Tammy MuhsAssistant Chair, MALL DirectorUniversity of Central FloridaNCAT Redesign Scholar

Course Redesign:

A Way To Increase Student Success

2nd largest university in U.S. 12 Colleges offering Bachelor’s, Master’s,

and Doctoral Programs 58,587 students (49,900 Undergraduate) 81% of Undergraduates receive financial

aid◦ 2nd largest amount of FL Bright Futures students

Students from 50 states and 145 countries Main campus 1,415 acres, 180 buildings 1,948 Faculty and 8,619 Staff

University of Central Florida (Founded in1963)

Annual enrollments – 4000+ students◦ Issues with course drift due to the many

different instructors Large lectures - 384 students per class (3

hours lecture, 1 hour recitation) Independent sections-49 students per

class (3 hours lecture) Mixed mode sections -21 students per

class (1 hour lecture with online component)◦ Withdrawal rate more than double traditional,

lower success rate, lower cost, less space

Traditional College Algebra:

• Success Rates: Pass rates were down, withdrawal rates were up

• Space: Too many students, not enough classrooms

• Budget: We needed to do more, with less

Motivation to Redesign College Algebra:

UCF Goal – “Fix” College Algebra

NCAT Goal - Increase learning outcomes and success rates while decreasing cost

Received the NCAT Grant in Spring 2008◦ Grant provided training and feedback

National Center for Academic Transformation

(NCAT):

Emporium (Lab) Model*** Replacement (Hybrid) Model*** Fully Online Model Supplemental Model Buffet Model

***Typically produces the best results in terms of student learning and cost for Mathematics courses

NCAT Redesign Models:

• Change the mix and number of faculty teaching the course

• Combine smaller sections into one larger section

Cost Reduction:

5

6

750

50

50

1350

50

50

4

31

50

1

2

50

Capacity - serve more students in same space

Reduction in repeated course attempts Coordinate all sections of the same course

◦ Benefits Remove redundancy resulting in improved productivity Prevent course drift resulting in consistency in course

content◦ Drawbacks

Faculty buy in Weak Coordinator may result in many sections with

issues as opposed to a single or couple of sections

Cost and Productivity Savings:

Course improvement or redesign Offering additional courses Serving more students Distance learning sections Reduction in teaching load Training Balance the budget

Ways to Spend the Savings:

Students meet one hour a week in a large auditorium

Students spend three hours per week in a designated computer facility working on their College Algebra coursework.◦ Watch videos◦ Complete homework◦ Complete quizzes◦ Work on their individualized Study Plan

UCF’s Redesigned College Algebra

Borrowed Space for Pilot:

Course Redesign Improved Success Rates AND Saved Money!

Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008

35%

51% 50%

74%

Percent-age of

Students Earning a

C or Higher

Renovated Space for the Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab (MALL)

Provides funding for six faculty members committed to improving learning in General Education Program Mathematics

Provides funding for peer tutors and MALL expenses

Presidents Class Size Initiative (PCSI)-Internal Grant:

Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab (MALL):

From Renovation to CompletionPhase I - 95 computers (Spring 2010)Phase II - 100 computers (Summer 2010)Phase III - 120 computers (Spring 2011)

Historical Success Rate:

Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Fall 2011

35%

51% 50%

74%78% 79% 80%Percentage

of Students Earning a C or Higher

Course Grade Distribution

Summer 2009 Traditional Section n=226 students

Summer 2009 Redesigned Sections n=162 students

Fall 2009 Traditional Sections n=851 students

Fall 2009Redesigned Sections n=1174 students

A 11.9% 20.4% 28.7% 27.7%B 26.1% 36.4% 26.8% 33.7%

A & B 38.0% 56.8% 55.5% 61.4%

Summer 2009 Traditional

Summer 2009 Redesigned

Fall 2009 Tradi-tional

Fall 2009 Redesigned

62%75% 72% 78%

Student Success RatePe

rcen

tage

of S

tude

nts E

arni

ng

C o

r Hig

her

Students spend one hour in class ◦Review concepts from the previous week◦Highlight upcoming material◦Receive administrative information◦Classroom Response System (iClicker) is

used to keep students engaged◦When a holiday prevents the class from

meeting, we use media exercises for the class activity grade

Face to Face Class Hour:

Students register in sections of 19 students

Creates a learning community• In-class community• Virtual community

Between 15 and 18 of these 19 student sections meet together, at the same time, in a large lecture hall one hour each week

PCSI-Small Within Large:

Students spend a required three hours in the Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab (MALL)• Weekly online hw and quiz assignments

• Students get unlimited attempts on hw due night before class

• Students get 7 attempts on associated quiz due day of class

• MALL staff provide on-demand assistance• Students are in a proctored environment

MALL Hours:

Test Scheduling System (Testing Cal)◦ Scheduling open for a week and students have

multiple time options available Testing is completed in a proctored

environment using a password system◦ Immediate feedback◦ Free response questions or multiple choice◦ Challenge week◦ ADA time accommodation adjustments◦ Integrity violations almost non-existent◦ Cost savings

Online Testing:

Faculty Students

Complete all assignments, become test proctors during testing weeks, and complete training about 14 hours a semester

College Reading & Learning Association International Tutor Program Certification

Peer tutors ($8.50-$9.00 per hour) Undergraduate and graduate mathematics

students ($8.50-$10.00 per hour) Graduate Teaching Assistants

MALL Staffing:

Top GTAs are called Mentors ◦ Meet with teaching team weekly◦ Communicate with students◦ Hold seminars and test reviews◦ Help with classroom management

Progress Monitoring◦ Students Progress is monitored weekly◦ Students receive weekly feedback via email

Communication has been shown to have an important role in learning and understanding mathematics (Knuth & Peressini, 2001)

Mentors and Progress Monitoring:

17%

83%

MAT1033

Not crossed over into MMLCrossed Over

Progress Monitoring catches students who might fall through the cracks!

8%

92%

MAC1105

Not crossed over into MMLCrossed Over

7%

93%

MAC1140

Not crossed over into MMLCrossed Over

Recent studies have found that successful completion of a math gatekeeper course is a milestone positively correlated with academically successful outcomes (still enrolled in institution, transferred to another institution, graduated)

In a study completed by FDOE, only 57% of the students in the community college system with a W in Fall 2004 re-enrolled in College Algebra within the next two years

Why is this important?

College Readiness-Is redesign “ok” for our non-traditional students?

FTIC STUDENT COLLEGE READINESS JUNE 2011, EDITION 2011-04

How much do you believe the Help me solve this feature helped you learn College Algebra? (Fall 2011; n=1266)◦ 92.1% of students replied with either very much or

somewhat How much do you believe the in-class questions

helped you learn College Algebra? (Fall 2011; n=1291) ◦ 50.1% of students replied with either very much or

somewhat During visits to the MALL, do you ask the tutors

questions every week? (Fall 2011; n=1313)◦ 39.8% of the students always ask questions

Learning Styles are Different

Anonymous student surveys in fall 2009, fall 2010, and fall 2011

78.6-90.79% of the students felt the redesigned course offered at least as much instructional interaction as their other courses

35.8%-60.97% indicated that there was considerably more interaction when compared to their other courses

Instructional Interaction:

Producing favorable results • Active learning has been shown to be an

effective method of improving learning outcomes (Prince, 2004, Twigg, 2003)

Increased course offerings• Intermediate Algebra fall 2010• Precalculus spring 2011• Trigonometry fall 2011

Results and Course Offerings:

Please feel free to contact me atTammy.Muhs@ucf.edu

Questions: