Changing Course: Reimagining Community College Math Reform Amid COVID-19

• In Event: Teaching and Faculty Workload at Community Colleges

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how community college faculty implementing math contextualization as part of instructional reform navigate COVID-19 disruptions and leadership support for these efforts. Drawing upon a framework of change and a multiple case study of two comprehensive community colleges in the Midwest, findings reveal both the challenges faculty and leadership experienced and innovative approaches they adopted to bolster instructional reform amid crisis. The colleges grounded their approach to change in three areas. First, faculty were flexibly persistent in their efforts with contextualization. Second, leadership and faculty focused on being relationship oriented toward each other and students. Third, faculty and leaders were learning focused with respect to sustaining contextualization and remote instruction.

Authors

• Kelly Wickersham, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Peiwen Zheng, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Xueli Wang, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Amy Prevost, University of Wisconsin–Madison