Washington Student Completion Initiative

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WashingtonStudent Completion Initiative

• The Student Completion Initiative, funded by the
  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the
  Washington State Legislature will support new and
  promising efforts to improve access and
  completions for low-income young adults in
  Washington state over the next three years. The
  5.521 million grant will help break down key
  barriers to student completion in the community
  and technical college system by funding three
  projects
• Open Course Library
  1,801,000
• (Project Director Cable Green)
• Re-Thinking Pre-College Math
  1,970,000
• (Project Director Bill Moore)
• I-BEST for Developmental Education
  1,750,000
• (Project Director Tina Bloomer)

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Re-Thinking Pre-College MathProject Overview
and Proposal Submission Process Guidelines
System Information Sessions January 2010

• Bill Moore, Project Director
• Policy Associate, SBCTC

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Re-Thinking the Pre-College Math Curriculum

• The traditional developmental math program was
  designed to remediate high school algebra
  deficiencies. Students were required to study
  topics not relevant to their majors, take an
  entire course even though they were deficient in
  only some topics and to learn at the same pace
  using the same instructional strategies as the
  entire class

Carol Twigg, National Center for Academic
Transformation, Increasing Success in
Developmental Math SMART Math at Jackson State
Community College
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Project Overview

• Builds on and extends the Transition Math Project
  (TMP), shifting focus to pre-college math
  programs
• Focus includes all of pre-college math courses
  (both Adult Basic Education and Developmental
  Math levels)
• Long-term ends improving student achievement in
  math
• Persistence through pre-college-level math
  sequence
• Adequate preparation for college math
  expectations
• Performance in math courses and beyond
• Primary means Support selected colleges in
  re-thinking their pre-college mathematics
  programs

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Defining Characteristics of Project

• Collective approach, supported by department/
  program as a whole
• Addressing core areas of educational practice
• Taking an inquiry stance toward practice
  (emphasis on evidence)
• Collaborating in going to scale (community of
  practice)

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Re-Thinking Pre-College MathJoining a Joyful
Conspiracy

• TMP 2009 Institute
• September 8-10, 2009
• http//transitionmathproject.org/pro-development/0
  9summer-institute/resources.asp

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Core Areas of Educational Practice
We put an enormous amount of energy into changing
structures and usually leave instructional
practice untouchedWe are attracted and drawn to
these efforts because theyre visible and,
believe it or not, easier to do than to make the
hard changes, which are in instructional
practice Richard Elmore, January 2002, The
Limits of Change
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Improving Student Learning in MathCore
Educational Practice
Faculty support through professional community
of practice
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Taking a Stance of Inquiry Toward Practice

• Emphasize evidence around student learning,
  instructional approaches
• Consider how new ideas, other resources and
  knowledge might be useful (as tools rather than
  truth)
• Shift the emphasis from implementing program to
  adapting innovations, generating new knowledge

Deborah Loewenberg Ball, 1994, Developing
Mathematics Reform
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Building a Project Community of Practice

• Common language, conceptual framework
• Shared experiences, exposure to multiple
  approaches/methods
• Forum for sharing resources and practices

Scale at the organization level means, are people
working in concert around a set of ideas about
what curriculum and pedagogy should look like,
and is it obvious in their practice? Richard
Elmore, Improvement of Teaching at Scale,
January 2006
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Project Timeline
September 2009 TMP Institute
Oct. 2009- Jan. 2010 Site visits to interested colleges
January 28-29 Re-Thinking Pre-College Math convening for college teams
February 17 Grant proposals due to SBCTC
February 25 Review group recommends colleges to be included
March 17-18 Grants approved at SBCTC meeting
April 1, 2010 Selected colleges formally begin project
April 20-21, 2010 (tentative) Kick-off event for core teams from colleges
August 23-26, 2010 1st RPM Project Summer Institute
September 2010 Phase II Funding begins
September 2011 Phase III Funding begins
August 2012 Grant funding ends
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Selection Criteria

• Clarity of Goals strategies and goals that are
  clear and consistent with conceptual framework
  for project, focusing on defined core areas of
  educational practice
• Commitment clear and strong support for project
  from institutional administrative leadership and
  the math department and grounds proposed plans in
  institutional priorities
• Capacity demonstrated evidence of institutional
  and faculty capacity to accomplish project plan
• Sustainability potential for sustaining, and if
  possible scaling up, the work beyond the grant
  period
• Feasibility work plan and budget that is
  realistic given the time frame of the grant and
  the existing institutional capacity

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Expectations of Participating Colleges

• Demonstrate clear and visible department-wide and
  institutional commitment to the project
• Engage relevant faculty (including adjuncts) in
  substantive focus on core areas of educational
  practice
• Support cross-campus connections and sharing of
  practice within the project and across the system
  
• Utilize technical support and assistance provided
  by project leadership
• Address sustainability (life after the grant)
  from the beginning
• Participate in project-wide data collection and
  analysis for the purposes of formative and
  summative evaluation

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Expectations of Project Leadership Team

• Provide technical assistance and support to
  coalition colleges
• Encourage and assist grantees in the development
  of linkages across projects and to other state
  and national math initiatives
• Maintain ongoing communication with and between
  project colleges through variety of means
• Orchestrate and oversee evaluation studies and
  data collection activities

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Logistical Details

• Duration Fall 2009-Fall 2012 (college sub-grants
  begin April 2010)
• Grant Amounts Up to 120,000 per college in 3
  phases 20,000 (max.) 4/10-8/10, 50,000 (max.)
  for 9/10-8/11 9/11-8/12 (new application
  updates for Phase II and III)
• Proposal submission process deadline 2/17, 1130
  p.m., submitted electronically through the Online
  Grants Management System (OGMS)

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Application Process

• Applications must be submitted through the
  SBCTCs Online Grants Management System (OGMS)
• OGMS http//apps.sbctc.edu/onlinegrants
• Contact your college OGMS security contact for
  system and grant access
• User Manual available under How To tab
• Questions? Lynette Anderson 360.704.4315 lan
  derson_at_sbctc.edu

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Program Questions?

• Questions about the overall
• Re-Thinking Pre-College Math project
• Contact Dr. Bill Moore, 360-704-4346,
  bmoore_at_sbctc.edu
• http//transitionmathproject.org/dev-ed/index.
  asp