College Algebra Redesign
Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ATLE)Diane R.
Williams, Ph.D.
Department of Math & StatisticsFran Hopf, Ph.D.
National Center for Academic TransformationRedesign
AllianceRedesign ColloquiumUniversity of South FloridaTampa,
FloridaDecember 9, 2011
Launching Course RedesignUniversity of South Florida
DIANE Introduce Dr. Yenni Djajalaksana:Fulbright Scholar from
IndonesiaDean, Department Chair, Faculty member, founder of a
faculty development programPh.D. received in June of this year from
USF, College of Education, Department of Higher Education,
concentration in College Teaching
1Course Redesign at USFOffice of Student SuccessSelection
Criteria:Large enrollmentHigh DFW ratesInterest of department
teamCourses Selected in March 2011:COM 2000: Introduction to
CommunicationDFW 16 - 20 %, 230 300 studentsBSC 2011L: Diversity
Lab with New Skills SupplementDFW 16 20 %, 640 840 studentsCost:
Stipend per faculty member, $6000Course Release, up to
$6000Instructional and technical support, $63,000
USF followed the Readiness Criteria based on the work of the
Redesign Alliance of the NCAT (National Center for Academic
Transformation), and invited the departments to write their
application that outlined the readiness criteria. The main criteria
used were courses with large enrollment, high DFW rates, and the
interest expressed by department team. After reviewing the
applications received, there were two courses selected, the COM
2000, introduction to communication and BSC 2011L, Diversity Lab
with new skills supplements. Both courses have 16% or over DFW
rates and over 200 students enrolled in each
semester.2COM2000Specific Issues and Redesign EffortISSUESHybrid
course with 50 minute face-to-face meetings10 sections with 25
students/section; capacity was 250 studentsLimited time for active
learning and teamworkStudents unpreparedand not reading
REDESIGNSupplemental modelHybrid course with 75 min.
face-to-face meetings8 sections of 40 students; capacity will be
320 studentsLearnSmart Modules to enhance metacognitivecritical
thinking skillsTeamwork and in-class team discussions
Both department chairs attended the NCAT presentation in January
and let us know they were very interested. Integrative Biology had
already done research on student performance that, in the chairs
words, illustrated several significant weaknesses across the
curriculum. Also, this course redesign will set the bar for the
level of performance expected of students in subsequent
courses.
The Communication course instructor describes a transformative
experience: I learned to learn in the model of reading books and
listening to lectures, so a move to [the possibilities of]
cooperative learning, immediate feedback with clickers,
,meta-assessment in interactive online quizzes, etc., requires an
attitude of exploration, experimentation, and openness.
The COM 2000 is currently a hybrid course, conducted online with
50 minute face-to-face meetings. The course was conducted in 10
sections with 25 students/section. With only 50 minutes of
face-to-face meetings, the time was limited for employing a variety
of active learning and teamwork. In addition, students of COM 2000,
based on the instructors and TAs experience, came to class
unprepared as they did not read the materials assigned to prepare
them for the face-to-face classroom discussion.
Our redesign solution is to utilize the supplemental model as we
still maintain the basic structure of the course, adding additional
25 minutes to the face-to-face meetings to accommodate active
learning activities of team work and in-class team discussions, and
supplement the course with the readily available LearnSmart modules
from McGraw-Hill connect to enhance students metacognitive critical
thinking skills. To address the cost issue, the number of sections
are reduced but the number of students in the sections are
increased to 40 students each. Thus, the capacity of the students
in the course is increased approximately 28% (70 more students)
than the previous semester.3BSC2011LSpecific Issues and Redesign
EffortISSUES3 hour face-to-face lab meetingsStudents unprepared and
not reading lab materials Critical thinking skills lackingScience
writing skills lacking Essential computer skills lacking (e.g., Ms
Excel)
REDESIGNReplacement model2 hour face-to-face lab meetings and 1
hourpre-lab modulesCreate post-lab online quizzesSupplemental
modules to address the 2 last points (Summer 2012)
The BSC 2011L Diversity Lab has similar issues with students
coming unprepared as they did not read the assigned lab materials
prior to the lab meetings. In addition, the department expressed
that the students were lacking critical thinking, science writing
skills, and essential computer skills such as using essentials
feature from Ms Excel for reporting purpose.
The redesign of this course followed the replacement model. The
previously 3 hour face-to-face meetings are going to be replaced by
2 hour face-to-face lab meetings plus 1 hour pre-lab modules the
students need to take online prior to the lab meetings. There are
post-lab online quizzes to measure the results of the redesign.
Later in the Summer 2012, the redesign team plans to add
supplemental modules to address the lack of science writing skills
and essential computer skills that students are going to be
required to take to equip them with the essential skills.
4Elements of Redesign 1 Lecture / 2 Required LabsMultiple
attempts HW/Qz Immediate feedback 70% mastery level for HW2
attempts high-stake testsPersonalized study plansMultiple
resources1-1 tutoring in labWeighted weekly avg. posted
Cost for Coll. Alg. Classes
Cost of Pilot with other classes is highExpanding redesign to
all classes would be cost effective
Time LineAttended NCAT S-10Proposal Approved F-10Implemented 1
Class S-11Implemented 2 Classes F-11
College Algebra RedesignLearning Outcomes Departmental Final
Exam ComparisonsSpring 2011Fall 2011PassingRateREDESIGN
(n=164)69%OTHERS (n=448)56%PassingRateREDESIGN (n=300)68%OTHERS
(n=717)57%Student Comments
Course Passing Rate Fall 2011 82% (Includes D / F /W)Outcomes
& ChallengesPotential Learning OutcomesIncrease in achievement
Increase in majorsDecrease in withdrawal ratesImprove math
attitudeAssist student in becoming a self-learnerChallenges
Budget money for larger computer labInclude activities that
focus on personal attentionInclude activities that will improve
critical thinking skillsHave a system that will track student
success in the next math course
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