“USING A FIRST – DAY DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR COURSE ASSESSMENT” THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF TWO-YEAR COLLEGES (AMATYC) 35 h ANNUAL CONFERENCE LAS VEGAS, NV ED GALLO SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE DAYTON, OH NOVEMBER 12, 2009

2 BACKGROUND SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE, DAYTON, OH (25,000+ STUDENTS) DEV 084 BASIC MATH I DEV 085 BASIC MATH II DEV 108 INTRO TO ALGEBRA MAT 101 ELEMENTARY ALG. MAT 102 INTERMEDIATE ALG. MAT 116 COLLEGE ALGEBRA

3 THE COURSES “NORMAL” SEQUENCE MAT 101 ELEMENTARY ALG. MAT 102 INTERMEDIATE ALG. “PILOT” SEQUENCE MAT 191 PRE-COLLEGE ALG. MAT 192 PRE-COLLEGE ALG. MAT 193 PRECOLLEGE ALG.

SEQUENCE BACKGROUND INFO  PHASED IN --- FALL 2006  PURPOSES:  MORE CALENDAR TIME 3 QUARTERS vs 2 QUARTERS  INCREASE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT (MORE IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES)

5 COURSE DESCRIPTIONS REVIEW ARITH SIGNED NOs LINEAR EQNs MAT 101 LINEAR INEQUALs MAT 191 LINEAR EQNs (2 VAR.) POLYNOMIAQLS FACTORING I FACTORING II RATONAL EXPRESSIONS REVIEW FACTORING REVIEW RAT’L EXPR. MAT 192 LINEAR EQNs (2 VAR.) SYSTEMS OF EQNs MAT 102 ABSOLUTE VALUE EQNs/INEQUALITIES RATIONAL EXPONENTS RADICALS MAT 193 QUADRATIC EQNs QUADRATIC FUNCTIONS

6 BEYOND CROSSROADS ( CHAPTER 5)

7 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ( COURSE OBJECTIVES) STUDENTS FROM MAT 101 WILL BE READY TO TAKE MAT 102 “READINESS” IS MEASURED IN 14 TOPIC AREAS

8 DESIGN TOOLS, CRITERIA, STANDARDS READINESS MEASURED BY: FIRST – DAY- OF – CLASS “DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT” 14 QUESTIONS / AREAS 75% CORRECT IN EACH QUESTIONS / AREAS

9 IMPLEMENT DATA COLLECTION WINTER QUARTER 2009 ALL MAT 102 SECTIONS ONLY STUDENTS WHO HAD ALREADY TAKEN MAT 101 N = 209

10 ANALYZE DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT 14 QUESTIONS / AREAS 1 Exponents – Order of operation 2 Multiply monomial by a binomial 3 Square a binomial 4 Multiply rational expressions 5 Add rational expressions 6 Subtract polynomials 7 Exponents – Power Rule 8 Exponents – Quotient Rule 9 Solve a linear equation 10 Quadrant 11 Factoring with greatest com. factor 12 Factoring a trinomial 13 Factoring a quadratic – Special case 14 Solve linear inequality, one variable

11 ANALYZE DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT 14 QUESTIONS / AREAS 1 Exponents – Order of operation 32.0% 2 Multiply monomial by a binomial 86.2% 3 Square a binomial 67.7% 4 Multiply rational expressions 60.6% 5 Add rational expressions 34.6% 6 Subtract polynomials 76.6% 7 Exponents – Power Rule 79.6% 8 Exponents – Quotient Rule 62.8% 9 Solve a linear equation 87.0% 10 Quadrant 61.0% 11 Factoring with greatest com. factor 82.5% 12 Factoring a trinomial 74.0% 13 Factoring a quadratic – Special case 85.1% 14 Solve linear inequality, one variable 68.8%

12 IDENTIFY GAPS (DESIRED vs ACTUAL) 14 QUESTIONS / AREAS (8 OF 14 BELOW 75%) 1 Exponents – Order of operation 32.0% 3 Square a binomial 67.7% 4 Multiply rational expressions 60.6% 5 Add rational expressions 34.6% 8 Exponents – Quotient Rule 62.8% 10 Quadrant 61.0% 12 Factoring a trinomial 74.0% 14 Solve linear inequality, one variable 68.8%

13 BEYOND CROSSROADS CHAPTER 5 POSSIBLE ACTIONS BASED ON COURSE ASSESSMENT RE-EXAMINE COURSE CONTENT PREREQUISITES ASSESSMENT TOOLS ALTER TEACHING METHODS/ACTIVITIES CHANGE TYPE/FREQUENCY OF TESTING ADJUST PERCENTAGE OF GROUP WORK/LECTURE MODIFY AMOUNT OF FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION TO STUDENTS OVERALL FACULTY REFLECTION AND ACTION TO IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING IN MATH

14 DOCUMENT NEEDED CHANGES RESULTS FEEDBACK TO MAT 101 FACULTY NEEDED CHANGES CURRICULUM MATERIALS TEACHING STRATEGIES

15 DOCUMENT NEEDED CHANGES ANALYZE EACH DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT QUESTION SHARE RESULTS WITH FACULTY

“USING A FIRST – DAY DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR COURSE ASSESSMENT” THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF TWO-YEAR COLLEGES (AMATYC) 35 h ANNUAL CONFERENCE LAS VEGAS, NV ED GALLO SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE DAYTON, OH NOVEMBER 12, 2009