1. Admit It: Not All Students Really Need “That” from Math Class AACC 95 th Annual Convention San Antonio, Texas April 20, 2015 Parkland College

2. Your Presenters Kristine Young – Vice President for Academic Services Parkland College (Champaign, IL) Geoffrey Griffiths – Mathematics Department Chair Parkland College (Champaign, IL)

3. Illinois Community Colleges  39 Public Community College Districts  48 Public Community Colleges  Parkland College is the third largest in terms of geographical coverage

4. Parkland College  We serve  26 public high schools  Over 66 communities  Over 280,000 residents  Parts of 12 Illinois counties  We serve with  Parts of 12 Illinois counties  42 administrators  188 full-time and 300+ part-time faculty  335 full-time staff

5. Overview of Parkland College Who are our students?  75% from our community college district  7% temporarily residing in our community college district (University of Illinois students)  15% from Illinois but out of our district  1% from out of state  2% on international visa  Parkland is the larger feeder college to U. of Illinois

6. Overview of Parkland College Who are our students? 63 % of recent district high school grads require developmental mathematics COMPASS ACT Math Scores of 23/25/30 PARCC (future – 4 or 5) But do all of these students really need “that” kind of math to be successful students, graduates, employees, and citizens?

7. I hear that music majors solve these all the time.

8. The Motivation for Change

9. Developmental Math as it has been: Pre-Algebra Beginning Algebra Intermediate Algebra Everyone is College Algebra Bound (CAB). (For as long as anyone now alive can remember)

10. Pre-Algebra Skills $470.00 (4 credit hours) Pre-Algebra Skills $470.00 (4 credit hours) The old “one size fits all” algebra sequence: College Algebra (4 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) Beginning Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) Beginning Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours)

11. It worked for me. Why should we change it? Not everyone wants to be a mathematician. Many fields don’t require that much Algebra.

12. But if they can do all of this, they can do whatever math they will need for other careers, right? Yes, but… Not everyone can pass these classes.

13. The magnitude of the problem 63% of the entering freshmen students from District 505 high schools place into developmental math classes.

14. Success rates overall Pre Algebra:55% Beginning Algebra:51% Intermediate Algebra:54% These numbers include multiple attempts.

15. First attempt success rates Pre Algebra:48% Beginning Algebra:41% Intermediate Algebra:42%

16. In fact: Over a 5 year period ending with AY2012, only 18% of students who started in Beginning Algebra ever completed their Gen-Ed elective. Most required multiple attempts at more than one level.

17. So… Many students have trouble passing Beginning Algebra and Intermediate Algebra. Many students spend years trying to complete the developmental math sequence. Many never make it past developmental math classes to the classes they need to reach their goals.

18. And… Hundreds of these students need only a transfer level General Education math class to complete their degree. Much of the content of Intermediate Algebra is not necessary for success in the Gen-Ed math classes.

19. Our Goals in the Redesign Effort (No ranking is implied.) Reduce time to completion of program or degree for students needing only Gen Ed transfer math classes Improve success rates in first attempt at initial placement Improve critical thinking and teamwork skills Choose appropriate content for Gen Ed prep Maintain academic rigor and standards

20. What we came up with… We created a second developmental math track intended to take students from Pre-Algebra into Gen Ed electives in a one semester, 6 credit hour sequence. …………First iteration

21. The New Math Lit Sequence Gen Ed Track Old Track Mathematical Literacy A 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy A 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy B 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy B 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) Beginning Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) Beginning Algebra 16 weeks $587.50 (5 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) Pre-Algebra Skills $470.00 (4 credit hours) Pre-Algebra Skills $470.00 (4 credit hours)

22. Regular Sequence Math Lit AMath Lit B Fall First 8 Weeks Second 8 Weeks Intro Stats Spring 16 Weeks Math Lit B Intro Stats Spring First 8 Weeks Second 8 Weeks Math Lit A Fall First 8 Weeks Second 8 Weeks Restart Sequence

23. The Highlights Math Lit Sequence (Math Lit A and Math Lit B) 1 semester 6 credit hours $705 Intended for Gen Ed prep Emphasis on teamwork and problem solving skills Traditional Sequence (Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra) 2 semesters 10 credit hours $1175 Intended for CAB prep Emphasis on fluency with algebraic operations

24. We made a few changes in the developmental CAB track as well. We broke the full semester, 5 credit hour Beginning Algebra into two, 7 week, 2.5 credit hour courses and did the same for Intermediate Algebra.

25. The New Parkland Developmental Algebra Sequence Gen Ed Track College Algebra Bound Track Pre-Algebra Skills $470.00 (4 credit hours) Pre-Algebra Skills $470.00 (4 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy A 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy A 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy B 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy B 8 weeks $352.50 (3 credit hours) Beginning Algebra A 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Beginning Algebra A 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Beginning Algebra B 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Beginning Algebra B 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra A 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra A 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra B 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra B 7 weeks $293.75 (2.5 credit hours)

26. What we found after 1.5 years

27. The 7 and 8 week formats were a disaster. The Part A restart classes were filled with students who had been unsuccessful while the group leaders had moved on to Part B. Students were waiting up to a year between taking part A and Part B. Some restart sections had to be canceled because of low enrollment. Staffing was a major headache.

28. Metrics

29. First attempt success rates were higher in Math Lit. Math Lit A: 73.3% Math Lit B: 74.5% (0.733 x 0.745 ~ 54.6%) Compared to Beginning Algebra:41% Intermediate Algebra:42%

30. Success in first attempt at General Education Math Coming from Intermediate Algebra: 66.8% Coming from Math Lit: 71.7% Not Bad

31. Success in first attempt at Intro to Applied Stats Coming from Intermediate Algebra: 67.9% Coming from Math Lit: 54.7% (51.8% in AY2014, 57.9% in AY2015) Not as good as we had hoped, but improving

32. However, we are also interested in how students progress through the sequence from developmental through Intro to Applied Stats.

33. If we multiply success rates for each track, we see the following: Intermediate Alg. into Intro Stats 0.42 x 0.679 = 0.28529% Beginning Alg. into Intermediate Alg. into Intro Stats 0.41 x 0.42 x 0.679 = 0.11712% Math Lit into Intro Stats: 0.546 x 0.547 = 0.29830%

34. How we have adjusted for the coming fall  We scrapped the 7 and 8 week formats in favor of full semester classes.  We increased the coverage and rigor of the algebra covered in Math Lit.  We reduced Math Lit from 6 to 5 hours.  We replaced Beginning Algebra with Math Lit.

35. The Sequence for Fall 2015 Intermediate Algebra 16 weeks (5 credit hours) Intermediate Algebra 16 weeks (5 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy 16 weeks (5 credit hours) Mathematical Literacy 16 weeks (5 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) General Education Mathematics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) Introduction to Applied Statistics (3 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) College Algebra (4 credit hours) Pre-Algebra Skills (4 credit hours) Pre-Algebra Skills (4 credit hours)

36. Final thoughts Our redesign was a faculty initiative. The result was 100% support in the math faculty. We spent over 9 months introducing the concept and details to other college units, answering questions and getting feedback. The result was 100% support across the college.

37. If you like our approach and go back to your Math Department Chair and tell them to try this great approach, It will probably not work!

38. Instead, go back to your Math Department Chair: Ask them to encourage the faculty to explore the possibility of redesigning their curriculum as they think best for their students. Offer them support for their efforts in release time and equipment. Offer them support in the effort to get their ideas approved by your state Community College Board.

39. Please encourage people to contact us at Parkland for more information on: Course Content Pedagogy Updates on outcomes Administrative aspects of the project

40. Thank you! Please contact: Geoffrey Griffiths, Chair ggriffiths@parkland.edu 217-351-2273 ggriffiths@parkland.edu Brian Mercer, Course Designer bmercer@parkland.edu 217-353-2311 Dr. Erin Wilding-Martin, Course Designer emartin@parkland.edu 217-353-2037