Guest Post: The Policy of Redesign

Today’s post comes from Cynthia Liston, a Jobs for the Future consultant that is helping facilitate the work of the North Carolina Developmental Education Initiative state policy team. Her description of the DEI Math Task Force is a great example of how a state-level system can act as a convener, bringing faculty and administrators together to address the challenges of developmental math innovation, from assessment, to pedagogy, and all the way to financial aid.

Redesigning developmental math is well underway in North Carolina, and we’re learning a lot as we go. In October 2010 the North Carolina Community College System DEI State Policy Team approved design principles to steer developmental math redesign, as well as a process to identify 18 developmental and curriculum math faculty from across the state to do the “roll up your sleeves” work of curriculum redesign.  

This new DEI Math Task Force started its work in January to create developmental math modules that will result in more flexible paths toward curriculum-level math courses.  In 2012 the new modules will be paired with a to-be-developed custom diagnostic placement test and revised placement policies. North Carolina’s common course numbering system and central system office make this kind of statewide curriculum work possible.

So, how’s it going so far?  Here are a few thoughts to share.  First, early on the faculty team had some “aha” moments. Taking to heart the ambitious design principles, the Task Force decided that to truly affect change, it should do more than reduce curriculum redundancies and take out those competencies better taught at the curriculum level. So while the creation of eight modules, designed so they can be taken in a year in contrast to the current three-semester sequence, is important in and of itself, the modules also incorporate a pedagogical shift. They strive to strengthen students’ conceptual understanding of math through an emphasis on applications and problem-solving. 

One particularly influential piece of research driving this shift has been James Stigler’s (and his colleagues) article “What Community College Developmental Mathematics Students Understand About Mathematics.”  True numeracy means understanding and applying mathematical concepts, but too often students default to “plug and chug” formula-driven approaches. The new modules winnow the number of competencies taught, yet seek deeper understanding of core concepts. This shift means we will need to offer professional development to encourage faculty to move away from procedural-based teaching methods, and the Task Force will create sample assessments and tips to implement this approach.

A current issue is figuring out the changes in colleges’ administrative processes that are necessary to support the new modules. Ideally students will be able to move through modules at different rates—a competency-based approach. But our registration, tuition, and data management systems, as well as Federal financial aid regulations, are contact-hour based. A group of administrators is working on developing new models and processes to address these issues. Please wish them well—this is not easy! 

Stay tuned for implementation updates: beta testing of the modules begins in fall 2011 followed by larger pilots in spring 2012 and rollout across the state in fall 2012.

Cynthia Liston is a Jobs for the Future consultant who is helping facilitate the work of North Carolina’s Developmental Education Initiative state policy team.