Dillon Caldwell struggled with algebra in high school. At Seminole State College of Florida, he put off taking algebra for two semesters. When he finally arrived for his first day of class and discovered that the course would include a computer lab, he was even more apprehensive.
“I thought, ‘I’m already bad at math with a human being; I’m going to be horrible with a computer,’” said the 21-year-old Caldwell.
However, within a few days of learning to work with an innovative software program, Caldwell had a new outlook.
“I’ve never been so passionate about math as I am now,” he said.
ALEKS—Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces—is an interactive, web-based program developed by ALEKS Corp. and used by the math department at Seminole State, which is always looking for new technologies to increase student success.
“ALEKS has artificial intelligence built into it, and the professor can look at data and tell which topics students need the most help with,” said Lane Vosbury, associate dean of mathematics at the college. “When not lecturing, the instructor can circulate among the students, giving them more individual instruction.”
Professor Eden Donahou conducted a case study of ALEKS in three basic algebra classes throughout fall 2010. Her results were so dramatic that the department expanded using the program from two classes in spring 2010 to 37 classes in spring 2011.
Donahou said her class passing rate increased from 51 percent to 76 percent, and attendance improved by 17 percent. Most important, 78 percent of students passed the Florida Exit Exam, up from 55 percent prior to using ALEKS.
A regular review
Donahou said she likes the diagnostics capability of ALEKS. The program reassesses her students’ knowledge after every seven hours of work.
“I get reports from ALEKS, and what I teach is driven by those reports. I might see that of the topics I was planning to cover, 80 percent of the class already knows them, so I’ll cover them very quickly,” Donahou said. “But maybe only 38 percent know a particular topic, so we’ll stop and develop that one. I’m able to teach so much more efficiently and effectively.”
For students, the program’s “explain” button is an important feature.
“I feel like ALEKS is a hand-held independent study because the computer’s holding your hand as you go through,” says Donna Silver, 42. “If I do a problem incorrectly, I can click on ‘explain,’ and it’ll show me step by step how to do it.”
Silver, who recently returned to college to pursue a degree as a physical therapist assistant, said ALEKS also helps keep her on track.
“In the class, everyone is learning at different levels,” Silver said. “Wherever I need help, the program holds me in place until I can master that topic before I move on to another topic. It’s not like a traditional environment, where the teacher moves on and you’re out of luck unless you get a tutor or someone else to assist you.”
The program has yielded such good results in Seminole State’s college prep courses that the college may have all pre-algebra and basic algebra students using ALEKS within three years, Vosbury said. However, intermediate and college algebra classes will continue to be a mix of traditional and ALEKS courses.
“We don’t want to say one shoe fits all,” Vosbury said.
Seminole State is piloting a program this summer that will require students who enroll in an ALEKS math class to have a device to access the Internet.
“We’re making it a requirement because ALEKS is web-based,” said Dick Hamann, vice president of information technology and resources at Seminole State. “Since a computer device is required, students, for the first time at Seminole State, will be able to use their financial aid to acquire a netbook.”
The pilot project applies only to students enrolled in these classes, Hamann said.