Intermediate & College Algebra
Course Redesign Final Report
Department of Sciences and Mathematics Mississippi University for Women
Kerzel – Principal Investigator and Department Chair Adhikari, Hanes, Oppenheimer, Yang
April 24, 2010
College Algebra - Replacement Model
Traditional Course (Fall 08) • Common textbook • Software – MyMathLab • Diagnostic exam (Pre-test) • Common final exam • 100% lecture
• Evaluation
– Online homework (15%) – Four paper tests (60%) – Paper final exam (25%)
Redesigned Course (Fall 09) • Optional common textbook • Software –Hawkes Learning
Systems
• Diagnostic exam (Pre-test) • Common final exam
• 50% lecture and 50% math lab • Evaluation
– Online homework (20%) – Four web tests (50%) – Notebook (5%) – Paper final exam (25%)
Impact on Student Learning
• Pre-Assessment and Post-Assessment
Enrolled Pre-Assessment Post-Assessment
Traditional Mean 19.4 63.8 Standard deviation 5.4 18.3 Number of students 173 161 126 Redesign Mean 19.6 61.6 Standard deviation 5.6 19.4 Number of students 183 174 145 Students in the traditional course performed marginally better than the students in the redesigned course on the post-assessment, but the difference was not statistically significant.
College Algebra
Grade Distribution
Traditional Course (Fall 08)
Grade Number Percentag e A 29 17% B 24 14% C 44 25% D 27 16% F 38 22% W, WP, WF 8 5% OTHER 3 2% TOTAL 173 100%
Redesigned Course (Fall 09)
Grade Number Percentag e A 18 10% B 24 13% C 39 21% D 27 15% F 50 27% W, WP, WF 25 14% OTHER 0 0% TOTAL 183 100%
The completion rates (D or better) are 72% for Fall 2008
and 59% for Fall 2009.
Improved Retention
• Success Rate
:
It should be noted that Fall 2008 was a more successful
semester than typical, as the previous three year’s
success rates were 59%, 59%, and 64%. So the success
rate under course redesign was comparable to the
typical success rates that have been experienced with
a traditional teaching methodology, but a drop from
our baseline data of Fall 2008.
Fall 2008 (Traditional) Fall 2009 (Redesign)
72%
59%
Improved Retention (Continued)
• Withdrawal Rate:
Of those students taking the final exam in the redesigned course, and thus sticking with the course for the entire semester, 75% of those students earned a semester grade of D or higher.
The team is disappointed not to have experienced improvement in the percentage of students successfully completing the course and continues to seek ways to improve in that area.
Fall 2008 (Traditional) Fall 2009 (Redesign)
Intermediate Algebra – Replacement Model
Traditional Course (Fall 08) • Common textbook • Software – MyMathLab • Common final exam • 100% lecture
• Evaluation
– Online homework (15%) – Four paper tests (60%) – Paper final exam (25%)
Redesigned Course (Fall 09) • Optional common textbook • Software –Hawkes Learning
Systems
• Common final exam
• 50% lecture and 50% math lab • Evaluation
– Online homework (20%) – Four web tests (50%) – Notebook (5%) – Paper final exam (25%)
Impact on Student Learning
• Post-Assessment
Enrolled Post-Assessment Enrolled Post-Assessment Traditiona l Redesign Mean 64.7 59.1 Standard deviation 16.5 17.6 Number of students 109 81 100 70Students in the traditional course performed better than the students in the redesigned course on the post-assessment, and the difference was statistically significant at the 5% level.
Intermediate Algebra
Grade Distribution
Traditional Course (Fall 08)
Grade Number Percentag e A 9 8% B 19 17% C 23 21% D 14 13% F 39 36% W, WP, WF 4 4% OTHER 1 1% TOTAL 109 100%
Redesigned Course (Fall 09)Grade Number Percentag
e A 5 5% B 9 9% C 23 23% D 19 19% F 41 41% W, WP, WF 3 3% OTHER 0 0% TOTAL 100 100%
The completion rates (D or better) are 59% for Fall 2008,
and 56% for Fall 2009.
Spring ‘10: Of those who took the
final, 60% passed with a C or better.
Fall ‘08 # % A 9 8% B 19 17% C 23 21% D 14 13% F 39 36% W/ WP/ WF 4 4% Other 1 1% Total 109 100% Spring ‘09 # % A 1 2% B 3 6% C 1 2% D 4 9% F 28 60% W/ WP/ WF 10 21% Other 0 0% Total 47 100% Spring ‘10 # % A 1 1% B 9 13% C 15 21% D 7 10% F 31 44% W/ WP/ WF 8 11% Other 0 0% Total 71 100%Improved Retention
• Success Rate
:
For the previous three years, success rates were
54%, 71%, and 57%. So the success rate under
course redesign was comparable to the typical
success rates that have been experienced with a
traditional teaching methodology.
Fall 2008 (Traditional) Fall 2009 (Redesign)
60%
56%
Improved Retention (Continued)
• Withdrawal Rate:
This course experienced problems with students who stopped attending, yet did not withdraw from the course since the “intermediate” courses do not earn credit toward graduation and the grades are not part of the student’s GPA.
In Fall 2009, of 109 students enrolled at the beginning of the semester, only 70 students took the final exam. Of those students taking the final exam, and thus sticking with the course for the entire semester, 80% of those students earned a semester grade of D or higher.
Fall 2008 (Traditional) Fall 2009 (Redesign)
Impact on Cost Savings
• College Algebra: 12% cost savings
• Intermediate Algebra: 25% cost savings
Fall 2008
Fall 2009
Cost per student
$206
$155
Fall 2008
Fall 2009
Cost per student
$201
$176
Increasing class sizes is a significant factor contributing to
cost savings.
Note that MUW does not have graduate students and is
not able to shift instructional responsibilities for
Intermediate Algebra away from faculty.
Lessons Learned
• Pedagogical Improvement Techniques
– Match what is shown on the PowerPoints to what thestudents are required to do in the software
– Revise the length of homework assignments and align the difficulty level of the homework and test problems to course objectives
– Require the PowerPoints to be printed out in advance of class
