Sarah Bockting-Conrad’s lesson begins with a reminder about an upcoming exam.
Then it’s on to a handful of example problems dealing with sequences and geometric series. She moves from white board to white board – they form the perimeter of the classroom – as her students look on from six-seat computer pods.
After about a half hour, Bockting-Conrad is finished with her material and turns the reins over to the students: The remaining 45 minutes of class is theirs to spend working on their computer-based homework. But Bockting-Conrad is still present, available to consult with anyone who runs into a particularly challenging question.
This is how Math 112 and two other introductory-level mathematics courses are taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison these days. The combination of computer-based learning and classroom discussion is quite a departure from how UW-Madison students previously achieved basic math proficiency.
Bockting-Conrad, the teaching assistants coordinator for Math 112, describes the course’s previous format – small sections taught in a 50-minute lecture format three times a week – as a race to cover all the material.
“It was a grueling course for both the students and the instructors,” she says.
But the Department of Mathematics wanted to create a more active learning experience for students and began piloting the new format several years ago.
That effort, spearheaded by Shirin Malekpour and Diane Rivard, the co-coordinators of the three courses, coincided with the construction of the WisCEL (Wisconsin Collaboratory for Enhanced Learning) on the third floor of College Library. WisCEL spaces at College Library and Wendt Commons Library opened in February. This is the first semester where all sections of Math 95, 101 and 112 have operated under the revamped structure.
The core components of the new approach are the WisCEL space, which promotes a spirit of collaboration and discussion, and the computer software, a customized version MyLabsPlus by Pearson Education, the third piece of software the department tested during the pilot phase. The web-based software – students can access it from anywhere with Internet access – allows for instant feedback and increased accountability.
The WisCEL space in College Library has an open concept, with computer pods placed throughout. (Sarah Morton, College of Letters & Science)
Students immediately see whether they've answered a problem correctly and are offered options for help if they’re stumped (for example, if students click the “Help me solve this” button, the software will run through a similar problem). They must solve 80 percent of their homework problems to progress to quizzes, ensuring they've sufficiently understood the material.
When it comes time to study for exams, the software even generates an individualized “study plan” based on topics they've struggled on – say, linear inequalities or quadratic equations – in their homework. Malekpour and Rivard are also able to mine that data when meeting with students, drafting lesson plans for their teaching assistants, or creating exams.
First-year student Alicia Dominy, who’s taking Math 112 this semester, admits she was skeptical of the computer-based nature of the course, but has found the software easy to use.
“It’s going a lot better than I thought it would,” she says.
These aren't online classes, though; rather, they follow a blended learning model. Instructors cover select homework problems, chosen by Rivard to ensure uniformity across sections, during the “lecture” portion of class. The bulk of the time is budgeted for students to begin their homework while they have resources – their instructors and their peers – available for help.
“The students do the math,” Rivard says. “They don’t watch somebody, so it’s very active. Usually, when you are in a lecture and it’s an hour and 15 minutes, you watch somebody doing it for you. Here, most of the time should be spent on doing the problems and asking questions.”