Algebra Instruction at Community Colleges: An Exploration of its Relationship with Student Success

社区学院为大部分需要数学的本科生提供服务，并在STEM劳动力发展中发挥越来越大的作用。美国越来越关注社区学院在本科教育中的作用。该提案旨在调查在何种条件下，社区大学代数课程的教学可以与学生的学习成果和课程表现相关联。这些信息可以用来设计程序来改善教学，并支持学生在代数方面取得成功。这项研究涉及来自三个州的六所社区学院，重点关注三个关键的代数主题：线性方程、有理方程和指数方程。研究结果也将应用于其他高等教育机构的数学课程。本项目由美国国家科学基金会EHR核心研究（ECR）项目支持。ECR项目强调在该领域产生基础知识的基础STEM教育研究。该项目将在一个模型中连接课堂的两个层次（学生和教师），该模型检查两个群体的个人特征（例如，性别、种族、教育背景、学生的数学知识和对数学的信念）和课堂互动的各个方面（例如，数学质量、教学质量）。这些机构代表了城市，郊区和农村社区，一系列机构规模，以及美国的三个不同地区。提出了一个模型，用于检查这些相关变量，以检查存在哪些关系。定量和定性数据将在多个项目阶段的混合方法设计中收集。第一阶段将包括试点测试项目的一些仪器和测试模型。后期阶段包括跨机构的数据收集和分析。数据收集包括学生水平和教师水平的措施。对于学生而言，该项目将考察数学表现、数学信念和对课堂环境的看法。对于教师来说，这个项目将检验他们的知识、信念和态度。将收集所有参与者的人口统计信息。除了定量测量外，课堂观察和视频分析将用于记录教学的性质。

Community colleges serve a large portion of students who require mathematics at the undergraduate level and play an increasing role in STEM workforce development. There is a growing national interest in the role of community colleges for undergraduate education. The proposal seeks to investigate the conditions under which instruction in community college algebra courses can be associated with student learning gains and course performance. This information can be used to design programs to improve instruction and to support student success in algebra. The study involves six community colleges from three states and focuses on three key algebra topics: linear equations, rational equations, and exponential equations. The results will also have applications for mathematics courses at other institutions of higher education. This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. The project will connect both levels of the classroom (students and instructors) in a model that examines personal characteristics of both groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, educational background, student mathematics knowledge, and beliefs about mathematics) and aspects of classroom interaction (e.g., quality of mathematics, quality of instruction). The institutions represent urban, suburban, and rural communities, a range of institution sizes, and three different regions of the United States. A model is proposed for examining these related variables to examine what relationships exist. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected in a mixed methods design in multiple project phases. The first phase will include pilot testing some of the instruments for the project and testing the models. Later phases include data collection and analysis across the institutions. Data collection includes student-level and instructor-level measures. For students, the project will examine measures of mathematics performance, mathematics beliefs, and perceptions of the classroom environment. For instructors, the project will examine knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes. Demographic information will be collected for all participants. In addition to the quantitative measures, classroom observations and video analysis will be used to document the nature of instruction.