A WAY FOR STRUGGLING MATHEMATICS STUDENTS TO SUCCEED IN A GENERAL

EDUCATION CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT MATHEMATICS COURSE

by

Heather Ann Larsen

A proposal submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF EDUCATION
IN CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

Ogden, Utah

April 9, 2019

Approved

__________________________________
Sheryl J. Rushton, Ph.D.

__________________________________
Lorraine Gale, M.Ed.

__________________________________
Cora Neal, Ph.D.

__________________________________
Linda J. Sorensen, Ph.D.
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 2

NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

Students who do well in a mathematics course are more likely to develop confidence that

they can do well in subsequent mathematics courses. Self-concept and self-efficacy build this

confidence that support one's belief in themselves to do well (Pajares & Miller, 1994).

Mathematics self-efficacy is defined as the confidence in one’s self to successfully accomplish a

specific task or solve a problem (Hackett & Betz, 1989). Mathematics self-concept taps into the

judgments of one’s self as a student. Pajares and Miller stated, “The course-specific

[mathematics] self-concept question, ‘Are you a good mathematics student?’ taps different

cognitive and affective processes than the [mathematics] self-efficacy question, ‘Can you solve

this specific problem?’” (1994, p. 194) When students do not do well in a mathematics course,

they do not build the confidence to help them succeed in subsequent mathematics courses.

Students develop a low mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics self-concept because of the

lack of confidence they gained in their mathematics course (Pajares & Miller, 1994).

In addition to doing poorly in mathematics due to low self-confidence, students may

struggle mathematically because they simply are not grasping the material like other students.

Tall and Razali (1993) discussed that students who struggle are not seeing the process of solving

a mathematics problem turn into a concept. The struggling students are then more likely to fail

because they can only think about individual processes instead of understanding the mathematics

conceptually. Long, Iatarola, and Conger (2009) researched to find the gaps in student

mathematics education which supported the idea that students are not learning the material well

enough to show they understand the concepts. They identified that students are receiving passing

grades without learning the material required for the course.

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 3

Struggling students need to receive remediation in mathematics rather than repeating the

course. Shepard and Smith (1990) did a research synthesis on grade retention and found that

repeating students are more likely to drop out of high school. Even when students complete the

requirements to graduate from high school, about thirty percent of the United States college

freshman are not prepared for college level mathematics (Long et al., 2009). Students who need

remedial post-secondary education can become just as successful as students who do not;

however, going through the remedial education can be expensive for both the student and the

university (Long et al., 2009).

A potential solution to help the students who need remedial post-secondary mathematics

education is first allowing the struggling students to attain success, by performing well on

mathematical assessments (Tall & Razali 1993). This will build up their confidence giving them

time to rebuild a strong mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics self-concept (Pajares &

Miller 1994). The students also need to learn how think more conceptually rather than

procedurally. This cannot be done by isolating procedures and trying to give them more practice

with problems they do not understand. Tall and Razali (1993) suggest “to teach problem-solving

strategies in a separate course from those courses teaching mathematical content and procedures”

(p. 15).

What is still unknown and needs to be figured out is a way to modify an existing

mathematics course to allow students to attain success and learn problem solving skills by

extending a semester long concurrent enrollment college mathematics course into a full year. The

first semester would teach the content in a very traditional method, so the students have an idea

of what the course is about. The second semester would then flip the classroom allowing the

students the time they need to learn how to think conceptually without having more content
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 4

given to them. Flipped classrooms allow students to actively engage in the material (Bishop &

Verleger, 2013). Flipped classrooms are defined to be the opposite of a traditional classroom.

Students watch a video lecture online at home and complete some sort of learning activity on

their own. In class the teacher acts more as a facilitator to lead a discussion about the material

and then the students dive into problems to solve together. This allows the students time with the

instructor to do problems they know how to do but can then collaborate with each other to

develop their conceptual thinking (Bishop & Verleger, 2013). This success would also give the

students confidence to build up their mathematics self-efficacy & concept. If this could be done

the students could be successful in their required mathematics course for post-secondary

education.

Literature Review

Before examining ways in which struggling students can be supported in becoming

college ready, it is important to define and explain mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics

self-concept, because it supports students in their mathematics courses. It is also important to

explain why and how students develop gaps in their mathematics education and how these gaps

will affect them in their future mathematics courses. This struggle will continue to follow them

into their post-secondary education even if their post-secondary education starts as a concurrent

enrollment course in the secondary setting. The research behind the flipped classroom is

imperative to understand as well because it critical in helping students attain success and learn

how to think.

Mathematics Self-Efficacy

Mathematics self-efficacy is the ability to believe in one’s self to correctly complete a

specific mathematical problem and/or task (Hackett & Betz, 1989). Hackett and Betz created this
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 5

definition from Bandura’s (1977) theory of self-efficacy. Bandura defined self-efficacy to be a

person’s belief in their ability to successfully perform a given task or behavior. When one makes

goals to accomplish a task and then successfully completes the task, they experience satisfaction

which gives them desire to reach the satisfaction again (Bandura & Schunk, 1981). This will then

give them an intrinsic interest in the task. The exact opposite can happen as well. When one does

not successfully complete a goal, it creates a negative feeling which makes one not want to

complete the task again (Bandura & Schunk, 1981).

The cognitive process was studied to find that self-efficacy is directly related to behavior

patterns (Bandura, 1977). When someone observes another’s behavior, that can start the

cognitive process for a change in their own behavior if the one observing finds the behavior of

the other stimulating. Students observe their teacher’s patterns and behaviors when learning. The

student can strengthen the behavior learned by receiving feedback from the teacher and

improving their performance on the skill or problem they are solving. The feedback can solidify

the performance of the student and in return make the new behavior more permanent (Bandura,

1977).

Behavior is driven by self-efficacy. Efficacy is the belief that your behavior will lead to

certain outcomes. If the belief is strong enough, the behavior will be enacted. If it is not strong,

the behavior will be avoided (Bandura, 1977):

Not only can perceived self-efficacy have directive influence on choices of activities and
settings, but, through expectations of eventual success, it can affect coping efforts once
they are initiated. Efficacy expectations determine how much effort people will expend
and how long they will persist in the face of obstacles and aversive experiences. The
stronger the perceived self-efficacy, the more active the efforts. (p. 194)

The effort put forth to do difficult tasks must be strong enough to be able to successfully

complete such tasks.

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 6

Further defining self-efficacy can be stated as a belief that one can do or perform a task

well (Stajkovic & Luthans, 1998). This expansion on the research of Bandura discovered that

when one thinks they are very efficient it will trigger enough determination to create effective

results, while the ones with low self-efficacy will probably terminate their determination early

and fail on the given task.

Stajkovic and Luthan’s (1998) meta-analysis was specifically about how self-efficacy is

directly related to work performance; when one begins their work with low confidence, their

efforts to be successful in the coursework are most likely to fail. To be successful, “performers

must have an accurate knowledge of the tasks they are trying to accomplish” (Stajkovic &

Luthan, 1998, p. 241). To truly have a strong self-efficacy to successfully complete a complex

task it requires “greater demands on required knowledge, cognitive ability, memory capacity,

behavioral facility, information processing, persistence, and physical effort” (Stajkovic &

Luthan, 1998, p. 241).

Self-efficacy’s relation to work can easily be applied to a mathematics course (Hackett &

Betz, 1989). Mathematics and self-efficacy were studied together, and the definition of self-

efficacy held true with mathematical tasks, resulting in a definition of mathematics self-efficacy.

The participants of this study were 153 women and 109 men in college. The study found that

mathematics self-efficacy is what gave the participants the most confidence when presented with

a mathematical task or problem (Hackett & Betz, 1989). When students do not do well in a

mathematics course, they do not build the confidence to help them succeed in subsequent

mathematics courses. Students develop a low mathematics self-efficacy which creates negative

feelings, so they do not have interest in trying to do well in subsequent mathematics courses

(Pajares & Miller, 1994).

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 7

Furthermore, Parajes and Miller (1994) considered a study by Bandura (1986) where he

found that low mathematics self-efficacy can create mathematics anxiety. It was then studied

whether mathematics anxiety had an effect on mathematics self-efficacy, and it did not. If a

student was able to successfully complete a task or problem, their mathematics anxiety did not

have an effect on their ability to perform due to their self-efficacy towards the task. Thus, as long

as the student believes they can be successful, the anxiety will not change this belief. It is only

when the student does not have this belief will the mathematics anxiety set it and start to take

effect.

Mathematics Self-Concept

The relationship between self-efficacy and students studying mathematics was further

studied and it was found that a student’s mathematics self-concept also had effect on a student’s

mathematical ability (Pajares & Miller, 1994). Mathematics self-concept is how one views

themselves in the field of mathematics. When comparing mathematics self-concept to

mathematics self-efficacy, mathematics self-concept is how one would respond to the question,

“Are you a good mathematics student?” Whereas mathematics self-efficacy is how one would

respond to the question, “Can you solve this specific mathematics problem?” (Pajares & Miller,

1994).

The development of mathematics self-concept can be related to Felson’s (1984) study of

academic self-concept. This is one’s ability to perceive their own ability in a given subject

matter. How one views themselves effects one’s performance in that subject matter (Felson,

1984). This perception was also affected by the anxiety that one may have towards the subject.

As previously discussed, a low mathematics self-efficacy can create mathematics anxiety and

this anxiety effects one’s mathematics self-concept. However, Bandura (1986) stressed that
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 8

although mathematics self-concept and mathematics self-efficacy are both predictors of how well

one will do in mathematics, they are different phenomena.

When studying 350 students preparing for college, Pajares and Miller (1994) found the

strongest correlation between mathematics self-efficacy and performance. The students with a

strong mathematics self-efficacy outperformed the students who had a low mathematics self-

efficacy. Other aspects of the study showed that mathematics self-concept, anxiety, and gender,

had some effect on the student’s ability to achieve, but it was not as significant as mathematics

self-efficacy.

It is important to note that the confidence that students receive when accomplishing

mathematical tasks is truly what affects their ability to perform in a mathematics class. Whether

the student has the thought that they may be no good at mathematics does not actually matter if

within the class they can be successful. Mathematics self-efficacy demonstrates this fact, which

is the reason if one has a low mathematics self-efficacy it can be detrimental for students who do

not find success in their mathematics course.

Explaining the Gaps

Some students inevitably fall behind in their mathematics class. Parke and Keener (2011),

studied students who stayed at the same high school for all four years. It was found that the

students who stayed at the same high school performed much better in their mathematics courses

versus the students who switched high schools. Hypothesized reasonings to why these students

fall behind were numerous (Parke & Keener 2011). One possible problem with students

switching is that they miss instruction time due to the fact that not all high schools have

synchronized courses and lesson plans. Another possible reason to why these students were

struggling is because they may be placed in a mathematics course that they are not ready for
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 9

(Parke & Keener 2011). In the results of the study it was found that once the students fall behind

academically their attendance rate drops, which increased the student’s grades to drop even

lower (Parke & Keener 2011).

Some high schools produced better mathematics students than others (Baird, 2011). In

this study of why some students learn more mathematics in high school versus others it was also

discovered that even some school districts produced better mathematics students than others.

This study was about standardized end of level tests in Washington. Baird stated that it was hard

to study the true cognitive ability from these scores alone. However, Hanushek and Kimko

(2000) found that test scores were a good predictor of an individual’s productivity. In Baird’s

(2011) study it was hypothesized why some schools produced higher scores than others and

concluded that it could be attributed to school demographics, school-level resources,

school/classroom size, teacher quality, and effective advising.

Gaps in students’ understanding may be due to students not recognizing how the process

of solving mathematics problems supports a larger concept (Tall & Razali, 1993). This study

asked specific mathematics questions to first- and second-year students in college and tried to

diagnose why some students struggled more than others. What was found was that some students

could look at a problem and only see procedures and not a concept. For example, a struggling

student would look at the expression 2𝑥 + 3 and would not see it as an object that can be

manipulated. The struggling students could only focus on figuring out what 𝑥 is or were uneasy

about dealing with it because they do not know what 𝑥 is. The struggling students lacked flexible

thinking and were most likely going to fail when given a mathematical task. Even though all

students are taught the same procedure, there are some who do not get that procedure and are not

able to turn it into a concept like it needs to be understood.

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 10

The difficulties of these struggling students can be summarized into three reasons (Tall

& Razali, 1993). First, students were “less likely to crystallize processes into manipulate

concepts, thus imposing the greater burden of process coordination rather than concept

manipulation” (p. 13). Second, students relied on only familiar processes making it so that they

cannot manipulate concepts. Finally, since students relied on the processes they were “less likely

to relate ideas in a meaningful way” (p. 13). The struggling students became confused because

they could only think about individual procedures instead of concepts. This confusion led into

low mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics self-concept as suggested by Pajares and Miller

(1994).

The gaps found in students mathematics education were that students are not learning the

material well enough to show they understand the concepts (Long et al., 2009). In this study,

students from Florida’s public high schools were studied as to why students entering college

were underprepared for post-secondary general education courses. Mathematics courses were the

most underprepared courses that students were not ready for. The results of the study found three

main reasons why these students were underprepared. First, students were receiving passing

grades without learning the material required for the course. Second, students learned the

material to pass the course, but were not retaining it once they moved on. Third, students simply

did not learn the material, but were then given a passing grade so they could move on and

graduate high school (Long et al., 2009).

Course Repetition

If students are not ready for the next mathematics course, they should retake the course

until they are ready for the next course. This used to the normal pathway for a student who failed

a course (Shepard & Smith, 1990). However, a research synthesis on grade retention was done
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 11

and found that repeating students are more likely to drop out of high school. Students who have

to then repeat two full grade levels have almost a 100% chance of dropping out of high school.

When students are forced to repeat there is a negative connotation that comes with it. Instead of

feeling happy for the time to relearn the material most students feel embarrassed and sad that

they failed, and they have to retake (Shepard & Smith, 1990).

Instead of repeating, the students who struggle should receive remedial help to pass the

courses they are under prepared for so that they can earn the necessary credits to graduate high

school (Shepard & Smith, 1990). The remedial programs are often run concurrently with the

courses they are taking before and after school, but sometimes during the summer. Sometimes

schools offer a class dedicated for the student to do remedial work and credit recovery (Shepard

& Smith 1990). The help that secondary schools give to these struggling students is tremendous.

Conversely, students may finish all the necessary courses to graduate high school to be able to

move onto a secondary education; but, about thirty percent of the United States freshman are not

prepared for college level mathematics (Long et al., 2009).

Postsecondary Remedial Coursework

These underprepared freshmen enter college and need help. Some colleges are prepared

for the freshman who are not ready and upon entering college these students may be put in

remedial courses (Weisburst, Daugherty, Miller, Martorell, & Cossairt, 2017). However, this

study done in Texas about postsecondary remedial course work showed there are negative

connotations associated with this. The course work seemed to create barriers for students and

increased time and money spent towards graduation. Many students in these programs were

discouraged because they were deemed not college ready (Weisburst et al., 2017). Although the

study showed negative results to the remedial course work, the college students did see the value
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 12

in the study skills they learned to help them be successful in their other coursework (Weisburst et

al., 2017).

A similar study about students repeating courses and sometimes even full years as an

undergraduate found that students benefited from repeating courses or their entire first year to

develop new study habits and time maturing into a serious student (Tafreschi &Thiemann, 2015).

The study compared high school grade retention to post-secondary grade retention and found that

it was different because post-secondary education is completely voluntary. Although there were

benefits to repeating courses as a freshman or sophomore, undergraduate retained students

(whether voluntary or forced) were more likely to drop out (Tafreschi & Thiemann, 2015). The

study found two reasons why students were more likely to drop out. First, the failed students

never entered into their major coursework. Second, it put students a year behind on graduating

and thus a year behind on entering into the labor market. The study also found that “Stigmatisms

by fellow students or instructors, and the costs related to re-adjustments to new peers are likely

to influence the drop-out decision, too” (p. 20). The students who had to repeat courses were

found that it effected their major choice, study pace, and grade point averages (Tafreshic &

Thiemann, 2015).

When a student needs remedial post-secondary education, this does not mean that they

will not become just as successful as the student who does not need remedial help. However, the

remedial students will end up paying more for their education and the university will have to pay

more for the remedial student too (Long et al., 2009). An estimated $118.3 million dollars were

spent on remedial coursework for college students in Florida 2003-2004. These estimated costs

were split between the state and the students who were underprepared. All of these costs were

devoted to coursework that was not for the students’ intended major. This is a lot of money to be
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 13

spent on education that was supposed to be done through public education. It was also studied

that the cost of paying tuition over and over again for remedial course work increased dropout

rates throughout universities (Long et al., 2009).

Potential Solution

To fix this problem of low confident and under prepared students going into the general

education mathematics course for post-secondary education is not like prescribing medication to

a sick patient (Tall & Razali, 1993). The results of this study suggested to provide students with

a course that can give them the confidence they need to understand the mathematics procedures

and turn them into mathematical concepts (Tall & Razali, 1993). This course will then give the

students time to focus on what they already know so they can develop the deeper conceptual

thinking without confusing their brain with new concepts. This will eliminate the gaps that the

student has and then allows them to gain the mathematics self-efficacy that they need to be

successful and pass the course. Within this course students should learn problem-solving

strategies rather than learning mathematical content and procedures (Tall & Razali, 1993). The

study strongly implied that this problem-solving course cannot be done at the same time as

starting a new mathematical course.

This course can be done in the secondary setting with a concurrent enrollment course.

Normally the general education mathematics course taught at the university is only a semester

long. If the course was taught for a full year in the secondary setting Tall and Razli’s (1993)

ideas could be implemented. There will be several hurdles to overcome, but with effective

teaching strategies students can be provided with the conceptually learning they need.

The general education mathematics course is not new material, it is a combination of the

mathematics content that the student learned throughout their secondary education. When
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extended to a full year the course can first be taught in a traditional method where students take

notes in class, and complete homework at home. The first semester is a practice run for the class.

The students will complete the entire course in the first semester in a guided way so they can feel

successful and start to gain mathematics self-efficacy. The second semester the students will then

be taught the same content, but in a flipped classroom setting to allow the students to further

develop their mathematics self-efficacy and conceptually understand the material rather than

only procedurally.

Flipped classrooms. Flipped classrooms are a great way for students to gain confidence

and learn more conceptually (Bishop & Verleger, 2013). The flipped classroom is where a video

lecture replaces an in-person lecture and the classroom becomes the place for practice through

group-based problem-solving activities. Through the comprehensive research of the flipped

classroom it was found that video lectures moderately exceeded in-person lectures. Although

some students prefer in person lectures, it was more important for students to have an interactive

classroom where activities are held instead of lectures (Bishop & Verleger, 2013).

The flipped classroom, if done correctly, can expand the curriculum because of the

practice time in class and the group learning (Bishop & Verleger, 2013). The most important

components that make it so the flipped classroom gives the learning out comes desired are

human interaction (in-class activities) and online technologies at work (outside the classroom).

Even though there is still some controversy that this is a better way to learn, the opinions of the

students in the classroom studies had overall positive comments and liked the change in learning

(Bishop & Verleger, 2013). In one of the classrooms studied versus another it was found that

there was an increase of 21% more correctly answered exam questions from the flipped

classroom setting versus the other (Bishop & Verleger, 2013). This potential solution would give
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 15

the students the learning time they need to gain confidence and fill in the gaps that they are

missing so that they can pass their general education mathematics course.

Another study from Miami Universty also supports that students can learn more in the

flipped classroom setting (Lage, Platt, & Treglia, 2000). This study referred to the flipped

classroom as the inverted classroom, it had the same criteria that was previously described in the

comprehensive study by Bishop and Verleger (2013). In the results on the Miami University

study many students commented on how much more they learned in this class versus other they

had taken. Many of the students commented that they enjoyed the demonstrations in class and

that it helped them more fully understand the concepts, which then helped them be successful on

the exams (Lage et al., 2000).

Flipped classrooms connects more to today’s students (Bergman & Sams, 2012). Today’s

students are growing up with a constant connection to the internet that has a host of many digital

resources. When watching the online lectures students love the ability to pause and rewind if

needed. Many students come to school with their electronic devices that connect them to these

resources (Bergman & Sams, 2012). The flipped classroom lets the students engage further in

with these tools and this helps them connect better with the content. Because of this constant

connection, the flipped classroom helps students work ahead if they are ready. This allows the

instructor to spend more time with the students who need to go slower (Bergman & Sams, 2012).

Since the majority of class time is devoted to group-based work, the struggling students can

receive more one-on-one help from the instructor. It also allows the instructor to know their

students better because they get to spend more one-on-one time with them. This helps the

instructor know how to better help the struggling students so that they do not get left behind

(Bergman & Sams, 2012).

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 16

Application of the flipped classroom. Although this project does not intend to study the

learning outcomes of the students in the mathematics course itself after receiving the flipped

classroom learning method; it will try to design the most effective way to present the curriculum.

This curriculum will be designed to give the students more confidence and thus increasing their

mathematics self-efficacy. This will allow the students to spend more time conceptualizing ideas

and not just memorizing procedures, thus filling in the gaps that they are missing. Then the

students in this course will then be more prepared for college as they will have completed the

general education mathematics course require for their undergraduate degree.

Summary

Mathematics self-efficacy is a vital part of student success in mathematics courses.

Mathematics self-concept is also important, but not as important as the student feeling that they

have the confidence to correctly complete a given mathematic task in their mathematics course

(Pajares & Miller 1994). Not only does confidence play a role in student success, but how the

student thinks about the mathematical concepts affects how well they will do in their

mathematics course. Often students will have gaps in the mathematics education due to many

reasons from, switching schools during their secondary education (Parke & Keener, 2011), not

learning and/or retaining the material taught in their mathematics course (Baird, 2011), or just

simply given a passing grade in a mathematics course when it should not have been given (Long

et al., 2009). Tall and Razli (1993) found that many of these gaps are due to how students were

thinking. The struggling students could not think conceptually, and this was their downfall.

The students who have low mathematics self-efficacy and gaps in their mathematical

education create a problem for the post-secondary education institutions (Long et al., 2009). The

secondary schools can get students to graduate high school (Shepard & Smith 1990), but once
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 17

they are there the remedial programs some colleges have in place are not successful (Weisburst

et al., 2017). The potential solution is to allow the students to take their general education

mathematics course in the secondary setting as a concurrent enrollment course. Instead of

teaching for only one semester, extend the course into two semesters so that the students have an

opportunity to build their mathematics self-efficacy and fill their gaps. The course would do this

by flipping the classroom the second semester which allows for student success and deeper

cognitive learning (Bishop & Verleger 2013).

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 18

PURPOSE

For the struggling students to become successful in their concurrent enrollment

mathematics course they need to build their mathematics self-efficacy (Pajares & Miller, 1994),

and change the way they think about mathematical concepts (Tall & Razli, 1993). This purpose

of this project is to design curriculum that will give the students greater self-efficacy and develop

conceptual understanding through teaching in a flipped classroom setting (Bishop & Verleger

2013).

The objective of this project is to develop a flipped classroom curriculum for the general

education mathematics course: Mathematics 1030: Contemporary Mathematics. The project will

show the structure of the semester course extended into the full year. This portion allows the

student time with the material to really learn it conceptually and not just procedurally as

suggested by Tall and Razali (1993). This will also allow the students to gain success through the

course so they can build the mathematics self-efficacy they need to be successful throughout the

course (Pajares & Miller, 1994). The project will go into specific detail about the flipped

classroom portion and give an actual sample of one of the sections taught for the concurrent

enrollment course. The flipped classroom portion really supports both ideas presented by Pajares

and Miller (1994) and Tall and Razali (1993). This is why the project will be focused on this

specific portion in the curriculum, to show case the manor the flipped classroom supports these

successful learning patterns (Bishop & Verleger, 2013).

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 19

METHOD

It is imperative that students can be successful in their general education mathematics

course for post-secondary education. Many students can take their general education

mathematics course while they are still in high school as a concurrent enrollment course. For the

students to do well, mathematics self-efficacy is a vital part of student success in a mathematics

course. This gives them the confidence that they can be successful in the tasks required for the

course. Even if they do not perceive themselves as a good math student, they can still be

successful if their mathematics self-efficacy is built within the course (Pajares & Miller 1994). In

addition to confidence how the student thinks mathematically will affect how well they do. The

student needs to be able to think conceptually about the mathematics not procedurally. When

students can only think procedurally it hinders their abilities (Tall & Razali, 1993). Many

students will have gaps by the time they reach this general education mathematics course. These

gaps are due to not actually learning the material from previous courses and still receiving a

passing grade (Long et al., 2009). Also, it could be that they learned the material but they did not

retain it (Baird, 2011), or they missed material completely due to switching schools during their

secondary education (Parke & Keener, 2011).

These struggling students can cause problems for post-secondary education institutions

(Long et al., 2009). This is why allowing the students to take their general education

mathematics course as a concurrent enrollment course in high school is a great solution. The high

schools have the ability to adjust the general education mathematics course to benefit the student.

High schools are great places for remedial programs and supporting struggling students (Shepard

& Smith 1990). Some universities do have some remedial programs in place, but are not as

successful (Weistburst et al., 2017). If the high school can adjust the general education
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 20

mathematics course into an entire year this would allow the students time to gain the confidence

needed and actual learn the material, they need to pass the course. This can be done by teaching

it traditionally for the first semester and then inverting the classroom the second semester giving

the students time to deepen their procedural thoughts to conceptual thinking (Bishop & Verleger,

2013).

Context

This project will take the undergraduate course Mathematics 1030: Contemporary

Mathematics taught in the concurrent enrollment setting and extend it into a full year. This is the

course specifically offered by Weber State University, however many other colleges offer a

similar course. It should be noted that this course is not accepted for every major at Weber State

University, however 65% of Weber States’ undergraduates only needed this course to graduate in

2017 (Weber State University, 2017).

Normally, this course is taught at the University, but it recently became available as a

Concurrent Enrollment course at the high school level. This course is also only designed as a

semester long course. However, if the course is taught yearlong it allows the time to implement

some of the ideas the Tall and Razali (1993) suggested. During the fall semester the content will

be presented in a very traditional format, notes, quizzes, and practice problems. During the

spring semester the content will be presented in a flipped classroom format. However, it should

be noted that most of the content is not new to the students. The content has very similar topics

they have seen in their previous high school mathematics courses. Thus, this allows them time

with the material to start to change the procedures that they know into conceptual ideas.

Setting
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 21

The curriculum designed for this project will be for students in the concurrent enrollment

course in the high school setting. Senior students will only be allowed to take this course. The

high school demographics of the school where this will be implemented are as follows. The high

school serves grades 10-12. The school has a little bit more than 1600 students enrolled, each

grade has around 500 - 600 students. The male to female ratio is about equal, with slightly more

males. The ethnicity is predominantly Caucasian, with less than 300 students having a different

ethnicity. The next highest ethnicity are Hispanics, around 130 students can be identified as this

ethnicity. The school also reports the special education students make up about 9% of the

population. Academically the school reports average ACT scores, 73% scored above an 18, the

average score being a 21 (Utah State Board of Education 2019). Additionally, the mathematics

average score was also a 21, which is the required score to enroll in Mathematics 1030

(Contemporary Mathematics Syllabus, 2018-2019).

The concurrent enrollment credit is from Weber State University, because of this

Mathematics 1030 must follow set constraints implemented by Weber State University. Weber

State University credit starts in the spring semester for the course, and thus the first semester is

elective mathematics credit towards the student graduation. In the spring semester Weber State

sets the dates of the midterm and the final. They also write the midterm and the final. Weber

State does not require you stick to a certain pace, but because of the content covered on the

midterm and final all high schools that teach this course have to teach enough of the content

before the specified date of the midterm and final. Weber State also provides the content the

course will cover in the book, Mathematics All Around, Pirnot, 6th edition. From this book Commented [HL1]: Do I need to put the book in my
references?
Weber State also provides suggested homework problems that the students should complete to

better prepare for the midterm and final.

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 22

Scope of Project

This project will focus on the flipped classroom portion in the spring semester.

Specifically, the last chapter covered in the content, Chapter 14: Statistics, which covers

organizing and visualizing data, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, and the

normal distribution. The curriculum design of the flipped classroom is to focus on the student

solidifying concepts and gaining confidence to build a strong mathematics self-efficacy, so that

they can successfully pass this course. Although the course content contains six chapters from

the book, this project will take the last chapter studied and show the curriculum in a sample.

Procedure

The course begins in the fall semester and all the content will be covered in the fall

semester. The material will be taught in a traditional format, which is very similar to how their

other math classes were taught to them previously at this school. Each day will cover a new

section beginning with a quiz on the previous section. The new section will be taught through

notes that the students fill in while the teacher fills them in on the iPad, which is connected to the

projector so the students can see. Each notes section is recorded so that the students can view it

again at home or if they are absent, they can view it as well. After each notes an online

homework will be assigned. The online homework is through the online program that is attached

to the book, MathXL for School. The homework problems assigned are the suggested homework Commented [HL2]: Do I need to put this website in my
references?
problems provided by Weber State University. At the end of each chapter, students will be given

a chapter review, which will prepare them to take a chapter test. Each chapter test contains

problems that are similar to the problems that will show up on the midterm and final. The

midterm and the final in the fall semester will be written by the teacher and will be similar to the

midterm and final written by Weber State in the spring semester.

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 23

In the spring semester, students will learn all of the content over again, starting at the

very beginning. However, the content will be taught through a flipped classroom. Before each

class period the students will watch a short 10 to 15-minute video refreshing their memory of the

section they learned in the fall. They will then complete a five-question lesson check quiz to

check for understanding on the content. Once the students arrive to class the teacher will begin a

discussion on the section the students learned about the night before. After which the teacher will

then initiate a class activity that will help the students understand the section more conceptually

and increase their confidence as they work together to solve the intended task. The remaining

portion of the class will be reserved for the students to do the homework assigned from the book.

The teacher then has the opportunity to help students one-on-one with homework problems. This

will help the students’ mathematics self-efficacy increase as well as their conceptual

understanding. Once per chapter the students will complete a quiz before the class activity

begins. After each chapter a review will be given and a chapter test. These quizzes and tests are

similar to the ones they took in the fall but will be slightly different and harder to better prepare

the students for the actual midterm and final.

Curriculum

The curriculum can be viewed through the free Canvas webpage. This is the link to the

course: The entire spring semester course will be available to view, however this project will

only be evaluated on chapter 14. Note: The quiz and test are posted on canvas for the evaluators

to see. Normally the quizzes and tests are not posted on canvas for students to view. Commented [HL3]: This is where I plan to give access to
the course. I am still working on putting the course here.
Evaluation

The content will be evaluated by instructors that teach this course at Weber State

University. The instructors will provide feedback on the lesson videos, lesson checks, and class
STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 24

activities. They will use their expertise to decide if the curriculum would provide the students

with confidence building activities as well as conceptually building activities. They will also

review the quizzes and tests to ensure that the tasks asked would properly prepare students for

the final. If they feel that all of this has been completed, then the curriculum will be considered

successfully completed for this project.

STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 25

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STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 26

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STRUGGLING STUDENTS AND CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT 27

Weber State University Continuing Education Concurrent Enrollment Mathematics 1030 –

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