Dr. Jie Chen, Dr. Eric Hall, Dr. Nathan Lindsay, Dr. Cynthia PembertonUniversity of Missouri – Kansas City

November 10, 2012

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As a result of attending this session, participants will be able to:

Articulate the connection between course redesign and student retention/success

Describe the core components of possible redesigns for college algebra, highlighting the creative use of pedagogy and technologyOutline how course redesign initiatives can be assessed through student exams and surveysAsk questions and share best practices about how to enhance student learning in basic math courses, which will provide additional insights into how to apply these ideas at their own institution.

Summer 2010: Governor’s summit on higher education

October 2010: Statewide conference on Academic Transformation and Collaboration

November 2010: 13 Provosts committed to contracting with the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) to engage in a statewide course redesign initiative

Funding – Governor, Public Institutions, Next Generation Learning Challenges Grant, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Missouri Learning Commons

February 2011: After NCAT Redesign meeting, the math department formed a course redesign team

April 2011: NCAT follow-up meeting

August 2011: UMKC College Algebra Redesign Proposal accepted by the NCAT - http://www.thencat.org/

Summer – Fall 2011: UMKC designs and builds Interactive Learning Center facility

January 2012: Pilot session of the redesigned Math 110 offered in SP2012

August 2012: Full implementation – all sections of Math 110

Philosophy of NCAT Course Redesign –

Restructure courses and leverage technology:

◦ Improve student learning outcomes

◦ Reduce per student instructional costs

◦ Both goals are emphasized

Ideal target course for redesign:◦ High enrollment courses

◦ Courses with high DFW rates (student success)

At UMKC -

◦ Math 110 (College Algebra) satisfies both of the above criterion

◦ Student Success priority – math is key

◦ Access to Success goals – math is key

** In STEM fields this course can be a gateway course and is therefore critical for student retention and further academic success

Based on Five Core Principles:

◦ Redesign the whole course (i.e., all sections)

◦ Encourage active learning

◦ Provide students with individualized assistance

◦ Build in ongoing assessment and prompt

(automated) feedback

◦ Ensure sufficient time on task and monitor

student progress

Models of course redesign - http://www.thencat.org/PlanRes/R2R_ModCrsRed.htm

◦ Supplemental Model

◦ Replacement Model

◦ Emporium Model

◦ Fully-online Model

◦ Linked Workshop Model

◦ Buffet Model

Mathematics course redesigns were particularly successful with the Emporium Model.

The Emporium Model is…

◦ Elimination of lectures

◦ Migration of class time into a lab setting

◦ Utilization of interactive computer-based learning

environments

◦ Delivery of on-demand personalized assistance

The Emporium Model is not…

◦ Students teaching themselves

◦ The outsourcing of instruction to a computer

◦ “A sage on a stage”

Access to multimedia content Multiple mastery attempts Immediate performance feedback Individualized, on-demand support Active learning Peer-to-peer collaboration Increased time on task Cost savings – ability to do more with fewer

instructional resources

History◦ 450 students per academic year and growing◦ 30% DFW rate during the last two academic years◦ Lack of continuity across sections that are taught

almost exclusively by graduate teaching assistants

Vision for the future◦ Teach more students with fewer instructional

resources◦ Improve learning outcomes and student retention◦ Standardize the student learning experience◦ One full-time faculty coordinates all sections

Increased time for students to “do” math rather than listening to lectures about math

Increased assessment of student learning with specific feedback about learning performance

Increased amount of feedback on learning and decreases time to receive feedback on student learning performance

Increased opportunity to work with peers during the learning process

On demand learning support in a lab environment designed to address individualized learning challenges

UMKC Redesigned College Algebra is a modified emporium model accepted by NCAT –

Three 50-minute traditional lectures replaced by two 75-minute lab sessions and one 50-minute class meeting

Lab sessions (54 students)◦ Interactive Learning Center (ILC) in Miller Nichols Library◦ Staffed by GTAs and undergraduate learning assistants

(ULAs)

Class meetings (100-150 students)◦ Review problematic concepts, preview new content ◦ Clickers to foster discussion and engagement (pilot phase)◦ Staffed by one full-time faculty member

Online learning and assessment system◦ MyLabsPlus by Pearson◦ Electronic textbook◦ Interactive, multimedia tutorials and learning aids◦ Automatically graded homework◦ Real-time, highly-detailed student progress reports

Clickers◦ Anonymous, low-stakes, ongoing assessment◦ Instant feedback for instructor and students◦ Self-paced quiz capabilities

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4. False, and I am very confident

Spring 2012:◦ Two sections of pilot redesigned College Algebra◦ Three concurrent sections of traditional College

Algebra Summer 2012:

◦ Data collection and analysis comparing pilot to traditional course

◦ Revision of the redesign plan as necessary Fall 2012:

◦ Full-implementation of the redesigned course Spring 2013:

◦ Data collection and analysis of full-implementation

As a result of taking Math 110, I have developed the ability to:

Determine the properties of real numbers

Perform algebraic functions

Graph and read information from graphs

Solve equations and inequalities

Perform various aspects of mathematical modeling such as geometry and proportionality

Performance data

In general, we did not see great success yet from the standpoint of performance data in the pilot, which is very common according to NCAT

No significant difference in average score on the final exam between the pilot redesign and the concurrent traditional course.

Traditional RedesignSample Size 97 73Sample Mean 57.93 59.14Sample SD 20.88 21.96

A chi-squared comparison reveals a significant difference between the observed and expected table of grade distributions

Observed A B C D F WTotals

Traditional 27 22 35 6 8 8 106

Redesign 9 18 22 12 13 13 87

Totals 36 40 57 18 21 21 193

A chi-squared comparison reveals a significant difference between the observed table of ABC/DFW rates and the table that would be expected if one were to pool all of the data and consider both redesign and traditional students to have been drawn from the same population.

If one defines competency based on final grade to be a C or better and if one defines competency based on the final exam to be a 70% or better, then this table shows the competency rates in each version of the course by these two different measures.

Observed A,B,C D,F,W Totals

Traditional 84 22 106

Redesign 49 38 87

Totals 133 60 193

  

Competent

Not Competent

Based on final grade

Traditional 79% 21%

Redesign 56% 44%

Based on final exam

Traditional 27% 73%

Redesign 41% 59%

In the redesigned sections, the greatest enhancements to outcomes occurred in the number of students who exhibited competency (as measured by score on the final exam).

Moreover, this is the best measure on which to compare the redesigned course to the traditional since a common final exam was administered to all College Algebra students the grading scheme that was used eliminated any

potential instructor bias.

Differences may have existed across sections in terms of grading scales, level of rigor, expectations Therefore, finals course grades do not offer insight into

true outcome differences between these courses.

Started in August Students attend one lecture, each associated

with two mandatory lab sections. Fine tuning of the pilot went through during the

summer from lessons we learned:Clickers will not be usedGive a Course orientation quiz as one of the beginning

assignmentsOrientation videoAdministrative dropContinuous GTA training

At your institution, what have been other strategies or approaches that you have used in significantly redesigning entire courses? Or in using the NCAT redesign method?

How have you overcome pedagogical/logistical challenges in making these changes?

Are there any other recommendations you would make for those who are working on significant course redesign?