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Math transfer progress report, Fall 2007

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VIII. ANNUAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM REVIEW AND PLANNING PROGRESS
November 30, 2007
 

Status

 
1) What is the status of the objectives identified in the Program Action Plan (operational and new initiative) from section VII, Program Priorities?
 

Operational

 

Operational Objectives
Activities
Timeline; Priority
Status
Deactivate obsolete curriculum
1) Deactivate obsolete course outlines (Math 33, 38); copy course outlines onto department shared drive
Fall 2006;
High priority
Completed
Update course outlines
2) Math 75 and Math 35
Spring 2007;
High priority
In progress (late)
3) Math 34 and Math 40
Fall 2007;
High priority
34 passed dept 10/31/2007; 40 not started (late)
4) Math 50 and Math 60
Spring 2008;
High priority
Not started
5) Math 70 and Math 80
Fall 2008;
High priority
Not started
6) Math 31 and Math 37
Spring 2009;
High priority
Not started
7) Math 35
Fall 2009;
High priority
Not started
8) Math 75
Spring 2010;
High priority
Not started
9) Math 34
Fall 2010;
High priority
Not started
10) Math 40
Spring 2011;
High priority
Not started
11) Math 50
Fall 2011;
High priority
Not started
12) Math 60
Spring 2012;
High priority
Not started
Adequately staff our department with quality adjunct faculty
13) Hire enough adjunct professors so that all our classes are staffed
Every semester;
High priority
Done Fa 06
Done Sp 07
Done Fa 07
In progress Sp 08
Obtain data necessary for department to make informed decisions
14) Work through the academic senate and shared governance council to allocate more college resources to research for departments.
Ongoing;
High priority
Unsuccessful in SGC, DGC Fa 06
Assess students’ achievement of PSLO’s;
Create greater equity for students by assessing using normed standards; Directly assess & improve student achievement of CSLO’s; Ensure student preparedness in subsequent courses by norming depth and level of difficulty
15) Select a course and one or more PSLO’s (for Spring 2007: Math 34 and Modeling) and develop common instrument
First month of every semester, beginning with Spring 2007;
High priority
Successfully done in Fa 07
16) Collect student work from all sections of all courses with a common instrument
End of every semester, beginning with Spring 2007;
High priority
Begin in Fa 07
17) Assess student work on the common, normed instrument for one course
Flex at the beginning of every semester, beginning with Fall 2007;
High priority
 1st Retreat in Sp 08
18) Analyze assessment results; design and implement plan to improve student learning
Every semester, beginning with Spring 2008;
High priority
Sp 08
19) Distribute PSLO’s and common assessment instrument to all professors for following semester
Deadline for Draft #2 of class schedule, every semester;
High priority
Sp 08
Develop a process to make changes to course outlines
20) Hold joint meeting with Brentwood or ask the chairs to work together to develop a process.
By Spring 2009;
High priority
Not started
Designate department Technology Lead or committee
21) Designate department Technology Lead or committee
Tentatively By Spring 2009;
High priority
Completed: T. Rust.
Assess the need for additional or improved technology
22) Assess the need for additional computer classroom(s) based on the use of the current computer classrooms, the increased use of CAI by instructors, and the increased requests for use of the computer classrooms.
Tentatively Fall 2009 to Spring 2011;
High priority
Not started
23) Assess the need for additional “Smart Classroom” equipment based on usage and requests from instructors.
Tentatively Fall 2009 to Spring 2011;
High priority
Not started
24) Assess the use of the computers in the Math Lab to determine if additional computers would be of benefit for students doing their CAI assignments.
Tentatively Fall 2009 to Spring 2011;
High priority
Not started
25) Determine the need for additional computers in the math Adjunct Faculty’s Office based on their needs and schedules.
Tentatively Fall 2009 to Spring 2011;
High priority
Not started
26) Determine if additional calculators are needed for use in classrooms; determine the need for additional overhead equipment for calculator use in classroom.
Tentatively Fall 2009 to Spring 2011;
High priority
Not started
Acquire additional or improved technology (if needed)
27) Use the results of assessment of need for technology to apply for needed technology
Tentatively Spring 2009 and ongoing thereafter;
Priority to be determined
40 TI-84+ acquired through RAP.
Designate department Student Support Lead or committee
28) Designate department Student Support or committee
Tentatively Spring 2009 and ongoing thereafter;
Priority to be determined
Not started
Increase enrollment by minimizing scheduling conflicts for students;
Make efficient and effective use of the new math building;
Increase productivity by scheduling classes at times of peak demand
29) Rebuild the Fall schedule from scratch
Dec 06 – Jan 07;
High priority
Completed
30) Rebuild the Spring schedule from scratch
 
May 07 – Aug 07;
High priority
Completed
Comprehensively review our transfer offerings
31) Identify lead and group responsible for review of transfer offerings. Decide what can be done without additional resources, and what would require additional resources. Apply for additional resources as needed.
Spring 2007
High priority
Not started
Review our transfer offerings(without additional resources)
32) Identify articulation problems that need to be addressed, including articulation between the math developmental and transfer programs
Spring 2007
High priority
Not started
33) Identify other ways to “package” transfer courses to meet students’ needs better
Spring 2007
High priority
Not started
34) Decide which suggestions to act upon; identify responsible parties and timelines
Fall 2007
High priority
Not started
Create new courses to fill holes in our course offerings, if projected enrollment can justify offering the course
35) Research projected enrollment. If justified by projections, write and offer new course(s).
After identification of holes;
Priority to be determined
Not started
Move into new building
36) Check complete list of furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E)
November 2006;
High priority
Completed
37) Make selections of furniture from vendor
December 2006 – February 2007;
High priority
Completed
38) Beginning of spring cleaning of offices
January 2007;
High priority
Completed
39) Building released to campus by contractors
Late February 2007;
High priority
Completed
40) Purchase orders for FF&E
Early March 2007;
High priority
Completed
41) Furniture and equipment to be delivered and installed
Early May 2007;
High priority
Completed
42) Computer and phone installation
May 2007 [This is the ideal time for computer installation for us. However, this is the most problematic in terms of finding labor to do the job.];
High priority
Completed
43) Finish spring cleaning of offices
May 2007;
High priority
Completed
44) Books, etc, moved to new offices. A company will be contracted out to move your possessions from one office to the other. They will bring large plastic “totes” or bins to your old office and you will fill them with your non fragile materials (mostly all your paper files and texts). Your old furniture and equipment WILL NOT be moved to the new building so you must empty your old filing cabinets, book cases, etc. The totes will be picked up and trucked to the new building and at that point you may start unpacking. If you have special personal items that would not do well in this environment, you should take them home and then move them separately on your own. Custodians will have large bags marked for trash to be hauled away (make sure that you put what you want to get to the other building in a tote marked with your new office number on it.
First two weeks in June 2007;
High priority
Completed
45) Electronic switch over of phone numbers
June 2007;
High priority
Completed
Develop and sustain a staff development program for new faculty
46) Designate new-faculty staff development lead.
Spring 2007;
High priority
Completed: leads = chair, Math D.E. leads
47) Assess current orientation and mentoring practices and determine gaps that need to be filled. Determine which gaps can be filled without additional resources, and determine what resources resources (e.g. stipends for participants, coordination with other departments) are needed to fill remaining gaps.
Tentatively Spring 2007;
Priority to be determined
In progress.
48) If necessary and feasible, design program for orientation and mentoring (without additional resources) of “new” faculty (possibly including experienced faculty who are new to teaching a given course).
Tentatively Spring 2007;
Priority to be determined
Chair and D.E. lead have developed orientation for new adjuncts.
Mentoring not started.
49) If necessary and feasible, implement program for orientation and mentoring (without additional resources) of “new” faculty (possibly including experienced faculty who are new to teaching a given course).
Ongoing, tentatively beginning Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Orientation for new adjuncts completed. Mentoring not started.
Research (and if necessary, improve facilitation of) transitions from high school to universities
50) Research student persistence and connected factors from high school through universities using data from CalPASS. Identify weak links and take corrective actions.
Ongoing;
Priority to be determined
In progress.

 

New Initiative

 

New Initiative Objectives
Activities
Timeline
Status
Adequately staff our department with quality full-time faculty
51) Hire full-time professors each year until 75% of our classes are taught by full-time faculty. Apply for more full-time faculty through the Box 2A process; screen and interview applicants
Fall 2006 (Box 2A) and Spring 2007 (interviews) [repeat annually as necessary];
High priority
One new hire Fa 07
Another hire in progress
Adequately staff our department with quality classified staff
52) Ask our dean to provide 1.0 additional permanent, classified staff for the department
Fall 2006 [repeat annually as necessary];.
High priority
1.0 allocated but not yet hired. (Stage 1 Memo; RAP memo)
Obtain data necessary for department to make informed decisions
53) Develop (in conjunction with the Office of Institutional Research) a research agenda for the transfer math program.
Tentatively Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started.
Work with collegewide initiatives to improve retention and success of African-American students
54) Identify such initiatives and/or work with senate, SGC, and grants to create such initiatives
Tentatively Spring 2007;
Priority to be determined
Exploring MESA. Exploring Black Scholars.
55) Identify at least one math faculty member to participate or represent math in the initiative
Tentatively Spring 2007;
Priority to be determined
MESA: Poku.
Black Scholars: J. Stein and A. Moore
Assess and improve student support (lab and tutoring) services.
56) Assess effectiveness of the lab tutoring in improving student learning.
Tentatively Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started.
57) Train professors and tutors in individualized instruction and computer-aided instruction.
Tentatively Spring 2008;
Priority to be determined
Not started.
Establish venues for faculty to discuss the implications of pertinent research in math education;
Review current research on best practices in teaching and learning
58) To be determined. For example, biweekly meetings on pertinent research in math education
Tentatively ongoing from Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Math 34 discussed within department.
Develop strategies to improve student learning at specific course levels
59) To be determined, depending on pertinent research in math education
Tentatively ongoing from Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Plan to have retreats in Spring 2008 for Math 34.
Review textbooks for alignment and develop supplemental curriculum
60) Review textbooks to summarize how they are aligned with the course student learning outcomes and to develop supplemental curricula to help students fill the gap between textbook materials and the course student learning outcomes.
Tentatively one course every semester, beginning with Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Suggested Math 34 text.
Comprehensively review our transfer offerings (with additional resources)
61) Identify holes in our course offerings
Tentatively Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started
62) Identify articulation problems that need to be addressed, including articulation between the math developmental and transfer programs
Tentatively Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started
63) Identify other ways to “package” transfer courses to meet students’ needs better
Tentatively Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started
64) Decide which suggestions to act upon; identify responsible parties and timelines
Tentatively Spring 2008;
Priority to be determined
Not started
Increase supply and copy budgets, including maintenance costs
65) Ask dean and FPM for increased supply and copy budgets, including allowances for regular cleaning of printers and replacement of worn-out misplaced, lost, or stolen equipment (calculators, headphones, pencil sharpeners, file boxes etc.).
Spring 2007 and ongoing;
Priority to be determined
Not started
Develop and sustain a staff development program for new faculty (with additional resources)
66)    If necessary and feasible, design program for orientation and mentoring of “new” faculty (possibly including experienced faculty who are new to teaching a given course). Such program may to link a new faculty member with a tenured instructor. Program may take the form of weekly discussion and working meetings of the pairs. Topics may include
Knowing student demographics
Exploring ways of teaching
Structuring & Planning lessons
Effective classroom policies
Understanding different cultures in the classroom
Assessment techniques
Organizational strategies
College resources
 
Tentatively Spring 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started
67) If necessary and feasible, implement program for orientation and mentoring of “new” faculty (possibly including experienced faculty who are new to teaching a given course).
Ongoing, tentatively beginning Fall 2007;
Priority to be determined
Not started

 

Attained and Not Attained

 
Operational Objective
2) If some objectives were attained, how successful were the changes in improving program effectiveness
3) If some objectives were not attained, what were the impediments? Do you still believe these objectives will lead to program improvements?

Deactivate obsolete curriculum.

[1] The obsolete Math 33 and Math 38 course outlines were deactivated in Fall 2006. Minimal impace for minimal effort.

  

Update course outlines.

[2-12] A revised Math 34 course outline was approved by the Math and Brentwood departments in Fall 2007. We have no measures of the impact of these changes on program effectiveness, although the new Math 34 will form the basis of assessment of student’s achievement of Math 34 PSLO’s.

 [2-12] We are behind schedule in revising the course outlines for Math 75, Math 35, and Math 40, due to lack of full-time faculty time. Such revisions, however, will form the basis of assessment of student’s achievement of Math 34 PSLO’s.

Adequately staff our department with quality adjunct faculty

 [13] In Fall 2006 and Spring 2007, we hired 8 new adjunct faculty, and we did not need to cancel classes due to lack of faculty. [13] We anticipate that we will need to keep hiring every semester, as some of our adjunct faculty leave voluntarily and some are not rehired due to poor evaluations and/or student complaints.
Obtain data necessary for department to make informed decisions   [14] Our department’s requests to our SGC representatives and DGC representatives for more college resources to research for departments were ineffectual. We still believe that more research resources will improve the effectiveness of our program by allowing us to determing the success of our program action plan in improving program effectiveness.
Assess students’ achievement of PSLO’s; Create greater equity for students by assessing using normed standards; Directly assess & improve student achievement of CSLO’s; Ensure student preparedness in subsequent courses by norming depth and level of difficulty
[15-19] We selected  common instruments to assess students' achievement of PSLO's in the last Math 34 retreat in Fall 2007 and plan to collect student work from all sections at the end of this semester. Assessment and  analysis of student work  in addition to the distribution of common assessment instrument to all professors will be done in the first Statistics Retreat in Spring 2008. We will evaluate the changes for their effectiveness in subsequent semesters.
 [15-19] We need to repeat the assessment each semester. In later semesters, we may choose courses other than Math 34.

Develop a process to make changes to course outlines

  

[20] We have not worked with Brentwood to develop a process to change course outlines. We believe at this point that we have more pressing goals.
Designate department Technology Lead or committee

[21] The new Technology Lead (T. Rust) was chosen. We are in progress of creating assessments for how successful this change was in improving program effectiveness. Ideas include surveying usage and satisfaction with new technology implementations.

  

Assess the need for additional or improved technology

 [26]  We purchased 40 TI-84 Plus calculators via a block grant for use in the classrooms. All students (particularly those on financial aid) now have access to required calculators during the entire semester.

[22-26] The Technology Lead was not created in time. Improved and additional technology is vital for program improvement. 

Acquire additional or improved technology (if needed)

  
[27] Not started. We still believe this is important, but first we must assess the need for additional or improved technology.

Designate department Student Support Lead or committee

   [28]  Not started. Low priority.

Increase enrollment by minimizing scheduling conflicts for students; Make efficient and effective use of the new math building; Increase productivity by scheduling classes at times of peak demand

[29-30] We have rebuilt the Fall, Spring, and Summer schedules from scratch to make efficient use of the math building and to increase the number of sections we offer. We now have fewer student complaints about scheduling conflicts with other departments.

  

Comprehensively review our transfer offerings

 

Review our transfer offerings(without additional resources)

 
Create new courses to fill holes in our course offerings, if projected enrollment can justify offering the course
   [31-35] We have not attained these objectives due to the massive amounts of time such a project will entail.  We still, however, think this project is necessary and could lead to major prgram improvements.

Move into new building.

[36-45] The math department completed its move from the old building to the new building. We did not design measure of the impact of the move on our program, but faculty and staff are generally happy about the move, and we have recieved few complaints about students. (Locked rooms and lack of keys are the primary exception.)

 [36-45] We are still waiting for: the delivery of replacements for some broken furniture; the reconfiguration of a few instances where we could have planned better; completely moving the last bit out of the old offices; conference phone in the conference room; and portable phones for lab areas.  We have also had trouble with classrooms, restrooms, etc. being locked during school hours (when our lab coordinator is off-site), and police services has not responded in a timely fashion.

Develop and sustain a staff development program for new faculty.

[46-49] The chair and D.E. lead have designed an orientation which they implement each semester for new adjunct faculty. The department chair put the orientation for new adjunct faulty online. The chair now receives fewer questions from adjuncts and fewer student complaints about adjuncts, presumably because of the orientation.  The department chair and Dev Ed coordinator have combined to give new adjunct faculty an approximately three hour in service when they start working at LMC. Much of it focuses on the requirements of the COOR for the course they are going to teach, and much of the logistics of being in the department. In addition, the department sponsors a five-hour flex activity every semester for math faculty that includes course-specific orientation material. We have not formally assessed the effectiveness of these current practices.

[46-49]  Without designating release time for a new-faculty staff development lead, it is unlikely that we will build on our current efforts. For a large department, meeting these objectives are essential to programmatic sustainability and improvement.

For example, our dept orientation needs to include more information classroom management skills. We have not truly instituted a mentoring process for the adjunct, other than occasional contact with the dev Ed coordinator, either through staff development during the semester or through email conversations. [67] At this time, mentoring faculty is not a departmental priority, because we lack the full-time faculty and because orientation and professional development within the department are filling our most pressing needs.

 

 
Research (and if necessary, improve facilitation of) transitions from high school to universities.   We have begun attending CalPASS and Professional Learning Councils meetings for math. Obtaining CalPASS persistence data depends on the research agenda developed by the PLC, which has not happened yet. We still endorse this objective as important to facilitating a seamless transition from high school to college and eventually reducing the amount of remediation required for students.
 
New Initiative Objective
2) If some objectives were attained, how successful were the changes in improving program effectiveness
3) If some objectives were not attained, what were the impediments? Do you still believe these objectives will lead to program improvements?
Adequately staff our department with quality full-time faculty
  
[51] We hired Tue Rust starting in Fall 2007 and Julie Von Bergen starting in S[ring 2008. We hope to hire one full time person per year indefinitely to keep up with the legal requirements of AB1725.
Adequately staff our department with quality classified staff
[52] Our department applied to RAP for 1.0 additional permanent, classified staff, and our request was granted. Hiring has not  yet begun.
 [52] Now that the postition has been authorized, we need to recruit and hire.

Obtain data necessary for department to make informed decisions

  

[53] Our department’s requests to our SGC representatives and DGC representatives for more college resources to research for departments were ineffectual. We still believe that more research resources will improve the effectiveness of our program by allowing us to determing the success of our program action plan in improving program effectiveness.
Work with collegewide initiatives to improve retention and success of African-American students
[54] Representatives from the department are participating in planning meetings with the HSI grant to establish the Umoja Scholars Program and attended planning meetings to give input about the grant proposal for the MESA program.
[55] Jennifer, Poku, Erich and A’kilah attended MESA meetings. Jeanine and A’kilah are participating on the Umoja Scholars Task Force.
[54] We believe these objectives will help address the low success and retention rates of African-American students.
[55] We believe these objectives will lead to program improvements.

Assess and improve student support (lab and tutoring) services

[56] The math lab coordinator continues to work collaboratively with the campus wide DE committee and the HSI tutor lead to assess the effectiveness of lab tutoring in improving student learning. A pilot study was conducted in fall 2005 to directly measure the impact of lab tutoring and student learning. The DE lead for the math department is planning a follow up study during 2008.

[57] Training for individualized instruction is currently in transition as an on-line hybrid course is being developed. This is an on-going endeavor as faculty and the math lab coordinator work together to distinguish appropriate on-line content materials from hands on training. The quality of in-class tutoring is accessed each semester through the administration of student, tutor and instructor surveys. Feedback from these surveys is considered as a planning tool for subsequent semester trainings.

 [56] While it is not been possible this year to make the necessary changes to the initial study design needed before another study is conducted, valuable information concerning DE courses was attained from the study in 2005. The data from 2005 supported changes in student assignments in both math 12 and math 25 to include more depth, rigor, and real world problems. With the addition of one more full time faculty member and an additional classified employee in 2008 the math department should have the staff needed to conduct the direct measures study on student learning associated with lab tutoring.

Establish venues for faculty to discuss the implications of pertinent research in math education. Review current research on best practices in teaching and learning.

[58] We met three times in Spring 2007 and twice in Fall 2007. We read several articles on current views on teaching statistics. These readings lead to the development of a much-needed new course outline.

 [58] It was difficult to get meetings in Fall 2007, but we are planning on monthly meetings in Spring 2008. Yes, we believe the objectives are still valuable.

Develop strategies to improve student learning at specific course levels.

[59] We decided to focus on Math 34 first. We defined SLOs and rewrote the course outline to better serve the goals of LMC students.

  

Review textbooks for alignment and develop supplemental curriculum.

[60] We created a recommendation list for Math 34 with the first textbook being best aligned with the new SLOs. We believe this will create equity, which will greatly improve program effectiveness.

  

Comprehensively review our transfer offerings (with additional resources).

  
[61-64] We have not attained this goal due to the need for funding to sustain this very large undertaking.  We still, however, believe this project is important adn will lead to program improvements.

Increase supply and copy budgets, including maintenance costs.

[65] We purchased 40 TI-84 Plus calculators for use in the classrooms. All students (particularly those on financial aid) now have access to required calculators during the entire semester.

 [65] With the physical move of the entire math department into a brand new building equipped with three new printers it has not been necessary to schedule preventative maintenance of the printers; however, by summer 2008 an annual service will be needed and funds have not yet been allocated for this purpose. Additional funds will also be needed for new headphones. Although some headphones are available these are old and many are broken beyond repair or in a dilapidated state. The addition of a computer classroom and a testing center has further increased the need for additional headphones. The recommended increase is three to four times the current budget.

Develop and sustain a staff development program for new faculty (with additional resources).

 

 [66-67] Without designating release time for a new-faculty staff development lead, it is unlikely that we will build on our current efforts. For a large department, meeting these objectives are essential to programmatic sustainability and improvement. We have not truly instituted a mentoring process for the adjunct, other than occasional contact with the dev Ed coordinator, either through staff development during the semester or through email conversations. [67] At this time, mentoring faculty is not a departmental priority, because we lack the full-time faculty and because orientation and professional development within the department are filling our most pressing needs.
 

SLO's

 
4) Review the feedback from the TLP on section III, Student learning Outcomes. Please summarize your progress on your assessment plan.
 
Feedback:

Dear Department Chair of the Math Program,

 

The Teaching and Learning Project (TLP), the committee charged with coordinating assessment efforts on campus, has reviewed the Student Learning Outcome portion of the program review you submitted for the Math Program in Fall 2006. We have the following feedback.

 

Program-level SLOs

 

Your program-level student learning outcomes (PSLOs) for both the transfer and developmental education programs are clear, measurable, and describe overarching skills and abilities. They meet, if not exceed, our criteria. We have no recommendations for changes.

 

Assessment Plan

 

Both the transfer and developmental programs have well thought out assessment plans that identify a PSLO to be assessed, clearly describe the method of assessment and assessment instruments, and address how faculty will be involved. We commend you for your work and look forward to hearing about your findings in the future.

 

All departments are required to complete one assessment project by FA 08. For your reference, we are attaching the TLP Assessment Report Form. When you complete your assessment project, this is the form you will use in FA 08 to report on your project.

 
We are proceeding as planned with assessing Math 34. Wrote new SLO's and passed new Math 34 course outline. {EH}
 

Findings

 
5) What have you learned from the program review and planning process that would inform future attempts to change and improve your program?
 
Program review and the subsequent annual updates, if done conscientiously, will help us focus our efforts and reflect on our actions. It should help us create a shared vision for our program that will keep us on track.

 

Impact on program

 
6) The planning committee thought it was too early to see any impact on program data and therefore program data is not being generated this semester. However, if you would like to see an update of your program’s data, including 2005-2006, you can contact the research office at hsale@losmedanos.edu or look at data on COGNOS at http://siren.4cd.net/cognos
 
N/A

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