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Eric.ed.gov – What We Know about Developmental Education Outcomes. Research Overview

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Many recent high school graduates who enter community college are required to take remedial or developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level courses. Developmental courses essentially reteach high school- and junior high school-level content in reading, writing, and math. In some cases, students are referred to two or even three courses of developmental education in a single subject area. The annual cost of providing remediation to community college students nationwide has been estimated at approximately $7 billion. Only 28 percent of community college students who take a developmental education course go on to earn a degree within eight years, and many students assigned to developmental courses drop out before completing their sequence and enrolling in college-level courses. A number of rigorous studies have been undertaken to assess… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Acceleration and Compression in Developmental Mathematics: Faculty Viewpoints

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Community colleges are facing increased pressure to accelerate students through their developmental mathematics sequence. However, many individuals feel that some state legislatures and college leaders are frequently bypassing developmental math faculty expertise when implementing acceleration and compression initiatives. This qualitative study focuses on faculty viewpoints with regard to acceleration and compression in developmental math. Guiding this study was the research question: Based on faculty experience, what is the best fit for the practices of acceleration and compression in developmental mathematics? Data has been gathered using a structured interview format for six developmental math instructors, two at each of three community colleges. Findings from this study suggested that the practices of acceleration and compression are a proper fit for students who are comfortable with computer software. Incoming skill… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Early Momentum Metrics: Why They Matter for Higher Education Reform. CCRC Research Brief. Number 65

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this brief, the authors propose three measures of “early momentum” for two reasons: Research is beginning to show that these near-term metrics predict long-term success, and the metrics focus attention on initial conditions at colleges that are particularly important for solidifying the foundation for student success. While these measures are valuable individually, as a group they give a better picture of the impact of reforms on students, and thus are more valuable if used together. These measures include: (1) Credit momentum–defined as attempting at least 15 semester credits in the first term or at least 30 semester credits in the first academic year; (2) Gateway momentum–defined as taking and passing “pathway-appropriate” college-level math and college-level English in the first academic year; and (3) Program momentum–defined as… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teacher Education in Illinois Public Community Colleges.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 1990, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) conducted a study to determine ways in which the community college system could increase its participation in the preparation of elementary and secondary teachers. Drawing information from ICCB course files and unit cost data, as well as a survey of the colleges, the study investigated the employment outlook for teachers; the number of community college students planning to major in teacher education; courses available in teacher education at the colleges; the number of credit hours generated in teacher education courses; methods used to promote teacher education; and articulation agreements between community colleges and four-year institutions. Study findings included the following: (1) statewide employment outlook data anticipate teacher shortages in math, science, special education, and bilingual education through the year… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Math Is in the Eye of the Beholder.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: A researcher surveyed 161 students in adult education math classes at four community colleges in Illinois and 13 adult education math teachers. Both groups were asked to complete the survey from the viewpoint of a student. The respondents were asked what should math classes teach; what kind of problems they most enjoy working on in class; whether they prefer working on their own in a good workbook with teacher help, working with a partner or small group, or working as a whole class; whether they think it is more productive to do workbook word problems, seek solutions to math problems in students’ lives, or practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; would they rather listen to the teacher’s explanation, practice by solving games and puzzles, watch an example… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Adoption of Open Educational Resources by One Community College Math Department

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on one community college’s adoption of a collection of open resources across five different mathematics classes. During the 2012 fall semester, 2,043 students in five different courses used these open access resources. We present a comparison between the previous two years in terms of the number of students who withdrew from the courses and the number that completed the courses with a C grade or better. Our analysis suggests that while there was likely no change in these educational outcomes, students who have access to open access materials collectively… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Why Students Do Not Prepare for Math Placement Exams: Student Perspectives. CCRC Research Brief. Number 57

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Drawn from surveys completed by 122 students enrolled in developmental math at four community colleges and from seven student focus groups with a total of 34 developmental math students at those same colleges, this research brief illuminates student experiences with and perspectives on the math assessment and placement process. Findings suggest that many students who go on to enroll in developmental math are unlikely to prepare for the math placement exam, although most students know ahead of time that they are required to take the exam and many colleges make test preparation materials available. Lack of preparation may undermine students’ exam performance and negatively affect the accuracy of their placement. We identify four interconnected reasons why students tend to not prepare for the exam: (1) misperceptions about… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – At Their Own Pace: Interim Findings from an Evaluation of a Computer-Assisted, Modular Approach to Developmental Math

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Community colleges nationwide are looking for solutions to help students complete developmental (remedial) math–a known barrier to graduation. Some are offering computer-assisted, modular developmental math courses that allow students to earn credits incrementally and move through the curriculum at their own pace. One of these modularized courses, ModMath, was created at Tarrant County College (TCC) near Fort Worth, Texas. It reorganizes the content of TCC’s two semester-long developmental math courses into a set of six modules, each of which is five weeks long. The four primary components of the ModMath intervention are: a diagnostic assessment that places students in a starting module; individual registration into three modules per course section each semester; computer-based instruction delivered online through an instructional software program; and personalized, on-demand assistance in class… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effective Teacher Fellowship: Comparative Analysis of Alternative Certification Programs and Student Reading and Math Achievement, 2014-2015. Research Educational Program Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This evaluation report on the Effective Teacher Fellowship (ETF) alternative certification program (ACP). This program evaluation compared the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) and Stanford 10 test performance of student samples whose teachers participated in four types of ACPs during the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years (ETF, university/community college, education service center, and private entity). The analyses of reading and mathematics achievement revealed mixed results, depending on the test and student grade level. However, among the most notable findings: (1) The 2012-2013 ETF ACP cohort outperformed students of teachers in comparison ACP cohorts as well as all Houston Independent School District (HISD) students on the 2013 STAAR 3-8 math tests (Level II phase-in I, percent met Satisfactory standards), while the university/community college ACP cohort… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Strengthening the Math-Related Teaching Practices of the Early Care and Education Workforce: Insights from Experts. Policy Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: As a growing body of evidence links school success and early mathematical experiences, there is increasing interest in offering young children opportunities to bridge their informal understanding of mathematics with more formal concepts and processes. At the same time, many teachers and caregivers in the early care and education (ECE) field may not be adequately equipped to provide appropriate math-related experiences and instruction to young children age birth through five. The aim of this project, Strengthening the Math-Related Teaching Practices of the Early Care and Education Workforce, has been to identify promising practices and strategies for enhancing the ability of ECE practitioners to promote children’s mathematical understanding and competence. This paper summarizes the perspectives of nationally recognized experts in the field of mathematics and early care and… Continue Reading