Building and Sustaining Success in Precalculus: A Multi-Pronged Approach

Abstract

Nationwide, many students fail to complete the key mathematics courses that are required for most STEM majors, including Precalculus. This paper describes the rationale, implementation, and impact of the redesign of Precalculus at one regional west coast institution. Prior to the redesign, pass rates in Precalculus were modest (75.8% of all students, calendar years 2009–2014). The redesigned course emphasizes active learning including group work based on conceptual questions and utilizes standards-based grading with a supporting emphasis on growth mindset. In the first three semesters of implementation, 88% of students passed the redesigned course. While the authors focus on the redesign of a Precalculus course, it is our hope that instructors of other core mathematics courses for STEM majors may find information of value in this work.

KEYWORDS:

• Precalculus
• standards-based grading
• scholarship of teaching and learning
• active learning

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors are thankful to the California State University system for its support of Course Redesign, and to the editors and anonymous reviewers who provided helpful feedback to earlier drafts of this work.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matthew G. Jones

Matthew G. Jones is Mathematics Department Chair and Associate Director of the Center for Innovation in STEM Education (CISE). He has taught more than a dozen different classes at the undergraduate level using Inquiry-Based Learning. His research is in mathematics education and in inquiry-based learning. He also finds time to enjoy the company of his wife and two daughters.

Sharon Lanaghan

Sharon Lanaghan has been a Lecturer in both the Mathematics and Teacher Education departments at CSUDH since 2013. She has over 15 years of experience teaching and training teachers in elementary, middle and high school, as well as higher education. As the CSUDH STEM Pathway Coordinator, she is dedicated to helping students succeed as STEM majors by designing instruction that engages students and pushes them to make sense of what they are learning.