Latinx Women's Instructional Experiences in a Community College Developmental Mathematics Course

• In Event: 66.078 - Exploring Equity in Undergraduate Mathematics Education Through Different Dimensions of Historically Marginalized Students' Experiences

Abstract

Around 80% of Latinx students are enrolled in community colleges in the state of California (Moore & Shulock, 2010), a state that has the highest enrollment of community college students in the nation (Hagedorn, Chi, Cepeda, & McLain, 2007). Of all students enrolled in community colleges in California, 85% place below transfer-level mathematics, also known as developmental mathematics, which means that they will need to complete more courses than their peers (California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, 2012). Latinx students who are placed in developmental mathematics often are placed in lower-level courses than their White or Asian peers, increasing time to degree completion (Bahr, 2010; Larnell, 2013). However, low numbers of Latinx students complete their developmental mathematics requirements and do not complete their intended programs (Blair, Kirkman, & Maxwell, 2018). While many researchers have tried to understand the reasons for the low success rates of Latinx students in developmental mathematics (Bahr, 2010; Crisp & Delgado, 2014; Crisp, Reyes, & Doran, 2015), very few studies have investigated classroom instruction within developmental mathematics and none have investigated the experiences of Latinx students.

This is a case study of two Latinx women, Adriana and Layana, enrolled in the same developmental mathematics course at a Hispanic-serving community college in California. The women recounted their instructional experiences, defined as the internalizations of their interactions with the mathematical content, instructor, and peers, through semi-structured interviews and classroom observation surveys. While the women only sat a few seats away from one another, they described similar yet different interactions and decisions during their instructional experiences as explained by their previous mathematical experiences and perspectives of schooling.

Both women described the class to be quiet and without much peer-to-peer interaction, with most of the instructional time devoted to lecture. Adriana believed that lecture presented the best environment for her learning and felt the course provided her with ample time to work on mathematics problems and collaborate with her peers. Layana wanted more opportunities for student engagement with the mathematics and collaborate with her peers, while also demanding more rationale for the mathematics they were learning. However, both women saw mathematical understanding as being able to reproduce a series of steps that were specific to various topics, mimicking what they saw their instructor demonstrate. They described mathematics as a set of unrelated topics that they must learn yet were unrelated to their future careers and academics. Both women felt that their instructor demonstrated genuine concern and care for their success and well-being, of which neither student had experienced in prior mathematics classes.

Findings from these two cases suggest that these developmental mathematics students had an awareness of their needs as learners and also demonstrated a curiosity to engage with the content, rather than observe on the side, while also describing a need to feel part of a connected classroom community. Further, while some students were successful in the course, their understanding of mathematics and what it meant to do mathematics remained very limited, which could possibly carry into future mathematics courses.

Author

• Anne Cawley, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona