Component One: Redesign and Standardize Transfer Level Math Pathways
Why Financial Literacy?
College students must make financial decisions before they start college, while they are in college, and after they leave college. Some of these decisions are applying for financial aid, deciding to accept or not accept a loan, paying for tuition, paying for school materials, and managing student debt. Failure to support students can result in a failure to matriculate, mismanaged finances, and accumulated student debt. Through a series of gatherings, in an effort to support our students, MSJC’s math department has embedded financial literacy into the math courses Math 105, Math 110, and Math 140. Our transfer-level college courses will now not only be limited to the required content students must know for their future endeavors, but they will also provide students with education in financial literacy.
Why Open Educational Resources (OER)?
Inflated costs of traditional textbooks and other required class materials are a known factor for influencing students toward dropping courses, failing to register, or choosing alternative courses. This is particularly true for community colleges. For students attending MSJC, this problem of affordability for textbooks and other required class materials is compounded by living standard challenges here in California. To help eliminate some of these financial barriers, MSJC’s math department has adopted OER materials and has built free courses for Math 105, Math 110, and Math 140. Math faculty now have the option to provide free and accessible materials to our students.
How to Standardize Course Structure?
Research and develop best practices for instructors regarding: 1) equitable grading structures that are motivational, accurate, and reduce bias; 2) strategies that build confidence and focus on ensuring learning over managing process (pre-test, re-test, etc.) and 3) student-centered teaching strategies for active learning, flipped classroom models.