| PROJECT
SUMMARY: |
This project addressed
the following problem. College Algebra, MAC1105, is identified
by the College as a high-risk course, as is the case at
most colleges in America. At M-DCC, college wide, approximately
10,000 students enroll in this course over a one-year period.
Only during the past year (2002-2003) has the success rate
increased to over 50% with success being defined as a final
grade of A, B or C. College Algebra is an entry requirement
into many of our largest enrollment programs and therefore
it blocks thousands of students from their chosen careers.
As one important example, the course is required by the
Florida Department of Education for entry into upper division
Pre-service Teaching Programs throughout the state. At
M-DCC, we enroll more than 4,000 students aspiring to careers
in the teaching field. For them, as well as for thousands
of other students trying to enter other career programs,
College Algebra is a major bottleneck. Any improvement
in performance and retention in this course will immensely
benefit our students.
The above-defined problem is addressed in this project
by introducing a new mechanism to provide the classroom
instructor with useful class data. The plan was to assist
the individual faculty member by providing her/him with
information that is relevant, current, and class-section
specific (by reference #). This information would be
presented to the instructor in the form of a class profile.
Each class of students is unique and each class information
profile would be correspondingly unique. The profile
lists class characteristics only; individual students
are not identified.
Attached are Excel spreadsheets, which have been designed
to furnish such information as was identified by faculty
members to be relevant and appropriately included in
the document, They deemed the specific items as being
important and helpful to the teaching/learning experience
in their classrooms. Current Class information is in
the blue area and the green area shows the past performance
history for other students taking the same course. Note
that the data for past classes are virtual on the furnished
examples of model profiles but would be actual on the
working profile. Note that each class section will not
necessarily be a statistical cross section of the whole
course. Note also that the flags alert the instructor
to the performance histories of specific majors, or other
categories, who have taken the course during an earlier
term.
Other items, identified by some, were found to be either
too controversial or not helpful for other reasons. Such
items were excluded from the documents. But nearly all
agreed that such a class profile, especially if available
to them at the start or early in the semester, would
enable them to better tailor their courses to student
needs and would likely help them to make their courses
more relevant and therefore more successful by most any
measure.
The profile data can flag certain class characteristics suggesting
needed intervention, support or modification of class activities.
Comparisons are made with past performances and appropriate items
flagged. For example, if Elementary Education majors exhibit
a high failure rate for this course in previous semesters, that
information might well suggest the need for intervention for
those students, e.g., a special study group, assignments tailored
to their career interests, special lab support activities, etc.
This class profile sheet can become a catalyst for major
change in the manner in which we identify student needs
in the classroom and make appropriate changes in our
courses and programs. The profile data sheet will provide
faculty members with specific, relevant and timely information
upon which to base teaching and class management decisions.
A cross-section of classroom instructors have agreed
that the information would be valuable for day-to-day
classroom management of their courses. They agree that
having the necessary data to better know their students
and to better tailor their courses appropriately to their
student characteristics will be immensely useful. The
new information will assist them in providing a basis
for presenting proposals for new or different student
support facilities, e.g., more or different tutoring,
revised curricula, additional equipment or different
use of current equipment, etc.
Most critically, the information will support or suggest
alternative approaches and new initiatives to maximize
learning and to increase the number of “completers.” In
keeping with the new Florida accountability requirements
for the College, completers can also be defined as those
who have successfully completed their course or who receive
an AA or AS degree after a specified time, or perhaps
those who are later placed successfully into their chosen
careers.
While this profile was designed to improve the learning
in a high-risk algebra course, the project can well be
expanded to include other courses. I can see no reason
why the project could not be applicable to most courses
at the College.
Some problems still need to be addressed by IT personnel
regarding the timely acquisition of necessary data from
the mainframe. The Application for Admission form still
needs to be redesigned to reflect information required
on the profile. Although this is the final report as
required by the Learning Innovations award agreement,
I will continue to work on the project and on the remaining
implementation issues.
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