College Algebra (Fort Valley State University)

This Grants Collection for College Algebra was created under a Round Two ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process. Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials: Linked Syllabus Initial Proposal Final Reporthttps://oer.galileo.usg.edu/mathematics-collections/1000/thumbnail.jp

What in the World Just Happened? Students’ Self-Regulation in Asynchronous PreCalculus During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We describe students’ learning practices in an online asynchronous PreCalculus course during Fall 2020, the first complete semester of distance learning induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results were compiled using a thematic analysis of a questionnaire administered to 43 students enrolled in PreCalculus at a university in the Midwest (United States). Students were given opportunities for active learning and various synchronous Q&A sessions, yet they primarily learned through watching videos and reading worked examples, minimizing interactions with the instructor and available tutors. The questionnaire results show that students knew active learning was helpful, but they were unable to curtail unproductive learning practices. The questionnaire also showed that students struggled to stay motivated and keep to a schedule. We conclude that by developing their study techniques and self-regulatory habits, students will be able to take more control over their learning, particularly in asynchronous classes

Exponential Growth and Online Learning Environments: Designing for and Studying the Development of Student Meanings in Online Courses

abstract: This dissertation report follows a three-paper format, with each paper having a different but related focus. In Paper 1 I discuss conceptual analysis of mathematical ideas relative to its place within cognitive learning theories and research studies. In particular, I highlight specific ways mathematics education research uses conceptual analysis and discuss the implications of these uses for interpreting and leveraging results to produce empirically tested learning trajectories. From my summary and analysis I develop two recommendations for the cognitive researchers developing empirically supported learning trajectories. (1) A researcher should frame his/her work, and analyze others’ work, within the researcher’s image of a broadly coherent trajectory for student learning and (2) that the field should work towards a common understanding for the meaning of a hypothetical learning trajectory. In Paper 2 I argue that prior research in online learning has tested the impact of online courses on measures such as student retention rates, satisfaction scores, and GPA but that research is needed to describe the meanings students construct for mathematical ideas researchers have identified as critical to their success in future math courses and other STEM fields. This paper discusses the need for a new focus in studying online mathematics learning and calls for cognitive researchers to begin developing a productive methodology for examining the meanings students construct while engaged in online lessons. Paper 3 describes the online Precalculus course intervention we designed around measurement imagery and quantitative reasoning as themes that unite topics across units. I report results relative to the meanings students developed for exponential functions and related ideas (such as percent change and growth factors) while working through lessons in the intervention. I provide a conceptual analysis guiding its design and discuss pre-test and pre-interview results, post-test and post-interview results, and observations from student behaviors while interacting with lessons. I demonstrate that the targeted meanings can be productive for students, show common unproductive meanings students possess as they enter Precalculus, highlight challenges and opportunities in teaching and learning in the online environment, and discuss needed adaptations to the intervention and future research opportunities informed by my results.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Mathematics Education 201

High School 4th Mathematics: Precalculus for AP Calculus

ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis is to provide the needed instructional materials to those who are teaching a Precalculus course following Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. The recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSSM) has left many teachers scrambling to find instructional materials that meet the graduation requirement as well as insuring that our students are college and career ready when they leave high school. Furthermore, the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus curriculum is generally accepted as the model for a twenty-first century calculus course serving as prerequisite for STEM related fields of study at the college level. The path now needs to be set for a new precalculus course to align the AP goals and objectives with the CCSSM. For the 2014-2015 school year, high schools must offer AP courses in all four core content areas, math, ELA, science, and social studies (www.louisianabelieves.com). However, for students to be adequately prepared for AP Calculus there must be an effective precalculus course available to be taken first. This thesis, “High School 4th Mathematics: Precalculus for AP Calculus,” is written specifically with the goal of meeting this requirement. In Appendix C of this thesis, high school mathematics teachers are provided with comprehensive lecture notes that contain lesson plans and student activities that are aligned with AP Calculus ready, the CCSSM, and the Common Core State (+) Standards in Mathematics (CCS(+)SM). Each section of the lecture notes consists of a lesson plan that begins with a comprehensive overview of the major concepts, a list of the related CCSSM, a set of section learning objectives, lecture notes, and a variety of lesson activities that support the Common Core State Content Standards as well as Mathematical Practice Standards (MPS). Even though Appendix C can be used by any Precalculus teacher as a resource, it is designed specifically to go along with the textbook, Precalculus 8th Edition, written by Demana, Waits, Foley, and Kennedy, the textbook which will be used in 2014-2015 by Southeastern Louisiana University for its Dual Enrollment Precalculus course, Math 165

How Can Inquiry-Based Learning Be Successfully Implemented In The Secondary Mathematics Classroom

The research question addressed in this project was, how can inquiry-based learning by successfully integrated in the secondary mathematics classroom? It documents one teacher’s creation of a set of inquiry-based curriculum modules intended for use in AP Calculus AB and Precalculus courses. The curriculum created by the author aims to guide students to construct new knowledge through a process of settling doubt within a community of learners; a process known as an inquiry cycle. He analyzes both the intended use and flexibility the curriculum modules, discusses how to measure their effectiveness, and how to adopt different strategies in the case of failure