CONTACT: Wil Stiles, (850) 644-3737, orAnnette Blackwelder, (850) 644-1787
FSU PILOT PROJECT CUTS LOW ALGEBRA GRADES IN HALF
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.--In the "old days" of math education, college algebra students would attend classes where math problems were worked on chalkboards, all too often making the students passive observers of what was being taught. But a two-year pilot program at Florida State University has changed the way students learn and prepare for tests, and has improved test scores in the process.
In fact, the FSU department of mathematics' use of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in its algebra recitation classes has cut in half the number of Ds and Fs that are given.
Students in FSU's college algebra classes still attend professor-led lectures with 250 other students three times a week. And they still attend smaller, 30-student recitation classes once a week. But instead of passively watching teaching assistants work problems on a chalkboard, students now actively work problems on computers for themselves.
"Students' test scores seem to indicate that this is a far better way of teaching them," said project leader Wil Stiles, an FSU mathematics associate professor. "Before we started the project, the failure rate was too high. Their grades have improved significantly."
According to Stiles, the implications are far reaching because of the high volume of students who must take college algebra, a fundamental part of a college career.
"Unfortunately, college students may not be motivated to work problems outside of class," said Associate in Mathematics Annette Blackwelder, who implemented the project as the course coordinator for FSU's college algebra classes. "But now that we have our algebra students on task and actively working problems on computers, it's made all the difference. The students are also excited about their mastery of the material."
With the CAI software, students can take tests -- both practice versions and the real thing -- over the Internet. The practice tests and other tutorials, which can be taken as often as necessary from any Internet-connected computer in the world, allow students to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the topics that will be covered on a given test.
The real tests, while posted on the same Internet site as the practice versions, can only be taken on 120 specially-equipped computers in four Hoffman Teaching Lab classrooms while a proctor is present. The testing software not only randomly selects questions from a pool of 20 to 30 written by FSU mathematics faculty members, but also jumbles the order of possible answers on each test, which makes cheating virtually impossible.
Stiles and Blackwelder knew that no matter how functional the testing software was, it would be the test questions that would make or break the pilot program. Therefore, they made the decision to write the questions themselves, along with Associate in Mathematics Ish Grigorian, rather than use the questions that came with the software. Stiles says it is time-comsuming and difficult to make up good tests, but the result is worth the effort.
"On the basis of the higher test scores, which were a major selling point with the university's administration, the math department was given these four classrooms," Stiles said. "Now, we need more rooms. We would like to be able to run all of our basic freshman and sophomore math classes in the same CAI mode."
Once the student has taken either the practice or the real test, the test-taking software also can immediately grade the test. That way, students don't have to wait for the results, but can immediately see what they got correct and incorrect.
The software also eases the workload of teaching assistants, who no longer have to spend hours grading stacks of tests and then record the grades in a gradebook. The software's gradebook facility records the grades automatically.
The pilot project began in the fall of 1998 with 300 students using test-taking software from Wiley Publishing Company that was written by University of Nebraska math Professor John Orr.
"We feel that FSU is a national leader in this type of instruction and that this is the best project of similar ones anywhere in the country," Stiles said. "We've had many inquiries about the project, so the word is spreading about our success. There also is interest in using the CAI method in high schools and even grade schools. In fact, we are talking with Leon County Schools officials about the possibility of starting a pilot project in the next school year."
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