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INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS in Developmental and
College-Level Mathematics
Established in 1999 as a university Center at RPI funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
Became an independent non-profit organization in 2003
Mission: help colleges and universities learn how to use technology to improve student learning outcomes and reduce their instructional costs
NCAT’S TRACK RECORD
11 years of experience in conducting large-scale course redesign projects in mathematics that improve student learning while reducing instructional costs.
37 institutions have been involved in mathematics course redesign.
Most have redesigned more than one course, either during the project period or after the NCAT project was completed.
Collectively, NCAT math redesigns have impacted more than 200,000 students to date.
WHAT DOES NCAT MEAN BY COURSE REDESIGN?
Course redesign is the process of redesigning whole courses (rather than individual classes or sections) to achieve better learning outcomes at a lower cost by taking advantage of the capabilities of information technology.
MATH REDESIGNS AT NCAT PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
Increased the percentage of students successfully completing a developmental math course by 51% (from 10% to 135%) while reducing the cost of instruction by 30% (from 12% to 52%)
Increased the percentage of students successfully completing a college-level math course by 25% (from 7% to 63%) while reducing the cost of instruction by 37% (from 15% to 77%)
"Students learn math by doing math, not by listening to someone talk about doing math."
WHY DO STUDENTS FAIL?
“The primary reason many students do not succeed in traditional math courses is that they do not actually do the problems. They generally do not spend enough time with the material, and this is why they fail at a very high rate.”
Kingsborough Community College
WHY DOES THE EMPORIUM INCREASE SUCCESS?
1. Students spend the bulk of their course time doing math problems.
2. Students spend more time on things they don’t understand and less time on things they have already mastered.
3. Students get assistance when they encounter problems in doing math.
4. Students are required to do math.
Students spend the bulk of their course time doing math problems.
Traditional Students spend
most (all?) of their in-class time listening to someone talk about doing math.
Emporium Students spend
most (all?) of their in-class time doing math working with instructional software.
Students spend more time on things they don’t understand and less time
on things they have already mastered.
Traditional Lecture format
treats students as “one size fits all.”
Some students are bored while others are overwhelmed.
Emporium Diagnostic assessments
-->> individualized study plans
When students under-stand, they can move through quickly and demonstrate mastery.
When students get stuck, they can take more time to practice.
Students get assistance when they encounter problems in doing math.
Traditional Must admit in front
of others that they don’t understand.
No assistance available when doing homework.
Hand-graded homework often returned days later when no longer motivated.
Emporium Individualized help. Instant feedback
from software. On-demand help
from Emporium instructors/helpers.
Help from other students.
Students are required to do math.(Freshmen don’t do optional.)
Traditional May or may not
go to class. May or may not
do homework. May or may not
ask questions. May or may not
go to office hours.
Emporium Required to go to
lab. Required to do
homework. Given course
points for completing all required activities.
THREE STAGES OF INNOVATION
Stage I Experimentation
1999 - 2003 Stage II Replication
2003 - 2006 Stage III Expansion
2006 - 2010
Modifying and Extending the Emporium Model
PROGRAM IN COURSE REDESIGN
Challenge colleges and universities to redesign their approaches to instruction using technology to achieve quality enhancements as well as cost savings.
30 projects7 in math
IT IS POSSIBLE TO INCREASE LEARNING WHILE REDUCING COST
25 of 30 PCR projects improved learning; the other 5 showed equal learning.
24 measured course completion rates; 18 showed improvement.
All 30 reduced costs by 37% on average, with a range of 15% to 77%.
Program in Course Redesign
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SAVINGS?
Accommodate more students
Offer more options at the second-year or upper-division level
Develop distance learning courses and programs
Decrease time to graduation for students by eliminating academic bottlenecks
Free up expensive campus space
EXAMPLEMath Department at Ole Miss
AY 2000-2001 45 math majors 40 BA students 5 BS students PhD program put on
probation
Fall 2000: 6 courses Spring 2001:
7 courses
AY 2006-2007 81 math majors 50 BA students 31 BS students 20 PhDs over the last 4
years
Fall 2007: 13 courses Spring 2007:
15 courses
THE MATH EMPORIUM at
Virginia Tech
THE MATH EMPORIUM:ACADEMIC GOALS
Enhance quality by individualizing instruction Assess students’ knowledge in much smaller
subject-matter chunks Provide feedback and direction to allow
students to make up for specific deficiencies Provide help 75 - 80 hours per week Incorporate examples and information from
other disciplines Make changes in the course as it proceeds;
continuous improvement as a built-in feature
THE MATH EMPORIUMat Virginia Tech
Traditional 38 sections (~40) 10 tenured faculty,
13 instructors, 15 GTAs
2 hours per week $91 cost-per-student
Redesign 1 section (~1520) 1 instructor, grad &
undergrad TAs + 2 tech support staff
24*7 in open lab $21 cost-per-student
Percentage of students achieving grades of D or better went from 80.5% to 87.25%
THE EMPORIUM MODEL77% Cost Reduction (V1)30% Cost Reduction (V2)
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMASUCCESS RATES
Fall 1998 Fall 1999
Fall 2000 Fall 2001 Fall 2002 Fall 2003 Fall 2004
47.1% 40.6%
50.2% 60.5% 63.0% 78.9% 76.2%
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMAIntermediate Algebra
1,500 students Student performance tracked in
next course (Precalculus Algebra). Redesign students significantly out-performed students who had taken the prior course in the traditional format.
Cost-per-student decreased from $122 to $86, a 30% savings
Alabama subsequently replicated its redesign success in Precalculus Algebra.
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO Precalculus Courses
2,428 Students Student success rates (grades
of C or better) in the redesigned format increased
– from 59% to 75% in Intermediate Algebra
– from 68% to 75% in Precalculus
The cost-per-student was reduced from $110 to $176 to $97, a 31% reduction.
KEY MODIFICATIONS
Mandatory attendance Weekly “focus group”
meetings Smaller facilities Commercial software
STAGE II: REPLICATION
We did not prescribe a model – We wanted each redesign team to “own”
their redesign plan. – We wanted to see variations on previous
redesigns in different disciplines. – We wanted to see new models emerge as
we worked with greater numbers of institutions and disciplines.
MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
Five Models for Course Redesign Five Principles of Successful
Course Redesign Four Models for Assessing Student
Learning Cost Reduction Strategies Five Critical Implementation Issues
ROADMAP TO REDESIGN (R2R)2003 - 2006
Calhoun CC: Statistics Chattanooga STCC: Psychology Eastern Washington U: Psychology Georgia State U: Precalculus Louisiana State U: College Algebra Texas Tech: Spanish UNC-Greensboro: Precalculus U of Missouri-St. Louis: College
Algebra U of Alabama: Spanish UNC-Chapel Hill: Precalculus UNC-Greensboro: Statistics Wayne State U: Precalculus
WHAT WE OBSERVED
Some models seemed to “fit” particular disciplines.
Replacement model– Foreign language– English composition
Math: Emporium vs. Replacement Application of Alabama and Idaho
version to college-level math
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITYCollege Algebra4,900 Students
Redesign students outperformed as measured by common final exams
– Traditional median = 70 to 76– Redesign median = 78 (highest ever)
Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased from 64% to 75%
Cost-per-student decreased from $121 to $78, a 36% savings.
– Section size stayed at 40-44– Class meetings went from 3 to 1 – Instructors taught 2 sections vs. 1 and tutored 4 hours in the lab
LSU also redesigned Trig and Pre-calculus.
U OF MISSOURI-SAINT LOUISCollege Algebra
800 Students Redesign students outperformed on
common final exams– Traditional As and Bs = 31.5%– Redesign As and Bs = 56.6%
Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased from 50% to 80%
Cost-per-student decreased from $170 to $119, a 30% reduction.
– Section size increased from 35 to 70.– Number of faculty were reduced.– Adjuncts were eliminated.
STAGE III: EXPANSION2006 - 2010
State- and system based programs
– Arizona– Maryland– Mississippi – New York– Tennessee
54 redesign projects 13 in mathematics
JACKSON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Basic Math, Elementary and Intermediate Algebra
2,200 students Course material is organized into 12 modules Student requirements vary according to major Students and instructors meet 3 hours each
week in SMART Math Center SMART Center is open ~49 hours per week Mastery-based instructional software Can move quickly and begin next course
during the same term
JACKSON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Redesign students increased their average post-test scores:
– Traditional sections = 73%– Redesigned sections = 88%
Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased from 41% to 54%.
Percentage exiting developmental math program increased from 18% to 42%.
Cost-per-student decreased from $177 to $141, a 20% savings
– Number of sections reduced from 89 to 71– Section size increased from 20-24 to 24-30
CLEVELAND STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Basic Math, Elementary and Intermediate Algebra
1,200 students 1 hour in lab + 1 hour in class + 1 hour from
anywhere each week Lab open ~54 hours per week staffed by
instructors and peer tutors Course material is organized into 10 – 12
modules (1 per week) Can move quickly and begin next course
during the same term
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESNumber of Common Test Items
Answered Correctly
Before After
Basic Algebra 73.3% 86.2% Elementary Algebra 70.3% 86.2% Intermediate Algebra 77.3% 90.1%
DEVELOPMENTAL MATHCleveland State Community College
Before After Basic Algebra
– Completion % (ABC) 52% 65% – Course GPA 1.92 2.53
Elementary Algebra– Completion % (ABC) 52% 70%– Course GPA 1.95 2.88
Intermediate Algebra– Completion % (ABC) 56% 79% – Course GPA 2.02 3.20
DEVELOPMENTAL MATH PROGRAM COMPLETION
Before An average of
182 of 327 students (56%) success-fully exited the program.
After 268 of 340
students (79%) successfully exited the program.
This represents a 47% increase in moving students through developmental studies to college-level math courses.
INCREASED MOBILITY WITHIN DEVELOPMENTAL MATH
37 students completed two or more developmental math courses in one semester.
33 students exited the developmental math program after one semester.
9 students completed Intermediate Algebra and a college-level math course in the same semester.
2 students completed three courses in one semester, each completing over 1800 exercises.
PERFORMANCE IN COLLEGE-LEVEL MATH COURSES
Before Completion rate
of developmental students = 71%
Completion rate of other students = 70%
After Completion rate
of developmental students = 81%
Completion rate of other students = 70%
Redesign students also had higher average course grades (3.15 compared to 2.94)
MORE STUDENTS TAKING COLLEGE-LEVEL MATH COURSES
The number of students enrolling in and passing a college-level math course during fall 2008 increased by 15% compared to the average of the past five years.
The number of students enrolling in a college-level math course during spring 2009 have increased from an average of 320 students in previous spring semesters to 480+ in the current term, a 50% increase.
COLLEGE-LEVEL MATHCleveland State Community College
Before After College Algebra
– Completion % (ABC) 65% 74% – Course GPA 2.26 2.89– Common test items 76%
86% Finite Math
– Completion % (ABC) 75% 91%– Course GPA 2.53 3.63– Common test items 82%
88%
REDUCED COSTS$50,000+ Annually
Faculty productivity has risen by 23%. Average student load per instructor went from
106 to 130. FTE teaching load per instructor went from
21.2 to 26.0. Adjunct faculty (N = 10) eliminated. Lab staffing shifted from a full-time staff position
to 5 part-time tutors (+ full-time instructors.) Low-enrollment sections: multiple courses will be
offered in the same classroom simultaneously.
TBR OFFICE OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS RESEARCH STUDY
“A student in a redesigned course is twice as likely to receive a grade that would allow them to move on to the next course than a student in a course before the redesign.
The redesign format has a positive and strong impact on success in the next course. As in the pre-college course, a student entering the next course is twice as likely to receive a grade of A, B, C, P, or S as a student from a course before the redesign.”
KEY MODIFICATIONS
A “fixed” or “fixed/flexible” version of the Emporium
Modularization Mastery learning
CSCC and JSCC were consecutive winners of the prestigious Bellwether Award from the Community College Futures Assembly.
STAGE III: EXPANSION2006 - 2010
State- and system based programs
– Arizona– Maryland– Mississippi – New York– Tennessee
54 redesign projects 13 in mathematics
ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITYCollege Algebra
Students in the redesign performed significantly better as measured by common mid-term and final exams
– Traditional = 55.89 average score– Redesign = 66.16 average score
Cost-per-student decreased from $278 to $184, a 34% savings
– Number of sections reduced from 16 to 8– Section size increased from ~38 to 75– Number of faculty reduced from 8 to 4
Alcorn State now redesigning Intermediate Algebra as well.
MS VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITYIntermediate Algebra
Students in the redesign outperformed as measured by common final exam
– Traditional = 54%– Redesign = 59%
Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased from 36% to 49%
Cost-per-student decreased from $183 to $139, a 24% savings
– Number of sections reduced from 17 to 8– Section size increased from 27 or 32 to 60– Number of faculty reduced from 13 to 6
COLLEAGUES COMMITTED TO REDESIGN (C2R)
2006 - 2009 Funded by FIPSE Expanded course
redesign to 28 additional institutions
10 in mathematics 6 at four-year
institutions and 4 at two-year institutions
Those who “followed the rules” succeeded.
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDACollege Algebra4,100 students
Students in the redesign outperformed as measured by a common final exam
– Traditional = 63%– Redesign = 81%
Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased from 65% to 74%
Cost-per-student decreased from $70 to $49, a 30% savings
– Number of sections reduced from 65 to 13– Section size increased from 21 (36 sections), 49 (22
sections) and 384 (7 sections) to 300 - 384– Number of faculty reduced and ULAs added
UCF team has gone on to redesign Intermediate Algebra and Pre-calculus.
SANTA FE COLLEGECollege Algebra2,760 students
Students in the redesign outperformed as measured by a common final exam
– Traditional = 59% scored C or better– Redesign = 78% scored C or better
Success rates (final grade of C or better) increased from 53% to 60%
Cost-per-student decreased from $117 to $86, a 26% savings
– Number of sections reduced from 92 to 69– Section size increased from 30 to 40– Number of full-time faculty went from 21 to 10 and part-time
faculty from 25 to 17 Santa Fe is also redesigning Prep Pre-
Algebra, Elementary Algebra, Integrated Arithmetic and Algebra, and College Algebra.
STAGE IV: SCALING A PROVEN INNOVATION
Changing the Equation
38 two-year colleges All developmental math courses 120,000 students Pilot in spring 2011; fully
implement in fall 2011 Supported by the Gates Foundation
MOVING BEYOND EXPERIMENTATIONWhy has the Emporium Model
Been Sustained?
Whole course redesign conducted by teams of faculty and administrators
Proven methods of integrating technology and learner-centered pedagogy
Cost reduction as an integral part of the redesign
WHAT DO THE FACULTY SAY?
“It’s the best experience I’ve ever had in a classroom.”
“The quality of my worklife has changed immeasurably for the better.”
“It’s a lot of work during the transition--but it’s worth it.”
CAROL to CAROL at LSU in Spring 2005
"Students learn math by doing math, not by listening to someone talk about doing math."