Abstracts of Research Papers:

Mathematics for the New Millennium
Sheldon P. Gordon
Mathematics Department, Farmingdale State University of New York, Farmingdale, NY 11735, gordonsp@farmingdale.edu

Courses below calculus need to be refocused to emphasise conceptual understanding and realistic applications via mathematical modelling rather than an overarching focus on developing algebraic skills that may be needed for calculus. Without understanding the concepts, students will not be able to transfer the mathematics to new situations or to use modern technology wisely or effectively. Without a modelling approach, students do not recognise the mathematics when it arises in courses in other fields. And, in an era when any routine operation can be performed at the push of a button, courses that make development of algebraic skills the primary objective are producing nothing more than imperfect organic clones of existing technology.

Beginning with a 21st Century View: Technology and Modelling with Interdisciplinary Applications in College Algebra
William P. Fox and Richard D. West
Francis Marion University, wfox@fmarion.edu, rwest@fmarion.edu

Traditional, skills-based college algebra has been taught at Francis Marion University since before the school’s establishment as a four-year institution in 1970. The majority of students performed poorly in these skills-based courses. To our more senior faculty in the department and in the university, high failure rates are alarming. Through an analysis of data, we attempt to shed light on the fact that these high failure rates make these entry-level courses unsuccessful. To lessen the impact on our student retention, we established a two-course alternative sequence that uses applications and projects to motivate the college algebra. We integrated real-world problems in the form of projects, applications, and activities to motivate students to better understand the basic principles of algebra. Student performance improved, and feedback from most of the students was positive. Based on the overall positive experience, these two new freshman algebra courses have become prerequisites for other mathematics courses instead of just terminal courses. In this paper, we discuss these courses, our “salesmanship”, the interdisciplinary projects we used, and how we integrate technology.

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The Role of Video Lectures in Teaching Introductory Statistics
David Sze
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, USA.
dsze@monmouth.edu

In the past year, the author has taught introductory mathematics and statistics courses at three on-ground universities and three on-line universities. Learning via on-ground formats and learning via on-line formats are clearly based on different paradigms, and each has some strength where the other has weaknesses. For example, the author found that on-line students missed the lecture format that on-ground classes take for granted and on-ground students desired more of the give-and-take discussions that on-line courses emphasise. In this paper, the author reports the results of his various attempts to hybridise on-ground and on-line teaching methods for teaching introductory statistics, particularly using on-line video lectures that are suitable for both high-speed and dial-up access.

Restructuring College Algebra
Robert Mayes
West Virginia University
rmayes@math.wvu.edu

There is a call for change in College Algebra. The traditional focus on skill development is failing, resulting in withdrawal and failure rates that are excessive. In addition, too many students who are successful do not continue on to take a successive mathematics course. The Institute for Mathematics Learning at West Virginia University has been restructuring College Algebra with the objective of improving student attitude towards and success in mathematics. The following is a report of research into the successes and failures of this course.

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