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Contemporary College Algebra Course

Abstract

Research indicates that the issue of how to teach College Algebra has been a focal point of discussion in literature, conferences, and debates. At our institution of higher learning, traditional teaching methods in which the instructor delivers information from the textbook and solves problems on the board for College Algebra courses have been primarily used as a mode of instruction for the past few decades. The university has experienced high FWD (Fail- Withdrawal-D) grade rates due to high school preparation, lack of reflection of students’ needs and change of student attitude. In order to remedy the problem of high FWD rates, many colleges and universities have endeavored to suggest, develop, adopt, and apply new College Algebra programs considering their own environments. Some colleges and universities take advantage of modern computer technology software such as MATLAB, MATHEMETICA, and MAPLE. Yet, some colleges and universities find solutions from previous successful methodologies. In order to remedy high FWD grade rates in College Algebra, the university has been trying to partially reconstruct the college algebra course by joining the national HBCU College Algebra Reform Project since the spring semester of 2007. Unlike the traditional instructional method of focusing on the development of algebra skills, the new program adopts the method of student learning by inner group discussion as its primary learning methodology and emphasizes integration of real- world problems and mutual activity for better understanding of the principles of mathematics. The aim of this article is to introduce the contemporary College Algebra course and to present the interim assessment by analyzing effects of the program in the aspect of how well those who completed the new program perform in successive mathematics courses. In particular, the present study addresses the non-STEM and STEM majors’ challenges and their competitiveness in Pre- calculus. By analyzing the results of this study, it provides strong evidence that the student passing rate of College Algebra increased between 5%-10%. Also, the data proves that, on average, post-program grades are greater than pre-program grades. Furthermore, the study indicates that the contemporary college algebra course is not as sufficient as a prerequisite course for Pre-Calculus for both STEM and Non-STEM majors.

Introduction

The issue of how to teach College Algebra has been a major focal point of discussion in much of literature, conferences, and debates. At our institution of higher education, the traditional teaching method for the college algebra course in which the instructor delivers information from the textbook and solves problems on the board has been primarily used as the mode of instruction for the past few decades. However, various problems including students’ insufficient high school preparation, outdated curriculums, lack of reflection of students’ needs, change of students’ attitude, and etc. have led school to confront these problems seriously because the

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Oh, H., & Yousuf, A., & Kim, S. (2010, June), Contemporary College Algebra Course Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16123