Nancy Birkenheuer

Assistant Professor

Regis University

Math Primer Workshop

On-line Remediation for Mathematics

Agenda

• Rationalization for development

• What we offer

• Development process

• Registration process

• Feedback and results

• Future development

Regis University

• One of 22 Jesuit Universities in the US

• Three Colleges within the University– Regis College– RH School for Health Professions– College of Professional Studies

College of Professional Studies

• Target Adult Learners

• Undergraduate and Graduate Programs– Many returning to school to complete

studies started elsewhere– Currently ~ 80% of students are on-

line– Many have not been in school for up

to 20 years

Prior to On-line Math Workshop

• Classroom remedial Math course available

• Enrollments averaged 6-10 students per year

• Not reaching our on-line student population

STEM Grant for development

• WIRED I grant – US Department of Labor – Workforce Innovation in Regional

Economic Development– Transformational and sustainable

changes in our education and workforce systems to enhance our region’s global competitiveness

Math Primer Workshop

• On-line format

• e-textbook

• Non-credit workshop

• Free to all Regis University students

Math Primer Workshop

• Math phobia

• Nine topics – Integers, Operations, and Manipulation of Signed

Numbers– Fractions, Decimals, and Percents– Variables– Linear Equations and Inequalities– Graphing Linear Equations– Exponents and Polynomials– Factoring– Quadratic Equations– Graphing Quadratic Equations

Student Interaction

• Student may study any or all topics

• Study topics in any order

• Self paced and facilitated

• Non threatening environment

• Access for one year

• Self assessments in each topic

• Regis provides the access kit

Access Kit

• Access to e-textbook

• Access to MyMathLab

• Access to WorldClass

Facilitator Involvement

• Answer questions

• Provide explanations

• Semester commitment

Development Process

• Three SME’s each developed three topics

• RU Distance Learning Department• RLS, contract instructional designers• Integrate two Learning Management

Systems (LMS) (MyMathLab and Angel)

• Four Month process

Registration process

• By recommendation only– Advisor– Facilitator from another math course– Enrollment counselor– Academic Resources Department

(testing)

• Registration done using a web form on our portal site

• Not open enrollment for students!

Enrollment Results

• Initial offering was in Spring 2009– 21 students in Spring 2009– 23 students in Summer 2009

Student Feedback

• End of semester evaluations– Did this workshop improve your

confidence that you can be successful in your math courses?

– Did the content and exercises help you to understand the concepts?

– Did what you learned in the workshop help you to be successful in your math courses?

VERY Preliminary ResultsOne Semester Reporting• Did this workshop improve your

confidence that you can be successful in your math courses?– 2.66 on a scale of 1 to 4

VERY Preliminary ResultsOne Semester Reporting• Did the content and exercises help

you to understand the concepts?– 3 on a scale of 1 to 4

VERY Preliminary ResultsOne Semester Reporting• Did what you learned in the

workshop help you to be successful in your math courses?– 2.5 on a scale of 1 to 4

Textual Student Feedback

• “I did not do this workshop yet. I am hoping to take the course this summer.”

• “I am currently enrolled in the workshop, and have not yet completed it. Thus far, I can say that it have been beneficial to me though.”

• “I believe that I would have done better in a classroom environment.”

Facilitator Feedback

• “Need to deal with students on an individual basis as each is working on a different topic and problems.”

• “A pleasure to facilitate, easy to navigate, easy to provide individual attention to students.”

Effectiveness Statistics

• Grade distributions before and after the implementation– Significant decreases in the proportion of

students earning grades of C- or lower for Calculus I and Contemporary Math

– Decrease in the proportion for students in Intro to Discrete Math but is not significant

– The proportion of A’s in Discrete Math increases but also is not significant

– Actual statistics and data available upon request

Workshop Demonstration

The workshop can be found at:

https://worldclass.regis.edu/frames.aspx

Future Development

• Add additional topics as requested by facilitators

• Apply for additional grant monies to continue to make this resource available free of charge

• Power link to MyMathLab from Angel• On-line Writing Workshop is under

development following this template

Acknowledgments

• SME’s

• RU Distance Learning Department

• Regis Learning Solutions

• University Operations

• Questions

• Comments

• Concerns

• Criticism of a constructive nature