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Sight, Sound, Touch: Addressing Sensory Learning in a College Algebra Course

Sight, Sound, Touch: Addressing Sensory Learning in a College Algebra Course. Jeremiah A. Gilbert, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Mathematics San Bernardino Valley College. Background.

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Sight, Sound, Touch: Addressing Sensory Learning in a College Algebra Course

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  1. Sight, Sound, Touch: Addressing Sensory Learning in aCollege Algebra Course Jeremiah A. Gilbert, Ph.D.Associate Professor, MathematicsSan Bernardino Valley College

  2. Background • Over three Spring semesters, a college algebra course was taught by the same instructor with the same content and comparable assignments. • Each successive term a new component was added to address the needs of sensory learners. • Student success rates and course GPAs were compared.

  3. Sensory Learners • Visual learners “see” information and mentally relate pictures or scenes in accommodating information. • Auditory learners “hear” information via lecture, discussion, or debate and prefer discourse. • Kinesthetic learners “feel” the information through concrete, hands-on experiences.

  4. Three Versions • Spring 2008 – Lecture-based format involving no more than a whiteboard and a dry-erase pen. • Spring 2009 – Interactive PowerPoint presentation replaced most of the whiteboard work. • Spring 2010 – Partially completed handouts based upon the PowerPoint presentation added for students to follow in class and complete.

  5. Success Rate Success rate was measured as the number of students receiving a passing grade (A, B, C, or Credit) compared to all students receiving a grade.

  6. Course GPA GPA was computed using atraditional four-point scale: A = 4 points, B = 3 points, C = 2 points, D = 1 points, and F = 0 points. Grades of W and I were excluded.

  7. Interactive PowerPoint • Provided visual learners with a presentation that allowed for the use of color, graphics, and animations not easily reproducible with a dry-erase pen. • Not everything was revealed at once, providing auditory learners time to work out problems individually or in small groups before a step-by-step solution was revealed to them.

  8. Interactive PowerPoint • Success rate saw a rise of 12.3%. • Course GPA saw an increase of 11.1%. • Students seemed to be more engaged and active in class.

  9. Handouts • Rather than requiring students to copy down everything presented in class, these handouts included complete definitions and properties, but left out solutions to examples and problems worked in class. • The intent was to engage kinesthetic learners by giving them something to follow and interact with.

  10. Handouts • While both success rate and course GPA were still above the whiteboard lecture-based format, both fell when compared to the PowerPoint only format. • Imposing a fixed note-taking style may infringe upon a student’s own unique way of taking notes and provide less meaning in the process.

  11. Questions? Contact:Jeremiah Gilbertjegilber@valleycollege.edu

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