BC: Chapter 3 The Implementation Standards of Beyond Crossroads

The Implementation Standards of Beyond Crossroads

Beyond Crossroads extends the three sets of standards from Crossroads in Mathematics with an additional set of standards called Implementation Standards. The content of each of the following chapters focuses on one implementation standard as outlined:

Each section within a chapter presents research and rationale, expectations of students, recommendations, and action items for faculty, departments, and institutions for a particular issue in mathematics education in the first two years of college. The following Implementation Standards are guidelines for faculty, departments, and institutions for improving mathematics education in the first two years of college for all students—those underprepared in mathematics, as well as those ready to enter, or bypass, beginning calculus.

The Implementation Cycle of Beyond Crossroads

As a complement to the Implementation Standards, the following six-step Implementation Cycle is present- ed as a model for making change and improvements in a component of mathematics education.

Mathematics professionals who find implementing standards somewhat overwhelming may find that the cycle provides a step-by-step process for continuous improvement. Embracing change with this model may be more comfortable in small, manageable steps. This cycle can be adapted to any standard, program, course, activity or process—from designing the optimal classroom, assessing student learning, designing curricula, choosing an instructional strategy, to hiring a new faculty member. Like Polya’s problem-solving method and other improvement models, the steps of the model remain constant, with the specific activities within each step dictated by the particular situation being implemented, evaluated, and improved.

Inherent in the implementation cycle is assessment. Evaluative data is collected, analyzed, and used to refine goals and objectives. Then the cycle begins again. This feedback loop—implementing changes, refining goals, and beginning the cycle again—is perhaps the most important, and too often neglected, phase of the change cycle. What has been learned from implementation and assessment must be used to improve the activity the next time. The dynamic feedback loop should never end.

• Define and build consensus on goals and objectives of the activity or process to be implemented. Gather input from all stakeholders and advisory groups. Be sure to consider the current situation and specific
• Design (or obtain) the materials needed to implement the activity. Develop the assessment tools and instruments to measure the achievement of goals and objectives. Identify and obtain needed equipment. Hire and train personnel.
• Implement the activity or process. Use the measurement tools to collect data.
• Analyze and evaluate the collected data.
• Identify gaps and determine what changes are needed. Investigate the degree to which desired goals and objectives are achieved. Determine the strengths and weaknesses of each component of the activity.
• Document results and use them to outline revisions in the activity or process. Agree on changes in the activities or measurement tools to meet desired goals when the activity is offered again.

Revisit step 1. Refine goals and objectives of the activity or process. Request input from stakeholders regarding revisions in the activity and proceed through the cycle again. Implementing changes and beginning the cycle again, is perhaps the most important phase of the change cycle.

Periodic reviews and input from all stakeholders assure that curriculum and instruction are dynamic and the ever-changing needs of all students are addressed. To assess progress when using the Implementation Cycle, the following questions may be helpful.

• • • • • What changes are necessary to close the gaps between desired and actual outcomes?

Implementing the Vision

Thoughtful implementation of the principles and standards presented in Beyond Crossroads is an ongoing process. The cooperative engagement of the principles, the Intellectual Development, Content, and Pedagogy Standards, and the Implementation Standards is synergistic. Implementing a group of standards in concert has a greater effect on the improvement of student learning and the professionalism of faculty than any single standard implemented in isolation. Beyond Crossroads presents research about the learning and teaching of mathematics and guidance on how to implement new strategies and argues for an action-oriented vision. The standards-based mathematics education addressed in this document is intended to guide professionals in their decision-making and provide a forum for dialogue on how to design strategies to meet the challenges of improving student learning in mathematics. The goal is to empower faculty to strengthen the learning and teaching of mathematics by creating changes based on informed decision-making and goals and objectives defined with input from all stakeholders. The following chapters address that implementation process.