Pennsylvania State University - University System of ...



Carnegie Course Redesign Final Report

Cohort 2

Towson University

MATH 115, Basic Mathematics for the Sciences

PI: John Grant, Professor, Mathematics Department

Co-PI: Raouf Boules, Chair, Mathematics Department (mainly provided administrative support to the redesign team that was led by John Grant.)

Brief Description

The main issues that needed to be resolved

• Relatively high DFW rate.

• Course drift.

Redesign model

• “Replacement model” with one hour per week moved to an open computer lab.

• Active and mastery learning emphasized. During the lab hour, the student has a chance to interact actively with computer-based learning resources for mastery learning. The lab is staffed by Undergraduate Learning Assistants (ULA’s) and instructors.

• Incorporating the tools provided by technology helps the student reach the desired mastery levels.

• New 30-seat computer lab was established for this purpose.

A. Impact on Student Learning

1. Improved Learning

The impact on the pass rate was remarkable. We compared pass rates for the spring 2103 semester where the full implementation of the redesign took place with rates from spring 2010, 2011 and 2012 semesters. In the last three spring semesters before the redesign, the pass rate was consistent and between 74% and 75%. With the redesign, the pass rate reached 86%. We also compared the average GPA for the entire group of students in Math 115 across the four semesters. The average GPA ranged from 2.5 to 2.7 in the three spring semesters preceding the redesign. That went up to 3.1 in spring 2013 with the redesign model. The two graphs below summarize the results. We also attach the NCAT Final Assessment Form which shows a more formal comparison test results (t-test for a difference between two means) which was performed for the difference in GPA means/averages between spring 2013 (full implementation of Course Redesign) and spring 2012 as a representative of a traditional offering outcome. The test shows strong statistical significance for improvement at the 99% confidence level.

[pic]

[pic]

2. Improved Retention

The DFW rate also dropped 10 percentage points (see graph above and the attached NCAT Full Implementation Course Completion Form).

3. Other Impacts on Students

The Mathematics Department hired a professional assessment expert, Dr. Virginia Anderson, for this project. Dr. Anderson compared student attitudes towards the course and the use of the computer lab through two surveys administered at two different times during the semester. The results showed favorable attitudes towards the redesign format. In her assessment report, Dr. Anderson indicated “Here are three preliminary implications: (1) The entering profile for students in Math 115 are extremely consistent. The large number of prospective nursing students enrolled in the course explains the high female to male ratio in the course. (2) 72% of the redesign math students concluded that the online homework system helped them learn the material better. (3) Both groups of student selected “doing mathematics” strategies as most useful; 38% of the traditional math students found working more problems most useful and 49% of the redesign math students found working repeated examples more useful.

B. Impact on Cost Savings

The model that Towson University adopted relies on increasing the class size to achieve cost saving to the institution. The figure below shows the mean course section size for Math 115 during the spring semesters of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The latter is the course redesign full-implementation semester. The class size was increased by about 35% and yet the student performance improved. We offered 13, 13, 14 and 10 course sections during these four semesters, respectively. Had the traditional offering of Math 115 continued with the same average class size, 14 course sections would have been needed in spring 2013. Assuming that all sections are staffed by adjunct faculty, the cost of running 14 sections would be $45,360. With the redesign, the cost of offering 10 sections includes the instructor salaries ($32,400) plus the ULA salary (140 hours per semester times $10/hour = $1400). This adds up to $33,800 for a total saving of 25.5%. This is slightly higher than what we anticipated in the initial proposal (18%).

[pic]

C. Lessons Learned

1. Pedagogical Improvement Techniques

• With the introduction and use of an open computer lab-based component for this course, students were able to practice problem solving in a supervised environment where immediate feedback and on-time assistance are available.

• A faculty team was created for this course and was headed by a coordinator/team leader. The team met regularly and communicated continuously about course material, and implementation and assessment issues. This added another level of coherence which was not available before.

• Rethinking of testing and the creation of common tests that are based on inputs from all instructors for this course helped minimize course drift; a problem that existed before the redesign.

2. Cost Reduction Techniques

• Cost reduction is attained through the increase of the average class size. The computer lab is partially staffed by ULAs, which represents a moderate added cost. However, the overall cost saving achieved by this model is about 25% as indicated above. The cost of the course material to the student is the same.

3. Implementation Issues

• The only issue reported by the Course Redesign team was the small size of the computer lab (30 seats) compared to the intended class size (40 students). This discrepancy made it difficult to schedule testing in the lab and required more work for the team leader and members to make that happen smoothly. A bigger lab would have made this task much easier.

D. Sustainability

• The large success experienced by the redesign of this course has demonstrated to the faculty and the institution the utility of this approach for certain mathematics courses (those which rely heavily on drill and practice and tend to be lower-level).

• The existence of a working computer lab will assist in sustaining this model.

• We have built a committed team of faculty which forms a strong base for sustaining this model. In the words of Dr. Anderson, our assessment consultant, “In the 6+ committee meetings and the various computer lab visits I attended, it was clear that the REDESIGN faculty was highly engaged in the project. Having worked with faculty from over 200 colleges and universities on assessment, I found the TU Math 115 REDESIGN Committee members’ candor, cohesiveness, and genuine concern for student learning and academic quality to be exceptional”.

• With the redesign of several courses in the TU Mathematics Department, using the same model, a critical degree of consistency has been reached, with which sustainability will be expected. Students and faculty alike now expect this model for certain courses.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download