University Calendar

Geillan Aly, University of Hartford, presents this seminar.

Developmental mathematics students in community college, particularly those of color, are disproportionately unsuccessful and fail to reap the benefits of higher education. Despite the intentions of course instructors, course designers, and students, developmental courses frequently fail to adequately support minoritized students. In-class computer-centered (ICCC) classes are a possible solution to this social justice issue by aiming to help students gain the mathematical skills necessary to succeed in college-level mathematics. Such courses provide students with individual pacing and a flexible learning model.

This talk will address the ICCC structure and its attempt to help developmental mathematics students succeed. I will discuss a study which focuses on the student experience and uses a lens of agency, defined by Bandura, to consider the (mis)match between student actions and intentions and the design, assumptions, and reality of the ICCC classroom.

My findings show that although students make reasonable plans to succeed in their mathematics class, these plans sometimes contain assumptions that undermine their ability to succeed. Environmental factors such as the course’s hyper-linear structure may also contribute to student failure. This work suggests that designers and instructors of developmental mathematics classes should consider how the course structure and design inadvertently undermines the intention of supporting students’ mathematical learning.