INCREASING STUDENT SUCCESS in Developmental and College-Level Mathematics.

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."