Promoting Mathematical Reasoning and Transforming Instruction in College Algebra

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This project aims to serve the national interest by transforming instructional practices in college algebra to improve students’ mathematical reasoning. This project will establish a partnership between the University of Colorado Denver and three Hispanic serving institutions: Metropolitan State University of Denver, Santa Fe Community College, and Texas State University. The project's institutional partners have a range of size and focus, and serve large populations of students of color and first-generation-in-college students. The project aims to address a significant problem in U.S. undergraduate mathematics education: the overemphasis on finding the right answer. Specifically, it intends to decrease the emphasis on answer finding, and increase the emphasis on mathematical reasoning in high enrollment lower division mathematics courses. The project will accomplish these goals by developing and refining “Techtivities” for college algebra students. Techtivities are free, interactive, online problems based on video scenarios, such as the movement of a Ferris wheel. They engage students in creating multiple graphs to represent numerical relationships between objects in the scenario. In addition to creating more Techtivities and embedding them in more courses, the project intends help instructors use them effectively. It will do so by developing an instructor professional development program and instructor Communities of Transformation. The project will complete a research study on the effectiveness of these activities in increasing mathematical reasoning in college algebra courses. By transforming instructional practices in gatekeeper introductory college math courses, the project may increase student persistence in STEM majors and help the U.S. prepare an increasingly diverse population for STEM professions. This project will develop and implement a new, potentially transformative approach to institutional change called DEEP, which includes four interconnected elements: Develop innovative digital tasks (Techtivities) that foster covariational reasoning; Embed tasks within existing courses, connecting to key content; Extend opportunities to instructors to examine how they determine which student voices get counted or marginalized; and Provide support for instructors to implement tasks that promote students’ reasoning. At the institutional level, the project will provide support for instructors to implement tasks to promote students’ reasoning and create Communities of Transformation to sustain evidence-based practices across institutions. The project includes a research project designed to draw connections between instructional practices, instructor beliefs, and students’ covariational reasoning, math attitudes, and course success. It will include graduate research assistants in all aspects of the project to contribute to the societal need of developing novice STEM researchers. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.