Queensborough Community College
DEPARTMENT:
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Year: 2013- 2014
Mathematics and Computer Science
A. DEPARTMENT SERVICES/ACTIVITIES REPORT IN 2013-14
1.
Department-sponsored services (fall and spring semesters combined)
Area of Service
Mathematics Learning Center
Number Served
114,465 students
Includes workshops, MA-10 intervention, and 1-to-1 tutoring from Aug 28, 2013 – May 23,
2014
6,941 unique students served for all tutoring, workshops and reviews from Aug 28, 2013 –
May 23, 2014
Open Computer Labs
2.
7,680 open lab visits
Department-sponsored faculty/staff development activities
Type of Activity and Topic
Department Seminar
Name of Speaker: Dr. Zhendong Sun (Academy of Mathematics and Systems Science, Chinese Academy of
Sciences) Organized by faculty.
Department Seminar
Name of Speaker: Dr. Andrew Bulawa (QCC)
Organized by faculty.
Department Seminar
Name of Speaker: Dr. Andrew Bulawa (QCC)
Organized by faculty.
Department Seminar
Name of Speaker: Dr. Jeehoon Park (POSTECH)
Department Seminar
Name of Speaker: Dr. Caner Koca (Vanderbilt University)
NYSMATYC CONTEST /Math Club Activity
Date
11/6/13
Number Attending
9
11/20/13
13
3/19/14
13
4/23/14
7
5/7/14
10
Fall 2013
20
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Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Queensborough Community College
Year: 2013- 2014
Spring 2014
NYSMATYC CONTEST/Math Club Activity
Academic Advisement Seminar for Student Advisors , Dr. Fabricant, Chair, presenter
Proofs Workshops/ Faculty led enrichment for students. Led by various faculty members.
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11/22/2013 30
Once each Total: 125
month
B. COURSE CHANGES IN 2013-14
INSTRUCTIONS: For each course that changed, indicate:
1. whether the course is new, revised, or deleted
2. the course number
3. the course title
4. the semester the change was approved at the Academic Senate
5. for revised courses, in the Comments section, describe the type of change(s)—i.e., course title, description, pre/corequisites, credits, hours, designation
New,
Course Course title
revised, number
or
deleted
Revised MA-10 Elementary
Algebra
Semester
approved
Comments
Experiment Additional peer-led hour. Students register for 6 hours. The instructor teaches
5 hours and a peer tutor conducts a problem solving session for 1 hour each
for Fall
week.
2013
Fall 2012
Without MLC
Intervention
Passed (
)
54.8%
Spring 2013
Without the MLC
Intervention
Note: This was the
first semester that
students needing
MA-5 were placed
directly into MA10. No MA-5
courses were
offered in Spring
2013.
49.4%
7.9%
24.7%
Fall 2013
With MLC
Intervention
Note: Students needing
MA-5 were placed
directly into MA-10.
Spring 2014
With MLC
Intervention
Note:
Students
needing
MA-5 were
placed
directly into
MA-10.
61.3%
58.6%
7.3%
11.7%
11.1%
20.9%
32.8%
28.7%
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Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Queensborough Community College
Year: 2013- 2014
C. PROGRAM CHANGES IN 2013-14
Program
Program change*
MA-114/MA-128
Immersion
program for ET
students
Students took two
math courses in one
semester
Effective Date
(Semester and
year)
Fall 2013
Comments
Successful program. Over 86% of students passed at least
one course and 66% passed both courses. The traditional
pass rates in the courses were approximately 43%. The
program was discontinued due to lack of funding.
*Key: (a)=initiated, (b)=closed, (c)=renamed, (d)=modified
INSTRUCTIONS:
 Use the full title of the program, i.e. A.A. in Visual and Performing Arts.
 Indicate whether the program change is initiated, closed, renamed, or modified. (If a new program has been approved by
the CUNY Board (or is expected to be approved by June 2013), use fall 2013 as the effective date.)
 Describe the exact status (i.e., proposal submitted to CUNY Board; approved by CUNY Board; etc.) in the Comments.
D. DEPARTMENT CHANGES IN 2013-14
Type (see menu Description of Change
below)
Personnel
Seven new full-time
faculty were hired.
Facilities
New office space
Facilities
New Flex Room
Reason for Change
Previously assigned
lines were filled
To accommodate
newly hired faculty.
To accommodate
technology needs of
the department.
Date/
Semester
Fall 2013
Evaluation of Change*
NA
Fall 2013
Provided new faculty with office space.
Fall 2013
Accommodated technology needs of the
department.
*Please note that, if change has been too recent to evaluate, you may indicate NA.
Type of change
Personnel or organizational change
MENU
Description
New hires, retirees, resignations, promotions, department name changes, etc.
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Queensborough Community College
Facilities/space
Equipment
Other
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Year: 2013- 2014
Renovations or development of office space or new facilities (i.e., computer laboratories)
Acquisition of new or disposition of old equipment
Other changes affecting the department not included above and including interactions with other departments
E. DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT IN 2013-14
1.
Departmental procedures for conducting assessment
The fundamental elements of standard 14 (assessment of student learning) of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education include:
clearly articulated statements of expected student learning outcomes…at all levels (institution, degree/program, course) and for all
programs that aim to foster student learning and development; a documented, organized, and sustained assessment process to evaluate and
improve student learning; evidence that student learning assessment information is shared and discussed with appropriate constituents and
is used to improve teaching and learning. Describe below the department’s ongoing procedures for assessing student learning and
using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. In your description, please explain how the department fulfills
each of the Middle States fundamental elements above.
Ongoing assessment includes expansion and refining of the learning outcomes for all courses. The learning outcomes are
clearly stated on the syllabi the students receive on the first day of class. The syllabi are also downloadable on the department
website: www.qcc.cuny.edu/MathCS. In general, courses are assessed on a rotating basis with implementation of the
recommended improvements and a reassessment. The coordinator for the course is charged with forming a committee of
instructors who are currently teaching the course. They review the learning outcomes, make recommendations for changes to
the department’s Curriculum Committee who then brings them to the department for a vote. Changes receiving a majority vote
of the department are then reflected in the syllabus for the course. Pedagogical changes such as implementation of technology
across all sections of a course or WI across all sections of a course follow the same procedure as changes in learning outcomes
stated in the previous sentence.
2a.
Departmental participation in self-study/program review during 2013-2014, if applicable NA
2b.
Program review follow-up (from 2012-13 to 2013-14) NA
3a.
Course assessment follow-up (from 2012-13 to 2013-14)
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Queensborough Community College
Course(s)
assessed from
previous year
MA-336
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Year: 2013- 2014
Action plan from previous year
Evaluation of Results
Follow-up
MA336 was assessed in Spring 2013 through a
multiple-choice instrument administered to students
in all sections. MA336 instructors met to discuss the
results. The following suggestions were offered,
recommending starting with #4, #8, and, to some
degree, #5.
1) Increase emphasis on teaching for conceptual
understanding
2) Use low-stakes assignments with questions on
concepts
3) Consider textbook with extra emphasis on
concepts
4) Explore a list of learning outcomes for the course
5) Consider increasing uniformity of sections
perhaps though a departmental midterm or
partly uniform final
6) Increase awareness of existing practices perhaps
through sharing of finals or other assessment
instruments used for grading
7) In future assessments, consider including items
with more emphasis on computation. Form a
subgroup to discuss and collect data on
strategies and best/practices for shifting more
emphasis on conceptual understanding.
Regarding 5) and 6), it was
recommended to compile a set of
questions and assignments reflecting
the course objectives and learning
outcomes. Such a list could be used as
the basis for a departmental course
assessment. In questions regarding
concepts, the wording of the
questions plays a particularly
important role. It should be made
clear to potential users that the
wording should be adjusted to the
style they prefer. Related tasks and
deadlines:
In Fall 2013, MA336 instructors
were informed of work done and
were invited to follow-up
discussions. All Spring 2013
instructors were also Fall 2013
instructors. Through in-person
meetings and email communications
the following were proposed. Inperson meetings took place on
October 23rd and on October 30th
It was proposed to reassess on the
same material, with different
questions, in Spring 2014. Most
Spring 2014 instructors are likely to
have been Spring 2013 or Fall 2013
instructors. To help reduce bias, it
was proposed that all Spring 2014
faculty be given advanced noticed
regarding the nature of the
assessment. Related tasks and
deadlines:
(Fall 2013) Inform Spring 2014
instructors
(Feb 2014) Prepare assessment
instrument for Spring 2014
(April 2014) Administer assessment
Although preliminary work may begin,
this step would need to be informed
by the revisions of course objectives
and learning outcomes
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Queensborough Community College
3b.
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Year: 2013- 2014
Course assessment: current year
Course(s)
assessed (list
individually)
MA-440
Relevant General Educational
Outcomes
Relevant Curricular Outcomes
Evaluation of Assessment
Results
Action plan
Reason quantitatively and
mathematically as required in their
fields of interest and everyday life
Understand the definitions,
graphs, properties, and
applications of the functions
which will be of importance
during the study of Calculus;
About 70% of all students
participating in the assessment
answered problem 1 (interpret
and draw appropriate
inferences from quantitative
representations, such as
formulas, graphs, or tables;
represent quantitative
problems expressed in natural
language in a suitable
mathematical format.). About
60% of these students
answered problem 2
correctly(interpret and draw
appropriate inferences from
quantitative representations,
such as formulas, graphs, or
tables; represent quantitative
problems expressed in natural
language in a suitable
mathematical format.). Less
than 50 % of the students
examined answered problem 3
correctly (represent
quantitative problems
expressed in natural language
in a suitable mathematical
format.)
Suggestions were made to
ask the instructors of all the
sections of MA 440 to give
out extra class worksheet
problems and to assign
extra homework problems
with special emphasis on
the examined questions.
Use information management and
technology skills effectively for
academic research and lifelong
learning
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Queensborough Community College
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
MA-461
Students will investigate
solutions of linear systems of
equations and develop an
intuition about vector spaces
through familiarity with twoand three- dimensional
Euclidean spaces. Students will
derive and analyze proofs.
4.
1) Use analytical reasoning to
identify issues or problems
and evaluate evidence in order
to make informed decisions
2) Reason quantitatively and
mathematically as required in
their fields of interest and
everyday life
3) Use information management
and technology skills
effectively for academic
research and lifelong learning
95% of the students satisfied
objective 1.
81% of the students satisfied
objective 2.
52% satisfied objective 3.
Year: 2013- 2014
A reevaluation of the
syllabus to adjust time
spent on various tasks
related to the objectives is
currently being undertaken.
The syllabus will be
appropriately adjusted and
the course will be
reassessed.
Results of certification examinations, employer and alumni surveys, student surveys, advisory board
recommendations (if applicable, please use the table below) NA
5. Other assessment activity (if applicable)
NA
F. DEPARTMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
1.
Goals/objectives for 2013-2014
(Please indicate [Yes or No] if the objectives were part of the College’s Strategic Plan for 2013-2014.)
Departmental
goals/objectives 2013/2014
Increase the pass rate in
remedial mathematics.
Strategic Plan
Y/N
Y
Evaluation of achievement
Resulting action plan
The department has only one remedial course,
MA-10. Due to the implementation of a 6th hour
that is designed and implemented by the Director
of the Math Learning Center, the passing rate on
the CUNY uniform final exam (CEAFE) has
increased by over 10%.
Requested funding in the
department budget
request for the sixth
hour.
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Queensborough Community College
2.
Year-end Report – Teaching Department
Year: 2013- 2014
Goals/objectives for 2014-2015
(Explain how these goals/objectives align with the College’s goals and Strategic Plan for 2014-2015)
Departmental goals/objectives 2014-2015
Support the changes in the Criminal Justice
Curriculum by providing appropriate number of
sections of MA-336.
Work on various accelerated learning initiatives
for students who need remedial mathematics.
Mission/Strategic Plan
Improve graduation
rates.
Planned method of evaluation
Work with the Social Science department to
look at retention rates in Criminal Justice.
Improve graduation
rates.
Each initiative has a built in assessment plan
that will track students.
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