Abstract
This study tested whether a utility value intervention focused on the relevance of math to STEM careers and popular culture interests influenced interest and performance in mathematics. The population studied was college students enrolled in integrated/corequisite algebra courses. In each course, intervention was implemented to see if connecting algebra to careers and personal interests would increase students' mathematical knowledge, math interest, and STEM career interest. There were four conditions: students who wrote algebra problems based on their career interests, students who wrote algebra problems based on their popular culture interests, students who solved algebra problems based on their career interests, and students who received business-as-usual instruction. Posing problems about careers was most beneficial for math learning, while solving problems about careers was most beneficial for math and career interest. Posing interest-based problems allowed for rich discussions to take place in the classroom. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
TopBackground
College Algebra is often the first credit-level mathematics course that college students on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) pathways in the United States will take. STEM employment opportunities in particular are projected to increase by 50% by the end of the decade (Crisp et al., 2021). Access to and passage through algebra courses has important implications for equity in education (Moses & Cobb, 2001), with research suggesting that historically marginalized and underserved students have high failure rates in algebra courses (Allensworth, Nomi, Montgomery, & Lee, 2009). In mathematics, disparities between underserved and marginalized students and their White peers can begin as early as second grade and continue until college (Marshall & Leahy, 2019). In higher education, many students have traditionally first taken non-credit developmental math courses if they enter college without the mandated test scores to place into College Algebra. However, states have increasingly been transitioning to a corequisite model (e.g., Texas House Bill 2223), where students take a credit-level mathematics course and a developmental mathematics course simultaneously in one semester (Texas High Education Coordinating Board [THECB], 2018).
In Texas, according to the THECB (2018), the aim of HB 2223 is “to support the student’s successful completion of the college-level course” (p.1). Prior to HB 2223, it could have taken students several semesters of taking developmental courses before they got to a traditional course. For example, a student that is designated to take College Algebra, but not deemed college ready, can now take the support course and traditional course simultaneously; the old model would have required at least one semester of support, also known as non-credit based math (NCBM) or developmental math prior to taking the algebra course. The old model tended to result in students’ delayed graduation, and on average 20% of developmental mathematics students do not finish their bachelor’s degree within six years of starting (Ready Texas, 2018, p. 14). The offering of the corequisite model addresses this issue. However, currently, there is no clear definition of how colleges are supposed to provide this extra support in these “integrated” courses. In the present study, we explore an intervention for these College Algebra support classes aimed at connecting algebra to careers that college students are interested in and to their personal interests in popular culture areas.
Key Terms in this Chapter
College Algebra: A prerequisite mathematics course often taken by STEM majors that covers linear, polynomial, exponential, and logarithmic functions.
Corequisite Model: Simultaneously taking developmental (support) and transfer level (i.e., algebra) college courses within one semester, specifically mathematics or English courses.
Utility Value: When a learner associated a task with personal interests, goals, or as tailored to their future career choice.
Interest: The process of engaging and as the predisposition to re-engage with objects, events, or ideas over time.
STEM Careers: A profession related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
Personalized Learning: Students’ individual interest areas are integrated into academic instruction as a means of engagement.
Higher Education: Education beyond high school, especially at a college or university.