North Carolina's community colleges redesigned developmental math programs in 2011. The overall effectiveness of the redesign has not yet been evaluated. A concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted at Mid-Atlantic Community College (MACC) for a formative and summative evaluation of the redesigned program. Mezirow's transformative learning theory, along with an emphasis on designing individualized methods of instruction as outlined by Keller were the theoretical foundations of the evaluation. The extent to which the redesigned math modules affected the effectiveness of the math program at MACC was the guiding research question. Data on student outcomes and participant perceptions were collected for this concurrent mixed methods evaluation. Quantitative data from MACC institutional databases (N = 827) were used to compare the overall GPAs and mean passing grades for students in the old (2012-13) and new (2013-15) programs using an independent samples t test. There were no significant differences in students' mean passing grades or overall GPAs for the redesigned modules, compared to the semester classes. Qualitative data from 9 semi-structured interviews with 3 administrators, 3 instructors, and 3 students were analyzed inductively for thematic patterns. Qualitative results indicated that perceptions of administrators were more favorable regarding the effectiveness of the redesign than the perceptions of instructors and students and that programs implementing individualized modules need to provide professional development training to those individuals affected by the redesign. Results from this study can promote positive social change by providing information for improved teaching and learning practices among developmental math instructors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:waldenu.edu/oai:scholarworks.waldenu.edu:dissertations-8143 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Creators | Spellman, Elaine Sabrina |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks |
| Source Sets | Walden University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies |
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