meredith denton-hedrick adjunct associate professor of geology austin community college
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Improving the Quantitative Skills of Introductory
Geology Students at a Large Urban Community College
Meredith Denton-HedrickAdjunct Associate Professor of Geology
Austin Community College
The Math You Need, When You Need ItMath Tutorials for Students in Introductory Geosciences
Dr. Eric Baer, Highline Community College [email protected]
Dr. Jennifer M. Wenner, University of [email protected]
Funding provided by NSF Grant Numbers DUE-633755 and DUE-633402 (Dec 2006-Dec 2009)
Sponsored by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Typical ACC Geology StudentNon-science majorNeeds to satisfy a degree requirement for
a laboratory science class“Math-phobic” or long out of practice Believes geology is not a quantitative
scienceExpects “geology will be easy” compared
to other sciences
Often intimidated and uncomfortable in an environment they expected to be math-free
What is TMYN?Quantitative tutorials for math remediation
Web-based, stand-alone moduleshttp://serc.carleton.edu/mathyouneed/index.html
Uses plain English
Presented in a geoscience context
You choose the modules that fit your course
Gives students math skills just before they will use them in a concurrent geoscience course
Why Use TMYN?Skirts prerequisite issue
Less time spent in class/lab reviewing quantitative topics
Accommodates wide range of math abilities in the classroom
Less instructor “hand-holding”
Why Use TMYN?Data shows that the tutorials are effective
Improved students across the board, not just developmental-level students
Students feel their needs are being supported
Improves student success and confidence
Student retention increases
Available TutorialsCalculating densityGraphingUnit conversionsRearranging equationsCalculating ratesSlopes and topographic mapsCalculating distances and angles with
trigonometryUnderstanding hypsometric curves
Module Design
1. Introduce the concept and present an algorithm for solving problems
2. Provide a set of practice problems with worked answers
3. Students demonstrate mastery with an online quiz
Module Design - IntroductionGive geologic context
Walk students through likely previous experience with the mathematical conceptMiles per hour, miles per gallon
Give students steps to approach similar problems
Provide resources to further explore the concept
Module Design – PracticeGive students practice with real problems
Practice the mechanics of the math Understand how the math applies to your class
Students work at their own pace
Provide worked answers to the problemsAnswers are hidden until they are ready to see
them
Give students confidence in their ability to do the math
Module Design - QuizOptional
Quizzes housed at WAMAP.orgWashington Mathematics Assessment and PlacementOpen-source CMS for mathematical problem solvingContact Eric or Jen for access and instructions
Quizzes designed by youChoose existing questions from libraryEdit existing questionsWrite new questions
Module Design - QuizInstructors can test:
Knowledge (allow students only one try)
Mastery (allow students to take quizzes multiple times)
Students can work through quiz at their own pace or can be timed
Software grades quiz, dumps data into gradebook
Eric and Jen would like to see your pre- and post-test data, but not required
Ways to Use TMYNOptional
for all students
for students who demonstrate poor math skills on a pre-test
Required
for students who demonstrate poor math skills students see this as punitive
for all students as part of lab exercises
for all students as pre-lab exercises
ResultsImproved preparedness for the lab
assignmentsLess direction and assistance required from
instructor
Scores on quantitative laboratory quizzes have increased by an average of 10 points
Assessments show that students retain their math skills for the duration of the class
Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive
ChallengesTechnical glitches (rare)
Students can’t log in to WAMAP.orgSoftware doesn’t recognize “close enough”
answer
Implementation glitchesMaking quizzes optional didn’t work
Students who didn’t need it were the ones who did it
Students who need this the most sometimes just won’t do it
Questions?