PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
Learning Our Way into Effective Professional Development: Networked Improvement Science in Community College Developmental Mathematics
Page: 871
Every year, hundreds of thousands of college students are placed into, and do not complete, developmental math courses. The Carnegie Math Pathways, a nationwide initiative aimed at addressing this problem, is comprised of a student-centered instructional system that forefronts mathematical sense-making and conceptual understanding; structural changes to course offerings; and a system of faculty professional development. This paper reports on the use of Improvement Science, an approach grounded in methods and tools of quality improvement, to design, improve, and scale a professional development program for first-time Pathways instructors. We also report on insights derived from the improvement approach about effective professional development in the Pathways and findings related to common challenges faced when teaching the Pathways. We conclude with implications for professional development in higher education and the use of improvement science to scale effective professional development.