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  • 1.  IMPACTful Discussions: Equity in Action: Implications for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction

    Posted 04-02-2025 22:19:00

    If we define equity as everyone getting what they need (which means not everyone gets the same support and resources, see linked illustration below) then what implications does that have for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction?   We are very interested in the research you would like to share.

     

    Reference:

    Definition of Equity versus Equality: https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/



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    Frank Marfai, Ph.D.
    Phoenix College
    MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES
    Mathematics Faculty | Mathematics
    Past President | Arizona Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges
    Chair, Research in Mathematics Education for Two-Year Colleges ANet
    1202 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013
    frank.marfai@phoenixcollege.edu
    https://www.phoenixcollege.edu/
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  • 2.  RE: IMPACTful Discussions: Equity in Action: Implications for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction

    Posted 04-03-2025 11:59:00

    Hi Frank, I think a lot about this idea of everyone getting what they need and how our systems don't live up to that often. Of course, there is a fine balance between students taking responsibility for the work that is necessary for growth and success and institutions and faculty taking responsibility for where we aren't seeing or meeting the needs of the students. I see this balance as best pursued through conversation and dialogue, principally between the faculty member and their students since the faculty member has this privileged position to see and be connected to their students. 

    I don't have research links for you but I thought I would chime in!

    Ben



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    Benjamin Aschenbrenner
    National Louis University
    Chicago IL
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  • 3.  RE: IMPACTful Discussions: Equity in Action: Implications for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction

    Posted 04-07-2025 14:16:00
      |   view attached

    Hi Ben,

    Thank you for sharing your experiences and perspective.  I fully agree that our system aren't designed for equity, and am curious what what actions might we have taken either individually (or as a collective) to address it. 

    For example, one of the practices I have working on over the years to promote equity is finding better ways to incorporate untimed assessments (following one of the best practices for equity in Chapter 7 of the Impact document, see reference below) while ensuring students' work is their own.   So I've moved to capstone projects in some courses through course based undergraduate experience (article illustrating this) attached.  During the multi week process, students get a lot of formative feedback before the final assessment (the capstone presentation and poster) is due.  So in the end each student could succeed, and received the level of support they needed along the way.

    I have incorporated shorter projects in other courses that don't have a capstone yet, so that students have an opportunity to connect what they are learning with the modern world.  For example, in a chapter having to do with basic geometry (areas and volumes), they also learn how to use Tinkercad (free and intuitive to use), which lets them save STL formatted files and then they learn how to print out shapes using the 3d printers we have on campus.  As part of the project, they are asked to create a simple scene with the available models in the software and then estimate the volume of material used in the these printed out objects using their knowledge of the "most similar shapes" from the area/volume formulas they learned about earlier, by making measurements of the dimensions of the objects in the scene.  I have positive feedback from students from such experiences.

    I hope this is helpful to the community, and am I curious to learn more from all of you!

    Frank

    References:

    IMPACT - Chapter 7 Infusing Equity and Inclusion in the Mathematics Classroom - myAMATYC. (2024). Amatyc.org. https://my.amatyc.org/impactlive-home/standards-docs/impact-chapt07-2024

    Marfai, F. S., Cotter, R., Cook, R., Marti-Subirana, A., Ortiz, E. (2024). Enhancing Equity with Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences at the Community College Level, in Morska, Janina & Rogerson, Alan (Eds) New Ways of Teaching and Learning, Proceedings of the Third International Symposium of The Mathematics Education for the Future Project, Aemilia Hotel, Bologna, Aug 6-10, 2024 (pp. 236-242). Münster: WTM. Available at https://doi.org/10.37626/GA9783959872881.0



    ------------------------------
    Frank Marfai, Ph.D.
    Phoenix College
    MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES
    Mathematics Faculty | Mathematics
    Past President | Arizona Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges
    Chair, Research in Mathematics Education for Two-Year Colleges ANet
    1202 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013
    frank.marfai@phoenixcollege.edu
    https://www.phoenixcollege.edu/
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: IMPACTful Discussions: Equity in Action: Implications for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction

    Posted 04-07-2025 22:18:00

    I hear you about projects with plenty of formative feedback. I think we need to move more in the direction of meaningful projects (which can be personalized to really fit what the student cares about) with plenty of support along the way to check the student's thinking and give them guidance and feedback about what they are doing well and what they need to rethink and keep working on. I love the idea of a multi-week process. Thanks for sharing this article!



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    Benjamin Aschenbrenner
    National Louis University
    Chicago IL
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  • 5.  RE: IMPACTful Discussions: Equity in Action: Implications for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction

    Posted 04-08-2025 19:11:00

    Hi Frank, 

    We are struggling with this question at my college.  In California, the state changed the placement law, which opens the pathway to students enrolling in transfer level Math.  The college no longer offers stand alone developmental classes and has recently implemented co-requisite support. My role is the Instructional Specialist for the STEM Success Center, which offers tutoring and a variety of supplemental learning activities for students.  

    I am pro for the change in student enrollment pathways, but I struggle with finding a way to support students who may want to self select a review of concepts and preparation for a transfer level pathway.  Could we reinvent the way that we prepapre students for the professor's expectations in these Math courses while also building confidence in their Math and problem solving skills?



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    Christina Holdiness
    Instructional Specialist
    Chaffey College
    CA
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  • 6.  RE: IMPACTful Discussions: Equity in Action: Implications for developmental mathematics and corequisite instruction

    Posted 04-11-2025 09:57:00
    Edited by Frank Marfai 04-11-2025 10:13:37

    Hi Christina,

    I really feel for you and colleagues in California and other states impacted by this where laws were enacted without input from the math education community.  And the fallout without consideration to students' success as a result of such policy change, for example the attached article by Ran and Lee discusses a 10 year study of how such reforms in one state both were helpful to some groups of students but also harmful to other groups of students in their academic paths in one state.  One solution does not fit all.

    While the community college district (in Arizona) I work at didn't implement changes to the level of California (or similar in policy states) the effects of these policies reverberated throughout the nation.  I will share our experiences.

    Around the end of the 2010's (after 2017) our community college district (consisting of 10 colleges) decided that our community colleges would no longer offer courses termed "developmental" designated by the 0xx prefix anymore. When that universal policy was enacted, each of the community colleges had input on how that policy was enacted but each had variations on implementing that policy.

    Students could start at college level math, whether that is for non-STEM majors (College Math, Mat 14x ) or STEM majors (College Algebra, Mat 15x).  That represented the systemic change at all our colleges.  But nuances around this were implemented.

    At our college, earlier courses in sequence that used to be in the 0xx level were repackaged and streamlined into the 1xx sequence, which students can take separately before enrolling into college level math (non college credit) and would have been termed as prerequisite courses in past. But these are not strictly mandatory.  Students are strongly encouraged to take these courses if they don't think they are ready for the college level course, and interestingly, these courses always fill. We also have as part of the solution where a variation in the course number represents a course with extra time and supports built in. So the Mat 141 represents the regular version of college math (without supports), while the Mat 145 represents the same course with the extra time and supports built into it.  So this, in addition to  the "prerequisite" courses available stated earlier.

    So if students can self select where they start and what they take, and a big portion of students bypass talking to college counselor/adviser before enrolling into math classes, how do we influence students to enroll into courses that are non college credit bearing but what they actually need to be successful, and especially in STEM?

    Partnering with advising, and posted throughout the monitors/screens on campus and posted flyers on the bulletin boards (see flyer, attached), one of our colleagues leading the effort at our campus developed a branched survey with videos and sample problems to help students navigate to selecting the right math course to start with at our college.

    If you or anyone reading this discussion thread would like to try it, the self guided branched survey is at the link here .  It includes videos made by the same colleague at different stages of the survey that also includes links to Self-Study Math MOOCs we developed at our institution (we use a local installation of MyOpenMath for our courses and for the self-study courses).

    In talking to my colleague (and getting permission before sharing this survey with the math ed community at large), she also mentioned the type of supports students are needing shifting across time, with our working hypothesis that these different types of gaps are associated with the year of high school that the student was in during the Covid lockdown when learning the original content of the math course remotely.

    While the solutions we developed at our institution helps in addressing equity gaps, and in particular for students needing developmental math, it isn't perfect. The other thing we do in addition to what was shared earlier is we have the conversation with the class "Are you in the right course?" at the first class meeting, and then help students switch classes on that first week. It is true that some students insist in staying in classes they are ill prepared for.  But others do take the advice, and we are able to help many find the right course they need.  While not perfect, these are the myriad of solutions we had implemented in light of the policy changes.

    Thank you for posting and sharing your experiences.  I hope this helpful to you and the students whom we work with.  I have also included some references from the IMPACT document related to this topic.  I am curious about others' perspectives from the math ed community.

    Frank

    References:

    IMPACT - Chapter 3 Proficiency - myAMATYC. (2016). Amatyc.org. https://my.amatyc.org/impactlive-home/standards-docs/impact-chapt03 

    IMPACT - Chapter 6 Student Success - myAMATYC. (2017). Amatyc.org. https://my.amatyc.org/impactlive-home/standards-docs/impact-chapt06 

    Ran, Florence Xiaotao, and Hojung Lee. (2024). Does Corequisite Remediation Work for Everyone? An Exploration of Heterogeneous Effects and Mechanisms. (EdWorkingPaper: 24 -928). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/h26j-2484


    ------------------------------
    Frank Marfai, Ph.D.
    Phoenix College
    MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGES
    Mathematics Faculty | Mathematics
    Past President | Arizona Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges
    Chair, Research in Mathematics Education for Two-Year Colleges ANet
    1202 W. Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ 85013
    frank.marfai@phoenixcollege.edu
    https://www.phoenixcollege.edu/
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