Mathematics

In my differential equations class, students ran an experiment on the accuracy of a nondigital thermometer.  Most directions for use of nondigital thermometers say to leave under the tongue for 2 minutes, so students tested the accuracy of this.   Three groups performed different activities for two minutes (cheweing gum (placebo group), jumping jacks, and drinking a cold refreshing beverage).  Students collected temperature readings every 30 seconds for 4 minutes.  Data was run through Logger Pro, and students analyzed data using best fit lines.

In summer 2014, the calculus III workbook was updated to incorporate more physics with the calculus curriculum.  In fall 2014, students are using this new workbook.  Of the 31 students in the class, 7 of them took the calculus/physics learning community in fall 2013.  All but 2 of the remaining 24 students have had (or are currently in) PHY121/PHY131. 

MAT082 students historically demonstrate a need for organizational, time management, test-taking and study skills.  They also struggle with Math and test anxiety.

A quick way, I can check for understanding, is by having the students do thumbs up, thumbs down or sideways to a given student answer.

I will give a practice problem and after the students work it out, I will have student either verbally give the answer or write it on the board. Then I will ask class, if they agree with the answer. I will say on the count of three, give thumbs up if you got the same answer, give thumbs down if you got a different answer, and give thumb sidewise if you got stuck and did not finish the problem.

I first make sure that I number each table from 1 to 8.

I will give the students a practice problem and tell them to work it out first themselves and then check their answers with the other members at the table. They all must come to agreement on the answers. (This is the first check level)

Students struggle with using direction fields to solve a given problem.  In the 1st two semesters, lecture was primarily used with handouts and group work being utlized more in the last 3 semesters.  Students have continually received a C grade on the direction field exam question and a C/B average on homework questions.  In Fall 2014, the handout was modified, and students worked in groups with no guidance from the instructor.  Technology as incorporated as well (MATLAB) to graph the direction fields.

In fall 2013, Dwain Desbien and I taught MAT221/PHY121 learning community (LC).  In spring 2014, 8 of these students went on to take MAT230 with me (calculus II).  Here is some info on the LC students as compared to the non LC students.  

Every semester, logs seem to be the most difficult topic for our students. I have tried to tie in the ideas to real world, show students why and how we use logs, but still no success in them fully understanding the material. The students do numerous homework problems, workbook pages and examples in class. This semester I decided to try something different. The students had a workbook page they did for homework, I checked it after they had time to work. Two class periods later I gave them a worksheet to do in class in their groups. They were to try doing as much of it without using notes.

During the past few years of teaching trig, I have always had students struggle significantly with the trig identity chapter. Every semester I try to tweak the way I teach the material and the practice the students receive but I still have students that just don't grasp the material. Fall 2013 I decided to try extending my lecture days by one class and moving the exam. In doing this I was hoping that more time would lead to better success. It still did not make a significant difference.  Thus, this semester I decided to make even bigger changes.

Science faculty are constantly hearing from their students, "This isn't math! I didn't learn this in my math class". Many students are not able to transfer what they learned in math into their science courses.  Most of the concepts in MAT091 are crucial to success in science.  Throughout the semester, I met with 6 science faculty to discuss HOW students see these topics in science classes.

The general public has numerous misconceptions about science. My PHY101 students explored this intersection of science with society by researching a topic, performing a survey, and creating an educational website. The students chose a topic from a list to research. After researching the student came up with a question to test the misconception and three follow up questions to challenge it. The students presented their results in a non-traditional format, an informative website. This educational website was evaluated based on the attached assessment sheet.

I had being noticing for years that a majority of students in every semester does not score in there exams as expected and hence I planned to keep aside the last 3 days at the end of the last semester as follows.

Dec/02/2013 - Exam Review, Dec/04/2013 - MOCK EXAM*, Dec/06/2013 - Review again with regard to the  Mock Exam Results and compared it with The Final Exam on Dec/11/2013 and Dec/09/2013 respectively.

the following were the results.

Since August 2009, I have had students come and see me (as division chair) to ask about retaking the placement exam to get into a higher course.  During these last 5 years, I have always had the students go to the math videos created by math faculty on the EMCC placement website.  I also told these students to go to www.khanacademy.org and use this free online resource to assist them.  In every case, students placed higher on the placement exam (unfortunately, I did not keep a tally for the number of students this impacted).

I assign a Career Exploration Project (attached) for my engineering students to learn about engineering disciplines, careers, and professional societies. They do research, write a report, and present their findings to the class.  They capture the basics of the field and information about the professional societies, but I feel there is room for improvement, especially with professional societies and their benefits.

In past semesters students were awarded 5 extra credit points for 5 hours of tutoring on their exams.  However I started to question if students were going to tutoring just to get the extra credit points or if they really needed the help.  In Spring of 2013 I changed the tutoring requirements for all my courses.  Students would now be required to complete 10 hours of tutoring throughout the semester and this would count towards 5% of their grade.  I wanted students to attend tutoring because they saw a benefit and need, not just to get points.  Students were given a