Dr. Paul Nolting's Academic Success Press Blog: A Publication Dedicated to Math Success |
Dr. Paul Nolting's Academic Success Press Blog: A Publication Dedicated to Math Success |
For the foreseeable future, the ASP Blog plans to use Wednesdays to bring attention to various research and field studies published in major developmental learning journals roughly during the past five years. Given that we are running the first of these articles between Part One and Part Two of our interview with Hunter R. Boylan, we thought we'd start by revisiting an important article Boylan published with B.S. Bonham in the Winter 2012 edition of the Journal of Developmental Education.
This article is particularly important, as it shows just how little things have changed in the post-redesign world. Written in 2012, it describes what was then “the current state" of developmental education. It also "discusses major initiatives designed to reform and improve success rates, and identifies research-based teaching practices associated with improved student performance in developmental mathematics courses.” Bonham and Boylan describe in detail how developmental education came to enter the very center of the national debate over higher education, especially with regards to efficacy and budget concerns. Throughout the study, the authors explore the debate over developmental mathematics, chiefly the mainstream contention that developmental math courses often serve as “frightening obstacles” for underprepared students, many of whom have to take and retake these courses, which ultimately lengthens their time in college. According to this argument, many of these students ultimately withdraw from school. While the authors concede that this phenomenon does exist for certain students, they also point out that those students who pass their developmental mathematics course requirements “[are] just as successful in subsequent mathematic courses as those who were not required to take a developmental math course.” The authors go on to contend that successful developmental programs utilize “multiple teaching and learning strategies.” This includes a greater focus on technology, math labs, project-based instruction, academic counseling, and proper placement policies. They also discuss at length the “math redesign model,” which first came into use during this period: chiefly, emporium, online, buffet, replacement, and linked workshops. The most effective of these “redesigns” employ research-based practices built upon “multiple teaching approaches rather than a single method.” As an example, the authors point to programs at Virginia Tech and the University of Alabama, which use technology when appropriate (i.e. for tests, quizzes, homework), but also provide supplemented instruction by small groups of teachers and tutors. “This approach,” they argue, “fosters greater student engagement with the material.” Finally, the authors champion an industry-wide focus on affective characteristics. Research indicates, they say, that affective factors such as low self-efficacy and anxiety “can have a ‘negative and inhibitory impact on learning and performance in mathematics’” (De Corte, Verschaffel, Depaepe, 2008, p.25). This means that developmental educators must employ strategies to “help alleviate mathematics anxiety, build self-confidence, and maximize student learning.” One of these strategies, according to the authors, is to focus on study skills. Citing our own Dr. Paul Nolting’s Winning at Math text, the group explains that helping students develop these skills increases the odds that they will persist through (and not avoid) their math courses. For more, please search for the full article at one of many article aggregators or library websites. Bonham, B.S., Boylan, H.R. “Developmental Mathematics: Challenges, Practices, and Recent Initiatives.” Journal of Developmental Education, Volume 36, Issue 6, Winter 2012.
2 Comments
10/6/2022 06:02:23 am
When you feel the other person's emotions like they're your own, it's easier to understand and relate to them.
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AuthorDr. Nolting is a national expert in assessing math learning problems, developing effective student learning strategies, assessing institutional variables that affect math success and math study skills. He is also an expert in helping students with disabilities and Wounded Warriors become successful in math. He now assists colleges and universities in redesigning their math courses to meet new curriculum requirements. He is the author of two math study skills texts: Winning at Math and My Math Success Plan. Blog HighlightsAmerican Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges presenter, Senior Lecturer-Modular Reader Contributions
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