Refocusing the Courses Below Calculus A Joint Initiative of MAA, AMATYC

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Refocusing theCoursesBelow CalculusA Joint
Initiative ofMAA, AMATYC NCTM
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• This slideshow presentation was created by
• Sheldon P. Gordon
• Farmingdale State University of New York
• gordonsp_at_farmingdale.edu
• with contributions from
• Nancy Baxter Hastings (Dickinson College)
• Florence S. Gordon (NYIT)
• Bernard Madison (University of Arkansas)
• Bill Haver (Virginia Commonwealth University)
• Bill Bauldry (Appalachian State University)
• Permission is hereby granted to anyone to use any
  or all of these slides in any related
  presentations.
• We gratefully acknowledge the support provided
  for the development of this presentation package
  by the National Science Foundation under grants
  DUE-0089400, DUE-0310123, and DUE-0442160.
• The views expressed are those of the author and
  do not necessarily reflect the views of the
  Foundation.

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College Algebra and Precalculus
Each year, more than 1,000,000 students take
college algebra and precalculus courses. The
focus in most of these courses is on preparing
the students for calculus. We know that only a
relatively small percentage of these students
ever go on to start calculus.
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Some Questions
How many of these students actually ever do go on
to start calculus? How well do the ones who do
go on actually do in calculus?
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Some Questions
Why do the majority of these 1,000,000 students
a year take college algebra courses? Are these
students well-served by the kind of courses
typically given as college algebra? If not,
what kind of mathematics do these students really
need?
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Enrollment Flows

• Based on several studies of enrollment flows from
  college algebra to calculus
• Less than 5 of the students who start
  college algebra courses ever start Calculus I
• The typical DFW rate in college algebra is
  typically well above 50
• Virtually none of the students who pass college
  algebra courses ever start Calculus III
• Perhaps 30-40 of the students who pass
  precalculus courses ever start Calculus I

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Some Interesting Studies
In a study at eight public and private
universities in Illinois, Herriott and Dunbar
found that, typically, only about 10-15 of the
students enrolled in college algebra courses had
any intention of majoring in a mathematically
intensive field. At a large two year college,
Agras found that only 15 of the students taking
college algebra planned to major in
mathematically intensive fields.
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Some Interesting Studies

• Steve Dunbar has tracked over 150,000 students
  taking mathematics at the University of Nebraska
  Lincoln for more than 15 years. He found that
• only about 10 of the students who pass college
  algebra ever go on to start Calculus I
• virtually none of the students who pass college
  algebra ever go on to start Calculus III.
• about 30 of the students who pass college
  algebra eventually start business calculus.
• about 30-40 of the students who pass
  precalculus ever go on to start Calculus I.

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Some Interesting Studies

• William Waller at the University of Houston
  Downtown tracked the students from college
  algebra in Fall 2000. Of the 1018 students who
  started college algebra
• only 39, or 3.8, ever went on to start Calculus
  I at any time over the following three years.
• 551, or 54.1, passed college algebra with a C
  or better that semester
• of the 551 students who passed college algebra,
  153 had previously failed college algebra (D/F/W)
  and were taking it for the second, third, fourth
  or more time

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Some Interesting Studies

• The Fall, 2001 cohort in college algebra at the
  University of Houston Downtown was slightly
  larger. Of the 1028 students who started college
  algebra
• only 2.8, ever went on to start Calculus I at
  any time over the following three years.

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The San Antonio Project
The mayors Economic Development Council of San
Antonio recently identified college algebra as
one of the major impediments to the city
developing the kind of technologically
sophisticated workforce it needs. The mayor
appointed a special task force with
representatives from all 11 colleges in the city
plus business, industry and government to change
the focus of college algebra to make the courses
more responsive to the needs of the city, the
students, and local industry.
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Why Students Take These Courses

• Required by other departments
• Satisfy general education requirements
• To prepare for calculus
• For the love of mathematics

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What the Majority of Students Need

• Conceptual understanding, not rote manipulation
• Realistic applications and mathematical
  modeling that reflect the way mathematics is
  used in other disciplines and on the job in
  todays technological society

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Some Conclusions
Few, if any, math departments can exist based
solely on offerings for math and related majors.
Whether we like it or not, mathematics is a
service department at almost all
institutions. And college algebra and related
courses exist almost exclusively to serve the
needs of other disciplines.
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Some Conclusions
If we fail to offer courses that meet the needs
of the students in the other disciplines, those
departments will increasingly drop the
requirements for math courses. This is already
starting to happen in engineering. Math
departments may well end up offering little
beyond developmental algebra courses that serve
little purpose.
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Four Special Invited Conferences

• Rethinking the Preparation for Calculus,
• October 2001.
• Forum on Quantitative Literacy,
• November 2001.
• CRAFTY Curriculum Foundations Project,
• December 2001.
• Reforming College Algebra,
• February 2002.

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Common Recommendations

• College Algebra courses should stress
  conceptual understanding, not rote manipulation.
• College Algebra courses should be real-world
  problem based
• Every topic should be introduced through a
  real-world problem and then the mathematics
  necessary to solve the problem is developed.

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Common Recommendations

• College Algebra courses should focus on
  mathematical modelingthat is,
• transforming a real-world problem into
  mathematics using linear, exponential and power
  functions, systems of equations, graphing, or
  difference equations.
• using the model to answer problems in context.
• interpreting the results and changing the model
  if needed.

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Common Recommendations

• College Algebra courses should emphasize
  communication skills reading, writing,
  presenting, and listening.
• These skills are needed on the job and for
  effective citizenship as well as in academia.
• College Algebra courses should make
  appropriate use of technology to enhance
  conceptual understanding, visualization, inquiry,
  as well as for computation.

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Common Recommendations

• College Algebra courses should be
  student-centered rather than instructor-centered
  pedagogy.
• - They should include hands-on activities rather
  than be all lecture.
• - They should emphasize small group projects
  involving inquiry and inference.

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Important Volumes

• CUPM Curriculum Guide Undergraduate Programs
  and Courses in the Mathematical Sciences, MAA
  Reports.
• AMATYC Crossroads Standards and the Beyond
  Crossroads report.
• NCTM, Principles and Standards for School
  Mathematics.
• Ganter, Susan and Bill Barker, Eds.,
• A Collective Vision Voices of the Partner
  Disciplines, MAA Reports.

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Important Volumes

• Madison, Bernie and Lynn Steen, Eds.,
  Quantitative Literacy Why Numeracy Matters for
  Schools and Colleges, National Council on
  Education and the Disciplines, Princeton.
• Baxter Hastings, Nancy, Flo Gordon, Shelly
  Gordon, and Jack Narayan, Eds., A Fresh Start
  for Collegiate Mathematics Rethinking the
  Courses below Calculus, MAA Notes.

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CUPM Curriculum Guide

• All students, those for whom the (introductory
  mathematics) course is terminal and those for
  whom it serves as a springboard, need to learn to
  think effectively, quantitatively and logically.
• Students must learn with understanding,
  focusing on relatively few concepts but treating
  them in depth. Treating ideas in depth includes
  presenting each concept from multiple points of
  view and in progressively more sophisticated
  contexts.

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CUPM Curriculum Guide

• A study of these (disciplinary) reports and the
  textbooks and curricula of courses in other
  disciplines shows that the algorithmic skills
  that are the focus of computational college
  algebra courses are much less important than
  understanding the underlying concepts.
• Students who are preparing to study calculus
  need to develop conceptual understanding as well
  as computational skills.

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AMATYC Crossroads Standards

• In general, emphasis on the meaning and use of
  mathematical ideas must increase, and attention
  to rote manipulation must decrease.
• Faculty should include fewer topics but cover
  them in greater depth, with greater
  understanding, and with more flexibility. Such
  an approach will enable students to adapt to new
  situations.
• Areas that should receive increased attention
  include the conceptual understanding of
  mathematical ideas.

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NCTM Standards

• These recommendations are clearly very much in
  the same spirit as the recommendations in NCTMs
  Principles and Standards for School Mathematics.
• If implemented at the college level, they would
  establish a smooth transition between school and
  college mathematics.

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CRAFTY College Algebra Guidelines

• These guidelines are the recommendations of the
  MAA/CUPM subcommittee, Curriculum Renewal Across
  the First Two Years, concerning the nature of the
  college algebra course that can serve as a
  terminal course as well as a pre-requisite to
  courses such as pre-calculus, statistics,
  business calculus, finite mathematics, and
  mathematics for elementary education majors.

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Fundamental Experience

• College Algebra provides students with a college
  level academic experience that emphasizes the use
  of algebra and functions in problem solving and
  modeling, provides a foundation in quantitative
  literacy, supplies the algebra and other
  mathematics needed in partner disciplines, and
  helps meet quantitative needs in, and outside of,
  academia.

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Fundamental Experience

• Students address problems presented as real
  world situations by creating and interpreting
  mathematical models. Solutions to the problems
  are formulated, validated, and analyzed using
  mental, paper and pencil, algebraic, and
  technology-based techniques as appropriate.

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Course Goals

• Involve students in a meaningful and positive,
  intellectually engaging, mathematical experience
• Provide students with opportunities to analyze,
  synthesize, and work collaboratively on
  explorations and reports
• Develop students logical reasoning skills needed
  by informed and productive citizens

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Course Goals

• Strengthen students algebraic and quantitative
  abilities useful in the study of other
  disciplines
• Develop students mastery of those algebraic
  techniques necessary for problem-solving and
  mathematical modeling
• Improve students ability to communicate
  mathematical ideas clearly in oral and written
  form

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Course Goals

• Develop students competence and confidence in
  their problem-solving ability
• Develop students ability to use technology for
  understanding and doing mathematics
• Enable and encourage students to take additional
  coursework in the mathematical sciences.

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Problem Solving

• Solving problems presented in the context of real
  world situations
• Developing a personal framework of problem
  solving techniques
• Creating, interpreting, and revising models and
  solutions of problems.

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Functions Equations

• Understanding the concepts of function and rate
  of change
• Effectively using multiple perspectives
  (symbolic, numeric, graphic, and verbal) to
  explore elementary functions
• Investigating linear, exponential, power,
  polynomial, logarithmic, and periodic functions,
  as appropriate

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• Recognizing and using standard transformations
  such as translations and dilations with graphs of
  elementary functions
• Using systems of equations to model real world
  situations
• Solving systems of equations using a variety of
  methods
• Mastering those algebraic techniques and
  manipulations necessary for problem-solving and
  modeling in this course.

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Data Analysis

• Collecting, displaying, summarizing, and
  interpreting data in various forms
• Applying algebraic transformations to linearize
  data for analysis
• Fitting an appropriate curve to a scatterplot and
  use the resulting function for prediction and
  analysis
• Determining the appropriateness of a model via
  scientific reasoning.

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• An Increased Emphasis on Pedagogy
• and
• A Broader Notion of Assessment
• Of Student Accomplishment

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CRAFTY College Algebra

• Confluence of events
• Curriculum Foundations Report published
• Large scale NSF project - Bill Haver, VCU
• Availability of new modeling/application based
  texts
• CRAFTY responded to a perceived need to address
  course and instructional models for College
  Algebra.

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CRAFTY College Algebra

• Task Force charged with writing guidelines
• - Initial discussions in CRAFTY meetings
• - Presentations at AMATYC Joint Math Meetings
  with public discussions
• - Revisions incorporating public commentary
• Guidelines adopted by CRAFTY (Fall, 2006)
• Pending adoption by CUPM (Spring, 2007)
• Copies (pdf) available at
• http//www.mathsci.appstate.edu/wmcb/ICTCM

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CRAFTY College Algebra

• The Guidelines
• Course Objectives
• College algebra through applications/modeling M
  eaningful appropriate use of technology
• Course Goals
• Challenge, develop, and strengthen
  students understanding and skills mastery

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CRAFTY College Algebra

• The Guidelines
• Student Competencies
• - Problem solving
• - Functions and Equations
• - Data Analysis
• Pedagogy
• - Algebra in context
• - Technology for exploration and analysis
• Assessment
• - Extended set of student assessment tools
• - Continuous course assessment

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CRAFTY College Algebra

• Challenges
• Course development
• - There are current models
• Scale
• - Huge numbers of students
• - Extraordinary variation across institutions
• Faculty development
• - Who teaches College Algebra?
• - How do we fund change?

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Conceptual Understanding

• What does conceptual understanding mean?
• How do you recognize its presence or absence?
• How do you encourage its development?
• How do you assess whether students have
  developed conceptual understanding?

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What Does the Slope Mean?
Comparison of student response on the final exams
in Traditional vs. Modeling College
Algebra/Trig Brookville College enrolled 2546
students in 2000 and 2702 students in 2002.
Assume that enrollment follows a linear growth
pattern. a. Write a linear equation giving the
enrollment in terms of the year t. b. If the
trend continues, what will the enrollment be in
the year 2016? c. What is the slope of the line
you found in part (a)? d. Explain, using an
English sentence, the meaning of the slope. e.
If the trend continues, when will there be 3500
students?
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Responses in Traditional Class

• 1. The meaning of the slope is the amount that
  is gained in years and students in a given
  amount of time.
• 2. The ratio of students to the number of years.
  
• 3. Difference of the ys over the xs.
• 4. Since it is positive it increases.
• 5. On a graph, for every point you move to the
  right on the x- axis. You move up 78 points on
  the y-axis.
• 6. The slope in this equation means the students
  enrolled in 2000. Y MX B .
• 7. The amount of students that enroll within a
  period of time.
• Every year the enrollment increases by 78
  students.
• The slope here is 78 which means for each unit of
  time, (1 year) there are 78 more students
  enrolled.

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Responses in Traditional Class
10. No response 11. No response 12. No
response 13. No response 14. The change in
the x-coordinates over the change in the
y- coordinates. 15. This is the rise in the
number of students. 16. The slope is the average
amount of years it takes to get 156 more
students enrolled in the school. 17. Its how
many times a year it increases. 18. The slope is
the increase of students per year.
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Responses in Reform Class

• 1. This means that for every year the number of
  students increases by 78.
• 2. The slope means that for every additional
  year the number of students increase by 78.
• 3. For every year that passes, the student
  number enrolled increases 78 on the previous
  year.
• As each year goes by, the of enrolled students
  goes up by 78.
• This means that every year the number of enrolled
  students goes up by 78 students.
• The slope means that the number of students
  enrolled in Brookville college increases by 78.
• Every year after 2000, 78 more students will
  enroll at Brookville college.
• Number of students enrolled increases by 78 each
  year.

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Responses in Reform Class

• 9. This means that for every year, the amount of
  enrolled students increase by 78.
• 10. Student enrollment increases by an average
  of 78 per year.
• 11. For every year that goes by, enrollment
  raises by 78 students.
• 12. That means every year the of students
  enrolled increases by 2,780 students.
• 13. For every year that passes there will be 78
  more students enrolled at Brookville college.
• The slope means that every year, the enrollment
  of students increases by 78 people.
• Brookville college enrolled students increasing
  by 0.06127.
• Every two years that passes the number of
  students which is increasing the enrollment into
  Brookville College is 156.

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Responses in Reform Class
17. This means that the college will enroll
.0128 more students each year. 18. By every
two year increase the amount of students goes up
by 78 students. 19. The number of students
enrolled increases by 78 every 2 years.
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Understanding Slope
Both groups had comparable ability to calculate
the slope of a line. (In both groups, several
students used ?x/?y.)
It is far more important that our students
understand what the slope means in context,
whether that context arises in a math course, or
in courses in other disciplines, or eventually on
the job.
Unless explicit attention is devoted to
emphasizing the conceptual understanding of what
the slope means, the majority of students are not
able to create viable interpretations on their
own. And, without that understanding, they are
likely not able to apply the mathematics to
realistic situations.
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Further Implications

• If students cant make their own connections with
  a concept as simple as the slope of a line, they
  wont be able to create meaningful
  interpretations and connections on their own for
  more sophisticated mathematical concepts. For
  instance,
• What is the significance of the base (growth or
  decay factor) in an exponential function?
• What is the meaning of the power in a power
  function?
• What do the parameters in a realistic sinusoidal
  model tell about the phenomenon being modeled?
  
• What is the significance of the factors of a
  polynomial?
• What is the significance of the derivative of a
  function?
• What is the significance of a definite integral?
  

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Further Implications
If we focus only on manipulative skills without
developing conceptual understanding, we produce
nothing more than students who are only Imperfect
Organic Clones of a TI-89
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Developing Conceptual Understanding
Conceptual understanding cannot be just an
add-on. It must permeate every course and be a
major focus of the course. Conceptual
understanding must be accompanied by realistic
problems in the sense of mathematical
modeling. Conceptual problems must appear in all
sets of examples, on all homework assignments, on
all project assignments, and most importantly, on
all tests. Otherwise, students will not see them
as important.
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Should x Mark the Spot?
All other disciplines focus globally on the
entire universe of a through z, with the
occasional contribution of ? through ?. Only
mathematics focuses on a single spot, called
x. Newtons Second Law of Motion y mx,
Einsteins formula relating energy and mass y
c2x, The ideal gas law yz nRx.
Students who see only xs and ys do not make
the connections and cannot apply the techniques
when other letters arise in other disciplines.
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Should x Mark the Spot?
Keplers third law expresses the relationship
between the average distance of a planet from the
sun and the length of its year. If it is
written as y2 0.1664x3, there is no
suggestion of which variable represents which
quantity. If it is written as t2 0.1664D3 ,
a huge conceptual hurdle for the students is
eliminated.
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Should x Mark the Spot?
When students see 50 exercises where the first
40 involve solving for x, and a handful at the
end that involve other letters, the overriding
impression they gain is that x is the only
legitimate variable and the few remaining cases
are just there to torment them.
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• Some Illustrative Examples
• of Problems
• to Develop or Test for
• Conceptual Understanding

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Identify each of the following functions (a) -
(n) as linear, exponential, logarithmic, or
power. In each case, explain your
reasoning.(g) y 1.05x (h) y x1.05
(i) y (0.7)t (j) y v0.7
(k) z L(-½) (l) 3U 5V 14
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For the polynomial shown,(a) What is the
minimum degree? Give two different reasons for
your answer.(b) What is the sign of the leading
term? Explain.(c) What are the real roots?(d)
What are the linear factors? (e) How many
complex roots does the polynomial have?
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Two functions f and g are defined in the
following table. Use the given values in the
table to complete the table. If any entries are
not defined, write undefined.
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Two functions f and g are given in the
accompanying figure. The following five graphs
(a)-(e) are the graphs of f g, g - f, fg,
f/g, and g/f. Decide which is which.
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The following table shows world-wide wind power
generating capacity, in megawatts, in various
years.
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(a) Which variable is the independent variable
and which is the dependent variable? (b) Explain
why an exponential function is the best model to
use for this data. (c) Find the exponential
function that models the relationship between
power P generated by wind and the year t. (d)
What are some reasonable values that you can use
for the domain and range of this function? (e)
What is the practical significance of the base in
the exponential function you created in part
(c)? (f) What is the doubling time for this
exponential function? Explain what does it
means. (g) According to your model, what do you
predict for the total wind power generating
capacity in 2010?
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Biologists have long observed that the larger the
area of a region, the more species live there.
The relationship is best modeled by a power
function. Puerto Rico has 40 species of
amphibians and reptiles on 3459 square miles and
Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) has
84 species on 29,418 square miles. (a)
Determine a power function that relates the
number of species of reptiles and amphibians on a
Caribbean island to its area. (b) Use the
relationship to predict the number of species of
reptiles and amphibians on Cuba, which measures
44218 square miles.
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The accompanying table and associated scatterplot
give some data on the area (in square miles) of
various Caribbean islands and estimates on the
number species of amphibians and reptiles living
on each.
66

(a) Which variable is the independent variable
and which is the dependent variable? (b) The
overall pattern in the data suggests either a
power function with a positive power p lt 1 or a
logarithmic function, both of which are
increasing and concave down. Explain why a power
function is the better model to use for this
data. (c) Find the power function that models
the relationship between the number of species,
N, living on one of these islands and the area,
A, of the island and find the correlation
coefficient. (d) What are some reasonable
values that you can use for the domain and range
of this function? (e) The area of Barbados is 166
square miles. Estimate the number of species of
amphibians and reptiles living there.
67

Write a possible formula for each of the
following trigonometric functions
68

The average daytime high temperature in New York
as a function of the day of the year varies
between 32?F and 94?F. Assume the coldest day
occurs on the 30th day and the hottest day on the
214th. (a) Sketch the graph of the temperature
as a function of time over a three year time
span. (b) Write a formula for a sinusoidal
function that models the temperature over the
course of a year. (c) What are the domain and
range for this function? (d) What are the
amplitude, vertical shift, period, frequency, and
phase shift of this function? (e) Estimate the
high temperature on March 15. (f) What are all
the dates on which the high temperature is most
likely 80??
69
Some Conclusions
We cannot simply concentrate on teaching the
mathematical techniques that the students need.
It is as least as important to stress conceptual
understanding and the meaning of the mathematics.
We can accomplish this by using a combination
of realistic and conceptual examples, homework
problems, and test problems that force students
to think and explain, not just manipulate
symbols. If we fail to do this, we are not
adequately preparing our students for successive
mathematics courses, for courses in other
disciplines, and for using mathematics on the job
and throughout their lives.
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Functions

• It is only in math classes that functions are
  given.
• Everywhere else,
• The existence of functions is observed
• Formulas for functions are created
• Functions are used to answer questions about a
  context

71
The Need for Real-World Problems and Examples
72
Realistic Applications and Mathematical Modeling

• Real-world data enables the integration of data
  analysis concepts with the development of
  mathematical concepts and methods
• Realistic applications illustrate that data arise
  in a variety of contexts
• Realistic applications and genuine data can
  increase students interest in and motivation for
  studying mathematics
• Realistic applications link the mathematics to
  what students see in and need to know for other
  courses in other disciplines.

73
The Role ofTechnology
74
The Role of Technology

• Technology allows us to do many standard topics
  differently and more easily.
• Technology allows us to introduce new topics and
  methods that we could not do previously.
• Technology allows us to de-emphasize or even
  remove some topics that are now less important.

75
Technology How?

• Students can use technology as a problem-solving
  tool to
• Model situations and analyze functions
• Tackle complex problems
• Students can use technology as a learning tool to
• Explore new concepts and discover new ideas
• Make connections
• Develop a firm understanding of mathematical
  ideas
• Develop mental images associated with abstract
  concepts

76
Technology - Caution

• Students need to balance the use of technology
  and the use of pencil and paper.
• Students need to learn to use technology
  appropriately and wisely.

77
Changing the Learning and Teaching Environment
78
Traditional Approach vs. Student-Centered
Approach

• With a traditional approach, students
• Listen to lectures
• Copy notes from the board
• Mimic examples
• Use technology to do calculations
• Do familiar problems in homework and on exams
• Fly through the material
• Hold instructor responsible for learning
• Go to instructor for help

79
Traditional Approach vs. Student-Centered
Approach

• With a student-centered approach, students
• Participate in discussions
• Work collaboratively
• Find solutions and approaches
• Use technology to investigate ideas
• Write about and use new ideas in homework and on
  exams
• Take time to think
• Accept responsibility for learning
• First try to help each other

80
Student-Centered Learning The Role of the
Instructor

• The instructor
• Designs activities
• Emphasizes learning
• Interacts with students
• Approaches ideas from the students point of view
• Controls the learning environment
• The instructor is a
• Facilitator
• Coach
• Intellectual manager

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Student-Centered Learning Intended Outcomes

• Impel students to be active learners
• Make learning mathematics an enjoyable experience
• Help students develop confidence to read, write
  and do mathematics
• Enhance students understanding of fundamental
  mathematics concepts
• Increase students ability to use these concepts
  in other disciplines
• Inspire students to continue the study of
  mathematics

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• But, if college algebra and related courses
  change,
• what happens to the next generation of math and
  science majors?
• Dont they need all the traditional algebraic
  skills?
• But, if they dont develop conceptual
  understanding and the ability to apply the
  mathematics, what value are the skills?

83

• The Link to Calculus

84
Calculus and Related Enrollments
In 2000, about 676,000 students took Calculus,
Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and
Discrete Mathematics (This is up 6 from
1995) Over the same time period, however,
calculus enrollment has been steady, at best.
85
Calculus and Related Enrollments
In comparison, in 2000, 171,400 students took one
of the two AP Calculus exams either AB or BC.
(This is up 40 from 1995) In 2004, 225,000
students took AP Calculus exams In 2005, about
240,000 took AP Calculus exams Reportedly,
about twice as many students take calculus in
high school, but do not take an AP exam.
86
AP Calculus

87
Some Implications

• Today more students take calculus in high school
  than in college
• And, as ever more students take more mathematics,
  especially calculus, in high school, we should
  expect
• Fewer students taking these courses in college
• The overall quality of the students who take
  these courses in college will decrease.

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Another Conclusion
We should anticipate the day, in the not too
distant future, when college calculus, like
college algebra, becomes a semi-remedial
course. (Several elite colleges already have
stopped giving credit for Calculus I.)
89
Another Conclusion
It is not conscionable for departments to treat
students as mathematical cannon-fodder, by
pushing them into courses they have little hope
of surviving in order to increase the number of
sections of calculus that are offered.
90
Associates Degrees in Mathematics
In 2002, P There were 595,000 associate
degrees P Of these, 685 were in mathematics
This is one-tenth of one percent!
91
Bachelors Degrees in Mathematics
In 2002, PThere were 1,292,000 bachelors
degrees POf these, 12,395 were in mathematics
This is under one percent!
92
Masters Degrees in Mathematics
In 2002, PThere were 482,000 masters
degrees POf these, 3487 were in mathematics
This is 7 tenths of one percent!
93
PhDs Degrees in Mathematics

• In 2002,
• There were 44,000 doctoral degrees
• Of these, 958 were in mathematics
• This is just over two percent!
• But less than half were U.S. citizens

94
Who Are the Students?
Based on the enrollment figures, the students who
take college algebra and related courses are not
going to become mathematics majors. They are
not going to be majors in any of the mathematics
intensive disciplines.
95
The Focus in these Courses
But most college algebra courses and certainly
all precalculus courses were designed to prepare
students for calculus and most of them are still
offered in that spirit. Even though only a small
percentage of the students have any intention of
going into calculus!
96
A Fresh Start for Collegiate MathematicsRethinkin
g the Courses Below Calculus MAA Notes, 2005
Nancy Baxter Hastings, et al(editors)
97
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

98
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

99
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

100
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

101
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

102
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

103
A Fresh Start to Collegiate Math

104
The Need to RethinkPlacementin Mathematics
105
Rethinking Placement Tests

• Two Types of Placement Tests
• National (standardized) tests
• Not much we can do about them.
• 2. Home-grown tests

106
Rethinking Placement Tests

• Four scenarios
• Students come from traditional curriculum into
  traditional curriculum.
• Students from Standards-based curriculum into
  traditional curriculum.
• Students from traditional curriculum into reform
  curriculum.
• 4. Students from Standards-based curriculum into
  reform curriculum.

107
One National Placement Test
1. Square a binomial. 2. Determine a
quadratic function arising from a verbal
description (e.g., area of a rectangle whose
sides are both linear expressions in x). 3.
Simplify a rational expression. 4. Confirm
solutions to a quadratic function in factored
form. 5. Completely factor a polynomial. 6.
Solve a literal equation for a given unknown.

108
A National Placement Test
7. Solve a verbal problem involving
percent. 8. Simplify and combine like
radicals. 9. Simplify a complex fraction. 10.
Confirm the solution to two simultaneous linear
equations. 11. Traditional verbal problem
(e.g., age problem). 12. Graphs of linear
inequalities.

109
A Tale of Three Colleges in NYS

• Totally traditional curriculum developmental
  through calculus.
• Traditional courses developmental through
  college algebra, then reform in precalculus on
  up.
• Totally reform developmental through upper
  division offerings.
• All use the same national placement test.

110
A Tale of Three Colleges in NYS
BUT New York State has not offered the
traditional Algebra I Geometry Algebra II
Trigonometry curriculum in over 20
years! Instead, there is an integrated
curriculum that emphasize topics such as
statistics and data analysis, probability, logic,
etc. in addition to algebra and trigonometry.

111
A Tale of Three Colleges in NYS
So students are being placed one, two, and even
three semesters below where they should be based
on the amount of mathematics they have
studied! And they are being punished because
of what is being assessed and what is not being
assessed, because of what was stressed in high
school and what was not stressed, because of
what was taught, not what they learned or didnt
learn.

112
A Modern High School Problem
Given the complete 32-year set of monthly CO2
emission levels (a portion is shown below),
create a mathematical model to fit the data.

113
A Modern High School Problem
1. Students first do a vertical shift of about
300 ppm and then fit an exponential function to
the transformed data to get

2. They then create a sinusoidal model to fit
the monthly oscillatory behavior about the
exponential curve
3. They then combine the two components to get
4. They finally give interpretations of the
various parameters and what each says about the
increase in concentration and use the model to
predict future or past concentration levels.
114
Placement, Revisited
Picture an entering freshman who has taken high
school courses with a focus on problems like the
preceding one and who has developed an
appreciation for the power of mathematics based
on understanding the concepts and applying them
to realistic situations. What happens when that
student sits down to take a traditional placement
test? Is it surprising that many such students
end up being placed into developmental courses?

115
What a High School Teacher Said

• If you try to teach my students with the
  mistaken belief that they know the mathematics I
  knew at their age, you will miss a great
  opportunity. My students know more mathematics
  than I did, but it is not the same mathematics
  and I believe they know it differently. They
  have a different vision of mathematics that would
  be helpful in learning calculus if it were
  tapped.
• Dan Teague

116
Rethinking Placement Tests
What Can Be Done 1. Home-grown tests Develop
alternate versions that reflect both your
curriculum AND the different curricula that your
students have come through. 2. National
(standardized) tests Contact the test-makers
(Accuplacer ETS and Compass ACT) and lobby
them to develop alternative tests to reflect both
your curriculum and the different curricula that
your students have come through.

117
Why Students Take These Courses

• The vast majority of students take college
  algebra and related courses because
• they are required by other departments or
• they are needed to satisfy general education
  requirements
• As a consequence, we have to pay attention to
  what the other disciplines want their students to
  gain from these courses.

118
Connecting with Other Disciplines
All other disciplines are under pressure to teach
more material to their students, and that
material is much more than just the mathematical
ideas and applications. If we do not provide
courses that satisfy todays needs of the other
disciplines, they are likely going to drop the
requirements for our courses and include the
needed material in their own offerings.
119

• Voices of the Partner Disciplines
• CRAFTYs Curriculum Foundations Project

120
Curriculum Foundations Project
A series of 11 workshops with leading educators
from 17 quantitative disciplines to inform the
mathematics community of the current mathematical
needs of each discipline. The results are
summarized in the MAA Reports volume A
Collective Vision Voices of the Partner
Disciplines, edited by Susan Ganter and Bill
Barker.

121
What the Physicists Said

• Conceptual understanding of basic mathematical
  principles is very important for success in
  introductory physics. It is more important than
  esoteric computational skill. However, basic
  computational skill is crucial.
• Development of problem solving skills is a
  critical aspect of a mathematics education.

122
What the Physicists Said

• Courses should cover fewer topics and place
  increased emphasis on increasing the confidence
  and competence that students have with the most
  fundamental topics.

123
What the Physicists Said

• The learning of physics depends less directly
  than one might think on previous learning in
  mathematics. We just want students who can
  think. The ability to actively think is the most
  important thing students need to get from
  mathematics education.

124
What the Physicists Said

• Students should be able to focus a situation
  into a problem, translate the problem into a
  mathematical representation, plan a solution, and
  then execute the plan. Finally, students should
  be trained to check a solution for
  reasonableness.

125
What the Physicists Said

• Students need conceptual understanding first,
  and some comfort in using basic skills then a
  deeper approach and more sophisticated skills
  become meaningful. Computational skill without
  theoretical understanding is shallow.

126
What Business Faculty Said
Mathematics is an integral component of the
business school curriculum. Mathematics
Departments can help by stressing conceptual
understanding of quantitative reasoning and
enhancing critical thinking skills. Business
students must be able not only to apply
appropriate abstract models to specific problems
but also to become familiar and comfortable with
the language of and the application of
mathematical reasoning. Business students need
to understand that many quantitative problems are
more likely to deal with ambiguities than with
certainty. In the spirit that less is more,
coverage is less critical than comprehension and
application.

127
What Business Faculty Said

• Courses should stress problem solving, with the
  incumbent recognition of ambiguities.
• Courses should stress conceptual understanding
  (motivating the math with the whys not just
  the hows).
• Courses should stress critical thinking.
• An important student outcome is their ability to
  develop appropriate models to solve defined
  problems.

128
What Business Faculty Said

• Courses should use industry standard technology
  (spreadsheets).
• An important student outcome is their ability to
  become conversant with mathematics as a language.
  Business faculty would like its students to be
  comfortable taking a problem and casting it in
  mathematical terms.

129
What the Engineers Said

• One basic function of undergraduate electrical
  engineering education is to provide students with
  the conceptual skills to formulate, develop,
  solve, evaluate and validate physical systems.
  Mathematics is indispensable in this regard.

130
What the Engineers Said

• The mathematics required to enable students to
  achieve these skills should emphasize concepts
  and problem solving skills more than emphasizing
  the repetitive mechanics of solving routine
  problems.

131
What the Engineers Said

• Students must learn the basic mechanics of
  mathematics, but care must be taken that these
  mechanics do not become the focus of any
  mathematics course.

132
What the Chemists Said

• Introduce multivariable, multidimensional
  problems from the outset
• Listen to the equations most specific
  mathematical expressions can be recovered from a
  few fundamental relationships in a few steps.
• Of widespread use in chemistry teaching and
  research are spreadsheets to produce graphs and
  perform statistical calculations

133
Health-Related Life Sciences

• Put special emphasis on the use of models as a
  way to organize information for the purpose of
  gaining insight and to provide intuition into
  systems that are too complex to understand any
  other way.
• Students should master appropriate computer
  packages, such as a spreadsheet,
  symbolic/numerical computational packages
  (Mathematica, Maple, Matlab), statistical
  packages.

134
Common Themes from All Disciplines

• Strong emphasis on problem solving
• Strong emphasis on mathematical modeling
• Conceptual understanding is more important than
  skill development
• Development of critical thinking and reasoning
  skills is essential

135
Common Themes from All Disciplines

• Use of technology, especially spreadsheets
• Development of communication skills (written and
  oral)
• Greater emphasis on probability and statistics
• Greater cooperation between mathematics and the
  other disciplines

136
Some Implications
Although the number of college students taking
calculus is at best holding steady, the
percentage of students taking college calculus is
dropping, since overall college enrollment has
been rising rapidly. But the number of students
taking calculus in high school already exceeds
the number taking it in college. It is growing
at 8.
137
Some Implications
Few, if any, math departments can exist based
solely on offerings for math and related majors.
Whether we like it or not, mathematics is a
service department at almost all
institutions. And college algebra and related
courses exist almost exclusively to serve the
needs of other disciplines.
138
Some Implications
If we fail to offer courses that meet the needs
of the students in the other disciplines, those
departments will increasingly drop the
requirements for math courses. This is already
starting to happen in engineering. Math
departments may well end up offering little
beyond developmental algebra courses that serve
little purpose.
139
What Can Be Removed?
How many of you remember that there used to be
something called the Law of Tangents? What
happened to this universal law? Did triangles
stop obeying it? Does anyone miss it?
140
What Can Be Removed?

• Descartes rule of signs
• The rational root theorem
• Synthetic division
• The Cotangent, Secant, and Cosecant
• were needed for computational purposes
• Just learn and teach a new identity

141
How Important Are Rational Functions?

• In DE To find closed-form solutions for
  several differential equations, (usually done
  with CAS today, if at all)
• In Calculus II Integration using partial
  fractionsoften all four exhaustive (and
  exhausting) cases
• In Calculus I Differentiating rational
  functions
• In Precalculus Emphasis on the behavior of
  all kinds of rational functions and even
  partial fraction decompositions
• In College Algebra Addition, subtraction,
  multiplication, division and especially
  reduction of complex fractional expressions
• In each course, it is the topic that separates
  the men from the boys! But, can you name any
  realistic applications that involve rational
  functions? Why do we need them in excess?

142
New Visions of College Algebra

• Crauder, Evans and Noell A Modeling
  Alternative to College Algebra
• Herriott College Algebra through Functions and
  Models
• Kime and Clark Explorations in College
  Algebra
• Small Contemporary College Algebra

143
New Visions for Precalculus

• Gordon, Gordon, et al Functioning in the Real
  World A Precalculus Experience, 2nd Ed
• Hastings Rossman Workshop Precalculus
• Hughes-Hallett, Gleason, et al Functions
  Modeling Change Preparation for Calculus
• Moran, Davis, and Murphy Precalculus
  Concepts in Context

144
New Visions for Alternative Courses

• Bennett Quantitative Reasoning
• Burger and Starbird The Heart of Mathematics
  An Invitation to Effective Thinking
• COMAP For All Practical Purposes
• Pierce Mathematics for Life
• Sons Mathematical Thinking

145
How Does the Quantitative Literacy
InitiativeRelate to College Algebra?
146
What is Quantitative Literacy?
Quantitative literacy (QL), or numeracy, is the
knowledge and habits of mind needed to understand
and use quantitative measures and inferences
necessary to function as a responsible citizen,
productive worker, and discerning consumer. QL
describes the quantitative reasoning capabilities
required of citizens in today's information age
-- from the QL Forum White Paper
147
QL and the Mathematics Curriculum
The focus of the math curriculum is the
geometry-algebra-trigonometry-calculus sequence.

• In high school, the route to competitive
  colleges.
• The sequence is linear and hurried.
• No time to teach mathematics in contexts.
• Courses are routes to somewhere else.
• Other sequences are terminal and often second
  rate.

148
Elements of QL

• Confidence with mathematics
• Cultural appreciation
• Interpreting data
• Logical thinking
• Making decisions

• Mathematics in context
• Number sense
• Practical skills
• Prerequisite knowledge
• Symbol sense

149
Two Kinds of Literacy

• Inert - Level of verbal and numerate skills
  required to comprehend instructions, perform
  routine procedures, and complete tasks in a
  routine manner.
• Liberating - Command of both the enabling skills
  needed to search out information and power of
  mind necessary to critique it, reflect upon it,
  and apply it in making decisions.

Lawrence A. Cremins, American Education The
Metropolitan Experience 1876-1980. New York
Harper Row, 1988. (as quoted by R. Orrill in
MD)
150
How does the US compare to other countries?
151
NALS Quantitative Paradigm National Adult
Literacy Survey
Skill Level 1 - Minimal Approximate
Educational Equivalence - Dropout NALS
Competencies - Can perform a single, simple
arithmetic operation such as addition. The
numbers used are provided and the operation to be
performed is specified. NALS Examples - Total
a bank deposit entry
152
NALS Quantitative Paradigm
Skill Level 2 - Basic Approximate Educational
Equivalence - Average or below average HS
graduate NALS Competencies - Can perform a
single arithmetic operation using numbers that
are given in the task or easily located in the
material. The arithmetic operation is either
described or easily determined from the format of
the materials. NALS Examples - Calculate
postage and fees for certified mail - Determine
the difference in price between tickets for two
shows - Calculate the total costs of purchase
from an order form
153
NALS Quantitative Paradigm
Skill Level 3 - Competent Approximate Educational
Equivalence -Some postsecondary education NALS
Competencies - Can perform tasks where two or
more numbers are needed to solve the problem and
they must be found in the material. The
operation(s) needed can be determined from the
arithmetic relation terms used in the question or
directive. NALS Examples - Use a calculator to
calculate the difference between the regular and
sale price - Calculate miles per gallon from
information on a mileage record chart - Use a
calculator to determine the discount from an oil
bill if paid within 10 days
154
NALS Quantitative Paradigm
Skill Level 4 - Advanced Approximate Educational
Equivalence -Bachelors or advanced degree NALS
Competencies - Can perform two or more operations
in sequence or a single operation in which the
quantities are found in different types of
displays, or where the operations must be
inferred from the information given or from prior
knowledge. NALS Examples - Determine the correct
change using information in a menu -Calculate how
much a couple would receive from Supplemental
Security Income, using an eligibility pamphlet -
Use information stated in a news article to
calculate the amount of money that should go to
raising a child
155
NALS Quantitative Paradigm
Skill Level 5 - Superior Approximate Educational
Equivalence -High achieving college-educated
populations NALS Competencies - Can perform
multiple operations sequentially, and can also
find the features of problems embedded in text or
rely on background knowledge to determine the
quantities or operations needed. NALS Examples -
Use a calculator to determine the total cost of
carpet to cover a room - Use information in a
news article to calculate the difference in time
for completing a race - Determine shipping and
total costs on an order form for items in a
catalog
156
Many College Graduates Demonstrate Weak
Quantitative Literacy Skills
Source USDOE, NCES, National Adult Literacy
Survey, 1992, in Literacy in the Labor Force
Results from the NALS, September 1999, p. 61.
157
Quantitative Literacy and Job Opportunity,
1998-2008
Source National Adult Literacy
Survey Current Population Survey Bureau of
Labor Statistics Employment Projections,
1998-2008.
158
Where Does College Algebra Fit In?

• QL is something that should permeate the entire
  mathematics curriculum, so that every student
  develops these skills.
• The one existing course that provides the best
  opportunity to stress QL is college algebra
• It has the largest enrollment
• It does not prepare or motivate large numbers
  of students to go on to calculus
• It is taken to prepare students for courses in
  other disciplines, and the themes of QL are the
  mathematical topics needed in most other
  disciplines today.

159
SomeSamplePrograms
160
A Sample Program

161
A Sample Program

162
A Sample Program

163
The Challenges to Be Faced
164
The Challenges Ahead

• Convincing the math community
• 1. Conducting a series of extensive tracking
  studies to determine how many (or how few)
  students who take these courses actually go on to
  calculus.
• 2. Identifying and highlighting best practices
  in programs that reflect the goals of this
  initiative.

165
CRAFTYs Demonstration Project
All 1800 MAA Liaisons were asked if their
departments would be interested in participating
in a planned pilot/research proposal. Within 6
days, 211 departments indicated that they were
interested in seriously considering this
possibility.

166
CRAFTYs Demonstration Project
Eleven colleges and universities were selected to
participate. Each agreed to offer multiple
pilot sections of modeling based college algebra
courses as well as control sections in order to
determine the effectiveness of these approaches.

167
CRAFTYs Demonstration Project

168
CRAFTYs Demonstration Project

• The 11 institutions agreed to pilot sections of
  college algebra with the following features
• Course organized around mathematical modeling
• Students assigned long-term project(s)
• Students assigned work to be completed in
  collaboration with other students
• Graphing calculators and/or computer utilities
  utilized throughout
• Algebraic skills deemed as critical will be
  maintained, but deemphasized.

169
The Research Component

• The following data is being collected
• Grades
• Retention information
• Performance on common test items
• Student retention and grades in subsequent courses

170
Preliminary Findings

• 10