Completion in Developmental Math

There is always an excitement in the finish line — whether we are talking about a 5K run, a horse race, or a college degree.

We are facing unprecedented pressure to focus on “completion”, especially as it concerns developmental mathematics. Sometimes, this goes beyond pressure … as when we are directed to use a certain ‘solution’ to raise completion rates (and save money as well). Many of us are approaching this ‘completion’ issue as professionals, and we ask many questions. Answers are elusive, and may be impossible in the scientific sense.

Of course, the issue is not just ‘completion’ … rather ‘completion of what’. If we re-package a curriculum into a series of independent modules, we may have a chance of raising the ‘completion’ of the series; however, this improvement is not certain, and depends upon instructional and institutional policies. At the same time, creating independent modules assures that we will not be delivering a coherent course to our students; our students will continue to view mathematics as a random set of procedures used to achieve answers to questions that nobody seems to really care about (besides us).

So, ‘completion of WHAT’ is critical. As mathematicians, we value the concepts of our fields. We value the connections that exist among concepts. We value the recognition of these concepts within multiple problem situations. We value the clear thinking and insights that are signs of mathematical reasoning. For many years, we have been distracted from core values such as these; we (for too long) have delivered a curriculum that seems more based on ‘right answers’ than any meaningful mathematics.

We are at a point in history where there is an opportunity for us to create our change. Rather than allowing a re-packaging of an unsatisfactory product (look! new, improved … now in a smaller package!!), we can look at designing a basic curriculum that reflects our core values. I am not saying that students in developmental mathematics should be pretending to be real mathematicians; however, all of our students can understand some basic concepts … can see connections … recognize different uses of these concepts … and improve their reasoning. This may seem to be a more difficult instructional goal than the old curriculum focusing on procedures. However, I would remind you that the best thinking about cognition emphasizes concepts and connections; retaining details of procedures is more difficult than retaining concepts and connections.

We can improve our completion rates, and improve our curriculum. These goals fit together; looking at one without the other will not lead to a solution nor to progress. We can create change just by doing something — our job as professionals is to create progress based on our core values. One model that reflects our core values is the “New Life” model, and I encourage you to become familiar with that design.

Our ‘completion’ goal is a curriculum serving the needs of our students, resulting in high rates of achievement based on our core values.

Developmental Mathematics Revival!

Bringing a new vitality to college mathematics 2011 to 2019