University of Central Florida
Course Title: College Algebra
Contact: Tammy Muhs
The University of Central Florida plans to redesign College Algebra, the course with the highest enrollment in the department, with an annual enrollment of more than 4100 students. The course is currently taught in three modes: large lecture sections (~384 students); independent sections (~49 students); and reduced seat-time sections (21 students). The large lecture and independent sections meet three hours per week with an additional recitation hour for students in the large lectures. The reduced seat-time sections meet one hour per week with the rest of the instruction taking place online. While the reduced seat-time sections have a lower cost-per-student, they also have a withdrawal rate more than double the large lecture and independent sections.
In fall 2006 the whole course suffered a 35% DFW rate. The student population taking College Algebra is very diverse in academic goals, background, schedules and the abilities they bring to the course. During a fall 2007 partial redesign, some of the NCAT redesign principles were utilized which resulted in improvements in some areas of the course. Specifically, the issue of course drift was successfully addressed by using a coordinated effort across multiple sections of the course. UCF now wants to conduct a whole-course redesign to address the low rate of student success and to serve a large student population with decreased funds and available instructional personnel.
UCF will redesign College Algebra using the Emporium Model. Students will be required to spend a minimum of three hours each week in a computer lab working with MyMathLab software. The software provides videos, worked examples, quizzes and practice tests with automated feedback, homework assignments and tests. The lab will be staffed with graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), undergraduate teaching assistants (UGAs) and peer tutors, who will provide on-demand, individualized assistance. One face-to-face meeting each week conducted by the course coordinator will focus on areas of difficulty encountered by the students during the previous week, highlight the concepts to be introduced in the upcoming week, and address any technical difficulties students may be having.
The redesigned course will create a student-centered learning environment, making students active and engaged learners. Students will have the flexibility to choose when to access course materials in their three lab hours and which of the available instructional opportunities to utilize based on their individual study plans. This flexibility will accommodate individual learning styles, abilities, and scheduling needs. Immediate, automated feedback will identify problem areas that need further work. Student progress will be monitored to both encourage students and provide individual assistance when necessary. Individual assistance and tutoring will also be available in the computer lab when students are working on their assignments.
The impact of the redesign on student learning outcomes will be assessed by comparing scores on common final examinations from the fall 2006 traditional sections with the fall 2008 redesigned sections.
The instructional cost of College Algebra will be reduced by decreasing the annual number of sections from 65 to 13, increasing section size from 21 (36 sections), 49 (22 sections) and 384 (7 sections) to sections of 300 to 384 students each. The five tenured faculty, four adjunct faculty and ten GTAs currently teaching the course will no longer be needed. The non-tenured faculty will decrease from six to three (one course coordinator each semester). The number of GTAs will increase from 12 to 14, and 18 undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) will be added to work in the lab. These actions will reduce the cost-per-student from $77 to $44, a 37% reduction. The savings will be used by the department to offer additional math courses and to provide training and professional development. GTAs will be reassigned to other courses in the department, reducing the need to hire adjunct instructors. The reduction in hours for the GTAs involved in the course will provide additional time to engage in research and other academic work. Finally, both the department and the university will benefit by increasing the availability of much needed classroom space for other courses.
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