About Dev Math Revival

About Dev Math Revival … and why we are here (for student success, of course!)

The current status of the profession is “discouraged” (or even “desperate”).

There are sound reasons for this status; the most visible reasons deal with outcomes, with much data showing that (as a profession) developmental mathematics is not enabling students to achieve their goals. Less obvious are the root causes for the current problem.

We believe that developmental mathematics has never designed a curriculum based on the needs of the students it serves. For the most part, the curriculum involved is an historical artifact … when colleges & universities designed “remedial” math, they covered material thought to be normal for high school mathematics. This is a deficit oriented design, and is a very weak approach to curriculum construction.

At the same time, much effort has been expended by professional organizations in two domains: First, what mathematics is needed in college (various disciplines); Second, what are the professional standards for college mathematics in the first two years.

This site is dedicated to bringing a new vitality to our profession by focusing on our goals … which are extremely important in our world, and not just for our students. We help you find solutions and information to help you develop a curriculum that will work for your students. Collaboration and communication are the fundamental methods of change.

We seek to increase student success — fewer developmental courses, fewer enrollments in developmental courses, and higher rates of success (all without losing mathematical rigor or preparation). The discouraging sequence (discouraging to our students) of basic math and/or pre-algebra, beginning algebra, and intermediate algebra can be replaced by a strong curricular design which meets students’ mathematical needs as effeiciently as possible — with a focus on important mathematics from the start.

We believe that the process of bringing this new vitality depends upon the involvement of everybody in our profession — some more active than others. If you have a contribution (or even a question), post a comment.

We hope you enjoy the site, and find the information helpful.
Join Dev Math Revival on Facebook:

*Most of this site is created by Jack Rotman; other professionals have contributed in significantly to the work cited on these pages.*

Jack Rotman (MA, Michigan State 1974) has been at Lansing Community College (MI) since 1973, specializing in developmental mathematics. Jack chaired the Developmental Mathematics Committee of AMATYC twice … from 1993 to 1997, and from 2005 to 2010. He was a reviewer for the original Crossroads standards (1995), and a contributing writer for the Beyond Crossroads document (2006). Since 2009, Jack has led the AMATYC “New Life Project” for developmental mathematics, a project that includes over 60 professionals in a national effort to develop a new model for developmental mathematics. Jack, along with Julie Phelps (Valencia CC, FL), served as an AMATYC Liaison to the Carnegie Foundation’s pathways work.
  <<==  Jack … circa 1979

| datetime March 16, 2011 2:51 pm

6 Comments

  • By Joanne Jacobs, April 1, 2011 @ 11:53 pm

    “We” is who? You’ve posted a photo without a name or bio.

  • By Jack Rotman, April 2, 2011 @ 1:18 am

    Thanks for the comment; I posted my name with the photo. A bio is a larger project, and will come later.

  • By Herb Gross, December 3, 2014 @ 9:09 am

    Because of my advanced age (85) and previous commitments (developing my own website) I do not have the time to participate as a regular member of this conversation. However I do want to make one comment that is indicative of students who understand the “hoe” but do not know the “why”. How often have we heard students say (and, often quite proudly) “I could do everything except the word problems!”. Sadly in the “textbook of life”, there are only word problems! Thus what the student is actually saying is “I learned everything in the course that is, the “how”) except the part that was important (that is, the “why”)!”

    Feel free to write ot me at hgross3@comcast.net and to make free use of anything on my website (www.mathasasecondlanguage.com)

  • By Jack Rotman, December 4, 2014 @ 7:04 pm

    Thanks for the generous offer, Herb. Much appreciated.

  • By Anuj Agarwal, August 26, 2016 @ 5:35 am

    Hi Jack,

    My name is Anuj Agarwal. I’m Founder of Feedspot.

    I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Developmental Mathematics Revival! has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Math Blogs on the web.

    http://blog.feedspot.com/math_blogs/

    I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Math Blog on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!

    Also, you have the honor of displaying the following badge on your blog. Use the below code to display this badge proudly on your blog.

    ​

    Best,
    Anuj

  • By Jack Rotman, September 2, 2016 @ 9:32 am

    Thanks!

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