Redesign: Not an Either/Or Situation

NOTE: This post comes from Kathy Almy, who has worked on the New Life project, and is very involved with the profession.

There are two emerging approaches in developmental math redesign:  the emporium model and non-STEM pathways like Quantway and Statway.  These approaches are very different in their makeup so it seems that schools have to make a choice.  That doesn’t have to be the case.  Both can live together in one department and actually, that model may serve students and faculty better.

The emporium model uses online software to help students fill gaps in their understanding.  It can work for a student who needs a brush-up on skills.  It also works well for the student who plans to take college algebra or precalculus but doesn’t quite place into those courses.  For the student who is motivated and just shy of where they need to be on the college track, it can shorten the time for completing developmental coursework.  But what about the student that places into beginning algebra or below and has many more issues than just filling skill gaps? 

For these students the New Life course Mathematical Literacy for College Students (also in the Carnegie Quantway path), can be a less time-consuming model and one that serves them well.  MLCS works extremely well for the student whose college level math class will be statistics or general education math.  In one semester, students gain the mathematical maturity and college readiness they need to be successful in one or both of these college level courses.  The course integrates algebra with numeracy, functions, proportional reasoning, geometry, and statistics.  It does so using an integrated approach, touching each of these 6 topics in each unit.

How can using both approaches serve students and faculty?  The reality is that most new initiatives bring controversy and potentially resistance.  These two redesign models are no exception.  Faculty often feel very strongly, pro or con, about one or both of them.  Because of that, using one model across the board at a school may bring more challenges.  Using a variety of models helps faculty and students work and learn in ways that make sense for them.  People feel respected in terms of how they work and what they need in their future.  That’s an important facet of a successful redesign.  Because when redesign is imposed instead of invited, the effects will be short-lived and potentially less than they could have been.

Ultimately, both approaches have the same goal:  change the current one-size-fits-all mindset of developmental math to serve students better.  How we go about doing that need not be one size either.

Kathleen Almy is a math professor at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL.  She has worked with more than 30 colleges nationwide to assist with their developmental math redesigns.  She is also implementing a pilot of the MLCS course in fall 2011.   For more information, see her blog at almydoesmath.blogspot.com

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