The Best Never Rest

1
The Best Never Rest

• Math Department
• May 6, 2006

2
Where do we Start?

• State of Affairs outside of FRCC
• State of Affairs at FRCCs doorstep
• State of Affairs within the Sequence of Courses
  at FRCC

3
Where are We Going?

• Satisfied with the Status Quo?
• Things that are out of our control
• Student demographics
• State defined curriculum
• Pace of the course
• What can we do?

4
High School Graduation Information

• Standup
• Major Funding provided by The Bill Melinda
  Gates Foundation and The Broad Foundation

• Colorado Graduation Rates
• 72 of 9th graders graduate
• 53 of High School graduates go on to college
• Of those, 52 complete a 4-year degree within 6
  years

5
Top 5 Reasons Why Students Drop Out

• Uninspired Teaching, Unmotivated Students
• Attendance Issues
• Spent time with the wrong people
• Too Much Freedom (not enough rules in my life)
• Failing academically
• From The Silent Epidemic Perspectives of High
  Shool Dropouts
• By John M. Bridgeland John J. Dilulio, Jr.
  Karen Burke Morison

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What Might Help Students Stay in School?

•  Improve teaching and curricula to make school
  more relevant and engaging Enhance the
  connection between school and work
•  Improve instruction and access to support for
  struggling students
•  Build a school climate that fosters academics
•  Ensure strong adult-student relationships
  within the school
• From The Silent Epidemic Perspectives of High
  Shool Dropouts
• By John M. Bridgeland John J. Dilulio, Jr.
  Karen Burke Morison

7
Math Proficiency

• National Comparisons (National Assessment of
  Educational Progress)
• High School Data
• What the best schools are doing

8
Math Proficiency atFront Range Community College

• Accuplacer Data

9
Who are our Students?

• The Developmental Student
• Students with a low accuplacer score
• Non-traditional students
• English language learners
• Students who are successful in other areas of
  their lives
• Students with learning disabilities
• Disenfranchised students
• First Generation College students
• from the Lumina Math Handbook a work in
  progress

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Summary

• Where we start
• High School math proficiency
• Accuplacer results
• Student demographic
• So what happens when students get to us?

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Rank the following classes in order of Pass Rate

• Pass Rate of students earning an A, B, or C
• MAT030 MAT120
• MAT060 MAT121
• MAT090 MAT123
• MAT106 MAT135

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Rank the following classes in order of Pass Rate

• Pass Rate of students earning an A, B, or C
• MAT030 71 MAT120 68.5
• MAT060 72 MAT121 54
• MAT090 46.5 MAT123 64
• MAT106 57 MAT135 70

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Pass Rate developmental and college-level classes
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Developmental Student Progress

• Only 39 of the students who were in remedial
  math classes in the fall of 2004 were in college
  level math classes by the fall of 2006
• Excluding the withdrawals, the percentage
  increases to 47

15
What Can We Do?

• Placement
• Attitude
• Standards
• Appropriate Rigor
• Appropriate Expectations
• Consistency

16
Get students in the right class
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Pass Rate first level college math classes
18
Get students in the right class

• Are you sure you are in the correct class?
• MAT 121 College Algebra, along with
  Trigonometry, prepares students for Calculus.
  Many MAT 121 students do not need to take
  Calculus. College Algebra is a challenging,
  rigorous course. Before beginning, make sure
  that you are even in the correct course. You can
  see an advisor, but ideally you want to talk to
  the 4-year college or university to which you are
  planning to transfer, to verify you are on the
  right path.
• Here are some other options
• MAT 120 Math for Liberal Arts
• MAT 123 Finite Math (business math)
• MAT 135 Statistics
• MAT 155/156 Integrated Math I/II
• (Math for Elementary Teachers)

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Get students in the right class
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Attitude Care about our students.

• Harvard Study
• In 1986, the president of Harvard University
  commissioned a study to determine why some
  students have a great college experience while
  others do not.
• Over 10 years researchers interviewed 1,600
  Harvard students, asking a range of questions
  about everything from what they did in their
  spare time to the quality of teaching and
  advising.
• Harvard Study

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Attitude Care about our students.

• Results of the Harvard Study
• Students who proved most successful in college
  had established mentoring relationships with
  faculty.
• A relationship with a faculty member makes a
  student feel more connected to the institution.
• The most satisfied students in the Harvard
  interviews sought detailed feedback and asked
  specific questions of professors and advisers -
  not "Why didn't I get a better grade?" but "Point
  out the paragraphs in this essay where my
  argument faltered."

22
Standards

• Expect more get more.
• Expect less get less.

23
Pass Rate associated with MAT106
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Summary

• Placement we can improve we have the power.
• Attitude one of our core strengths stay the
  course.
• Standards our biggest opportunity

25
Program Assessment for the Math Department

• Follow FRCC policy with regard to qualifications
  of instructors
• Develop a process to facilitate consistency
  between course sections
• Develop a process to facilitate awareness of
  department pedagogy
• Develop a process to facilitate awareness of
  department policies as they relate to course
  section consistency and department pedagogy

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The Primary Objective

• The primary goal in the development of
• the department processes and pedagogy
• is not to jump through administrative
• hoops, but to facilitate success in
• subsequent courses for our students!

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Course Section Consistency

• Content All instructors should be covering the
  same textbook sections.
• Emphasis Certain topics require a deeper
  understanding by our students than others.
• REFER TO COURSE PHILOSOPHIES

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Content

• What should be left out if an instructor
  absolutely cannot finish the required material?
  Quite often it is not the material in the last
  required chapter!
• What should be emphasized on written exams?
  Knowledge of the subsequent course is often the
  key.
• REFER TO COURSE PHILOSOPHIES

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Emphasis

• Memory Every course has certain basic facts that
  should be memorized.
• Geometry/Graphing Every course has certain
  geometric facts or graphing techniques that
  should be understood.
• Application Every course has certain
  applications that should be explored.
• REFER TO COURSE PHILOSOPHIES

30
Department Policy Related to Course Section
Consistency

• In order to measure and improve the course
  section consistency, the department requires
  instructors to submit all exams to the
  appropriate lead instructor.

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Other Ideas For Course Section Consistency

• Gateway Exams
• Refer to course philosophies and/or lead
  instructors for specific information
• Common Quizzes?
• Common Exams?
• Common HW?
• What do you think?

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Department Pedagogy

• Calculators When are they appropriate? How
  should they be used?
• Note cards When are they appropriate? How should
  they be used?
• Take-home exams When are they appropriate? How
  should they be used?
• Final Exams What type of exam is appropriate?
  Should they be common? Should we have blueprints?
  Should they count?

33
Calculator Policy

• MAT 030 No calculators
• MAT 060 No calculators except on percentage
  word problems when the numbers get messy
• MAT 090 and above - Refer to course philosophies
  and/or lead instructors for calculator guidelines
  

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Note Card and Take-Home Exam Policies

• No current policies
• Refer to course philosophies and/or lead
  instructors for guidelines

35
Final Exam Policy

• Every course must give a cumulative final exam
  that counts towards the final grade.
• Certain courses may have a final project instead
  of a cumulative final.
• Instructors should refer to the course philosophy
  and/or lead instructor to determine if a
  particular course lends itself to the final
  project option.

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The Vehicle Course Philosophies

• Purpose
• To provide instructors with an outline of the
  course
• To provide guidance to instructors on coverage,
  emphasis, department pedagogy, and department
  policies
• To provide specific teaching tips on certain
  topics

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The Vehicle Course Philosophies

• Development Process
• Lead instructors are responsible for the
  development
• Consultation with instructors that have
  experience teaching the course
• Consultation with instructors that have
  experience teaching the subsequent course
• Consultation with full-time faculty to ensure
  department pedagogy and department policies are
  clear
• Always feel free to share any ideas, concerns, or
  comments with lead instructors or the chair

38
Summary of Program Assessment Efforts

• Qualifications per FRCC policy
• Course Section Consistency
• Content and Emphasis
• Department Pedagogy
• Calculators, Note cards, Take-home Exams, and
  Final Exams
• Department Policies
• Turn in Exams, Calculators, and Final Exams
• Refer to course philosophies and/or lead
  instructors as needed!!!