Catalyst Project: Broadening Participation Research for College Algebra Teachers

Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to work towards establishing research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences.

Virginia State University, in collaboration with Dillard University, proposes to develop mathematical concepts in language, literacy, and discourse as a means of increasing accessibility to College Algebra. Specifically, the project seeks to incorporate aspects of the Algebra Project’s approach to content and pedagogy into experimental sections of College Algebra.

The Algebra Project’s emphasis on shared concrete events and student discourse distinguishes this approach from the conventional structure of college math courses.

This project seeks to broaden participation in STEM by addressing an underlying issue in the College Algebra to Calculus Transition. This project aims to produce an experimental College Algebra course based upon the mathematics content and pedagogy developed over the past twenty years within the Algebra Project. This thematic reconstruction of College Algebra – based upon the Algebra Project’s experiential learning model – holds the promise of deepening student understanding of College Algebra and simultaneously providing a conceptual and procedural foundation for the study of Calculus and the quantitative sciences that depend upon it for student populations that traditionally have not had access to this course of study.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.