Re: [MATHEDCC] Retention of students in Algebra
Sandy Spears (SSPEA1@UKCC.UKY.EDU)
Thu, 10 Apr 97 20:19:45 EDT
Karen, It's so nice to hear of someone else having these major retention prob
lems at the Beginning and Intermediate Algebra levels. We are having the same.
Sometimes only 20-25% of those who begin the course finish it and that's with
good teachers! It seems like the last 3-5 years it has really dropped dramatic
ally. We have no great solutions. We are experimenting with Intermediate meetin
g an extra 2 hours a week in a laboratory setting with more challenging problem
s to work on and 5 day a week classes with a lot of collaborative learning and
some classes using the TI-82/TI-83 heavily with CBL stuff and an increased func
tions approach. Each of these seems to help some - probably the first case with
the 2 hour lab more than the others. But there's still a lot of students being
lost. Motivation and ability to retain anything longer than 2 days is almost
non-existent. I'd love to hear from others who are having the same problem.
Sandy Spears
Jefferson Community College
sspea1@pop.uky.edu
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