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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