Transcript Modular Delivery and Peer-Led Team

Modular Delivery and Peer-Led
Team-Learning for Precalculus
Helmut Knaust
Emil Schwab
Department of Mathematical Sciences
The University of Texas at El Paso
January 5, 2009
• Overview
– UTEP Profile
– Summer Activities: Accuplacer
– Modular Precalculus
– Theory of Validation
– Peer-Led Team Learning in
Precalculus
UTEP Campus
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Undergraduate Students in Science and Engineering
Engineering:
Science:
Total:
Total UGs at UTEP:
Source: CIERP, Fall 2006
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2,151
1,624
3,775
17,060
UTEP Enrollment Trends
22,000
19,842
20,000
18,542
18,000
18,918
20,154
19,268
17,232
16,220
16,000
15,224
14,695
14,000
12,000
Year
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1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
UTEP Student Population Profile
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24 years of age (undergraduate average)
74% Hispanic
55% female
81% from El Paso County commuting daily
84% employed
50% first generation university students
UTEP’s Main Challenges
• Incoming students are not well-prepared
for studying STEM disciplines
• Low retention rates
• Low graduation rates
• Long time to graduation
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Summer Invention:
Math Review for STEM Students
Before
After
Math Review
2001(n=359)
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Before
After
Math Review
2002 (n=386)
Precalculus Setup I
• UTEP
has no College Algebra course.
• Non-Stem majors take the Mathematics for Social
Science course or the terminal course
Mathematics in the Modern World.
• STEM majors take a 5-hour Precalculus course.
• The course is a combination of College Algebra and
Trigonometry.
• The Precalculcus course (and the Calculus I course) is
offered in a modular format in classes of about
50 students.
• Since Fall 2008 the Precalculus course incorporates
Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL).
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Modular Delivery Format for Precalculus I
• Designed by long-time course coordinator Nancy Marcus
• The semester is divided in three time segments. The
course is divided into three modules.
• When students complete a module in a time segment
successfully, they move on to the next module (or
Calculus I).
• When students successfully complete all three modules,
they pass the course. The course grade is the
average of the grade in each of the three
successfully completed modules.
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Modular Delivery Format for Precalculus II
• Students can attempt each module three times. When
they fail a particular module for the third time,
they fail the course.
• The last module is also offered in a “minimester” after
the regular semester.
• Students who do not complete the course in one
semester, must register for the course again next
semester to complete the remaining module(s).
They are assigned an “in-progress” grade (P) for
the past semester.
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Modular Delivery Format for Precalculus
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Grade Distribution
(Spring 2008, n=578)
A 4%
B 19%
P 42%
C 19%
W 9%
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F 7%
Theory of Validation I
Laura Rendón’ s Theory of Validation is based
on her own experience as a college student and
her extensive work with minority students at
community colleges and universities.
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Theory of Validation II
Validation, shown through encouragement and affirmation, can be the
factor that determines success or failure, particularly for on-traditional
Students. Laura Rendón* defines validation as “an enabling,
confirming, and supportive process initiated by in- and out-of-class
agents that fosters academic and interpersonal development” .
Academic validation results when Faculty and Staff reach out to
Students in ways that help individuals “trust their innate capacity to
learn and to acquire confidence in being a college student”.
Adapted from UTEP’s Quality Enhancement Plan
* Rendón, L. I. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students:
Toward a new model of learning and student development.
Innovative Higher Education. 19 (1), 33-51.
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Peer-Led Team Learning at UTEP
• Supported
by an NSF-STEP Grant* and a MSEIP
Grant from the Department of Education**
• Used in all introductory Chemistry, Physics and
Mathematics classes
• Delivery format in Precalculus since Fall 2008
changed to four hours of lecture and two
hours of PLTL sessions per week
• PLTL sessions (3 sessions per course, 15-17
students per session) led by an advanced
undergraduate student
* PI: Benjamin Flores, Co-PIs: James Becvar, Helmut Knaust, Jorge Lopez, and Josefina Tinajero
** PI: Emil Schwab, Co-PIs: Nancy Marcus, Helmut Knaust
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PLTL Principles
• PLTL leaders have successfully completed the course.
• PLTL leaders work closely with the instructor of the course.
• PLTL leaders are trained and supervised before and during
the semester.
• The PLTL sessions are integral
to the course, cover
challenging problems,
strive to develop student
thinking and encourage
active student learning.
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All Questions Answered,
All Answers Questioned*
* Borrowed from Donald Knuth
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Contacts
Helmut Knaust
Emil Schwab
[email protected]
[email protected]
Department of Mathematical Sciences
The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso TX 79968-0514
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