Enhanced WebAssign® Increasing Passing Rates in Beginning ...

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Enhanced WebAssign® Increasing Passing Rates in Beginning Algebra University of Wisconsin–Green Bay

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Enhanced WebAssign®: Increasing Passing Rates in Beginning Algebra — UWGB

About Enhanced WebAssign® Enhanced WebAssign® combines the exceptional Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy content that you know and trust with the most powerful online homework solution—WebAssign. Enhanced WebAssign engages classroom learners with immediate feedback, rich tutorial content, and interactive eBooks, helping students to develop a deeper conceptual understanding of their subject matter. Online

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UWGB) was founded in 1965 as a public institution of higher learning and now enrolls approximately 6,600 classroom learners in a variety of undergraduate, graduate, and adult learning programs. Sherri Urcavich, UWGB mathematics faculty member and Coordinator for Remedial Education, redesigned their developmental mathematics course, focusing on beginning algebra in hopes of improving pass rates and overall retention. Originally designed to prepare non-traditional learners for college level mathematics, the beginning algebra course now serves underprepared learners who never intended to attend college, returning adults as well as limited traditional learners. Success is critical as UWGB requires a demonstrated proficiency in this course as a condition of continued enrollment in the University of Wisconsin system. Urcavich learned about an approach that colleges in Florida were using successfully to improve performance in mathematics. In spring 2009, she piloted this immersion approach while incorporating Enhanced WebAssign at UWGB. Urcavich said, “We redesigned a 14 week course to meet for 7 weeks, 4-5 days per week instead of 2-3 days and met 6 hours per week instead of 3.” The goals included getting learners to do more homework; with the new approach, homework was assigned every day giving learners ample opportunity for practice and receive immediate feedback. An in-class assignment and an online homework assignment were required every day; chapter quizzes were given online; three multi-chapter exams were given in class; and a comprehensive final exam was given. Urcavich has been tracking student success in this course suspecting that the compressed course would provide better learning outcomes for students. Prior to implementation of their new program passing rates were as follows:

assignments can be built by selecting from

Table 1

thousands of text-

Student Passing Rates in Beginning Algebra without Immersion and Enhanced WebAssign (N=400)

specific problems or supplemented with

TERM

problems from any

Fall 2006

Cengage Learning textbook. To learn more, visit webassign.net/cengage.

2

PASS RATE

Fall 2007

70% 75%

Fall 2008

73%

“The trend was definitely in the wrong direction and needed to be turned around,” Urcavich stated. Overall pass rates have shown a definite improvement with the new immersion approach and Enhanced WebAssign’s online features that support classroom learners.

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Enhanced WebAssign®: Increasing Passing Rates in Beginning Algebra — UWGB

Table 2 Student Passing Rates in Beginning Algebra with Immersion and Enhanced WebAssign (N=450)

TERM

PASS RATE

Spring 2009 Fall 2009

89% 88%

Spring 2010

93%

Fall 2010 Spring 2011

90%

“The combination of our immersion approach and Enhanced WebAssign has boosted student

88%

“Students just keep building on what they’ve learned, and we are very happy with our pass rates in this course,” said Urcavich. Passing rates in developmental mathematics at UWGB are now much higher with the new approach. This approach using a combination of immersion and Enhanced WebAssign is being expanded to support students in Intermediate Algebra as well. Urcavich points out that success in these courses supports one of the university’s larger goals of student retention. Urcavich went on to say, “Our target pass rate for this course is 85%. In the three years prior to instituting the immersion method along with Enhanced WebAssign, we did not accomplish the goal. (See Table 1.) Since restructuring the program to include immersion and Enhanced WebAssign, we have exceeded the goal every semester.” (See Table 2.) After the full implementation of the course redesign, the passing rate in beginning algebra increased by 23% to an average of 90%. (See Figure 1.) This not only met the target, but helped dozens of students every semester succeed in a key college course.

confidence in mathematics since it’s easy for them to build on what they’ve just learned through online practice and homework assignments.” Sherri Urcavich University of WisconsinGreen Bay

Figure 1 Student Passing Rates in Beginning Algebra (Fall 2006 – Spring 2011) 100 80

70%

75%

73%

Fall 2007

Fall 2008

89%

88%

Spring 2009

Fall 2009

93%

90%

88%

Spring 2010

Fall 2010

Spring 2011

60 40 20 0

Fall 2006

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