The More the Merrier – Spotlight on a Faculty Advisor Team

Betty Frost, along with her colleagues and fellow Faculty Advisors, Tim Britt, Carrie Goehring, and Linda Pride did more than redesign a course at Jackson State Community College – they redesigned their department. A pretty big undertaking, the key was including all the faculty in the redesign process. “We had one person select the homework assignments, tests and quizzes…then met weekly to vet this material. We continued this process until there was a consensus,” says Frost. During the pilot run of the redesign, parallel sections were taught using both traditional and the redesigned curriculum and, “the data spoke for itself.”

A second key ingredient to implementing a redesign on a large scale is training. “Faculty training is a must,” says Frost, “All faculty must follow the same processes and procedures.” Frost and her team created a faculty manual with detailed instructions on using MyMathLab to assist full-time instructors and adjunct faculty with the redesign. They also make sure to demonstrate what the first day of class should be like.

Once MyMathLab was implemented across the department, the faculty took the redesign a step further by transitioning to MyMathLabPlus in an emporium (lab-based) environment.

“When we redesigned our course to using MyMathLab, student success soared and retentions improved. Converting to MyMathLabPlus made the first of the semester easier for the student and teacher since students are already enrolled [in MyMathLabPlus] when they come to class the first day,” shares Frost.

The redesign has continued to provide amazing results for the math faculty at JSCC. With this modular approach to math, students are finishing multiple courses in one semester – an impossibility with courses being taught in the traditional format. They’re also learning to like math. According to Frost’s results MyMathLab helps students “appreciate how they can get help, know when they have the answer right, and move as fast (or as slow) as they need to move” to succeed.

Having four Pearson Faculty Advisors at one school, Frost and her colleagues are able to split requests for presentations, campus visits, and information sharing among themselves. “Our department has always worked together so this is no different,” says Frost. With the success of their redesign, JSCC is a model that other institutions can look to as they get ready to implement their own redesigns.

Who in your department was your greatest ally in initiating your course redesign?  How necessary is it to have colleague support?  Do you think redesign should be implemented on a course-by-course basis or by an entire department?