Collaborative workshops and student academic performance in introductory college mathematics courses: A study of a Treisman model math excel program

School Science and Mathematics, Nov 2000 by Duncan, Hollis, Dick, Thomas

High failure rates in introductory college mathematics courses, particularly among underrepresented groups of students, have been of concern for many years. One approach to the problem experiencing some success has been Treisman 's Emerging Scholars workshop model. The model involves supplemental workshops in which students solve problems in collaborative learning groups. This study reports on the effectiveness of Math Excel, an implementation of the Treisman model for introductory mathematics courses (college algebra, precalculus, differential calculus, and integral calculus) at Oregon State University over five academic terms. Regression analyses revealed a significant effect on achievement (671 grade points on a 4-point scale) favoring Math Excel students. Even after adjusting for prior mathematics achievement using linear regression with SAT-Mas predictor, Math Excel groups' grade averages were over half a grade point better than predicted (significant at the . 001 level). This study provides supporting evidence that programs like Math Excel can help students in making a successful transition to college mathematics study.

High failure rates in introductory college mathematics courses have been of concern for many years, particularly among underrepresented groups of students. Certainly, academic placement of students into an appropriate first college mathematics course is a critical issue, but it is not the whole story. Students making the transition to college mathematics may be confronted with an instructional pacing and set of expectations different from their high school experience and without familiar support structures.

In 1975-76, Uri Treisman conducted a study at the University of California, Berkeley, in which he studied a group of 20 African American students and a group of 20 Chinese American students enrolled in introductory calculus (Fullilove & Treisman, 1990). These two groups of students experienced sharply contrasting success in calculus. The Chinese American students excelled, while many of the African American students failed.

Treisman noted that these differences in academic success could not be attributed to differences in motivation, inadequate academic preparation, lack of family support for higher education, or differences in socioeconomic status. Instead, what Treisman found was a striking difference between how these two groups viewed the meaning of "studying math." The African American students tended to work in isolation, rarely consulting with other students or teaching assistants. In effect, these students had compartmentalized their daily life into academic and social components. In contrast, the Chinese students often met in peer study groups, an activity that was integrated into their social lives.

Out of this experience, Treisman developed the Mathematics Workshop Program, intended to provide supplementary peer collaborative problem solving experiences in a social atmosphere for students enrolled in introductory calculus. Now called the Emerging Scholars Program, it has enjoyed success in increasing the representation of African American and Latino mathematics majors (Treisman replicated the program at University of Texas at Austin starting in 1988). The model has been adapted at many other campuses, to different levels of mathematics instruction, and to other subject disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics. This article reports on the results of one such adaptation - the Math Excel program at Oregon State University.

Background

At the K- 12 school levels, instruction using cooperative or collaborative learning techniques has gained in popularity, and there is a substantial body of literature supporting the idea that students can attain higher achievement through working together in groups (Davidson, 1990; Good, Mulryan, McCaslin, 1992; Johnson, Johnson & Holubec, 1994; Leikin & Zaslavsky, 1997, 1999; Slavin, 1985; Sutton, 1992; Webb, 1985, 1991; Webb, Troper, & Fall, 1995).

While most of the research in support of cooperative groups has been done at K- 12 grade levels, there is a growing interest in the use of collaborative learning at college levels. For example, CLUME (Cooperative Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics Education) is an annual conference bringing together college mathematics educators involved or interested in the use of cooperative learning techniques. Less research on collaborative learning has been performed at the college level, but there are indications of the positive impact of having students working with peers in small groups (Springer, Stanne, & Donovan, 1999).

The goal of many Emerging Scholars mathematics programs is to increase both the success and the participation of underrepresented students in mathematics through collaborative problem solving (what constitutes an underrepresented target group varies with institution - it could be women students, students of color, or students from rural backgrounds).

At the University of California, Pomona, such a program was created specifically targeting minority students. These minority students in freshman calculus courses were invited to attend collaborative workshops. Bonsangue (1994; Bonsangue & Drew, 1995) found that the minority students in the workshop achieved significantly higher grades in the calculus course than did the minority students not enrolled in the workshop. When compared to nonminority students, there was no statistically significant difference in their grades.