Our Success — What does it look like?

Perhaps you have been involved with a process which includes classic design principles.  One of the basic design principles basically says “Imagine what success looks like … what it feels like … what it smells like.”  Ideally, this process is done by a group in a relaxed environment; no particular outcome is expected (besides a description).  After this description of what success is (based on perceptual characteristics), the process is designed to lead up to that outcome.

For us in developmental mathematics, what would our description be?  How would we describe success based on what our senses could directly perceive?  Would we even be able to describe success without the use of tests or assessments?

My concern is that we have described our work so much by learning outcomes and by tests (placement tests in particular) that we have very little thoughtful design in our work.  I worry that ‘success’ in developmental mathematics is mostly measured by correct responses to a predictable set of questions.

If developmental mathematics is about ‘getting ready’ for success, then our success imagination should reflect this concept.  Getting ready is not a description that can be used for design — we need to make ‘is ready’ concrete.  Descriptions like “articulate in quantitative issues”, “flexible with basic symbolic procedures”, and “responds positively to novel problem situations” are a start.  What descriptions would you add?

In the emerging models for developmental mathematics (New Life, Pathways, Mathways), some thought has been given to answering this basic question of what success would look like.  However, design is not a universal process; we can not just copy what some smart people have done.  Designing for success is a local process … what does success look like for your students?

I suggest to you that sustainable change in developmental mathematics will only be possible if we apply a deliberate design that considers a larger picture than categories and sets of learning outcomes.  The emerging models provide a necessary component, but not a sufficient one.

I invite you to initiate a ‘design for success’ process at your college.

Join Dev Math Revival on Facebook:

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.