ACHIEVING THE DREAM

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ACHIEVING THE DREAM
Mountain Empire Community College Big Stone Gap,
Virginia
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• Rhoda Bliese, Writing and Reading
• Chris Allgyer, Mathematics

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Mountain Empire Community College is in the far
southwestern corner of Virginia
West Virginia
Kentucky
Tennessee
North Carolina

• It is a small college in the heart of the
  Southern Appalachian Mountains.

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Some Statistics
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Retention
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Developmental Success Rates Goals for Lumina
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Processes Used

• Developmental Faculty Committee established
  sequence of activities, in order to accomplish
  the grant objectives
• Lead instructor(s) for each course did literature
  search and site visits to establish which
  strategies would be used,
• Lumina provided funds for travel, training,
  released time for course development, tutor
  salaries, and oversight of committee

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Goals of Developmental Committee

• Improve success rate of students in developmental
  classes by 5
• Revise placement processes
• Provide a menu of choices, depending on amount of
  help needed by students
• Incorporate greater interactivity into
  developmental courses

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Purpose Improve Compass/Testing Processes

• Change from DOS Compass, with no calculator, to
  WEB Compass, with calculator
• Improve placement of students in Decision Zones
• E-Write for students in English Decision Zone
• Have lower anxiety and greater knowledge of
  purpose/content of Compass Test

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Purpose Appropriate Placement

• Fall 2005
• No Calculator
• MTH 2 Arithmetic
• 143 students
• 8 sections
• MTH 3 Algebra I
• 157 students
• 8 sections

• Fall 2007
• With Calculator
• MTH 2 Arithmetic
• 65 students
• 5 sections
• MTH 3 Algebra I
• 173 students
• 8 sections

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Purpose Provide a Menu of choices, depending on
amount of help needed

• Academic Resource Center
• Self-paced learning conducted in library or on
  the WEB
• Weaver software in English
• ModuMath software in math
• Two target groups
• Students who are on borderline and who wish to
  review concepts before retaking Compass Test
• Students who wish to review concepts before
  taking Compass Test

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Purpose Provide a Menu of choices, depending on
amount of help needed

• Fast Track Math
• Concentrated review for most able students
• MTH 2 1 credit (usually 3 credits)
• Limited to students who scored 20 or better on
  the Arithmetic section of the Compass Test
• MTH 3 2 credits (usually 5 credits)
• Limited to students who tested into Algebra I on
  the Compass Test, but who had Algebra I in high
  school with a grade of C or better

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Fast Track Data

• MTH 2 Arithmetic

• MTH 3 Algebra I

• Fast Track
• Pass rate 89
• Non-Fast Track Classes
• Pass rate 52 - 68
• Fast-Track Arithmetic students do well in
  followup courses.

• Fast Track
• Pass rate 92
• Non-Fast Track Classes
• Pass rate 44 - 55
• With Algebra I Fast Track students, we have
  concern about the number of failures in followup
  courses, particularly if students delay going on
  to next course.

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Goal Improve success rate of students in
developmental classes by 5

• Focused first on classes that have high number of
  students but a lower success rate
• Investigated best practices
• Did site visits
• Developed initiatives to improve success rate

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Fall 2007 Initiatives

• MTH 3 Algebra I (5 credit course)
• Peer-Led Team Learning
• Manipulatives
• Cooperative Learning
• Navigator

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MTH 3 Algebra I Peer-Led Team Learning

• Added block of time that students work in
  groups, under the direction of a peer leader
• Focus on fun cooperative activities
• Voluntary attendance, with lots of encouragement

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PLTL Students Go Fish
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Power Hour Activities
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Peer-Led Team Learning Survey Results

• Peer-Led Team Learning sessions were called the
  Power Hour.

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MTH 3 Use of Manipulatives

• Students who have difficulty visualizing
  equations are able to build an equation using
  materials that can be manipulated.
• Manipulatives can be done individually or in
  groups.
• Assists kinesthetic learners in understanding
  abstract algebra concepts

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Algebra I Students Using Manipulatives
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Navigator

• Navigator connects all student calculators to a
  hub.
• All calculator screens show on the instructor
  computer, with student names or pseudonyms.
• Instructor can project screens of all calculators
  or choose certain ones to show to class.
• Navigator has numerous activities, such as quick
  quizzes, graded by Navigator.

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MTH 3 Navigator
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Navigator

• Navigator Hub

• Answering a Quick Poll

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Algebra I Pass Rates
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Cooperative Learning

• College-wide goal to incorporate
• cooperative learning in all classes
• ENG 3, ENG 1, MTH 4 piloted increased use of
  cooperative learning Fall of 2007.
• Numerous other faculty have attended cooperative
  learning training sessions, and they are using
  cooperative learning to a greater degree, also.

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Student Survey Results
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Key to success in cooperative learning Faculty
Training

• Numerous developmental faculty attended week-long
  training by Roger and David Johnson.
• http//www.co-operation.org/

• On-campus person was designated to oversee local
  initiatives on cooperative learning.
• He conducted training workshops and followup
  meetings on campus.

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Results?

• We will be following each of these initiatives to
  determine if they are successful.
• Comparing success rates against the benchmarking
  data
• Comparing retention rates against the
  benchmarking data

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Lessons Learned

• It takes time. Changes dont come fast.
• Many students fail because of reasons beyond our
  control.
• It is important to continue to focus on data.
• Faculty must be involved in planning and
  implementation.
• Allow faculty to focus on strategies that they
  buy in to.
• Someone with authority must be in charge.

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Data and Compass Presentation on MECC Website

• http//www.me.vccs.edu/

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Recommended Reading

• No One To Waste A Report to Public
  Decision-Makers and Community College Leaders, by
  Robert McCabe

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Contact us

• Rhoda Bliese
• rbliese_at_me.vccs.edu
• Chris Allgyer
• callgyer_at_me.vccs.edu