Home of exciting new mathematical pathways, learning communities, and innovative pedagogical approaches centered on student success, taking care of your math studies ASAP! The Pierce College Mathematics department has a national reputation for quality and innovation in instruction and curriculum. It is and has been for years at the forefront of new trends in mathematics pedagogy, including course
redesign, the use of technology in the classroom, collaborative learning, and distance education. Our ASAP program has been unanimously selected for the Chancellor's 2011 Student Equity and Success Award and is Pierce’s nomination for the Board of Governors 2012 Exemplary Program award. Members of the Math department faculty are involved in a variety of activities relating to mathematics teaching and professional development, including authoring text books, serving on national professional mathematics organization committees and boards, presenting at mathematics conferences, hosting mathematics conferences, and writing successful grant proposals. Several math instructors have been nationally recognized for teaching excellence, including two of the four community college faculty ever to receive the Award for Distinguished Teaching of College or University Mathematics from the Southern California section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), and three of the six Californians ever to receive the Teaching Excellence Award from the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC). Several of our faculty are involved in campus leadership roles including the former chair of the Faculty Priority Position Committee (FPPC), the chair of the Faculty Gala committee, co-chair of the Student Success Committee, members in four accreditation teams, and involvement in the Student Awards Brunch committee. The Math department has established a leadership role in the Basic Skills Initiative and Student Success movement. We currently have two grant supported projects: Statway™ and MAP Math 125. Statway™ is a project of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Statway™ provides a shorter pathway to transfer for non-STEM students, and is being piloted at 19 community colleges in five states. MAP Math 125 is being funded through California State University at Northridge’s Next Generation Learning Challenges grant. The Modeling in Algebra Project offers an exciting instructor-as-guide-on-the-side approach to teaching Algebra using directed learning activities based on real-world topical material in the classroom and is designed to increase the number of students succeeding in intermediate algebra and progressing through transfer level mathematics. The Math department has developed and implemented learning communities (Freshman Success) involving developmental Math classes paired with Counseling classes. We developed and implemented the award-winning one-semester combination elementary and intermediate algebra class (ASAP). We offer a summer workshop (Math Jam) before the start of the Fall semester and we provide access for Pierce’s Summer Bridge students into both our ASAP and Statway™ classes. We now offer APT (Accelerated Precalculus and Trigonometry) comprising 8 units of immersion in precalculus and trig. We are currently working to redesign our pre-algebra course, moving the focus away from algorithmic computational proficiency and towards conceptual understanding. We are a campus leader in the development of SLOs for our courses, and we have a comprehensive SLO assessment instrument (the MET) for Math 115 and Math 125 classes. We are also assessing SLOs in all other courses on an annual basis using teams of instructors devising and coordinating SLO assessment instruments for courses. The Math building contains several smart classrooms which are enabling instructors to provide a rich learning environment for students. We introduced and continue to promote the use of Personal Response Systems (“clickers”) for obtaining instant feedback from students in class. The pending North of the Mall renovations will help revitalize our teaching and learning environments. Student use of the Internet to fulfill their math assignments is becoming the norm not only in our hybrid classes but also in our standard face-to-face classes.
