Mission+Statement+DM+Final



The existence of a course or program must be based on more than “this is material that students should have had in high school”. This philosophy assumes that high schools and colleges have the same educational mission. One of the critical differences between high school and college is that college students are much more focused on occupational and professional preparation. This fact is central to the statements that follow.

Developmental mathematics continues to be a phrase that describes mathematics courses that are not typically listed as requirements in postsecondary programs; in general, developmental mathematics courses do not transfer and may not count towards graduation.  However, a lack of transferability or credit is not a defining characteristic. Developmental mathematics courses may also be defined by “getting ready” for other courses that are required for college programs.

The three pillars of developmental mathematics: 

Ü  Developmental Mathematics courses prepare students for ‘college level  mathematics’ (mathematics courses listed as requirements for postsecondary  programs). 

Ü  Developmental Mathematics courses prepare students for other courses which  <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">require a mathematical foundation (such as science, business and technology <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">courses). <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">

<span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings;">Ü <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings;"> <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">Developmental Mathematics courses prepare students for general academic <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">success (by building quantitative literacy, academic skills and positive <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">quantitative attitudes, and by providing challenging, engaging, and nurturing <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="color: #140a11; font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">learning experiences). <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">

Developmental mathematics programs seek to prepare students for a diverse set of courses and programs. Students may change their occupational goals frequently and the skills needed for that occupation, or yet undefined occupations, may also change due to technological change and other factors. Therefore, flexibility and appropriateness of content are important: <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">

<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 16pt; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">6 <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">Developmental Mathematics courses should provide students with a broad set of skills to support preparation for multiple target courses and programs while <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">seeking to achieve high pass rates within our courses. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">The core content of <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">developmental mathematics courses must focus on topics and strategies that <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">students can adapt to many situations. <span style="color: #35d442; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">

<span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">For example, colleges might expect developmental mathematics courses to provide focused instruction for a specific content needed for a limited range of occupations. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">Developmental mathematics courses need to balance this desire for “just what students need” with quantitative literacy. There are situations where multiple courses at the same level (alternatives) are appropriate in developmental mathematics.<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">

Societal situations affect colleges, including developmental mathematics classrooms. Students in these courses often have not been successful in academic work; many have also been advised to lower their goals because of their mathematical ‘difficulties’. In order to not reinforce and perpetuate these inequities, we have this principle of equity to consider: <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">

<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 16pt; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">y <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 7pt; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">Developmental Mathematics courses should empower students to consider <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">additional and higher academic goals (to maximize the opportunity <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">for students to pursue both further mathematics and the programs that <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">depend on that mathematics).

Students completing their developmental mathematics courses should have gained confidence in their ability to do and apply mathematics. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">Engaging some of these students will involve the use of contexts for applying mathematics, contexts which the student can generally understand. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2; msospacerun: yes;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;"> These “3 pillars” and two principles lead to the mission statement for developmental mathematics.

<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;"> //** The Developmental Mathematics Mission Statement **// <span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;"> <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;"> <span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;">Developmental mathematics programs exist in order to prepare students for collegiate mathematics courses, for other courses requiring a mathematical foundation, and for general academic success based partially on quantitative literacy. These developmental mathematics programs will <span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook'; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msobookmark: OLE_LINK2;"> allow flexibility for students, and enable students to consider additional & higher academic goals. <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"> <span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;">