July Edition - What moves the needle on outcomes?

Hello!

Almy Education supports over 30 colleges in various stages of math redesign. Currently, we serve colleges from Oregon, Kansas, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan. We work with groups of colleges as well as many in a one to one capacity.

I share this because this work provides a wealth of information on redesigns,?what?works,?what?kind of works, and?what?doesn't really do much.

Let's cut to the chase:?What?moves?the?needle?on outcomes?

1. Start with a core team that creates cross campus collaboration.

The redesign has to be seen as a campus initiative, not a math department project, if it's going to have widespread and lasting positive impact. It's never too late to form a team. Include administrators, staff, and faculty to meet regularly. Do more than talk. Start with an agenda and end with a task list and deadline.

2. Go all in. Don't just make course adjustments.

A math redesign seems to imply the first place to look is at math courses. Not true. It's critical to step back and look at the whole picture including admission processes, placement, advising, registration, data, student support, and scheduling in addition to curriculum and instruction.

3. Assume nothing about implementation.

What?we think happens in practice can be very different than?what?is decided in a meeting. Look hard and often at all aspects of your implementation. Placement and advising are classic places where the initial intentions aren't always happening in reality. It's usually not nefarious, but instead a product of real world logistical issues. Don't assume and instead ask questions.

4. Who is really taking College Algebra?

This is a question I ask every college because it turns up so many useful tidbits. This tells how much math pathways are in use and how placement and advising are being used in practice. It also tells about the philosophy of the college. If College Algebra is your default for undecided students, change that ASAP. That one change can have incredible impact.

5. Marry intentionality with flexibility.

Every piece of a redesign has to be thoughtful to work. But if there is no room for individuality or "life" to happen, it will be too rigid to last. The place where this is most important is the corequisite classroom. Many coreq classes are either a full developmental math class in the same semester as a college-level course or it's a glorified recitation/tutoring session. Neither will produce the best outcomes for corequisites. A flexible framework that incorporates all the elements needed for a student's success is not only effective, but practical and far more enjoyable for faculty and students.

Bonus tip: Transparency is key to success.?This is true throughout a college, but it is really important in a math redesign. Change is scary and challenging. There must be transparency in how decisions are made, how the change process is working, and how adjustments will be made if (when) some aspect doesn't work. Cliche but true: change?moves?at the speed of trust. If you're not being transparent, you're creating additional problems that will have to be solved.