Jump Start Your Students with a Summer Bridge

ProgramDr. Anne E. Edlin aedlin@cecil.edu

Patty Voigt pvoigt@cecil.edu

Cecil College, MD

BackgroundCecil College is a small rural community college located in the upper eastern shore of MarylandWe serve more than 2,800 credit students and 6,500 continuing education studentsWe offer more than 100 degrees and certificates

As per Maryland’s requirements students must pass Intermediate Algebra before entering a college-level math class

Developmental Math is broken into 3 levels Math 91 – Basic Mathematics Math 92 – Introductory Algebra Math 93 – Intermediate Algebra

Cecil’s Math Sequence

All students are required to take a Skills Assessment in Math and English unless they have alternate credit such as AP scores, CLEP, Dantes or transfer credit

Some students chose not to take the test and just start in the lowest level of developmental math

In 2009 of the students who took the Skills Assessment 9% placed in college-level math 15% placed in our highest level of developmental math 42% placed in our mid-level developmental math 34% placed in the lowest level of math

Math Placement

Within 3 semesters only 43% of students who attempted math 91 had passed

For math 92 we were at 35% For math 93 we were at 59%

In addition some students avoid taking any math class for as long as they possibly can

Basically we needed to improve participation and our pass rates, or they would never get out of here

Problem

In Fall 2010 we obtained a grant from National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) to implement an Emporium Model redesign on our Developmental Math Sequence

All courses were moved to a semi-self paced modular system using MyMathLab

Students could start a course where they left off, or complete more than one course in a semester

First Step to Solution - NCAT

All three levels are together in the same computer classroom

Each of the three courses is broken down into 4 modules

There is a recommended schedule for completion, but students may work through the material at their own pace (slower or faster)

Instructors and tutors are on hand to provide help

Redesign implementation

Students were able to go faster through material they were comfortable with. It became clear that many students really did just need a quick review to get them back up to speed

After seeing several presentations at AMATYC 2011 on Math Boot Camps and other summer intervention programs we were inspired to create our own

What we saw

We presented the idea of a Math Boot camp to our fellow faculty in December of 2011

We were invited to work with our English faculty on their plans for a Summer Bridge Program

The program would include Study Skills and a choice of a Math or English track, both at the developmental level

Summer Bridge

Cecil College obtained a grant from the Maryland Higher Education Committee to create and implement our Summer Bridge Program

The program was free to eligible students and it allowed them to receive credit for our College Success Seminar

The first week dealt with study skills and the second week would be concentrated on either Math or English

Solution Part 2 - MHEC

Students were given a packet containing formulas and examples of key concepts

In addition, after completing the program, they could retake the Skills Assessment and hopefully improve their placement

Our colleague, Joe Kupresanin, created a Pep Talk video with interviews of students who had successfully completed their developmental math sequence

Math Boot Camp

17 % of Students were moved up one or modules in their current developmental math course

28 % of students moved up one course 11 % of students in the Math track moved up 2

courses after Summer Bridge Overall 56% of students reduced the amount of

math they had to take to graduate

Success for Math

In January we decided to offer an abbreviated version of our Summer Bridge Math Program

Math Jump Start was born This two day (8 hours total) program provided

students with math specific study skills, mini math lectures and additional time to work on their course materials

Day and evening sections were offered

Keeping the program moving

The program was open to all developmental math students both new and continuing

Those who had been unsuccessful in the Fall semester were especially encouraged to attend

Students were given a copy of Math Study Skills by Alan Bass (courtesy of our MHEC grant)

We also updated and expanded on our handouts from Summer Bridge

Math Jump Start

How Summer Bridge and Jump Start Differed

Summer Bridge

One week of study skills followed by one week of mathematics for 4 hours a day

We used MyMathTest to allow students to evaluate where they were and then focus on problem areas

Jump Start

Two days with 1 hour of study skills and 3 hours of math each day

We used MyMathLab so students could complete work for their specific course

During Math Jump Start we used the analogy of a road trip

We talked about Getting organized for your trip Starting off on the right road Traffic jams, detours and flat tires What to do when a cop pulls you over (Test time)

Our handouts became the Comprehensive Algebra Review (CAR).

Crazy Analogy Time

The following slides are samples from the CAR.

Comprehensive Algebra Review

Kiss Her DadMeter Liter Gram

Dead Cows Moo

Kilo- Hecto-

 

Deka-

 

Meter

Liter

Gram

 

Deci-

 

Centi-

 

Milli-

 

1000m=1km 100m=1hm 10m=1dam 1m .1m=1dm .01m=1cm .001m=1mm

The Metric System

Greatest Common Divisor

Method 2: The Ladder MethodWe look for each prime factor of the numbers and divide it out, if possible. If a factor does not divide evenly into a number then it remains unchanged. We circle any number that goes into all the numbers. We repeat until the value in all the columns is 1. Finally we take the product of all the circled factors when we are done.

Factor 24 60 300 2 12 30 150 2 6 15 75 2 3 15 75 3 1 5 25 5 1 1 5 5 1 1 1

GCD=2 2 3 12 GCD=2×2×3=12

Interval Notation

When the solution to an inequality is a set of numbers we often give the answer in the form of interval notation. All the examples to the right show the same sets described with an inequality and with interval notation.

1 3x 1,3

2 4x 2,4

7 15x 7,15

10 3x 10, 3

3x ,3

5 x 5,

9x , 9

52x 52,

2x , 2 2,

The Comprehensive Algebra Review is now used in most of our classes They are handed out in all Developmental Math

Courses Most Pre-calculus instructors give their students a copy My Calculus I students almost all wanted a copy when

offered The Continuing Education Division is now also using the

CAR as a supplement in their classes

CAR goes far

The following slides are from our the study skills portion of our Jump Start materials

Teaching Study Skills

Meeting the time requirement

Prioritize your Life To succeed in college, studying often must be a top

priority. You must schedule study time Use a Day Planner or Organizer

Getting organized for your trip

Where will you write out your work for problems? How will you label it so you can find it again easily? Are you using the resources you will be allowed on

tests? Set yourself a goal (1 hour a day is generally better

than 1 unit a day)

When things don’t go as planned

Traffic jams, detours, flat tires…

The Challenge

“I have never been good at math” “Math has never been a subject I have really

excelled at” “Math is my worst subject”

The Solution

I am no good at basketball I’ve played one game my whole life And that was 20 years ago

How could I get good (not brilliant, just good) Set up a hoop in my back yard Find someone who is willing to play with a beginner Practice every day

Persistence is key

The Challenge

“I procrastinate” “I fall behind” “Math is such a challenge I don’t feel like dealing

with it”

The Solution

Mentally commit, in your head, to pass your math classes – that means doing what it take to sufficiently learn the material

Take your math courses when you’re most focused – early, mid, or late in the day

Block out time in your weekly schedule to work on math – 1 to 2 hour chunks, that’s it

Work on math every (almost) day

A learned behavior from the expectations of parents, teachers, others

An association of grades with your own self-worth Fear of being alienated by parents, friends due to poor grades Lack of control or an inability to change your life situation Being embarrassed by the teacher or others when trying to do

math Timed tests & not being able to finish Being put into math courses above your level

Math Test Anxiety

Students are born with math anxiety Math anxiety is a mental illness Math anxiety cannot be reduced Any level of anxiety is a problem Students with math anxiety cannot learn math Very intelligent students do not have math anxiety Doing nothing about math anxiety will make it go

away

Myths

A cop just pulled you over“I wasn’t doing anything wrong officer.”

Test Taking Skills

Homework and Quizzes Brain Pencil and eraser Textbook Notes Help me solve this View an example Instructor Tutor Calculator Formula Sheet Comprehensive Algebra Review

handout Your friends/class mates Instant feedback for homework

Test Brain Pencil and eraser Calculator Formula Sheet

Results from January 2013 Jump Start

13% of students went up one course or more

6% of students moved up two courses

Jump Start Success

We applied for an MHEC grant again for Summer Bridge 2013, but sadly did not receive one

As we wished to keep the program free to students we could not afford the full program without a grant

We decided to run another session of Math Jump Start instead

Cecil College Academic Programs agreed to fund our two day program

Our bump in the road

We found that 4 hours was too long, so we cut the program down to 3 hours each day

We ran a day and evening session We switched from Monday/Wednesday to

Tuesday/Thursday so it was easier to remind students they had signed up

Still free to students

Jump Start Round 2

During this time we have continued to improve and refine our developmental sequence

One big change was adding Diagnostic Tests to each Module Topics successfully completed in the diagnostic were

eliminated from the required homework Students who did well on a diagnostic were

encouraged to test out of the corresponding Module

Improvements to Our Courses

Each day we gave two math lectures one aimed at the lower levels of Dev. Ed. and one for our more advanced students

The topics were based on the most common trouble spots for students

Students could pick which one to attend

Math Lectures

Day 1 Solving Linear equations and words to symbols Equation of a Line

Day 2 Fractions, decimals and percentages Systems of equations

Lecture topics

7% moved up from Math 92 to College Level 13% moved up from Math 91 to Math 92

20% of students moved up one or more courses

One of our Jump Start Students completed their entire Math 91 course in under 1 month

Data from Aug 2013

43% feel less anxious about math 71% feel more confident in their math ability 85% felt they had a head start on their Fall 2013

math class 86% felt their study skills had improved

Student’s view of the program

A little help goes a long way

Free isn’t always a good thing The weather is a pain in the neck

Lessons learned

Our plans for January 2014’s Jump Start Program Charge the students a small fee to attend Students who complete the program receive a

voucher for the book store in the amount of the fee that was charged

Continue with 3 hours per day for two days Make the study skills more interactive so the students

connect more with each other

Jump Start Round 3

NCAT MHEC Cecil College Joe Kupresanin (fellow instructor) Shawn Berkeridge (tutor) Math Department English Department Academic Advising

Thanks

Dr. Anne E. Edlinaedlin@cecil.edu

Patty Voigt pvoigt@cecil.edu

Contact Information