Apr 1st, 2008
Jackson State Community College has recently redesigned its developmental math courses to help students move through the developmental math process sooner. The college will host an open house for its new SMART Math Center on Tuesday, April 8 at 2 p.m.
Jackson State has redesigned its three traditional developmental studies mathematics courses - basic math, elementary algebra and intermediate algebra - into twelve modules. Students will be required to take only the modules that are relevant to their career goals. Instead of taking three semesters to complete three separate courses, now students can move through the twelve modules they need at their own pace and complete the program much sooner.
The community college provides developmental studies programs for students who may have forgotten what they learned in elementary, middle or high school. These courses, offered in math, reading and writing, are designed to prepare students to succeed in upper division college-level work.
The SMART Math Center, located in the Nelms Classroom Building on the Jackson campus, will house course content modules, video lectures, online homework and testing from MyMathLab, and will provide a place for students to receive immediate assistance from instructors and tutors. Student learning will be supported by online tutorials, instructor-led discussion groups, organized group study and one-on-one tutoring. The SMART Math Center will offer special assistance for students who fall behind in scheduled work and acceleration for students who are capable of moving through objectives more quickly.
To measure the success of the program, the college will monitor the progress of students through SMART math and evaluate the assessments from traditional and redesigned math sections. In addition, Jackson State will track the attitudes of students toward math and the new leaning environment.
Jackson State was selected as one of four colleges in the state to pilot a developmental math redesign project and receive a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) for the pilot. The program was recently highlighted at the annual conference for the National Center of Academic Transformation in Orlando, Fl.
The open house for the SMART Math Center on Tuesday, April 8 from 2 - 4 p.m. will include an explanation of the math redesign, a demonstration of some of the SMART math tools and a tour of the Center.
For more information contact Betty Frost, department chair and associate professor of mathematics, or Mary Jane Bassett, executive director of academic assistance, at 731-424-3520.