Assisting under-prepared students attain the basic skills they need to successfully complete college-level coursework is one of the primary missions of the community college. Research shows, however, that community colleges are failing in this charge (Bahr, 2010; Bailey, Jeong & Cho, 2010). A majority of community college students enroll in developmental courses designed to remediate deficiencies in the foundational subjects of math and English prior to enrolling in a college-level course; however, less than 25% of these students will go on to complete a college-level course within six years of enrollment and the outcomes are even worse for Latino and African-American students (Bahr, 2010).
Research has highlighted three areas of concern with the developmental math sequence associated with lack of student success: the length of the sequence, the content of courses, and the pedagogy used in the courses. At most community colleges, the length of the developmental math sequence is between three to four levels. Research has shown that the more developmental courses students are required to take, the less likely it is that they will ever complete the sequence and transition to a college-level mathematics course (Bailey, et al., 2010). A second area of concern is the curriculum itself. The content of the traditional developmental mathematics sequence retraces the high school curriculum that is largely directed at students who are in the "calculus pipeline" and planning to major in math-intensive fields. Researchers have noted that this algebra-based curriculum does not meet the needs of the vast majority of college students whose majors do not require this type of mathematical background and that students often perceive mathematics as an abstract, rigid field that has little or no application to their daily lives (Briggs, 2004; Sezer, 2010). Finally, the predominant pedagogy used in developmental classes characterized by review, lecture, individual seat-work, and math problems devoid of application to real world has been identified at a contributing factor to lack of student success and persistence (Grubb et al., 2011; Hodara, 2011).
One strategy designed to address the problem of lack of student success in the current developmental math sequence is acceleration. Acceleration replaces the current three to four course developmental sequence with a single "pre-stats" course designed to prepare students for a college-level statistics course. Not only does the accelerated pre-stats course shorten the developmental sequence, it also incorporates a curriculum more aligned with students' educational goals and uses a pedagogical approach that engages students actively with their peers in solving real-world problems.
A recent study on accelerated "pre-stats" courses found that the odds of completing a transfer-level math course were 4.5 times greater for accelerated students than for a control group (Hayward & Willett, 2014). These results held for students across all ethnic backgrounds, with 40% of Latino accelerators completing a transfer-level course versus 15% of Latinos in a comparison group.
There is growing evidence that acceleration is an effective model for improving student outcomes in the developmental math sequence; however, putting good educational ideas into practice on a large scale is a complex practice (Fullan, 2000). There are 112 community colleges in California. Currently only about 21 of them are piloting or institutionalizing pre-stats courses.
The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the personal and institutional factors that promote the adoption of acceleration among community college mathematics faculty. The study also explored the strategies that these faculty use to develop the collaborative relationships with colleagues needed to implement acceleration projects in their local settings.
This qualitative study explored the personal factors that promote the adoption of acceleration among community college mathematics faculty as well as the departmental and institutional relationships that support this adoption. Interviews with nine early adopters of acceleration who participated in the California Acceleration Project revealed diversity in their educational backgrounds and career paths into community college teaching. Of the nine study participants, seven had significant academic study at the undergraduate or graduate levels in fields other than mathematics. All had professional experience outside of community college teaching, including four who had taught at other levels. This diversity may enhance the ability of faculty to view the mathematics curriculum as evolving, enabling them to investigate alternatives to the traditional developmental math curriculum such as acceleration.
In addition to diversity in backgrounds, study participants also demonstrated highly developed pedagogical content knowledge. Specifically participants demonstrated 1) a belief that subject matter is not a static body of knowledge but is constantly evolving and being re-created, 2) a belief in knowing students both as people and as learners, 3) an effort to create a positive learning environment and to use a variety of delivery strategies that focused on connecting students with the subject matter and the real world, and 5) a conscious choice of teaching as a profession and the use the subject matter to enhance students' lives.
Study participants also noted the importance of participating in a community of practice to support their acceleration work. The community of practice enabled them to develop and share materials and to make connections with like-minded colleagues throughout the community college system.
The strategies that study participants used to engage their departmental colleagues in their acceleration efforts varied by institution. Strategies included establishing a positive reputation among colleagues, sharing acceleration experiences in formal and informal settings, and providing reciprocal support for colleagues' projects. While the specific strategies varied, all participants based their strategies on the unique departmental culture of their institutions.
To engage institutional leaders in their acceleration work, study participants established collaborative relationships by serving on key campus committees such as the Academic Senate and the Curriculum Committee. Some participants felt that their acceleration work was supported and valued by institutional leadership; others did not. Those who felt supported noted that institutional leaders helped them gain access to resources and publicly acknowledged their acceleration work. Those who did not feel supported by institutional leadership were able to articulate ways in which institutional leadership could show support for their efforts, such as by promoting instructional improvement as a core institutional value.
This research indicates that both faculty and institutional leadership play in important role in the adoption of acceleration. Based on an analysis of interview data from this study, the following recommendations for institutional leaders and mathematics faculty interested in promoting acceleration on their campuses were developed.
Recommendations for Institutional Leaders to Promote Acceleration
- 1. Provide on-going professional development opportunities for faculty to develop their pedagogical content knowledge, especially new faculty members.
- 2. Incentivize innovation by providing both tangible and intangible support. In particular, provide incentives for faculty to develop accelerated math curriculum using the California Acceleration Project design principles.
- 3. Provide data on local student progression through the developmental mathematics curriculum to mathematics faculty on a regular basis.
- 4. Increase the number of sections of pre-stats courses at campuses that have adopted this accelerated curriculum.
- 5. Make development of an accelerated mathematics pathway a key activity for faculty in institutional planning documents, such as the Student Equity Plan and the Educational Master Plan.
- 6. Consider applicants with diverse educational and professional backgrounds in the hiring process.
Recommendations for Mathematics Faculty to Promote Acceleration
- 1. Look for allies within the department and in the college-wide community.
- 2. Enlist the help of the Academic Senate and Curriculum Committee members in promoting acceleration.
- 3. Start or join a community of practice focused on developing pedagogical content knowledge.
- 4. Develop an understanding of departmental and institutional culture and use this knowledge to inform strategies for engaging colleagues in acceleration efforts.
- 5. Take an active part in the hiring process and hire colleagues with interest in developmental student success.
While the findings of this study provide recommendations for promoting acceleration at community colleges, leadership at a system-wide level is needed if acceleration is going to scale up to provide this alternative to the traditional developmental math sequence for students at all 112 community colleges in California. Currently the University of California (UC) system requires that all college-level math courses must include intermediate algebra or its equivalent as a pre-requisite. Recently a UC faculty committee, the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), affirmed this position stating that incoming transfer students must complete the same math sequence as recent high school graduates enrolling as freshmen, i.e. the completion of intermediate algebra (Burdman, 2013). The effect of this policy on mathematics faculty interest in acceleration has been, according to one of the co-founders of the California Acceleration Project, "chilling" (Fain, 2013). Faculty are reluctant to pilot or expand these promising acceleration programs because of fear that their statistics courses will lose their transfer articulation with the UC system, since accelerated students are no longer taking a traditional intermediate algebra course prior to taking statistics. Advocating for changes to this policy effectively is not something that individual faculty or institutional leaders can do on their own. Changing this policy will require leadership on a system-wide basis from institutional leaders at both the community college and UC systems.
Given the numbers of students negatively impacted by the current developmental math sequence and the potential of acceleration to address this problem, it is vital that more community colleges investigate this promising approach. This research indicates that both faculty and institutional leadership play an important role in promoting the adoption of acceleration. In doing so, educators can promote success for the majority of California community college students who begin their studies in the developmental mathematics sequence.
