As a member of the QB@CC project, I'd love to talk with you about a collaboration! Thank you for sharing the assessment tool; I'm going to share this with our math faculty so that we can assess our program!

Thanks for connecting! I'll find your video and let's follow up with each other. 

Dear Jay, Thank you for your inquiry into the TLC3 project. The Tool we developed was aimed at transforming the way colleges identify and remove barriers for racially minoritized students in STEM math. The Tool is transformative in identifying the multiple domains with equity practices with each as there is no magic pill here. You have asked many wonderful questions and my response requires a bit more time so I will be responding tomorrow. Thank you for your patience. 

Dear Jay,

Thank you for your patience. In your first question, you asked how TLC3 is unique from other related efforts. Our project is unique in focusing on a comprehensive set of practices that span the STEM math pathway, in contrast to projects that tend to focus on a single area (e.g. instruction or student support). The project is also unique in taking the approach that’s been used in higher education for the past decade of developing Self-Assessment Tools or inventories that colleges can use to reflect, foster discussion, or do long-term planning. Here, we were inspired by work done at USC and SDSU around developing such tools. Your second question asked about our case studies. We developed initial domains and practices based on the literature and the brain trust that was the PI team for the project, and then we approached four minority-serving community colleges (PBI, HSI, and AANAPISI) and a tribal college. We interviewed key admin and staff, conducted classroom observations and faculty interviews, and student focus groups. The student focus groups were used as a source of evidence around the different practices. For example, the AANAPISI college I visited in the fall term, and the students in focus groups we conducted emphasized the very easy onboarding they received through math placement and college orientation, the satisfaction and comfort they felt with their current instructors, and in this case the importance of the campus space to work together on mathematics. The student focus groups were less informative in, say, our institutional responsibility domain. In that area, the faculty and admin interviews played a larger role. To your question 3, I will share what I wrote to Patricia in a separate post that we published the Tool only last fall, and our initial dissemination plan engaged our networked community that comprises mainly math chairs and engaged math faculty who have engaged with the project since 2017. We also have a strategic partnership with the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). For example, I am chair of AMATYC’s Pathways Joint Subcommittee, Equity Committee, and Committee that focuses on STEM math. This year we have created more awareness among these groups around the Self-Assessment Tool, as the last year has been spent doing major conference presentations (all Zoom now), AMATYC committees, and work with individual colleges. The work is being very well received as the field is looking for solutions and to better understand how to positively impact racial equity in college math. What impact it ultimately will have is to be seen. In those presentations, I provide much more detail about why these practices would disproportionately benefit racially minoritized students. Here, the field of community college math seems to have grasped the twin impact of math placement reform + dev math reform. But the other areas: student support, STEM math courses, instruction, and institutional responsibility are novel concepts for folks based on the experiences I’ve had in disseminating. And overall the field is yet to understand and embrace the notion that learning mathematics is a racialized experience.  I was fortunate to have a bit of funding left and I received a 3rd year No-Cost Extension in order to further the dissemination and advance the work. Long-term, this work is morphing into a larger project around racial equity in college math that will be housed through my Curriculum Research Group at Highline College (my home institution). The website can be found at crg.highline.edu.  This brings me to your final question around extrapolating or generalizing this work to math in general. That’s a very interesting question, as if you look at the practices there is some face validity to the idea that these practices are good for most students. This project may be finished after 2022-23, but it’s not finished, ever. I’ve spent my professional career championing and creating positive change in mathematics at my college and also nationwide (one of my other areas of focus is introductory statistics). The TLC3 project was transformative to me in building my capacity to promote racial equity in college mathematics; whereas prior I didn’t have the knowledge to do this with authenticity. And to be sure, it’s a journey with no clear end point. But it’s my journey and focus for the foreseeable future. 

Helen, Sorry for the delay in reading and responding to your very thoughtful and detailed response to my questions. I greatly appreciate your taking the time to do so and know that this additional information has allowed everyone who is following these discussions to better appreciate the comprehensiveness of what you and your colleagues have set out to do. Thank you very much! Jay

Dear John, I just watched your video. Wow, what a really amazing learner-centered project you have!  In the TLC3 project, assessment was initially singled out as a domain where we could develop equity practices; but our data didn't provide evidence of its importance (revealed in the case studies of minority-serving institutions).  That was not necessarily unexpected. However, anyone who teaches math knows that our assessment practices make or break students both in terms of passing but also in terms of directing student learning. I have so much to say here but will stop. You are really doing outstanding work and I look forward to connecting!

Dear Maia--

Thanks for finding our project. I just watched your video and see some connections. I will check back tomorrow to provide a bit more info about our relational and mathematical practices. 

Dear Maia,

Around the mid 2000s I became aware of the work coming out of San Diego State University around teaching men of color in community colleges, and I felt very strongly that this work needed to be brought into the math education space. So when we designed the grant, we framed it around the multiple domains that impact student transition into, through, and out of STEM math courses. One area, of course, is classroom instruction. Here, we sought to separate Instruction that is “mathematical” from instruction that is “relational.”  We used the literature as a springboard and then triangulated with data collected from classroom observations. So in the end the practices that we identified are realistic to accomplish as we actually saw faculty doing this. Our Self-Assessment Tool (there’s a link up top) shows the specific practices that are relational compared to those that are mathematical. I’ve also posted them below. 

 

Distinguishing between the two (relational versus mathematical instructional practices) has been powerful for faculty to consider, and the ideas could be used to develop a professional development program for equitable mathematics teaching in community colleges. This work is only just beginning; and there is currently a lot of attention to this issue but under Covid it’s difficult to understand how the field is or is not responding to calls for racial equity in STEM math. Our dissemination thus far has focused on creating awareness on the overall Tool. This includes national webinars and work with individual colleges, and this will change and morph as we move into next year. 

 

The relational practices are:

Authentic care and welcomeness to engage are expressed to students

Student questions and concerns are validated and addressed in a timely fashion

What students find helpful or hindering in their college and math courses is well-known and

understood by mathematics faculty

Performance monitoring techniques are used consistently (e.g., feedback on learning,

reminders about deadlines, etc.)

In contrast, the mathematical practices are:

Student active involvement in problem solving is central to mathematics instruction

Students are invited to discuss or share their thinking about mathematics with each other

The relevance of mathematics (to careers, personal lives, etc.) is made explicit to

students during class or in class materials

The mathematical content and tasks are challenging in terms of cognitive demand

Dear Talia,

The issue of buy-in is key. We finalized the Tool last fall, and since covid I have been disseminating through national conferences (Zoom webinars) and also through one-on-one sessions with groups of faculty. The Tool is appealing because it identifies multiple domains where a math program could focus its attention. Also, the equity practices are realistic, we believe. I didn't provide details in the video about our methods for developing the practices. I am happy to provide that. I think it's the first Tool at the math department level that takes a holistic approach to the student transition into, through, and out of the STEM math pathway. Since the Tool just launched, it is too early to know how it will be implemented. Dissemination will continue apace next year. 

Dear Patricia, Indeed the environment of science can be hostile to/for racially minoritized students. There are general strategies that come in different forms and have different sorts of benefits to students. Not triggering stereotype threat is one strategy.

Just like the TLC3 Self-Assessment Tool identified multiple domains so, too, we have to identify the different areas of the bio curriculum (e.g., textbooks, tasks, assessments) that require intentional anti-racist actions on our part to the benefit of students of color.  

I think we are in the day and age where STEM faculty should have a basic knowledge of racism and how it manifests and some ideas about how to be anti-racist in their STEM pedagogy.  I'd be happy to discuss this if you'd like to. I've been following the QB@CC video on the showcase and notice a lot of attention to this from the feedback they've received. 

 

Helen Burn

Lead Presenter
Instructor, Department of Mathematics; Director, Curriculum Research Group
 





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May 13, 2021 | 12:53 p.m.

Dear Judith,

Thank you for your question and positive comments about the project. Our institutional responsibility domain includes three practices:  permanent base funding for URM programs in STEM, providing faculty PD on racial equity, and programs for housing and food insecure students. You are correct in assuming that a main audience for our work is STEM deans or math chairs. We finalized the Self-Assessment Tool in August of 2020 and were fortunate to be able to conduct our subject matter expert content validation under covid conditions in spring of 2020. Our initial dissemination plan engaged our networked community that comprises mainly math chairs and engaged math faculty who have engaged with the project since 2017. We also have a strategic partnership with the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). For example, I am chair of AMATYC’s Pathways Joint Subcommittee, Equity Committee, and Committee that focuses on STEM math. This year we have created more awareness among these groups around the Self-Assessment Tool, as the last year has been spent doing major conference presentations (all Zoom now), AMATYC committees, and work with individual colleges. The work is being very well received as the field is looking for solutions and to better understand how to positively impact racial equity in college math. In those presentations, I provide much more detail about why these practices would disproportionately benefit racially minoritized students. Here, the field of community college math seems to have grasped the twin impact of math placement reform + dev math reform. But the other areas: student support, STEM math courses, instruction, and institutional responsibility are novel concepts for folks based on the experiences I’ve had in disseminating. And as we know, curricular innovation in STEM math is not widespread as compared with developmental math. As this academic year wraps, we are also working on two major publications. I was also fortunate to have a bit of funding left and I received a 3rd year No-Cost Extension in order to further the dissemination and advance the work. Long-term, this work is morphing into a larger project around racial equity in college math that will be housed through my Curriculum Research Group at Highline College (my home institution). The website can be found at crg.highline.edu. Again, thank you for your inquiry and please let me know if you'd like to discuss this further. 

 + Reply

Hi Megan, Thank you for exploring our project. The math bootcamp is an example of an Institutional Responsibility practice, and kudos to your college for providing this program. I hope it comes with permanent base funding!  That would be ideal.  Thank you for sharing the tool and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions.