How Do Community College Students Succeed in College-Level Statistics? Understanding Student Experiences, Assets, and Supports

• In Event: The End of Remediation in California's Community Colleges: Policy Implementation, Student Outcomes, and Faculty Experiences

Abstract

Efforts nationwide to increase success in college-level math have included eliminating and shortening developmental education, adapting contextualized pathways, and direct placement into college-level math. One popular approach, the Carnegie Statway Pathway (WestEd, 2021), starts students in college-level statistics through a two-term course with embedded developmental math support. Starting in Fall of 2019 in response to AB705, LACCD removed all developmental courses below one level below transfer level and instructed colleges to advise students of their right to place directly into college-level mathematics(Rodriguez, 2019). This study sought to understand the experiences of students at one college who, as a result of AB705, were placed directly into college-level statistics courses with support, instead of taking prerequisite courses. These courses were offered online as a result of the global pandemic.

Using Rios-Aguilar, Kiyama, Gravitt, and Moll’s (2011) integrated funds of knowledge and a capitals framework , this study sought to (1) understand what assets and resources community college students use to succeed in college-level statistics courses, (2) explain how they experience and leverage these assets and supports, and (3) inquire about how students experience practices and policies relevant to these courses. While a funds of knowledge framework emphasizes a strength-based perspective on students, a focus on forms of capital helps unpack how resources are leveraged. In particular, forms of capital leads to learnings about what is valued within a context and a funds of knowledge perspective highlights what is valuable about students that is cultivated from their identities and communities.

I conducted 19, 60-75 minute interviews with Golden Community College (GCC) students and professors. These included interviews with 11 students enrolled in either a one-term, accelerated, college-level statistics course or a two-term, decelerated, Carnegie Pathway Statway course. These courses were offered as part of GCC’s Statistics and Liberal Arts Math(SLAM) or Business, Statistics, Engineering, and Mathematics (BSTEM) pathway. Additionally, data collection and analysis included eight interviews with seven of the twenty one math professors in the department, many of whom held leadership positions. To understand the context of GCC, I collected publicly available documents from various online sources (e.g., course catalogues from college website). Informed by Saldana’s (2014) approach to coding, I used NVivo 12, jottings, and reflections to analyze data.

The inquiry revealed that students leveraged familial and aspirational assets along with linguistic capital to succeed in statistics courses. In particular, immigrant histories and multicultural experiences functioned as sources for these assets. They turned to peers, practitioners, programs, and products for support but, overwhelmingly, students experienced remote learning as isolating. In some cases, classroom practices contributed to this feeling of isolation(e.g., exam taking), but there were also instances of supportive classroom practices (e.g., guided note-taking). Students, especially those with more negative experiences with mathematics (e.g. previously failing a course), expressed benefitting from contextualized instruction. To close, this study contributes to literature related to developmental education reform, specifically as it relates to student’s experiences and assets while also providing recommendations to math departments and instructors.

Author

• David Velasquez, University of Southern California