Lessons from the Sunshine State: A Study of the Florida College System

41 s t AMATYC Conference, New Orleans , Louis iana

Anna But ler, Polk State Col lege, Lakeland, FL

November 19 , 2015

The good news about developmental education…

In the last decade, supporters like the Lumina Foundation, Kellogg, Kresge, the Houston Endowment and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have invested millions of dollars into research and pilot projects to improve developmental education in our nation (Stuart, 2009).

Because of this support, Bonham and Boylan (2011) note, "There has been an increase in the application and use of research-based best instructional practices in developmental mathematics programs and in the use of innovative approaches to teaching and learning" (p.3).

Meanwhile in Florida… In 2013, the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 1720, requiring all Florida colleges to redesign developmental education, placement, and instruction at scale. The bill called for all developmental education to be accelerated, mandated changes in advising and student supports, and included a broad exemption for recent high school graduates.

Statement of the Problem Prior to this bill, many of Florida's state colleges had already redesigned the organization and delivery of their developmental courses especially in the area of mathematics. However, scant quantitative studies existed that answered to what extent Florida's state colleges implemented the best institutional and instructional practices highlighted in the current literature. Moreover, it is not known if the implementation of such practices necessarily contributed to the academic success of Florida's community college students.

Research Questions

To what extent do Florida state colleges differ in their effort towards implementation of best institutional and instructional practices in developmental mathematics education?

What is the relationship between student success in developmental mathematics and the implementation of the identified best institutional practices in math education programs in the Florida State College System?

What is the relationship between student success in developmental mathematics and the implementation of the identified best instructional practices in math education programs in the Florida State College System?

Research Design This study utilized a quantitative research design.

It was both a survey design and correlational design. Data obtained was analyzed through descriptive statistics and multiple regression techniques.

Methodology- Sample A nonrandom method was used in the selection of the respondents.

The researcher collected emails for Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs, campus division chairs/deans involved in developmental math, adjunct developmental math faculty members and full time math faculty members at all of the Florida state colleges. These potential participants were emailed a link to an electronic survey.

Q4: What is your primary job role at your Florida State College?

Answered: 55 Skipped: 0

Methodology- Data Collection To collect the implementation data, a survey instrument was modified from the Developmental Education Program Survey first used by Alcorta (2009) in her study of developmental mathematics programs in an urban district in Texas. Through use of this survey, the study provided descriptive statistics on the extent that Florida's state colleges differ on the level of implementation of best institutional and instructional practices.

Methodology- Data Collection In addition to the survey, data was collected from Florida's Department of Education. Specifically, the researcher obtained a summarized extract from the state’s accountability reports. The state's DOE report published the 2013 success rates of all Florida state colleges for Basic Algebra, the last course of the developmental mathematics education sequence.

Methodology- Instrumentation This study used a modified version of the Developmental Education Program Survey (DEPS) developed by Alcorta (2009). The DEPS is a modified survey itself based after the Community College Inventory (CCI) written by Byron and Kay McClenney (McClenney & McCleeney, 2003). The DEPS explores several characteristics: Mission, Values, and Culture; The Culture of Evidence; Strategic Focus, Planning, and Resource Allocation; Leadership for Learning; The People of the College; Institutional Policy and Practices; Instructional Approaches and Practices; Student Support Practices; and Grant-Supported Programs. For the purposes of this study, only two of the characteristics were explored- Institutional Policies and Practices and Instructional Approaches and Practices.

Data Analysis

To what extent do Florida state colleges differ in their implementation of best institutional and instructional practices in developmental mathematics education?

The survey items were related to the two factors, institutional and instructional practices, implemented by Florida State Colleges. Using these two factors, descriptive statistics were analyzed to determine differences in implementation of state college developmental math education programs.

Data Analysis

A survey was administered to each participant through a

secure, web-based system, Survey Monkey. The data file

was then exported from Survey Monkey to Microsoft Excel

where each response was coded by the researcher. The

coding was checked by a separate, independent researcher.

In addition to this, the researcher obtained the success rates

for each Florida state college. The success rate is the

proportion of students in the 2012-2013 school year who

successfully completed the final developmental math

education course required by their college for enrollment

into Intermediate Algebra. These success rates were also

entered into the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that contained

the survey data. The coded data file was then exported to

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 22

(SPSS v.22) where a multivariate linear regression was

conducted using the independent variables, INSTI and

INSTR, and the dependent variable, SUCCESS.

What is the relationship between student success in developmental mathematics and the implementation of the identified best institutional and instructional practices in math education programs in the Florida State College System?

Results: Descriptive StatisticsInstitutional Policies and Practices

To what extent do Florida state colleges differ in their implementation of best institutional and instructional practices in developmental mathematics education?

Findings in regards to institutional practices and policies-

Most Florida state colleges are highly coordinating developmental courses and services in their programs.

Most Florida state colleges are NOT • mandating that working developmental education students take fewer course

hours• withholding late registration for developmental education students• requiring developmental education students to be assessed on their technology

skills

    n M(SD)

Q5 The organizational arrangement of developmental courses and services are highly coordinated at my college.

52 3.63 (0.63)

Q6 The organizational arrangement of developmental courses and services are housed in a single department. 53 2.64 (1.67)

Q7 The organizational arrangement of developmental courses and services retains an administrative leader. 54 2.78 (1.48)

Q8 To ensure that developmental education students who are already ill-prepared do not fall further behind, late registration is not made available to them.

53 1.04 (1.40)

Q9 Developmental education students are allowed in credit-bearing academic courses only if they demonstrate the reading, writing, or mathematics skill requisite to success in those courses.

52 2.54 (1.58)

Q10 To ensure that working developmental education students successfully complete their courses, the college requires working students to take fewer hours.

53 0.58 (1.13)

Q11 Mandatory advising is required for all developmental education students. 53 2.62 (1.42)

Q12 Participation in college orientation is required of all entering developmental education students. 53 2.87 (1.46)

Q13 Participation in a study skills course is required of all entering developmental education students. 53 2.28 (1.57)

Q14 Students enrolled in online developmental education courses are required to be assessed on their technology skills.

51 0.96 (1.57)

INSTI 54 2.21 (0.81)

.

Results: Descriptive StatisticsInstructional Practices

Findings in regards to instructional practices-

Most Florida state colleges are • Clearly defining required student outcomes for each developmental math

course• Designing curriculum and teaching strategies to ensure alignment with these

outcomes• Designing exit-level competencies in their developmental math courses that

align with the college-entry ones

Most Florida state colleges are • Utilizing technology and media to support learning, utilizing tutoring, and

utilizing a math learning center in their developmental math courses

Results: Descriptive StatisticsInstructional Practices (continued)

Findings in regards to instructional practices-

Most Florida state colleges are NOT delivering developmental math courses by• Non-course based instruction• Through immersion• Through bridge programs

Course DeliveryQ29 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by lecture. 52 2.98 (1.29)

Q30 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by hybrid (lecture and online). 53 2.62 (1.39)

Q31 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses online. 53 2.58 (1.50)

Q32 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by emporium. 53 1.43 (1.51)

Q33 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by non-course based instruction. 52 0.58 (1.07)

Q34 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by self-paced instruction. 52 1.56 (1.45)

Q35 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by individualized instruction. 53 1.25 (1.33)

Q36 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by accelerated/ Fast Track. 53 2.79 (1.39)

Q37 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by modules. 53 2.57 (1.25)

Q38 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by math refresher programs. 53 1.25 (1.40)

Q39 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by immersion. 53 0.81 (1.39)

Q40 The institution delivers developmental mathematics courses by Bridge programs. 52 1.12 (1.41)

Results: Correlational RelationshipsInstitutional Policies and Practices

What is the relationship between student success in developmental mathematics and the implementation of the identified best institutional practices in math education programs in the Florida State College System?

Results from all multiple regression analysis indicated that the effort that a developmental math education program implements best institutional practices had no significant relationship to student success. As a whole, employing most of the institutional policies and practices that have been recommended by the literature did not affect student success in developmental math. According to this study’s results, the only isolated institutional practice that had a relationship with student success in college preparatory mathematics is requiring all entering developmental education students to participate in a study skills course. Most developmental education programs in Florida’s state system are not currently implementing this requirement.

Q13: Participation in a study skills course is required of all entering developmental education students.

Answered: 53 Skipped: 2

Results: Correlational RelationshipsInstructional Practices

What is the relationship between student success in developmental mathematics and the implementation of the identified best instructional practices in math education programs in the Florida State College System?

Results from the multiple regression analysis indicated the effort that a developmental math education program implements best instructional practices did have a significant relationship to student success in developmental math. Holistically, these findings indicated that employing most of the instructional practices that have been recommended by the literature affected student success in developmental math. Moreover, the average effort of implementation of these instructional practices by a developmental education program was a good predictor for student success in developmental math.

Results: Itemized Correlational Relationships

There were twelve individual instructional practices that were found to

have a significant relationship with student success in developmental math.

• Faculty members develop common criteria or rubrics that are used to

ascertain and document each student’s level of attainment of required

learning outcomes.

• Faculty members design curriculum and teaching strategies to ensure

alignment with required student learning outcomes.

• Faculty members teach critical thinking concepts and methods in the

developmental math courses.

Results: Itemized Correlational Relationships(Continued)

There were twelve individual instructional practices that were found to

have a significant relationship with student success in developmental

math.

• The mathematics division/department systematically utilizes cooperative learning in its developmental mathematics courses.

• The mathematics division/department systematically utilizes collaborative learning in its developmental mathematics courses.

• The mathematics division/department systematically utilizes mastery learning in its developmental mathematics courses.

Q27: The mathematics division/department systematically utilizes mastery learning in its developmental mathematics courses.

Answered: 54 Skipped: 1

Results: Itemized Correlational Relationships(Continued)

There were twelve individual instructional practices that were found to have a significant

relationship with student success in developmental math.

• The institution delivers developmental mathematics by individualized instruction.

• The institution delivers developmental mathematics by math refresher programs.

• The institution delivers developmental mathematics by immersion.

• The institution delivers developmental mathematics by bridge programs.

• Intensive academic support is provided to developmental students who require 2 or more levels of developmental mathematics.

• Developmental education students are provided with up-to-date and accessible information regarding state, district, and college policies that will impact their college experience such as placement exam scores changes, changes in course offerings or structure.

Recommendations for Future Research

• Utilize a mixed-method or purely qualitative approach to provide more insight into the extent that colleges are implementing best practices into their developmental education program

• Extend the focus of the research to include not just the mathematics component in the developmental education programs but also reading, writing and student support services

Implications for Effective PracticeAll of the recommendations resulting from this study’s findings are targeted at the leadership at postsecondary two-year institutions, particularly the leadership that oversees developmental math education. In the state of Florida and in states with comparable community college programs, this leadership may include state legislators, institutional presidents, vice presidents, deans, chairs of both math departments and developmental education departments, and coordinators for developmental education.• Require that all entering developmental math students participate in a

study skills course.• Allocate staff and resources to develop nontraditional options for

student remediation in mathematics, like individualized instruction, math refresher programs, immersion programs and/or bridge programs

• Provide intensive academic support to developmental students that require 2 or more levels of developmental mathematics

Implications for Effective Practice• Direct developmental math faculty members to develop common

criteria to ascertain and document each developmental student’s level of attainment of required learning outcomes

• Emphasize the teaching of critical thinking

• Emphasize the use of cooperative learning, collaborative learning and mastery learning in developmental math courses and provide professional development of these instructional strategies

• Provide developmental education students with up-to-date and accessible information regarding state, district, and college policies that impact their college experience

Conclusions The findings suggest that developmental education math programs concentrate their efforts on implementing more research-based best practices for developmental math education. In particular, the results of this study indicate that changes in the instructional aspect of the program increase student success in developmental math more than changes in institutional policy.

The researcher recommends that institutions utilize cooperative, collaborative and mastery learning in their developmental math courses and that they consider offering developmental math instruction as math refresher workshops, bridge programs, and co-requisite courses to college-level math.

Discussion and CommentsColleges’ responses to the legislation have varied greatly, with many examples of innovation. This case study series Florida College Case Studies

http://www.jff.org/publications/innovations-developmental-education-redesign

documents the various approaches that eight Florida colleges have taken in responding to SB 1720. It highlights the decisions and processes colleges consider when implementing developmental education reform at scale, and captures lessons learned throughout the implementation process. The series is based on interviews and site visits JFF conducted in spring and summer 2015 with a diverse set of colleges across Florida.  

Feel free to contact me! Anna Butler Polk State College abutler@polk.edu