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Getting Ahead in First-Year Mathematics College Courses

Getting Ahead in First-Year Mathematics College Courses. Benjamin Flores Director, Model Institution for Excellence Helmut Knaust Chair, Department of Mathematical Sciences Nancy Marcus Assistant Dean, College of Science Dorothy Ward Director, Entering Students Program February 23, 2004.

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Getting Ahead in First-Year Mathematics College Courses

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  1. Getting Ahead in First-Year Mathematics College Courses Benjamin FloresDirector, Model Institution for Excellence Helmut KnaustChair, Department of Mathematical Sciences Nancy MarcusAssistant Dean, College of Science Dorothy WardDirector, Entering Students Program February 23, 2004

  2. Overview of Presentation • UTEP’s Science and Engineering Program • CircLES at UTEP • Summer Orientation and Mathematics Placement • Modular Pre-Calculus • Institutionalization: Challenges and Opportunities

  3. Fall 2002 Enrollment • 17,232 students 2,521 in Engineering + 1,164 in Science 3,685 or 21% of total enrollment • Fall 2003 Enrollment • 18,542 students

  4. UTEP Student Population Profile (Fall 2001) • 24 years of age (undergraduate average) • 69% Hispanic (Mexican American) • 82% from El Paso County • 98% commuter • 81% employed • 54% first generation university students

  5. UTEP’s Model for STEM Student Success

  6. TimeLine

  7. Goals • The goal of the CircLES program is to ... • increase student retention • improve their academic performance during the first year at UTEP • add value to their college education

  8. Structure CLUSTERS STUDENT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATION ADVISING

  9. CircLES - One Week-Long Orientation CONNECTIONS TO UNIVERSITY SERVICES DEVELOPMENTAL MATH REVIEW AND PLACEMENT RESEARCH MODULES(Science or Engineering) STUDY SKILLS

  10. Math Review • Duration: 3 days, 2 hours each day • Students solve math problems in small groups of 4 or 5 students • Math review is led by peer facilitators • The accompanying text focuses on short explanations and practice problems • After the math review is complete, students retake UTEP’s math placement exam

  11. Math Review • [Almost] all students place into one of six courses: • College Prep Math (El Paso Community College; since Fall 2003) • Basic Mathematics (El Paso Community College; since Fall 2003) • Introduction to Algebra (UTEP) • Intermediate Algebra (UTEP) • Precalculus (UTEP) • Calculus I (UTEP)

  12. Placement Before and After Math Review 2001-03

  13. 2003 Math Review: Mathematics Course Taken by Students Initially Placing into Intro to Algebra (n=16)

  14. 2003 Math Review: Math Course Taken by Students Initially Placing into Intermediate Algebra (n=152)

  15. 2003 Math Review: Mathematics Course Taken by Students Initially Placing into Pre-Calculus (n=144)

  16. Intermediate Algebra Passing Rate - Fall 2003

  17. Pre-Calculus Passing Rate - Fall 2003 Correction: On the graph on the right, the two regions “45%” and “39%” are switched by mistake: 39% of the students finished in one semester. 45% received an “In progress” grade.

  18. PreCalculus First Attempt

  19. Calculus I First Attempt

  20. Fall Semester Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Time 4 Part 1 Part 2 Part 2 Part 3 Semester Grade = P (In-Progress) Wintermester Part 4 Grade = A, B, C, or P Spring Semester Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Time 4 If P: Part 4 Part 1 of Cal I Part 2 of Cal I Part 3 of Cal I Maymester Part 4 Grade = A, B, C, or P

  21. MODULAR PRECALCULUS – SOCIAL SAFETY NET • Students work in teams • Instructor Pooled Office Hours • Weekly Feedback Sessions • Monthly Tracking of Students • Semester Tracking of Students through Next Course • Email Communication • Web Site Communication • Non-Punitive Environment • Success • Let’s Try it in Calculus

  22. Institutionalization: Challenges and Opportunities • Spring 2003: • The State of Texas drastically reduces UTEP’s budget for the biennium 2004-05 • Summer 2003: • New Mathematics placement exam (Accuplacer) • The State of Texas replaces TASP by the Success Initiative • Fall 2003: • The administration of the CircLES Program switches hands from the Colleges of Engineering and Science to the University College • Integration of the CircLES program into the university-wide Entering Students Program – Preservation of best practices

  23. Institutionalization: Challenges and Opportunities • Spring 2004: • First phase of a substantial tuition increase; the second phase will become effective in the fall of 2004 • Summer 2004: • Math review remains mandatory for entering science and engineering students • Math Review becomes optional for the rest of the entering student body • Fall 2004: • Begin of a pilot program to “modularize” Calculus I in cooperation with Polytechnic University

  24. Reference • Benjamin C. Flores, Jana Renner Martínez, Helmut Knaust, Ann Darnell, Lilly Romo, and Connie Kubo Della-Piana: • “The Effectiveness of a Mathematics Review for Student Placement into College-Level Mathematics”. • “Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition”, 2003.

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