U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Grant # P116B060111
Project Title: Combining Technology with Traditional Approaches to Improve Student Outcomes in Introductory Algebra Courses
Principal Investigator: Dr. Jeanne Foley
Co-Investigators: Dr. Eileen Zito, Deborah Kruschwitz-List, Dr. Laura Schmidt
Funding period: October 2006 though September 2009
Funded amount: $450,000
Absract:
Many university mathematics departments struggle with the challenge of preparing entering students for college level mathematics. Success in first-year math courses is a strong predictor of retention into the second year of college, increasing the incentive for postsecondary schools to invest resources in a program demonstrated to impact a large proportion of incoming students. The University of Wisconsin-Stout Math Teaching and Learning Center has served over 1200 students since Fall 2004 using a comprehensive approach combining online work with required daily classroom sessions and a new tutoring service devoted specifically to our introductory algebra courses, achieving a 61% reduction in failure and withdrawal rates in Beginning Algebra and 23% in Intermediate Algebra. We propose to extend and expand the scope of our successes by assessing the long-term project impact on subsequent course outcomes and retention in school, expanding the concept to higher level math courses, adapting the program to a summer pre-college preparatory program, and developing a series of workshops to foster adoption and adaptation of the approach by other universities and colleges.
Information on June 2008 Course Redesign Workshop