Digital Approaches to Developmental Mathematics: Addressing a National Challenge

Butch Gemin
Evergreen Education Group

Ruth Rominger
Monterey Institute for Technology and Education/NROC

6/30/11

Mathematics: A National Challenge

Source: Final report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel

Source: NCPR_Cullinane/Treisman_Statway 2010

Background Research
2008 Study of Emerging Practices in Developmental Math
Technology Solutions for Developmental Math

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. Looked at emerging curricular & support innovations
Intensity, contextualization, modularization, acceleration, learning communities

Examined technology-based innovations

Instructional software, course redesign, online delivery, adaptive learning, online tutoring and other support solutions

Finding: market was lacking an OER, research-based, highly engaging product for developmental math.

New Approaches
What options have you explored?
o Course Redesign: Emporium, Other

Who is tackling the issue?

o Faculty o Academic Affairs o Admissions/Assessment o Student Services

o Modularization &/or Acceleration o Self-paced Options o Learning Communities o New Assessment Models o Expanded Tutoring Options

Whats in Your Toolbox?

o New technologies o Analytics o Online learning environments o Diagnostic tools o Digital Media/OER

Unique Among Open Educational Resources

Quality Curricular Adaptable Sustainable

www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc

NROC Developmental MathAn Open Program

Project Goal: Increase the number of financially-disadvantaged students
that pass developmental math as a bridge to a college education

Funding:

$5M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $1 M from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

Project Audience:
Ages 18-80 (average age = 28) Students have failed math at least once

Objectives:
Provide learning activities to support an efficient path to credit-bearing courses Offer multiple modes of instruction Support multiple curricular standards Allow for flexible course configurations with a collection of learning objects Leverage the power of digital media

The NROC Development Process

Research Focus Groups/Pilots

Technology & Engineering

Product Design Professional Development

Curriculum

Scope of the Research Effort

1. Research in developmental math conditions and practices 2. National advisory panel of educators 3. Focus groups, roundtables, webinars 4. Pilot testing of courses in a variety of instructional formats

NROC Developmental Math Focus Groups

Focus Groups
Albuquerque Public Schools Anne Arundel Community College Antioch High School Arapahoe Community College Arizona Western College Atlantic Cape Community College Baltimore City Community College Baltimore County School District Bates Technical College Bellevue Community College Black Hawk College (IA) Borough of Manhattan Comm. College Bronx Community College (NY) Brookdale Community College Brookhaven College Broward Community College Bucks County Community College Community College of Aurora CCCOnline Cecil County School District Cedar Valley College Cerro Coso Community College Charlotte Public Schools Chattanooga State TCC City Colleges of Chicago District City of Angels Schools Cleveland State Community College College of Southern Idaho Columbia County Schools Columbia State Community College Columbus State Community College Community College of Baltimore County Community College of Philadelphia Contra Costa College (CA) Cornish College Cuyahoga Community College Daley College De Anza College DeAnza Community College Delta College Denver School of Science and Technology Denver West Prep Des Moines Area Community College Diablo Valley College Digital Harbor High School Durham Technical Community College Eastfield College (Dallas CCCD) Edmonds Community College El Centro College (Dallas CCCD) Front Range Community College Green River Community College Grosse Pointe Grossmont College Harold Washington College Highline Community College Hillsborough Community College Holyoke Community College Howard Community College Hudson Valley Community College Indian Hills Community College Iowa Community College Online Consortium Iowa Department of Education Iowa Lakes Community College Iowa Western Community College Jemez Valley School District John A Logan College Johnson County Community College Kennedy-King College Kirkwood Community College Lakeshore College Landmark College Lansing Community College Lansing Public Schools Leech Lake Tribal College Los Angeles Harbor College Los Medanos Community College Lowell High School Luzerne County Community College Malcolm X College Maple Valley Maricopa Community Colleges Maryland Virtual School McLennan Community College Mesa Community College (Phoenix) Mesa Middle School Michigan Virtual School Middle Tennessee State U Montgomery College-Germantown Montgomery College-Rockville Moraine Valley Community College Motlow State Community College Mountain View College Nashville State Community College NE Technical College North Carolina Community College System North Seattle Community College Northwest Iowa Community College Northwest-Shoals Community College Oakton Community College Omaha Public Schools Pellissippi State TCC Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Pierce College Pikes Peak Community College Pima Community College (Tucson, AZ) Portland Community College Prairie View College Prince George's Community College Pueblo Community College Queensborough Community College (NY) Red Rocks Community College Reedley College Renton Technical College Richland College Roosevelt High School Salt Lake Community College San Diego CC District Office San Diego City College San Diego Mesa College San Diego Miramar San Jacinto College San Jacinto College (TX) Scottsdale Community College Seattle Central Community College Sinclair Community College South Seattle Community College Southgate High School Southwestern College Southwestern Community College St. Johns County School District St. Louis Community College Tarrant County - South Campus Terra Community College Tennessee Board of Regents Tennessee Department of Education Triton College Truman College Tulsa Community College, West Campus Union County College University High School Valencia Community College East Volunteer State Community College Wake Technical Community College West Shore Community College Whatcom Community College, WA Williamston High School Wright College WV CT College

*Financially Disadvantaged Target Institutions

Goals of the Focus Groups

Administrator and Faculty Determine shortcomings of existing teaching materials Better understand administrator and faculty use cases Feedback for product in development Better understand assessment issues and needs Determine best approach in providing PD Identify pilot sites and report on student success

Focus Group Key Findings

Administrators and Faculty
Professional development is essential for supporting teacher success Few instructors and institutions are satisfied with existing methods or digital options Existing digital products: too expensive inflexible curricula proprietary management systems High value placed on flexibility, multiple pathways for learners, applicable to a variety of instructional formats

Goals of the Focus Groups

Students Determine what digital learning materials students are using Better understand student use cases Feedback for product in development Identify barriers for progressing through developmental math

Focus Group Key Findings

Students
Keep it simple: struggling students value simplicity Real-world examples and application are a key to engagement Puzzles, animations, simple illustrations, and problem sets are important Humor, esoteric examples, and idioms trip-up or confuse struggling students, especially English Language Learners Students appreciate and identify with the presenters and real work examples Cost of materials, especially repeating classes

Review the Details in the Report

Focus Group Report

Download it under Project News at:

Impact on Development
1. Emphasis on real-world examples 2. Limited the use of humor and idioms 3. Significantly increased the amount of animated equations in the presentations 4. Integrated textbook - student quote about "I love the media, but I still want the text there if I need it. 5. Greater emphasis on the variety of problem types, formative assessment, and AI to adjust problems based on the progress of the student. 6. Flexibility in the technology delivery

Unit Organization

The topic home page orients learners to the objective and activities they may use to master the concepts and procedures within the topic. Students may work through the elements in order, jump to the elements assigned by their teacher, or to those elements they have discovered to be the best starting place for their personal learning approach.

Presentations offer a media-rich conceptual introduction to the topic with illustrated examples, and real-world applications. Different presenters appear throughout the course to appeal to different students.

Worked examples have been created by Salman Khan of Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). Sal walks students through step-by-step examples (one for each objective) pointing out recommended strategies and procedures while writing the problems on the virtual blackboard. Careful use of color helps students see important information as they work through each problem.

Practice problems - symbolic and word - are designed in adaptive sets, and offer students immediate feedback. Problems may be one of nine different types and include manipulatives.

An integrated textbook provides comprehensive coverage of topics with additional explanations, manipulatives and examples. These pages may be printed per topic, or as a complete textbook for off-line studying and note-taking.

Tutor simulations offer students directed guidance in problem solving. These simulations allow students to work step-by-step through a problem which requires them to understand and use the math from an entire unit. The tutor provides feedback and hints based on the options students select at each stage of the activity.

Projects are unit-level, collaborative assignments in the project-based learning tradition to solve real-world problems. Each project provides a multi-step problem, basic instructions and guidance, and a list of resources for students to explore.

Competency-Based Instruction
Coming in 2012

Release Schedule
Release Dates Developmental Math An Open Program Arithmetic Module Beta Available NOW Beginning Algebra Module Beta Available NOW Intermediate Algebra Module Winter 2012 Statistics and Geometry Topics Summer 2012
Spanish closed captions coming in 2012 in cooperation with the University of Guadalajara

2011-12: Pilot Diverse Use Cases with Select Programs

Pilots: Case Study Approach

Goals:
To gather data on course completion and competence by class, compared to traditional models, in order to evaluative the relative efficacy of the materials To outline the details of diverse use cases as models to be shared with others implementing new approaches.

Case study approach evaluates student Attitude Persistence Competence

NROC Research Pilot Program

Administrators, Instructors, Students
1.Questionnaires 2.Interviews in use on-site and online 3.Performance Data

2011-2012 Research Pilot Sites

Colleges
Camosun College Central Piedmont Community College Community College of Denver Jacksonville State College Medgar Evers College Mid Georgia College Pierce College Renton Technical College Salish Kootenai College Scottsdale Community College Sinclair Community College St. Louis Community College West Virginia Univ. at Parkersburg

And Others
Bethel School District /Frontier Jr. High California Community Colleges Economic & Workforce Development Culver City Adult School Montana Digital Academy (Online K12) Oakridge School District Poway Unified School District Santa Cruz City Schools (Credit Recovery) SIATech (Adult Ed programs) Pilot program will expand for January 2012 Limited space for others, contact us for more information.

And informal trials by other NROC Network Members

New Approaches
What options have you explored?
o Course Redesign: Emporium, Other

Who is tackling the issue?

o Faculty o Academic Affairs o Admissions/Assessment o Student Services

o Modularization &/or Acceleration o Self-paced Options o Learning Communities o New Assessment Models o Expanded Tutoring Options

Whats in Your Toolbox?

o New technologies o Analytics o Online learning environments o Diagnostic tools o Digital Media/OER

Questions for the presenters?

Thanks for your attention and interest!

Butch Gemin Evergreen Education Group robert@evergreenedgroup.com Ruth Rominger Monterey Institute for Technology and Education/NROC membership@montereyinstitute.org