem solving understanding of
  low-level mathematical concepts
• Level 4 Understanding of Intermediate
  mathematical concepts, has the ability to
  formulate multi-step solutions to word problems
• Level 5 Proficiency in solving complex problems
  or proficiency in advanced mathematics

U.S. Department of Education, National Center of
Education Statistics
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• According to the National Assessment of
  Educational Progress (NAEP), only 17 of high
  school seniors are considered proficient in
  mathematics.

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Who Is Enrolling in Community College?

• High School students were surveyed in 10th grade
  and then again in 12th grade
• Goal remained a bachelors degree 73.4 first
  attended a 4-year school, while 25.2 attended
  community college
• Goal increased to a bachelors degree 44.4
  first attended a 4-year school, while 51.1
  attended community college
• Goal was inconsistent or lowered 18.1 attended
  a 4-year school, while 69.3 attended community
  college
• Goal was some college 17.7 attended a 4-year
  school, while 69.4 attended community college
• Had no college plans, 10.6 attended a 4-year
  school, while 68.5 attended community college

-Moving Into Town-and Moving On U.S. Department
of Education
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Who Is Enrolling in Community College?

• About 11 of high school graduates who attend a
  4-year university have completed less than
  Algebra 2.
• About 44 of high school graduates who attend a
  Community College have completed less than
  Algebra 2.
• In fact, if we call Calculus, Precalculus,
  Trigonometry, Algebra 2, less than Algebra 2, the
  rungs on a ladder, each step down a rung,
  increases the probability a student will enroll
  in community college by 8.7.
• Moving Into Town And Moving On
• U.S. Department of Education

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Predictors of Success

• Transfer predictors
• Credits in college-level mathematics
• Earning credits during the summer (a proxy for
  persistence)
• Continuous enrollment
• Avoidance of course withdrawals and repeats

-Moving Into Town-and Moving On U.S. Department
of Education
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Predictors of Success

• Terminal associates degree
• Continuous enrollment
• College-level mathematics credits
• No withdrawals or repeats
• Holding a campus job during the first two years
  of enrollment
• A higher ratio of occupational credits to all
  credits earned. Caveat When this ratio rises
  above 0.65, degree completion rates fall.

-Moving Into Town-and Moving On U.S. Department
of Education
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Predictors of Success

• Of all pre-college curricula, the highest level
  of mathematics one studies in secondary school
  has the strongest continuing influence on
  bachelors degree completion. Finishing a course
  beyond Algebra 2 more than doubles the odds a
  student who enters college will complete a
  bachelors degree.
• Answers in the Tool Box, U.S. Department of
  Education

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Retention

• 5 of students of any ethnic group who initially
  enroll in mathematics courses three levels below
  college algebra progress through the
  developmental math sequence and successfully
  complete college algebra
• ACCD Research Brief, Developmental Math, Student
  Outcomes
• Assessment Research Center, March 2005

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The Bottom Line

• Of all the predictors of success, instructors
  have the most influence in preventing course
  withdrawals and repeats and helping students to
  attain college level mathematics credits.

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Ideas for Preventing Course Withdrawals and
Repeats

• Motivation/Study Skills
• Getting the Students to Do the Math
• Inability to retain knowledge
• Big Picture Ideas

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Motivation
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Motivation

• The Net Present Value of an Education
• Assume college costs 18,000 per year. Factor in
  opportunity costs of 28,000 per year. Assuming
  you take four years to graduate, these are
  outlays of 46,000 per year. Factor in 3
  inflation.
• From age 22 to 24, earn 7,415/year more
• From age 25 to 34, earn 11,691/year more
• From age 35 to 44, earn 19,799/year more
• From age 45 to 54, earn 19,140/year more
• From age 55 to 64, earn 20,156/year more
• Source United States Census Bureau

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SOURCE U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics. (2006). The
Condition of Education 2006 (NCES 2006071),
Table 22-1.
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Motivation
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Study Skills

• What to Do the First Week of the Semester

• Learn the names of some of your classmates and
  exchange contact information.
• Group study sessions
• Missed classes
• Budget Your Time.
• Two to three hours of homework outside of class
  for each hour in class.
• Consider your work schedule and personal life
  when creating your budget as well.

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Study Skills
"If there's no struggle, there's no progress."
-- Frederick Douglass

• What to Do Before, During, and After Class
• Before Class
• Mentally and physically prepare yourself
• Read the section
• Create a list of questions to ask based on your
  reading
• During Class
• Arrive early and stay alert during class
• Take thorough notes
• Ask questions
• After Class
• Reread your notes and the section
• Do the homework.
• I hear and I forget
• I see and I remember
• I do and I understand
• Try to figure out why you got certain problems
  wrong
• Ask your professor or tutor for additional help

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Study Skills

• How to Use the Text

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Study Skills

• How to Prepare for an Exam

• Step 1 Beginning about one week before your
  exam, start to redo your homework assignments.
  If you dont understand a topic, be sure to seek
  out help. You should also work the problems
  given in the chapter review. The problems are
  keyed to the objectives in the course. If you
  get a problem wrong, identify the objective and
  examples that illustrate the objective. Then
  review this material and try the problem in the
  chapter review again. If you get the problem
  wrong again, seek out help.
• Step 2 A day or two before the exam take the
  Chapter Test under test conditions. Be sure to
  check your answers. For those problems that you
  get wrong, determine why you got them wrong and
  remedy the situation.
• Step 3 Be sure to arrive to the location of the
  exam early. Prepare your mind for the exam.
  Also, be sure that you are well rested. Dont
  try and pull all-nighters. If you need to
  study all night long for an exam, then your time
  management is poor and you should rethink how you
  are using your time or whether you have enough
  time set aside for the course.
• Step 4 While taking the exam, be sure to read
  the instructions. Show all your work and be neat
  so that your instructor can follow your work and
  find your solution. Also, taking an exam is not
  a race, so there is no reason to turn your exam
  in early. If you finish early, go over each
  problem and verify your answers.

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Getting Students to Do the Math

• Classroom
• Instructor models how to do the math.
• Students may work exercises in class to see if
  they get it.
• Assign homework and hope for the best.
• What happens when the student leaves the
  classroom?

"Mathematics is not a spectator sport!"
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Inability to Retain Knowledge
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Inability to Retain Knowledge
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Inability to Retain Knowledge

• Preparing for the Section
• Mixed Practice/Synthesis Review
• Just-in-Time Teaching
• Math Journals
• Give Justification for Steps

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Inability to Retain Knowledge Preparing for
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Inability to Retain Knowledge Mixed Practice
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Inability to Retain Knowledge Mixed Practice
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Inability to Retain Knowledge Synthesis Review
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Inability to Retain Knowledge Synthesis Review
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Inability to Retain Knowledge

• Try to avoid spending the first few days/weeks of
  class reviewing prerequisite material. Instead,
  review on an as needed basis.

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Big Picture Ideas

• Math is like chess
• Consider versus
• Factor 9x2 13x 4
• Logic
• Connections
• "If there is a problem you can't solve, then
  there is an easier problem you can't solve find
  it."
• - George Polya
• Teach with an eye toward the future
• State and understand properties/definitions
• Do not memorize!

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"Life is good for only two things discovering
mathematics and teaching mathematics." --
Simeon Poisson You are not here merely to
make a living. You are here to enable the world
to live more amply, with greater vision, and with
a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are
here to enrich the world. You impoverish
yourself if you forget this errand. --Woodrow
Wilson, 28th president of the US