Algebra Illustrated Test Results

About the Module

Background Many students today enroll in community colleges without having mastered the basic math skills needed to succeed Therefore, the Community College of Baltimore County offers a high- school level Algebra I course to prepare these students for higher- level math and science classes

Learners Most of the students in the class have taken Algebra I before, but had difficulty mastering the concepts Therefore, I decided to use technology to create a module that teaches algebraic concepts differently Although the module is designed for college students, it would also work for middle- or high-school students

Material Covered This module covers exponents and monomial and polynomial expressions The material in this module is covered toward the end of the semester and is designed to be used together with the course textbook The module is designed to be delivered over two 50- to 60- minute class periods

Purpose of this Module The goal of this module is to enable students to understand exponents and polynomial expressions and apply these concepts when needed

Objectives of this Module By the end of this module, the students will be able to: – Evaluate any exponent with an integer or fraction as its base – Convert expressions from standard notation to scientific notation and vice versa – differentiate between monomial and polynomial expressions and between the different types of polynomial expressions – state the degree of a monomial or polynomial expression – accurately place the terms of a polynomial expression in descending order of degree and combine like terms

Method of Delivery This module is designed to be used in either a traditional classroom or synchronous e-learning environment It could also be easily adapted for use in an asynchronous e-learning environment

Materials Included Instructor’s guide – Includes instructions for both in-person and online use, a copy of the PowerPoint slides with notes, and all handouts for students PowerPoint® slides Student handouts An extra-credit assignment

The Pilot Test Method, Observations, Survey Results, and Conclusions

Method I delivered the module to a group of Algebra I students at the Community College of Baltimore County I provided the students with handouts and the extra- credit assignment

Observations The students seemed to understand the lesson overall On the first day the handout I provided included only some of the slides and some students wanted more-detailed handouts I did not include enough opportunity for practice on the first day, but I did on the second I originally left scientific notation out of the first lesson, but I ended up having enough time to include it Some students talked during class, but according to their professor this class generally has more behavior issues than are typically found in college classes I ran out of time during the second day

Evaluation Results I performed a Kirkpatrick level 1 evaluation by distributing a feedback form to the students Most students liked the lesson, particularly the PowerPoint slides Some students did suggest that I slow down the lesson a bit and provide more explanation

Conclusions From Pilot Test Based on the results of the pilot test, I will: – Add the section on scientific notation to the first module – Add more interactive sections in the first module – Increase the suggested lesson time on each module from 50 minutes to 60 minutes I would also modify the lesson plan in a manner that allows it to be divided into three 40-minute lessons for colleges with shorter class periods or students who need more review

Some Sample Slides From the Module

Negative Exponents When a number is raised to a negative exponent, you take its reciprocal, then solve the exponent as if it was positive === © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution

Coefficient of a Monomial The coefficient is the numerical factor of the monomial © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution Coefficient = 12 Coefficient = 1 Coefficient = 3 Coefficient = 4

Your Turn! If and, evaluate the following expressions: © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution

Answer #1 Since and : © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution

So, Why Do I Need to Learn This? By substituting variables into polynomial expressions, you can find out the amount of time it takes for an object to fall a certain distance © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution

Falling Objects If we ignore the effect of air resistance, the equation for the distance that an object will drop in a given time period is: © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution New Height Number of Seconds Original Height

Solving Problems If a ball is dropped off the roof of a 28 ft tall building, how high up will it be after two seconds? © 2010 Atara Stephanie Oliver. May be reproduced for non-profit educational purposes with attribution ft