Integrating Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Math Instruction at a Hispanic-Serving Community College to Increase Student Engagement and Success

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving instructional practices in math education at an Hispanic-serving institution through the integration of culturally relevant pedagogical practices. A cohort of math faculty at the Norco Campus of Riverside Community College will pilot this professional development approach aimed at improving instructional practice in mathematics courses ranging from Math for Liberal Arts to Calculus.

The project will also assign an educational advisor to work in tandem with participating math faculty to address student support issues. The intent of the project is to improve success, retention, and persistence for students in STEM fields through a combination of improved instructional techniques and student support services. The project will advance the scientific community’s understanding of how culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy influences classroom practices and student outcomes.

Two goals guide the project. First is to support an initial group of three math faculty to develop culturally relevant and sustainable pedagogies while simultaneously enhancing support structures for students with a dedicated educational advisor. Second is to increase the number of students who successfully complete transfer-level math courses in their first year as students at a Hispanic-serving community college.

The faculty in the cohort will make changes in six different courses, which will impact at least 900 students over the lifetime of the award. Through presentations and increased collaboration with the rest of the math department at Norco College, this pilot project has the potential to become a larger more transformative initiative that could expand throughout the Riverside Community College District.

Results from the impacted courses will be compared to traditional courses, which will provide new knowledge on the impact of employing culturally responsive pedagogies and dedicated advising on the success, retention, and completion rates for students at Hispanic-serving community colleges. The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs.

Achieving these aims, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires innovative approaches that incentivize institutional and community transformation and promote fundamental research (i) on engaged student learning, (ii) about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and (iii) that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also draw from these approaches to generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims.

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.