PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Investigating the effects of culturally relevant pedagogy on college algebra students’ attitudes towards mathematics
Page: 133
College algebra continues to be a barrier for college students (particularly non-STEM majors) to graduate. The rigid teaching methods for developmental mathematics courses continues to exacerbate this issue causing failure rates among students. In an age where colleges are recruiting more students of color, these students are often regulated to these courses and are struggling to successfully complete it in one attempt. With innovate teaching strategies, this study sought to address this problem. The purpose of study was to investigate the effects of a sequence of lessons grounded in the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy on students enrolled in a college algebra course at a historically Black college/university. In particular, the study examined students’ views about mathematics and its interaction with culture. Results indicated that students in this course, had positive views about this course, despite their views about mathematics coming in to the course.