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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Mathematics

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Diagnostic Effects Of An Early Mastery Activity In College Algebra And Precalculus, Nathan Wakefield, Joe Champion, Jessalyn Bolkema, Douglas Dailey Jan 2018

Diagnostic Effects Of An Early Mastery Activity In College Algebra And Precalculus, Nathan Wakefield, Joe Champion, Jessalyn Bolkema, Douglas Dailey

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate implementation of an early intervention mastery activity during the first two weeks of college algebra and precalculus courses at a large U.S. public university. Statistical modeling of (N = 935) students’ performance in the courses, including a logistic regression model of pass/fail course achievement with students’ high school rank, ACT Mathematics scores, and performance on the intervention as explanatory variables, suggested significant independent differences in course performance across performance levels on the early mastery activity. An evaluation of diagnostic validity for the model yielded a 19% false negative rate (predicted to …


An Early Semester Mastery Activity And Intervention In First-Year Calculus, Allan P. Donsig, Nathan Wakefield Jan 2017

An Early Semester Mastery Activity And Intervention In First-Year Calculus, Allan P. Donsig, Nathan Wakefield

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

Success in first-year mathematics courses is essential for students to pursue STEM careers, including teaching careers. We investigate a mastery activity given during the first two weeks of a first-year calculus course at the research site. Previous work showed a model using this activity in College Algebra, together with ACT and high school rank, was predictive of student success in precalculus. Here we do a similar analysis for such an activity in calculus, including an intervention for students who do not complete the activity. We also investigate the intervention’s effectiveness. These results show that the early mastery activity, especially when …