Carnegie Math Pathways

Creating Culturally Responsive Math Pathways Together with Tribal Colleges & Universities (TCU)

Network Highlights

Creating Culturally Responsive Math Pathways Together with Tribal Colleges & Universities (TCU)

by

In 2017, Carnegie Math Pathways and several TCU formed a professional network with the shared goal of increasing student outcomes and college completion through culturally aligned mathematics learning and teaching that centers Native students and communities. 

Today, with over 3,500 TCU students served, we’ve made significant progress toward this goal. Our network of faculty have adapted the Pathways approach in meaningful ways to reflect and uplift their tribal communities and seen student retention and outcomes soar. TCU student success rates in Pathways courses have averaged 71% compared to 43% in the previous TCU developmental math programs or sequences, and students are more engaged, better connected with their peers, and showing enhanced confidence in their abilities as math learners.

A learning and teaching approach aligned with Indigenous values and practices 

Tribal Colleges have a mission to sustain and support the tribal culture, identities, and sovereignty of the tribal communities they serve. These unique institutions play a critical role in tribal educational sovereignty and nation building efforts by providing Native students access to education and services that are aligned with Indigenous values and ways of knowing and learning. 

The TCU-Carnegie Math Pathways network’s approach builds upon the Carnegie Math Pathways courses Statway and Quantway. Drawing on their institutional values around group learning and community-based values, TCU faculty have adapted the Pathways collaborative, active learning model as well as the embedded social emotional support designed to foster inclusion and belonging in important ways that reflect the Indigenous traditions and identities of the communities they serve

By shifting away from the direct instructional style commonly used in math classes, TCU instructors have been able to better align their instructional practice with their institutional missions and introduce a more culturally sustaining learning experience that better supports their students. As one Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College math instructor notes, “the pedagogy used in the Pathways completely changed how I teach. The cooperative and experiential learning in [Carnegie Math Pathways] reflects the learning-by-doing nature of traditional indigenous education.”  A math professor at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish college shares the impact for his Indigenous students: “The [Pathways] group activities enable the students to develop the spiritual qualities of patience, cooperation, friendship, compassion, responsibility, and love which are part of our college’s mission.”

Innovations and adaptations driven by TCU faculty

Ensuring the Pathways courses are aligned with the needs and missions of the TCU has been critical to their success. To achieve this, TCU educators have played a leading role in adapting the Quantway and Statway courses to make them relevant for Native students and create supports for TCU educators. Our network has:

  • designed new Quantway and Statway lesson contexts to reflect issues and themes of value to Native communities.
  • adapted the embedded Pathways social emotional supports and routines to incorporate local Native teachings and traditions that support collective engagement and productive mindsets.
  • explored and tested alternative mastery-focused assessment and grading approaches, and
  • formed an advisory committee of TCU educators who regularly meet and contribute insights and knowledge to guide our network activities.

The network provides an opportunity for educators to engage and exchange ideas with peers at similar institutions. These connections have proven extremely valuable, especially when exploring and developing culturally relevant resources and lessons to support Native students.

Math faculty at Red Lake Nation College noted, “I have made connections with other TCU math educators and progressively implemented improvements in teaching, especially in making math more relevant to TCU students.” At Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College, a math instructor shared, “Working with native instructors and faculty from other TCU has helped me understand the culture on my own campus and community. “

The approach is benefiting students

The results of this effort have been impressive. TCU that have adopted Pathways courses to replace a developmental-level or college-level course have increased their success rates by roughly 30 percentage points.

TCU that have used Pathways courses to shorten their developmental math sequence, replacing between two to four courses with a single Pathways course, have on average achieved success rates with Pathways that are almost twice that of their original course sequences. They’ve also reduced students’ time to completion by more than half. 

Just as important, TCU math faculty have reported positive impacts in their students’ mindset, including increased confidence in their math abilities and greater recognition of the value in learning mathematics, a greater sense of belonging in the math classroom and willingness to persist through challenging problems, and a greater commitment to the success of their peers.

Administrators see this program as a valuable part of their effort to improve student success. For example, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College’s VP for Student Services reports, “This program has been and is continuing to be one of the best instructional modes that our students have benefited from. Our math scores, completion rates, and retention rates have improved every semester.”

We look forward to embarking on the next phase of this collaboration beginning this year and to expanding our efforts to support TCU in creating meaningful math learning experiences that are culturally responsive and sustaining for their communities.

Moving Mathematical Mountains: A Decade of Educator-Led Change to Make Math a Gateway to Success for All Students

by

For far too long and for far too many, particularly Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, and students impacted by poverty, the traditional developmental math system has been a barrier to college completion, perpetuating inequalities in degree attainment and income. Since 2010, Carnegie Math Pathways has been committed to transforming this system of math teaching and learning in order to make math a gateway to success for ALL students.

In our latest Carnegie Math Pathways report, Moving Mathematical Mountains: A Decade of Educator-Led Change to Make Math a Gateway to Success for All Students, we show that changing the status-quo approach to math education is not only possible, but imperative to helping students not just pass college math but thrive academically, professionally, and personally. 

Working alongside educators for over a decade we’ve helped instructors, administrators, and institutions implement more equitable math learning by:

  • introducing math pathways aligned with majors, relevant to students’ lives, and to 21st century career paths;
  • engaging all students directly in college-level math, with the supports they need to be successful;
  • creating an active, collaborative learning experience centered on relatable and meaningful contexts;
  • attending to the needs of the whole learner through embedded social emotional learning supports that address key non-cognitive factors, such as growth mindset and belonging; and
  • supporting faculty and administrative leaders in transforming the student experience through rich professional learning and peer support. 

Moving Mathematical Mountains highlights the power of an educator-driven network and the impact of our community’s efforts through 10 years of outcome data, as well as student, faculty, and institutional feature stories. It synthesizes our learnings about what it takes to create and sustain equitable math reform and sets the stage for the exciting possibilities for the decade ahead. It shows us the potential of making lasting and impactful change in the service of students, something we as a field can learn from and continue to advance collectively to ensure more equitable learning and success in mathematics. 

READ THE REPORT

 

What Carnegie Math Pathways Research is Revealing About Scaling Reform Successfully

by

Too often, education initiatives that can drastically improve student outcomes succeed in a contained setting but fail to achieve those same results at scale. A study by Carnegie Math Pathways at WestEd is examining what conditions and support are needed for institutional leaders to implement promising innovations at scale effectively and sustainably.

Funded by the National Science Foundation and launched in 2018, the six-year Scaling Up through Networked Improvement (SUNI) project is providing leadership coaching to teams in two cohorts of two institutions to scale Carnegie Math Pathways course programs. The resulting evidence from the cases in the project is intended to shed light on effective approaches to implementing reform and change management at higher education institutions more broadly.

Early findings from this study have revealed several factors critical to enacting large-scale change effectively. These findings have practical value to college administrators seeking to scale proven solutions to bolster student success.

Rally support and buy-in from all stakeholder groups to ensure strong implementation.

Implementing reform at scale is more likely to happen when key decision-makers in multiple departments of the campus organization agree that the change is a worthy investment of effort and resources. For institutions participating in the SUNI study, it was clear that significant changes were needed to increase student success rates in developmental math, where many students’ education journeys were being derailed. Learn your department’s pain points and wishlists to develop ambitious but realistic goals that everyone can rally behind. 

Develop an implementation plan that defines and guides the scaling effort and helps minimize disruption amid leadership turnover.

Documenting shared goals, roles, and responsibilities can help leadership teams understand the scope of the work to be done, how it will get done, and by when. Using an implementation planning tool that project coaches introduced to the teams, institutions developed a guide to define and help steer the implementation of their reform. Inspired by the A3 management process developed by Toyota, this tool helps leaders develop shared goals, measures of success, and a means to communicate those goals and progress towards meeting them.

Since each leadership team created its implementation and scaling guide, the buy-in for the initiative was high. During times of change, such as when leaders transitioned to new positions, this guide has given new leaders a road map of the project, allowing them to quickly orient and keep the initiative on track. 

Nurture authentic engagement among your team with strong relationships and mutual trust.

Because scaling reform requires buy-in, it’s perhaps not surprising that fostering relationships built on trust and mutual respect is a key aspect of effective scaling. As we saw at one institution, when a key administrative leader consistently honored the contributions and positive impact of his team, it made them more willing and trusting participants in the reforms. Additionally, open and honest communication about the challenges and barriers that they faced along the way, and a willingness to consult with and accept input from colleagues, also helped strengthen support for the scaling effort. Before and throughout undertaking reform, evaluate relationships among your team and explore the resources available to strengthen them, such as professional development and coaching for leadership on team-building.

Ensure quality of communication and coordination between departments to maintain effective implementation.

Quality communication that supports transparency and coordination across stakeholders is essential to any reform endeavor. Early in the study, leaders at one institution discovered they were struggling with a lack of clarity about their roles and responsibilities for their reform initiatives, which led to unclear expectations. Through coaching and professional development facilitated by the project, these leaders identified ways to more concretely organize and communicate their needs, roles, and expectations to fulfill their program goals. As you consider embarking on reforms, evaluate the quality of communication among and between departments. What channels are they using, and are these channels effective at keeping your team(s) informed? What steps can be taken to improve the effectiveness of communication and the quality of coordination?

Continuously improve processes to sustain reform efforts.

With goals, challenges, and potential solutions subject to change quickly and at any moment, it’s critical to practice continuous improvement to sustain reform. When conditions that impact reform arise, recalibrating with colleagues is crucial not just for delivering the best possible outcome for students, but for keeping teams engaged, proactive, and joyful in their work of serving students. Continuous improvement means the regular evaluation and reevaluation of the considerations described above—maintaining buy-in, refining the implementation plan, nurturing strong relationships, and ensuring effective communication. Build in time to regularly monitor and assess what’s working and what isn’t so that the right improvements can be made at the right time.

In addition to these factors, the research reveals that engaging in coaching and networked learning (collaborative professional learning with peers), and extending these supports to entire leadership teams, is linked to the successful scaling of Carnegie Math Pathways programs. These insights remind organizational leaders that trust, communication, and shared goals are vital for sustaining large-scale reforms and building leadership capacity.

Throughout the next and final year of the study, participating leadership teams will continue to receive coaching and professional development support as they scale their Pathways programs. At the end of the study in 2023, the research team will publish the results to support institutional leaders in scaling ambitious reforms that can drastically improve student outcomes. 

To learn more about our findings to date, join our session at the 2022 NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence. You can also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, In Sum, to stay informed about this work.

Subscribe to In Sum

Increasing Student Success with Corequisite Solutions

by

Carnegie Math Pathways Quantway and Statway corequisite solutions are helping students succeed in gateway mathematics at 3-4 times the rate of the traditional math sequence, and in a fraction of the time—saving students time and money on their educational path.

Since their launch in 2017, Quantway and Statway corequisites have provided students with targeted, just-in-time supports to successfully complete college-level math in a single term while offering institutions the flexibility to implement in a variety of models.

Read the impact brief for an overview of our corequisite course design and the results to date.

Read the brief

Transforming Student Learning with Online Course Solutions

by

Carnegie Math Pathways Quantway and Statway online course solutions are changing the way students experience learning math remotely.

Since their launch in 2019, Quantway and Statway online courses have served over 5,000 students at 50 institutions. In that time, they’ve demonstrated the same high success rates as in-person Quantway and Statway courses, even as implementation scaled in the fall of 2020.

Learn about our approach to online learning and the results so far in our latest impact brief.

Read the brief

Q&A with Michelle Brock: The Importance of Social-Emotional Supports in Math Classrooms

by

Pictured above: Michelle Brock and a banner hanging in her home office, visible during Zoom sessions with her students.

Teaching math has traditionally been about just that—teaching math. But as Michelle Brock, Carnegie Math Pathways Faculty Mentor and math faculty at American River College, notes, addressing non-cognitive aspects of learning can help math educators build a supportive environment in their classrooms that both reduces students’ anxiety and brings out their strengths.

Brock is part of the Pathways’ Productive Persistence Research and Development team, a group that develops and continuously refines the social-emotional support package the Pathways calls Productive Persistence. We spoke with her about the difference these kinds of supports can make for student success.

How has incorporating social-emotional supports into your instruction affected your students’ self-perception as math learners and doers?
It’s hard to say without actually talking to them how their perception changed but I can say how it played out in the classroom. What I’ve seen the most is the transition from students seeing my class as something they needed to be able to graduate—and not necessarily having faith that they could do it—to being able to redefine how they interpret success. I’ve seen students who would have success in math and still not interpret that as being successful. So being able to see that transition from students becoming resistant or tentative learners to becoming more willing to take risks in the class and more willing to risk not having the perfect answer, has been rewarding. I also think that was evident in the way students would realize that it’s okay to ask for help.

How do you know what sort of social-emotional interventions to use, and when, to best support your math students?
It would be lovely if you could just apply one thing to a class and it would work for everybody, but we’re all human. For me, I listen to how students are speaking about themselves as learners. When they speak to me about their troubles, I listen to the things that they say, or listen to how they speak about themselves in their groups, like, “You all are smarter than me,” “I don’t think as fast as you do.” We’re trained to think that learning looks one way. Some people only have to see something once and they can do it. That’s not me, and I don’t detract from that fact. I think demystifying that for students is important, so listening to how my students talk about themselves affects how I support them.

It sounds like that’s a really good strategy for you. Are there any other strategies you’ve found to be effective in helping your students feel like they belong in your class?
I think also watching other patterns in behavior that may not be so vocal, like attendance. In the past, I’ve heard from students that their anxiety got so high and they were so nervous that they couldn’t get to my class. So that takes a different kind of approach to be able to get them in the door. In the past, it might’ve been easy to classify these students as disinterested. Certainly, there are going to be cases in which people don’t perform because they aren’t interested, but I don’t think that’s the overwhelming narrative. I think there are other things in play that affect how students see themselves and how they perform. We need to take the time to acknowledge that we’re teaching human beings.

Yeah, for sure. It can be difficult sometimes, though, to get in touch with students who have been absent for a while. Have you found that to be the case, and if so, how did you overcome that?
I used to email when we were in-person. But what I learned when we went remote was that email may not be the best way. So, I’d watch for a response and if I don’t get one, I’d go to the phone. If I wasn’t hearing from them, I started calling them. I have yet to experience somebody say, “Why did you just call me?” It’s all been, “Wow, I’ve never had a teacher call me, and I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.” And so, just trying to figure out how to connect wherever I can. I also use a texting app on my phone (Remind) to reach out to both individual students and the whole class by text.

Suppose that beginning tomorrow, you had to teach your current math courses without any attention to the social-emotional wellbeing of your students. You’re strictly teaching math. What do you think your students would lose?
Everything. Seriously, everything. I think it’s easy for a student to fall off and not bring their full selves if we don’t even take the time to see them as their full selves, if we don’t take the time to reach out and understand if there are any barriers that we can remove from our space. We can help. This has always been something that has been in my sights since I’ve been teaching. I started tutoring when I was a senior in high school and math anxiety was always kind of high. Students had lots of stuff about math anxiety, but that still didn’t really get at the meat of what’s going on. It’s a piece of it, and I think that’s what drew me to the work around Productive Persistence, was getting a chance to name something that I’ve always felt in this space.

You say it’s a piece of it. What is that bigger thing that it’s a piece of, do you think?
I just think it’s just a bigger piece of just the whole psychology of humans. That anxiety comes from other things that are in play that we’re not always paying attention to. It’s those kinds of things that we, as math educators, haven’t paid a lot of attention to.

How would you say you measure the social-emotional wellbeing of your students?
I think from the surface and watching their participation gives me some clue, but the best way I’ve been able to measure it is through our Productive Persistence surveys (surveys intentionally built into each Pathways course that measure non-cognitive indicators important to student success at the start of the course and their change over time.). Generally, I judge that somebody is doing okay if they’re engaged and participating and they’re reaching out for help.

How has training and support from Carnegie Math Pathways helped you effectively apply social-emotional support in your courses?
It gave me access to other people who were working on the same kinds of things that I could roll questions back and forth with. And it created the space for me to really tap into my learner self. I’ve always learned something new every day I’ve been teaching, but this actually made me sit in my classroom and purposely put on my learner hat. That has helped me be able to recognize more quickly when students maybe needed a different kind of nudge.

It’s also been helpful to talk with people who are going through the same struggles with their students and realizing that it didn’t matter whether you were here in Sacramento—or New York or Georgia or Ohio—we’re all dealing with similar challenges. Being a part of this community is a chance to really get out of the silo of teaching. It just took the individualistic aspect out of teaching and made it more community-based.

Learn more about Productive Persistence

Q&A with Andre Freeman: How to Establish and Maintain Connections in Your Quantway or Statway Virtual Course

by

Andre Freeman is a professor of mathematics at Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut and a Faculty Mentor in the Carnegie Math Pathways Network. As an experienced Statway College Virtual instructor and course designer, we asked him for advice on how faculty can establish and maintain connection with students remotely, and for general best practices for online instruction. Here is some of what he shared:

What best practices would you share with someone teaching Quantway or Statway for the first time?

I think doing a robust, thorough orientation is really important and also getting information on when students can meet for collaboration sessions with other students. Getting that information about a week before the semester begins is critically important (because) building those collaboration groups quicker, I think, will enable a smoother launch for students.

Then in week one, sitting in on collaboration sessions and being there as a support if not for the entire hour, but maybe for the first half an hour. I think really having a strong instructor presence in week one makes a big difference and can lead to the groups working efficiently and effectively for much of the term.

The other thing that I would say is ensuring that the collaboration groups are working well by reaching out to students individually to just check in on how things are going.

What strategies helped you support student retention during your Statway College Virtual course?

Email was huge. I would email students and ask them how they were doing, (if they had any) questions, concerns. Just reaching out.

Unfortunately, a lot of students dropped the class after COVID and I would reach out and try to get them to continue. And it wasn’t just in this course, but in all of my classes at Capital. Our campus was hit pretty hard due to the disruption.

For those that did receive additional flexibility and support, I tried to use my office hours to connect with students and tried to meet on Zoom. Those who did take advantage of that expressed their appreciation and said that that made a big difference.

Pathways Pointer: Pathways educators have learned a lot from their spring 2020 experience with our virtual courses, particularly amid the Covid-19 outbreak, and have helpful tips to share. Register for our free, two-part mini-webinar series for community-building and general instructional strategies that can help support student retention.

How did you initially introduce the virtual Collaboration sessions to your students?

The class orientation was a really important way of introducing the entire course, including the collaboration structure and the requirements for collaborations. In addition to that, I sent out a lot of emails that described that requirement. I emphasized the benefits to students of studying in groups and also emphasized how Carnegie Math Pathways has shown that students in many situations learned better when studying with other students and learning from other students’ perspectives. I really used those two messages to motivate students and to understand why studying mathematics in a collaborative fashion is important and something that they should be open-minded about doing.

Pathways Pointer: “Collaboration sessions” refer to the student group meetings, usually independent of an instructor, held via built-in Zoom rooms in Quantway and Statway Virtual. Holding a full-class orientation at the start of the term is a helpful way to introduce the instructor, students, and the features and structure of the course.

This course allows students to work synchronously via Zoom video conferencing independent of an instructor. How do you stay connected with your students when they meet without you?

I established connection with students by orienting them through a Zoom session (at the start of the term) which allows students to meet me, for me to introduce the course and structure, and to introduce the requirements. I also had the ability to pop in on students’ collaboration sessions. I was then able to stay connected with students through frequent video communication. I would email, post videos of (my feedback), and hold office hours. I found that through constant communication, I was connected with students.

 

Q&A with George Hurlburt, Quantway College Virtual Educator

by

George Hurlburt is a mathematics instructor at SUNY Corning Community College in Corning, New York. We recently chatted with him about Quantway College Virtual—his experience, what sets the course apart from others, and how it can help educators amid a global pandemic. Here’s what he had to say.

How did you feel about teaching Quantway College Virtual?

Going into the class I was really worried that students wouldn’t be able to get through the material without a teacher there to guide them. You know, in a traditional class the instructor would be there to prod them along, give them little hints. I was worried without being there, students wouldn’t be as successful, but I think they’re actually more successful.

We talked about (productive) struggle with the Quantway materials, all the time. And you can really see it in this class because the teacher’s not there to give them that quick little hint. They really have to work through (the material together in their online groups).

The other thing I really liked about teaching Quantway College Virtual was watching the groups come together. Some of my students have become very close and very good friends.

How would you say you connect with students if you’re not there present with them all the time?

In Quantway College Virtual, you connect with the students through responses to their collaborations. After watching group collaborations, I would make a short video and send that to them trying to help them understand where their struggles were and show them how to move forward. Sometimes I would just type up things—I didn’t always make a video.

This class offers more flexibility if faculty want to be more involved. You could set this up so that you are leading some of the collaborations, if you wish. I wasn’t able to do that because my students’ schedules didn’t work with my schedule.

How is Quantway College Virtual different from other online classes you’ve taught in the past?

In my other classes, the students are very much on their own—they work individually, do the questions individually, they watch the lectures individually. In Quantway College Virtual, they see each other twice a week, and I get to see them twice a week through watching the videos. With my other (online) classes, I don’t usually see the students very often, except when I give exams. I can look at their homework scores, but I need the students to reach out to me to tell me where they’re struggling. Through watching the videos, I know where the students are struggling and that allows me to be a lot more proactive rather than reactive.

How does Quantway College Virtual help you track your students’ progress?

I’m able to track my students’ progress primarily through the videos. I know I’ve mentioned those several times already but I think they are key to this course and what really makes a difference. The videos allow me to understand what the students are thinking and how they’re attacking problems. I can see exactly where their issues are and I can address them in a timely manner before they’re developing bad habits and making the same mistakes over and over again. The system also gives you a lot of other information about student progress.

How has teaching this class impacted your online teaching style?

This class has not only impacted my online teaching style, it’s also impacted my traditional classroom style. I find I’m trying to do a lot more discussions in my other online classes that I teach. I’m trying to get more student involvement that way—trying to get them to feel more of a community. When students are directing their own learning, they learn much better than when I’m standing in front of the classroom or in talking or if I’m just posting a video for an online class.

What, if anything, surprised you about teaching this course?

The thing that surprised me the most about teaching this course is how successful the students could be without the teacher being in the room. I really thought it would be a problem and that I would have to regularly join the collaborations to help the students get through.

The productive struggle was real. I could really see it when I watched the videos—how the students talk to each other, work through things, try different things until they finally came upon something that seemed right. I could also see their frustration sometimes when they typed in the answer, and it wasn’t right after they’ve worked on one problem for five or 10 minutes. But they didn’t quit and that’s what impressed me the most. And they did get through—my success rate overall has been very high.

You’ve mentioned productive struggle a couple of times and seeing that play out in the collaboration videos. Can you explain what productive struggle is for those unfamiliar?

We know that students struggle in math. What we hope here is to not have them just struggle (and quit) but to have them struggle in a good way. We want them to not immediately know the answer but we want them to have the tools and the ability to try different things and develop the right answer.

So often, students will see a problem that they don’t know how to do and they will just quit. That’s not productive struggle. That’s struggle and quitting. And that’s a very bad thing. And that’s not what we want to have happen here. So we try to give the students a toolbox of different items they can try—different techniques—and work on something, recognize they get an answer and say, well, that can’t possibly be correct. And then they look at their toolbox and pull out a different technique and try that and work through it.

We started developing these online courses long before the pandemic was even a thought. How would you say these classes are meeting the moment?

Right now we’re sitting in an unprecedented moment in time. And I think this virtual class is very, very helpful. I think it gives a means for instructors to teach this course and maintain the group work feel, which is so important to the whole core of this course. I think it would be very, very difficult to teach this course without the collaborations built the way they are, without the built-in Zoom meetings.

I know my college is most likely going to be virtual in the fall so I’m scheduled to teach two sections of this course and I think it’ll make a big difference for my students’ success.

A Statement from Our Team

by

Over the last two and a half weeks we have watched the necessary and important actions taking place across the country in response to the recent cruel deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others before them.

We believe that educated citizens are key to a just and equitable society. Yet we are keenly aware of the historic and ongoing educational inequities faced by students of color in our schools, colleges, and universities, and even how our own positions of privilege may play a role in perpetuating this.

We stand against racism, bigotry, and senseless violence against the Black community, and are fiercely committed to doing our part to build a more just and equitable education system that honors and elevates the experiences and intelligence of Black students and all students marginalized by the status quo.

We see math as a tool for empowerment and transformation. In partnership with our network, we have developed and continually improve upon a pedagogy and curricula that value each student’s contributions to the learning process, making each student feel that they belong inside our classes and schools, and having students see themselves and their communities reflected in what they learn.

We are indebted to you, the many educators, who everyday bring these opportunities to life for students in your classrooms. Your experiences with your students, your knowledge of your communities, and your willingness to critically examine, test, and enhance our tools and approaches are what enables our network to improve.

We are a network based on continuous improvement. We will continue to learn, listen, and improve side by side with each of you to better serve our current and future generations of students.

Supporting Educators During Covid-19

by

“We’re All In This Together”: Carnegie Math Pathways Helps Educators Transition to Distance Learning Amid COVID-19

Early signs are promising — students’ results in pilot testing of the online courses were slightly higher than students’ results in the face-to-face Pathways courses. Those results are no small feat, given the high bar of success of the in-person Pathways courses.

Peering into their computer screens from the safety of their respective homes, a group of math instructors from the State University of New York (SUNY) system gathered virtually to share details about their abrupt coronavirus-driven shift into the world of distance learning.

The videoconference began with teachers discussing a range of concerns — from how to ensure they are addressing students’ mental states to how to proctor quizzes and tests online. One teacher recalled grappling with a technical issue in her school’s online learning platform. Heartened after a helpful student emailed her guidance on how to troubleshoot the issue, the teacher realized, “I just have to let the students know that we’re all in this together.”

These teachers are part of a weekly virtual convening set up by Carnegie Math Pathways (Pathways) to help math educators in the SUNY system collaboratively navigate their unplanned transition to distance learning. Carnegie Math Pathways is a research-based, holistic approach to developmental math, delivered through two programs, Statway and Quantway, that accelerate college math completion and redesign coursework to make it relevant to students’ lives and areas of study. The programs are taught in 90 colleges in 16 states, including 24 SUNY colleges. In addition to working with the SUNY group, Pathways staff have been helping the broader network of Statway and Quantway teachers across the country with this pivot to virtual learning.

“We wanted to leverage the Pathways network in order to help teachers move online quickly,” says Karon Klipple, executive director of Carnegie Math Pathways. Pathways staff have been offering a range of support to the national network of Statway and Quantway teachers, including facilitating weekly Faculty Sharing Sessions for teachers to collaborate and problem-solve in real time; developing a suite of distance learning resources, and creating an asynchronous online forum for teachers to share ideas and resources.

“Because the move to online learning was so sudden and unplanned for teachers, a lot of the support up front has been triage,” says Klipple. In addition to facilitating collaboration and offering resources and guidance, Klipple and her colleagues have “helped with setting expectations — what are some realistic goals for transitioning to distance learning on a dime in the midst of a crisis.”

To continue reading this article, visit WestEd’s website, where this post written by Joan McRobbie first appeared and is partially re-published here with permission.