Case Studies: Roadmap to Redesign
Phoebe Rouse, Louisiana State University (LA)
Course Set-up
The LSU Department of Mathematics is now delivering Math 1021 College Algebra and Math 1023 Precalculus using a model that developed from a program called the Roadmap to Redesign (R2R), which grew out of the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT). Math 1022 Trigonometry will be added in Spring 2007. All together, approximately 6000 students each year will be served using this model.
The main feature of this model is that it requires active participation and increased use of technology from students rather than the passive participation often found in a traditional lecture format. Students in the 3-credit hour College Algebra course spend 1 hour a week in the traditional classroom setting and a minimum of 3 flexible hours a week in a learning lab using MyMathLab. Students in the 5-credit hour Precalculus course spend 2 hours a week in the traditional classroom setting and a minimum of 5 flexible hours a week in the learning lab. This student-centered approach to learning requires students to put in more time "doing" mathematics and less time "watching" mathematics, which is why their learning outcomes are measurably higher.
The new 236-seat LSU Pleasant Hall Math Learning Lab is open 60 hours each week and is staffed with teachers, TA tutors, and undergraduate math majors. In addition to putting in the minimum required hours in the learning lab, students can also work additional hours in the learning lab or work at their convenience from any web-accessible computer.
How is MyMathLab used?
All assignments are created in MyMathLab by the course coordinators, thus ensuring quality control of content and avoiding course drift. Homework exercises from problems algorithmically generated by MML are iterations of the textbook exercises, and homework assignments can be repeated an infinite number of times prior to the due date. Quiz and test questions come directly from the pool of assigned homework problems. Quizzes can be attempted 10 times before the due date, but each quiz has different iterations. Tests are proctored and password-protected with only 1 attempt allowed and are taken in the university testing center throughout a 6-day window. Due dates for homework, quizzes, and tests are entered by individual teachers to accommodate their section meeting days and to stagger the due dates so as not to overload the learning lab. Details can be found at http://www.math.lsu.edu/courses/1021 and at http://www.math.lsu.edu/courses/1023.
Student results using MyMathLab
Approximately 88% of the students surveyed at the end of each semester agree that "using MyMathLab helped them learn the mathematics."
Data gathered from the use of this model after three semesters at LSU shows that 80% of the students who participate at least 70% of the minimum required time earn a grade of A, B, or C.
Participation is based on class attendance and required minimum learning lab hours.
Measuring Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes using this model are best measured by comparing final exam medians. In Fall 2005, students in College Algebra were self-divided into 3 delivery models. One group used a traditional TA lecture model with no technology at all, and the other two groups used MyMathLab for all homework, quizzes, and tests. The first group (without technology) met 3 times a week with both TAs and career instructors. Within the two groups that used MyMathLab, the large lecture group met 3 times a week in a traditional lecture format with career instructors, and the "redesign" group met only once a week with either an instructor or TA using the R2R model described above. All three groups took exactly the same departmental, cumulative, group-graded final exam. The results speak for themselves:
| Math 1021: College Algebra, Fall 2005 | Final Exam Median |
# of Students |
|---|---|---|
| Group I: Traditional Small Lecture |
64% | 743 |
| Group II: Traditional Large Lecture w/ MML |
76% | 841 |
| Group III: R2R Redesigned w/ MML |
73% | 922 |
More Case Studies
Assigning Online Homework (University of Idaho)
Assigning Online Homework & Quizzes (Odessa College)
Lecture/Lab Setting (Delaware Technical & Community College)
Traditional Classroom Environment (Youngstown State University)
Online Course (University of Toledo)
