Basic Mathematics Skills Self-Paced - GCC

Why was MAT 090S developed? In the past, students in MAT 090 (Basic Mathematics Skills) became frustrated for one of two reasons: 1) they became bored because the material was too easy and the class was moving too slowly or 2) they became discouraged because the material was too difficult and the class was moving too fast. It was our hope that MAT 090S would offer a solution to both of these situations by allowing students to decide their own pace through the material, thereby giving them more time to work on the difficult concepts and allowing them to speed through the more familiar concepts. The course design allows students to finish the course early, as well as start the course at any point during the semester (one student took advantage of this option by joining the class midway through the spring 2014 semester). Course Structure: MAT 090S was offered for the first time this spring (2014) and will continue to be offered in the future. This course has the same content as MAT 090, but is divided into 6 self-paced modules, in addition to a cumulative final exam. A new grading system is being used for this course: A, B, C and NC (rather than A, B, C, and F). The NC grade is for students that have been working on the modules but have not completed the course by the end of the semester. Students receive a letter grade for the course once all six modules and the final exam are successfully completed. In the first semester the course was offered, several students completed the course prior to the end of the semester and several completed the course during the final exam period. Most of the students that received an NC grade have registered for the course again and will continue working on any unfinished modules (these students have a grade recorded in Banner's SOATEST for each of their completed modules). Each of the six modules begins with a pretest given in My Math Lab (these scores do not count in the student’s final grade). The pretests customize the homework for each student by removing problems that the student demonstrates an understanding of on the pretest. Once the pretest is completed, students begin working on a class-work packet designed to replace the lectures that occur in MAT 090. Students work on these packets both individually and in small groups with instructor assistance as needed. Each section of a packet corresponds to a homework assignment given in My Math Lab. Students have the choice to spend the entire class working on the packets or to spend part of the class working on the packets and part of the class working on the homework (the class is taught in a computer classroom). Once the pretest, packet and homework for a module is completed, the student takes a written test for that module. If the student receives a passing grade on the written test (70% or higher), the student then moves on to the next module. On any given day, it's possible to have every student working on a different section of the course. As an example, one day this spring involved 5 students each taking a different chapter test (one from each of the first 5 chapters).