Guadagni, G., & Ma, H. (2022, August), A sustainable model to structurally improve outcomes in Math courses for Engineering students.  Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40857

\bibitem{asee_peer_40857}
  Guadagni, G., \& Ma, H. (2022, August), \emph{A sustainable model to structurally improve outcomes in Math courses for Engineering students.}
  Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Minneapolis, MN.
  10.18260/1-2--40857

Gianluca Guadagni and Hui Ma.  "A sustainable model to structurally improve outcomes in Math courses for Engineering students.".  2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN, 2022, August.  ASEE Conferences, 2022.  https://peer.asee.org/40857 Internet.  14 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_40857}
  Gianluca Guadagni and Hui Ma.
  "A sustainable model to structurally improve outcomes in Math courses for Engineering students.".
  \emph{2022 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Minneapolis, MN, 2022, August}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2022.
  https://peer.asee.org/40857 Internet.  14 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_40857
author = "Gianluca Guadagni and Hui Ma"
title = "A sustainable model to structurally improve outcomes in Math courses for Engineering students."
booktitle = "2022 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2022"
month = "August"
address = "Minneapolis, MN"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://peer.asee.org/40857}
number = {10.18260/1-2--40857}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - In the past 6 years we have created, developed, and implemented an educational course structure specifically targeted to Math courses for the Engineering School at the University of Virginia. 

This model is based on the presence of undergraduate teaching assistants (TA) in our classrooms, and their interaction with students as they work on small group assignments during lecture time (near peer teaching).  
We support our undergraduate TAs with a specific training course which has been developed over the past years by post-docs and faculty.  

Some immediate evidences of improvement are 1) DFW rates, and 2) A vs B grades ratio. Over the years, we have seen DFW rates steadily cut by half, and, similarly, A grade rates grow to overcome B’s. 

As these numerical values are exciting and well received by the administration, we want to describe more structured consequences, sometimes harder to quantify, that such transformation has generated in our TAs and students. For instance, we received feedback of more confidence in “talking” about mathematics, in group interaction, and in helping students to connect in class.
  
We believe this model has also the potential be easily adapted to other schools, and even to grow.  Among future expansions, we see that it could be an opportunity for our TAs to “explore” a career in teaching, or, since the model may involve graduate students, for Graduate TAs to practice direct teaching [at our Eng School Graduate students do not get training in teaching], and hopefully to get an edge in the job market by showing evidence of teaching practice.

We understand how hard it may be to implement a new course model, or even to get the model accepted or approved by the administration.  Our wish is to provide a clear presentation of all the steps we went through over the years to reach a sustainable model that is now fully, and successfully, integrated in our courses structure. We hope to help other Schools to assess the cost-benefit analysis of this model and, if needed, provide our support for similar initiatives or implementations.

AU  - Gianluca Guadagni
AU  - Hui Ma
CY  - Minneapolis, MN
DA  - 2022/08/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A sustainable model to structurally improve outcomes in Math courses for Engineering students.
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/40857
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--40857
ER  -