Challenge
The three institutions of California higher education: California State University, Northridge (CSUN), Los Angeles Mission College (LAMC) and Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC), all Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) with over 50% underrepresented minorities are experiencing double digits ethnic and gender equity gaps in STEM disciplines. These gaps have been linked to the continuing failure of the existing calculus courses to engage underserved populations of students in the process of learning and to provide students with necessary tools to grow in their majors. Focused on frontloading mechanical skills required for differentiation and integration, existing courses often overlook applications, relation of the material to the student future careers, and the impact of the knowledge on local and global communities. As a result, students of color disproportionately fail the first semester of Calculus and avoid STEM pathways altogether. To close equity gaps in STEM, novel approaches need to be implemented for Calculus courses that are grounded in culturally responsive pedagogy and utility value theory and capitalize on active learning, project-based learning, and adaptive learning. The new introductory mathematics courses must be built on principles of inclusion, recognize student identities, and foster sense of belonging in STEM for minoritized populations of student.
Project Design
The new course will embrace culturally responsive pedagogy, contextualization of mathematical content, active and adaptive learning, gamification, and will implement utility value (UV) interventions to increase student motivation. A key project component is fostering underrepresented students’ motivation and STEM identities by identifying connections between student lives and the course content. A near-peer mentorship program across the three institutions will be developed to build student communities and to strengthen the STEM transfer pipeline. Additionally, summer bridge programs will be designed and implemented that will pair mathematical training to biological sciences training and teach students study skills, skills to overcome math anxiety, and to foster a growth mindset orientation. Use of multiple technology tools are planned to mitigate symbolic manipulation. The developed curriculum materials, interventions, and resources will form an open-source course. Professional development resources will be designed to train faculty members in the participating institutions in equitable and inclusive teaching, active and adaptive learning, and in using UV strategies to ensure student success. It is expected that about 980 students will take the new course during the project. Up to 19 faculty will be directly involved in implementation of the new course including the seven project PIs/senior personnel and up to twelve additional faculty instructors in the three institutions. At least 48 mathematics faculty members will receive professional development training in culturally responsive pedagogy and equitable STEM teaching. It is anticipated that up to 12 instructional student assistants will be trained to facilitate the active learning and up to 37 student tutors/mentors receive training and will work with students during in the project.