A Foundation Priority: Catalyzing a Networked Improvement Community for a Statistics Pathway Anthony S. Bryk September 2009

Ambitious Learning For All Students Establishing the Context: What are we working towards? ASSUMPTION We live in a knowledge-based economy More Efficient Systems ASSUMPTION Fierce competition for resources

Current “Hot Topics” in the Academy Foundation “X” Strategic Priorities State Policies & Current Reform Priorities Foundation “Y” Strategic Priorities Local Institutional Considerations Commercial Market Incentives RP R P P P R R R R P RR RP A Dense Array of Fragmented Activity Key: = Individual Researcher = Individual Practitioner R P But We Live in an Incoherent Environment for Improvement

Ambitious Learning For All Students More Efficient Systems “The Horizon” Networked improvement communities needed The current educational R&D system will not get us to our goals Problems of Practice Improvement Focus Rapid prototyping-test-refine-retry (Engineering) Co-development in an open resources environment Not just can it work; How to make it work reliably

A major institution for advancing social equity and fueling 21 st century labor needs. Yet many students find their path to success blocked by developmental ed requirements. A “bridge problem” between K-12 and post-secondary. So let’s remove the wall and figure out how to effect greater success for larger numbers of students. Why Focus on Developmental Mathematics in Community Colleges?

Nationally: – 60 percent of students enrolling in community colleges take remedial classes. – 90 percent for low-income and minority students at some community colleges. – The number of students moving from remedial education classes to college-level courses can drop as low as 15 percent A Failure of Basic Education: The Problem is Everywhere

Many Different Claims about the Problem and Promising Solutions A sampler P: Assessments misplace students in developmental math ( taking test “cold turkey”) S: Summer Bridge Programs P: Assessments misplace students in developmental math ( taking test “cold turkey”) S: Summer Bridge Programs P: Weak instructional practices S: faculty improvement community P: Weak instructional practices S: faculty improvement community P: Incoherent Curriculum structure/schedule ( too many discrete hurdles) S: Integrated, intensive, course pathways P: Incoherent Curriculum structure/schedule ( too many discrete hurdles) S: Integrated, intensive, course pathways P: Weak counseling support services S: case management system P: Weak counseling support services S: case management system P: Not allocating our best people to our hardest problems S: Change incentive/ rewards systems P: Not allocating our best people to our hardest problems S: Change incentive/ rewards systems P: Targeting the wrong learning goals for many students? P: Students weakly connected to institution/peers S: learning communities P: Students weakly connected to institution/peers S: learning communities P: We are out of touch. 21st century students S: exploit technology P: We are out of touch. 21st century students S: exploit technology P: a problem analysis  S: a promising solution claim

A Big Orienting Question: Are We Aiming at the Right Learning Goals? What is that students actually need to know and do for success in work and life? And taking a step back, what are they likely to know upon entry into a community college?

Understanding Fractions, Decimals, Percents Circle the numbers that are equivalent to There is more than one correct response. 23% 67% * All correct = 4% 3% 9% * % * % 3% 53% * 0.30%12% * Is a correct answer

Understanding of Arithmetic Operations If n is a positive whole number, is the product n x a)greater than n 34% b)less than n 30% * c)equal to n 11% d)can’t tell 26%

Revisiting the Question of Rigor: An “Immodest Proposal” More content for more students along the path to Calculus? Or, r obust instructional systems where all students attain: Deep understanding of basic concepts Attain procedural fluency in use Apply these fundaments in analyzing basic problems in work and personal life Coupled with statistics, data analysis, quantitative reasoning the mathematics for many occupations the mathematics for many professions the mathematics for citizenship--making decisions under uncertainty about our life in an increasingly complex commons

An Improvement Network Organized Around Solving This Problem –A common analytic frame for organizing local improvements –Common measures (student background, processes, and outcomes) to inform continuous improvement –A shared technical capacity to support and build local capacity –Linked together in a community of participation (face-to-face and web 2.0)

What do we need to know about the students? Mathematics skills, understanding& background Literacy and language capacities Schooling histories/ Experiences Work-family factors affecting persistence What do we need to know about the students? Mathematics skills, understanding& background Literacy and language capacities Schooling histories/ Experiences Work-family factors affecting persistence P: Assessments misplace students in developmental math ( taking test “cold turkey”) S: Bootcamps P: Assessments misplace students in developmental math ( taking test “cold turkey”) S: Bootcamps P: Weak instructional practices S: nurture faculty- research improvement community P: Weak instructional practices S: nurture faculty- research improvement community P: Incoherent Curriculum structure/schedule ( too many discrete hurdles; no “race course”; no continuity faculty & students) S: Integrated, intensive, course pathways P: Incoherent Curriculum structure/schedule ( too many discrete hurdles; no “race course”; no continuity faculty & students) S: Integrated, intensive, course pathways P: Weak counseling support services S: case mngt. systems P: Weak counseling support services S: case mngt. systems What must students know/do & do we know if we’re Improving? Computational skills Math understanding necessary for subsequent success Dispositions to succeed in college Acquired social capital to persist What must students know/do & do we know if we’re Improving? Computational skills Math understanding necessary for subsequent success Dispositions to succeed in college Acquired social capital to persist P: Not allocating our best people to our hardest problems S: Change incentive/ rewards systems P: Not allocating our best people to our hardest problems S: Change incentive/ rewards systems P: Targeting the wrong learning goals for many students P: Students weakly connected to institution/peers S: learning communities P: Students weakly connected to institution/peers S: learning communities P: We are out of touch. 21st century students S: exploit technology P: We are out of touch. 21st century students S: exploit technology A Student-Centered Statistics Pathway

An Open Resources Infrastructure Program Improvement Map Research Nodes Practice Nodes RP R P P P R R R R R P P RR R P P RP P P R An Improvement Network Organized Around Solving the Problem Core R&D Relationships R&D Relationships Enhanced/Scaled via Commercial Partnerships

OER/D-EE-D Platform Program Improvement Map Research Nodes Practice Nodes Hub RP R P P P R R R R R P P RR R P P RP P P R An Improvement Network Organized Around this Problem

Capacity 1: Instructional Core Learning Goals/Curriculum Framework Core Instructional Practices Advancing student success -- how to engage the learner and provide social supports for learning Capacity 2: Integrated Assessments Entry assessments to inform and individualize instruction— understanding better who our students are Embedded formative assessment tasks Summative performance assessment Capacity 3: Faculty Learning Nurture faculty community around this instructional system and its continuous improvement Resources to enhance faculty expertise at they engage “this instructional system with these students” Develop teaching performance assessments ( learning teaching) Building knowledge development & management capacity 3 Infusing special attention to ELL students/language/literacy issues 2 Investigating the technology value-added possibilities 1 Cross-cutting Capacities Capacity 4: Organizational Change Leadership engagement support and press for change Building capacity of change agents internal and external Seed the Network with Core Technical Support

MathEnglishGE1GE2... Transfer Level Credits (no pre-requisites) 1-YEAR Statistics Just-in-time Inter. Algebra Pre- Algebra Elem. Algebra Just-in-time The End Goal: Measureable Success on a Statistics Pathway