PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
Convergent and Divergent Student Experiences in a Problem-Based Developmental Mathematics Class
Page: 695
In recent years low success rates in traditionally taught pre-college mathematics classes has led to new courses that use group work and problem solving to teach the required content. Early results examining student outcomes are promising, but say little about students’ classroom experiences. This study uses interviews from six students and one instructor in a single class to explore differences between student experiences and the intentions of the instructor. Although several students expressed positive perceptions of the class, tensions arose between students who wanted to learn efficiently versus the classroom expectation that students stay together in their groups. Practices such as copying and dictation arose, at least partially, as coping mechanisms for students caught between these conflicting values. Future work should examine alternative grouping methods and ways of using early indicators of need to provide additional support.