Case Studies

Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge

Textbooks in Use with MyMathLab

Algebra and Trigonometry, 8e, 2008, Sullivan

MyMathLab Course Structure

Course Design

The Roadmap to Redesign model requires active participation and increased use of technology from students. Students are required to spend one hour a week in a traditional classroom of 40 students and a minimum of three flexible hours a week in a math lab using MyMathLab.

The 275-seat Pleasant Hall Math Learning Lab is open 60 hours each week and is staffed with instructors, teaching assistants, and undergraduate math majors. In addition to putting in the minimum required hours in the learning lab, students can work additional hours in the lab or work at their convenience from a Web-accessible computer.

Assessments

All assessments are taken using MyMathLab. The final grade is determined as follows:

10 percent	Participation (5 percent for class participation and 5 percent for lab hours)
10 percent	Homework (2 of 29 homework scores will be dropped)
10 percent	Quizzes (2 of 9 quiz scores will be dropped)
40 percent	Tests (4 tests, lowest may be replaced with final exam score)
30 percent	Final Exam (departmental, group, cumulative)

MyMathLab Implementation

MyMathLab homework, quizzes, and tests contribute to 90 percent of each student’s final course grade. All assignments are created in MyMathLab by the course coordinators, thus ensuring quality control of content and avoiding course drift. Exercises generated by MyMathLab are iterations of the textbook exercises. Homework may be repeated an unlimited number of times prior to the due date. Quiz and test questions come directly from the assigned homework problems. Quizzes may be attempted up to 10 times before the due date; quizzes are drawn from a pool of questions with similar objectives. Test questions are also pooled. Tests are proctored, password protected, and taken in the university testing center during a six-day period. Students are allowed one attempt at tests. Due dates are entered by each teacher to accommodate section meeting days and so as not to overload the lab.

Grades are exported to an in-house course management system.

MyMathLab Course Results

Data for fall 2006 illustrates the positive correlation between time spent on task and final grade. During the semester charted below, 90 percent of students who completed 70 to 100 percent of the minimum participation requirements (going to class and working in the lab) earned a grade of A, B, or C. See Table 1.

Percentage of Class- and Lab-Time Participation	Number of Students Earning Grade of A, B, or C	Number of Students Earning Grade of D, F, or W	Total	Percentage of As, Bs, and Cs in Category
70-100	1,143	122	1,265	90
0-69	187	287	474	39
Total	1,330	409	1,739	76

Table 1. Participation Data for College Algebra, Fall 2006

Student success increases when students do more math. Under the LSU redesigned format, students not only do more math but also receive help from a variety of resources—MyMathLab tutorials (help, examples, videos), teachers, tutors in the learning lab, and locally produced videos—which address all learning styles. There is no end to the available resources for students who want to learn. Table 2 shows the chronology of LSU’s College Algebra redesign efforts from spring 2001 through fall 2007 and the positive results those efforts have achieved.

	Course Description	Number of Students	Percent Drop Rate	Final Exam Median	Percent ABC Rates	Percent ABC Rates per Calendar Year
Spring 2001	Traditional Sections	1,223	31	68	50
Fall 2001	Traditional Sections	3,115	16	73	66	63
Spring 2002	Traditional Sections	1,191	22	69	54	63
Fall 2002	Traditional Sections	3,188	15	70	64	61
Spring 2003	Traditional Sections	1,066	21	68	53	61
Fall 2003	Traditional Sections	3,211	14	72	68	67
Spring 2004	Traditional Sections	1,025	18	68	64	67
Fall 2004	Large Lecture Sections with MyMathLab	742	20	80	66	69
Fall 2004	Traditional Sections	2,605	14	76	72
Spring 2005	Traditional Sections	610	17	71	66
Spring 2005	Redesigned Sections with MyMathLab	196	34	61	47
Fall 2005*	Large Lecture Sections with MyMathLab	841	20	76	66	55*
Fall 2005*	Traditional Sections	743	28	64	49
Fall 2005*	Redesigned Sections with MyMathLab	922	29	73	48
Spring 2006	Redesigned Sections with MyMathLab	567	26	67	59
Fall 2006	Redesigned Sections with MyMathLab	1,724	6	78	75	72
Spring 2007	Redesigned Sections with MyMathLab	384	11	71	55	72
Fall 2007**	Redesigned Sections with MyMathLab	1,739	7	64	67
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita greatly affected these statistics, in particular the drop rate. First-semester students with Match ACT of 25 or greater were given automatic course credit for the first time. *Course rigor increased.

Table 2. Drop Rates, Final Exam Medians, and Success Rates for College Algebra, Spring 2001–Fall 2007

Conclusions

A goal of redesign was to retain the high rate of student success in College Algebra. Using the present, redesigned program (with MyMathLab), LSU–Baton Rouge has improved on previous success rates (with the exception of the Katrina/Rita semester). An Early Intervention program is being piloted in an effort to identify and immediately engage students who fall behind early in the course.

Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge

School Years:	4
Courses:	College Algebra
Environment:	Hybrid
Type of Data:	Participation, Retention, Success Rates
Date	Spring 2001–Fall 2007

"This student-centered approach to learning requires students to put in more time doing mathematics and less time watching mathematics, which is why their learning outcomes are measurably higher."

Phoebe Rouse
Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge