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Minutes
for Math Issues Committee, 10/01/04
Memorial Hall, Nutmeg Room, CCSU, 10:30-12:30
Present: Larisa Alikhanova
(Three Rivers), Kathy Bavelas (
Manchester
), Alice Burstein (Middlesex), Elaine Dinto (
Naugatuck
Valley
), Miguel Garcia (Gateway), Diane Hillyer (
Manchester
), Pat Hirschy (Asnuntuck), Joe Karnowski (
Norwalk
), Mark Leach (
Housatonic
)
Division of Math Chair/Coordinator Responsibilities
Committee
members shared information from each campus regarding duties of the Math
Chair/Coordinator. In some instances, to make the job less overwhelming,
duties are split among several department members, who may coordinate
courses, evaluate part-time instructors, be responsible for tech prep,
etc. as part of their additional responsibilities.
Tech Prep
Discussion centered on how the mathematics portion of tech prep is
handled on each campus. As was noted in discussions on the September 24,
2004, system-wide Professional Day at Naugatuck Valley, the Tech Prep
Program differs from campus to campus: different courses are articulated,
ACCUPLACER may or may not be required as a prerequisite (as it is for
other students), a locally developed final exam may or may not be given,
the course grade may be determined by the local college or by the local
high school. With Common Course Numbering, a system-wide approach would
make much more sense.
Committee
members noted challenges with the tech prep program include the fact
that students in the lower half of their classes tend to sign up for
tech prep, and while high school students may meet for 180 days and have
a lot of class time to work homework problems, college students meet for
28 days are expected to be responsible for much of their own learning.
The recommendation approved by the Mathematics faculty on the September
24, 2004 Professional Day was also discussed; a motion was made and
unanimously approved to adopt that recommendation:
Mathematics faculty
recommend that Tech Prep credit for mathematics courses be granted to
students only if the students demonstrate proficiency in those courses
in a manner determined by the mathematics department at the granting
community college.
The
group agreed to take the proposal to MBSCC (the Math Basic Skills
Committee of CT) and to our Departments. Also the group agreed to make
our respective CC Deans aware of the proposal, and to request that they
ask that the Council of Deans consider that recommendation.
Math Pathways Project
Pat
communicated information about Pathways, a faculty initiated project for
steering the mathematical development of students, and specifically to
increase student success in algebra. The California model she shared
states “The purpose is to identify, develop, and disseminate
effective, replicable methods and strategies to increase the success
rate in algebra courses across diverse student populations, while
increasing understanding and mastery of algebra skills.” The group
discussed the idea of a pilot Math Pathways program in
Connecticut, to better serve our students, and agreed to include this as
an agenda item future Math Issues Meetings.
Respectfully submitted by
Elaine Dinto
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