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Rebecca Patterson

Views: 5 Myths of Remedial Ed - Inside Higher Ed - 0 views

  • And remedial education -- the ‘catch-up’ work now required for the nearly 40 percent of students who come to college lacking basic skills needed to succeed -- is a prime candidate for elimination on almost everybody’s list.
  • everyone admits that remedial education is not working, with just 25 percent of community college students who receive it going on to complete a college credential
  • colleges have not clearly articulated the skills that students must possess to be college-ready, students are blindsided when they are placed into remedial courses, and high schools don’t have a clear benchmark for preparing students for success.
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  • With so many adults returning to higher education, remedial education must be transformed to meet their needs. Institutions should provide a wide range of options for students based on their competency, recognizing that many don’t have time for semesterlong courses.
  • A study by the Board of Regents in Ohio -- one of the few states that actually have cost data for remedial education -- found that although 38 percent of incoming freshmen were taking remedial coursework. This translated to only 5 percent of actual full-time students, and around 3.6 percent of undergraduate instructional costs.
  • The lack of clear college-ready standards, poor assessment practices, the lack of customized learning options and the cost in time and money to students make it clear that postsecondary institutions are not committed to ensuring the success of millions of students who seek a college credential.
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    Remedial College Education Myths...good read!
Rebecca Patterson

Texas community colleges reinvent developmental math | Inside Higher Ed - 0 views

  • In Texas, students referred to developmental classes are 50 percent less likely than their peers to earn a credential or transfer to a four-year college. Math is often their biggest hurdle, and students are steered into algebra-based remediation regardless of their majors.
  • Texas appears to be the first state to adopt such a drastic rethinking of remedial math in all its community colleges.
  • Garcia said the first-year cost of the project will be around $2 million, a figure that doesn't include instructor salaries. The Texas Community College Association will contribute $300,000, with donors and individual colleges making up the balance.
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  • Working with the Dana Center, the community college association was able to get all 50 two-year college presidents to sign on.
  • The Texas project is inspired by the Carnegie Foundation’s work, developed with the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, in which students needing math remediation weren’t all put on a path toward calculus.
  • Kay McClenney is a University of Texas at Austin project director who helped develop a recent report showing the scope of the remediation problem at the state’s community colleges.
Rebecca Patterson

Community Colleges Consider Math Options - US News and World Report - 0 views

  • Statway mixes basic math concepts with statistics, enabling students to pass a college-level statistics class in the second semester. Quantway, which started its first pilot classes this month, teaches students how to "use mathematics and numerical reasoning to make sense of the world around them." After one semester, which includes algebraic skills, it's hoped that students will be able to pass a college math class.
  • If they need to review basic skills or learn an algebra concept, he provides "just in time instruction" on basic skills and algebraic concepts, teaching students information they can use immediately to solve problems.
  • Math is an "overpowering wall" that keeps students from higher education," wrote a Statway student. "Now there is hope ... not only to pursue higher education but to learn something that would really apply to our everyday life."
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    Nice article on the changes in Community Colleges and their remedial math programs. The Carnegie Institute and the Dana Foundation have teamed up here.
Rebecca Patterson

There's one key difference between kids who excel at math and those who don't - Quartz - 0 views

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    "... you may be helping to perpetuate a pernicious myth that is harming underprivileged children-the myth of inborn genetic math ability." For high school math, inborn talent is just much less important than hard work, preparation, and self-confidence. Convincing students that they could make themselves smarter by hard work led them to work harder and get higher grades. In response to the lackluster high school math performance, some influential voices in American education policy have suggested simply teaching less math-for example, Andrew Hacker has called for algebra to no longer be a requirement. The subtext, of course, is that large numbers of American kids are simply not born with the ability to solve for x. Too many Americans go through life terrified of equations and mathematical symbols. We think what many of them are afraid of is "proving" themselves to be genetically inferior by failing to instantly comprehend the equations (when, of course, in reality, even a math professor would have to read closely). So they recoil from anything that looks like math, protesting: "I'm not a math person." Math education, we believe, is just the most glaring area of a slow and worrying shift. We see our country moving away from a culture of hard work toward a culture of belief in genetic determinism. In the debate between "nature vs. nurture," a critical third element-personal perseverance and effort-seems to have been sidelined. We want to bring it back, and we think that math is the best place to start.
Rebecca Patterson

Teaching Math to Learning Disabled Students: Math Learning Strategies Designed to Help ... - 0 views

  • experience a weak understanding or lack a comprehension of conceptshave very poor number sense skillsexperience difficulty with pictorial representationshave poorly controlled handwritingexperience confusion with arrangements of numerals and signs on textbook/workbook pages
    • Rebecca Patterson
       
      Good signs!
  • Using structured, concrete, and hands-on materials is important in tying these links between concepts. This strategy not only applies to elementary grades, it is also vital during concept development stages of higher-level math.
  • When these problems are accompanied by a need for strong conceptual grasp of mathematical and spatial relations, it is imperative that students are not focusing only on remediating computation.
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  • Math learning disabilities are often caused by visual-spatial-motor disorganization.
  • Math learning strategies described above are adaptable for all students with learning disabilities in mathematics. These math activities are also effective with special needs students who are also functioning at the appropriate grade level.
  • Using structured, concrete, and hands-on materials is important in tying these links between concepts. This strategy not only applies to elementary grades, it is also vital during concept development stages of higher-level math.
  • When these problems are accompanied by a need for strong conceptual grasp of mathematical and spatial relations, it is imperative that students are not focusing only on remediating computation.
  • Math learning disabilities are often caused by visual-spatial-motor disorganization.
  • experience a weak understanding or lack a comprehension of conceptshave very poor number sense skillsexperience difficulty with pictorial representationshave poorly controlled handwritingexperience confusion with arrangements of numerals and signs on textbook/workbook pages
  • Math teaching strategies include avoiding the use of pictures or graphics for conveying concepts, constructing verbal versions of math ideas, and using concrete materials in math activities.
  • math activities designed to assist teachers in reaching students with visual learning disabilities through use of a direct and explicit instruction using a challenging math teaching strategy, along with use of manipulatives.
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    Good article on special needs students
Rebecca Patterson

Math-based model for deep-water oil drilling - 0 views

  • The deeper the well, the higher the pressure, and the higher the risks associated with tapping oil from wells. During drilling, when the pressure applied to balance the hydrocarbon pressure in a well is not great enough to overcome that exerted by gas and fluids in the rock formation drilled, water, gas, oil, or other formation fluid can enter the hole. This is called a "gas kick," which in worst-case scenarios can lead to blowouts. In a paper published earlier this month in the SIAM Journal on Mathematical Analysis, author Steinar Evjepresents new analysis of a mathematical model that has applications to the study of such gas kicks in deep-water oil wells.
  • Simulators have become an important tool for the development of new, more efficient and safer drilling methods.
  • The use of mathematical models is important for the development of tools that can help simulate, and hence, increase control in deep-water well operations.
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  • "A simulator for drilling operations is composed of a set of nonlinear coupled partial differential equations that describe the simultaneous flow of hydrocarbons in a well. This mathematical model represents a 'virtual laboratory' where the finer mechanisms related to a number of different physical effects can be studied in detail," Evje goes on to explain.
  • In order to compute reliable solutions, it is crucial to have a model that is well defined mathematically. Mathematical methods are applied in order to derive upper and lower limits for various quantities like masses and fluid velocities, which provide insight into the parameters that are important for the control of these quantities. In addition, they allow proof of the existence of solutions for the model in a strict mathematical sense. In this paper, the author demonstrates that under certain assumptions, a solution exists.
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    Another applied mathematics scenario. (no stats - maybe I need to make a new group?)
Rebecca Patterson

Connecticut May Let College Students Skip Remedial Classes - US News and World Report - 0 views

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    Co-requisite classes instead of pre-requisite. Connecticut's idea to change the large amounts of students not completing their programs due to a 70% remediation rate in the Community Colleges.
Rebecca Patterson

Va. Community Colleges Dive Headfirst Into Remedial-Math Redesign - Students - The Chro... - 0 views

  • Mr. DuBois wanted the system to become smarter in how it invested in people, talent, and technology, as well as do a better job of taking advantage of its size and resources.
    • Rebecca Patterson
       
      Glenn DuBois, the chancellor
  • One study by the college system found that only 16.4 percent of students sent to developmental-math classes ever managed to pass a college-level math course.
  • Recent high-school graduates are among the most vulnerable. They become frustrated when they learn they can't immediately enroll in credit-bearing classes, and they sometimes leave college even before taking a single course.
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  • Institutions are equally affected. A recent report by the Community College Research Center put the annual cost of remediation at $1.9-billion to $2.3-billion at community colleges and $500-million more at four-year colleges.
  • There is growing recognition that the traditional semester-long course sequence used by many community colleges doesn't work, says Michael Lawrence Collins, associate vice president for postsecondary state policy at Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based nonprofit that studies education and work-force issues. It's inefficient to have students take up to a year and a half in remediation when many need just pieces of what they're being taught.
  • The Virginia system is betting on that promise. Its colleges will soon replace their semester-long developmental-math courses with nine units, which can be taken as one-credit classes or Web-based lessons with variable credit hours that allow students to complete more than one unit in a self-paced computer lab and classroom. The number of units that students are required to complete will depend on their placement-test scores and intended program of study. Students focused on the liberal arts will have to show competence in only five units, for example, mastering basic algebra concepts such as linear equations. Students who plan to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, math, or business administration must complete all nine units.
  • Although he has help from a tutor in the class, it's a lot to juggle, he says. Mr. Wyrick does like how the Web-based class allows him to peek at students' quizzes in real time and track their progress a lot faster than by sorting through homework and test papers himself. "It allows me to intervene even before they ask for help," he says.
  • There is one certainty. The Virginia Community College system is not the only one anticipating the outcome. Equally curious are researchers and other colleges searching for successful ideas. "There is a risk," Mr. Collins says, "but there is also power in being that bold."
  • The Virginia Community College system is poised to find out. Starting in 2012, it will adopt a new systemwide developmental-math curriculum that will allow students to focus only on those math concepts they haven't already mastered rather than taking a series of semester-long math courses.
  • Half of all incoming students in the system need developmental education—and three-fourths of those students fail to graduate or transfer within four years.
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    Great article on a Community College network taking a chance to revamp its remedial math program. Read on!
Rebecca Patterson

News: The Remedial Ph.D. - Inside Higher Ed - 0 views

  • Those questions are behind a new movement to create doctoral programs in remedial and developmental education.
  • Sam Houston State plans to admit 15 students to its first Ed.D. class, while Texas State plans to admit four full-time students to its first Ph.D. class and eight to its Ed.D. class.
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    Interesting Article
Rebecca Patterson

Carnegie works on new approaches for teaching math in community colleges | Cision Wire - 0 views

  • “Developmental mathematics has become a burial ground for the aspirations of myriad students trying to improve their lives through education,” said Carnegie senior partner Uri Treisman. A MacArthur fellow, Treisman is also a professor of mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin.
    • Rebecca Patterson
       
      Treisman founded the Dana Math Education Research Center at UT Austin.
  • By completely reimagining the way math is taught, Statway and Quantway align with Kresge’s goal of supporting innovation that improves higher education productivity. The programs also provide pathways to and through college for students who might otherwise be left behind.
  • In 2010, The Kresge Foundation added its support – a two-year, $2 million grant – to that of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Lumina Foundation.
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  • Charles Cook, vice chancellor for instruction at Houston Community College. “I think the Statway project really has it right, where we’re looking at mathematical reasoning and problem solving and how math can serve you as a tool to further understanding, further investigation and further knowledge.”
  • Carnegie’s $14 million Quantway/Statway initiative is developing two mathematics programs: one-year courses that build quantitative literacy (Quantway) and statistical proficiency (Statway). They’re infusing both with teaching strategies that build students’ confidence as math learners.
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    $14 Million is a lot of money to develop 3 programs.
Rebecca Patterson

Lawmaker proposes making school districts pay for college remediation | The Salt Lake T... - 0 views

  • An estimated 18.7 percent of high school students who enrolled in Utah colleges and universities needed remediation in 2007, said Holly Braithwaite, spokeswoman for the Utah System of Higher Education.
    • Rebecca Patterson
       
      Only 18% as of 4 years ago. That's actually pretty low compared to other stats I've seen.
  • that would allow colleges to bill school districts and charter schools for the cost of remediating their students when they get to college. Dougall said it’s about making sure a high school diploma means something.
Rebecca Patterson

How to Break the Cycle of Remedial College Classes - Education - GOOD - 0 views

  • This month, more than half of community college freshmen and at least a third of university students started college already behind. They're in at least one remedial course that does not count toward a degree, thus beginning at least four months—and sometimes years—delayed in getting the degree they enrolled to earn.
  • Like many of their fellow freshmen nationally, a whopping 95 percent of high school graduates from West Hills who received As and Bs in their senior English courses did not "pass" the placement test. Yet when allowed to enroll in college-level courses instead of remedial classes, 86 percent successfully completed college-level English, lost no time in their progress, and stayed on course toward earning a degree.
  • Only 24 percent of students placed in the lowest level of English remedial courses in California ever get through.
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    Whoops...forgot to write that this is mostly reading stats, but they are remediation percentages.
Rebecca Patterson

Is Grade 8 too early for algebra? - The Daily Breeze - 0 views

  • More and more eighth-graders in California are taking algebra I or higher, regardless of whether they are ready for it.
  • In just seven years beginning in 2002-03, the statewide percentage of such students has nearly doubled, from 34percent to 62 percent.
  • a third of students who performed poorly in regular seventh-grade math were nonetheless placed into algebra I in eighth grade, "with almost no chance for success."
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  • "Are all kids ready for that level of abstraction and complexity by eighth grade?" district spokeswoman Carolyn Seaton said. "Many (experts) say no."
  • the district three years ago launched an initiative to boost performance in the elementary grades, with an eye toward the ultimate goal: that all eighth-graders not only take algebra I, but also succeed. She said the effort is beginning to pay off: Last year, it produced a class of students so advanced they were able to take algebra in seventh grade.
  • Math problem There were 90 employees in a company last year. This year the number of employees increased by 10 percent. How many employees are in the company this year? A) 9 B) 81 C) 91 D) 99 E) 100 The answer is D. A report by the Brookings Institution found that only 49 percent of eighth-graders taking algebra knew the correct answer.
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    California school systems.
Rebecca Patterson

Community-College Officials Swap Notes on Common Worries and Challenges - Finance - The... - 0 views

  • some institutions in her state were looking at more-customized remedial programs that home in on the needs of specific students, rather than running them through a battery of courses that they might not need.
    • Rebecca Patterson
       
      Need I say more....DR, DR, DR !!!
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