This study proposes to test two pedagogical theories, and their applicability to an online course in mathematics.

I.  The first theory, originating in my own experience as a math learner, is that others may present mathematical material to me, but no one can teach it to me.  By teach, I mean instill into my memory and ability in a useable form.  The only way I can learn mathematics is to teach myself.  Yes, I may follow the suggestions of others, I may read a textbook, but only my own efforts can cause the math to exist in my mind. 

This quality of math, that it must be practiced to be learned, suggests that it is well suited to independent study.  We believe that students who sit politely in class are not the ones who learn best; it is the ones who go home and work problems.

How does an online math course fit with the above notion?  Is a class self-selecting?  Or are students forced to learn to work alone, whether they are inclined to or not?  And, finally and most important, how great a factor is ability to do independent work, for the success of the student?

I propose to run a series of four studies, from the beginning of my fall 2005 Math 070 Online course, regularly through the entire semester, measuring the correlation between a student’s self-assessment in the ability to perform solo and the student’s success in the class, as measured by the traditional tests and quizzes.  I will also measure the correlation between that self-assessment and retention. I will be seeking information not only on which sort of student succeeds in an online course, but also how an online course might better develop the ability to work independently.

II.  The second theory about the instruction of mathematics is that a student’s affect in the class is a better predictor of success than any other, including native ability.  There are characteristics of online instruction that should greatly reduce certain anxieties.  For example, asking a question in a classroom setting is intimidating for most students.  Asking a question by email should be much less so, given an instructor who replies promptly and with patience and care.  On the other hand, new anxieties may exist, such as computer issues.

Again, subjective information comes from the students’ self-assessment.  I will ask students to report on their emotional experience by responding to short questionnaires and with brief essays, four times through the semester.  I will also ask them to assess the affective differences, for them, between online and traditional classes.  This data, too, will be related to student success and retention rates.

 This project will ascertain
1.  the extent to which the student’s ability to study independently, as reported by the student him/herself, predicts retention and grade success in an online class.

2.  whether, and to what extent, an online class will expand a student’s ability to do independent work.

3.  whether, and how much, the online environment reduces math anxiety.

4.  what strategies we may employ in online classes at College of the Canyons to reduce math anxiety.

 For the subjective data, the project will rely on student self-assessment of comfort and confidence with independent work, and of anxiety with the study of mathematics.  These assessments will take the form of short-answer questions and brief essays, assigned online five times in the semester.  Students will be assured of anonymity.  A rubric will assign each assessment a numerical score.  The first assessment will be administered as early as possible in the semester, and will be used to measure progress over time.

Objective data will include test averages and homework percentages.  I will assemble this data concurrently with the last four student self-assessments, seeking correlations.  It may well be that homework percentages will be more illuminating, since chapter tests vary in difficulty, and may not give an accurate view of progress.  In any event, correlations will be sought with all facets of the grades, as past experience has proved that results are not always what are expected.  Progress will be gauged from the first grade collection.

All of my initial technology skills in online teaching came from EDU 090 Strategies for Success in Online Teaching.  More important than technology skills, however, was the realization of the power of online teaching for bringing out emotional content.  Having long believed that the emotional component of math instruction was the most important, this realization has huge implications for me in teaching an online math class.  It is this realization that drives my project.

A close look at the structure of my online Math 070 course will reveal the influence of EDU 084 Microteaching.  All the elements are there.  Most important to this project, though, is the philosophy of sensitive feedback, through checks for understanding and the discussions after the lessons.  True, my students are not fellow teachers, but they are just as capable of expressing their inner feelings and convictions.  Their feedback to me comprises fully half of my data.

There were many surprises in my experience of EDU 091 Case Studies in College Teaching, as well.  This may not have been the intent of the participants, but the differences in perceptions of situations were sometimes astounding.  Lesson learned:  the viewpoints of others are often outside my own box.  I am undertaking this project to discover correlations.  I know to be fully open to the possibility that the project will deliver conclusions very different from my expectations.

I hope to learn strategies to encourage students in all classes, online and traditional, to work independently and to strive for mastery.  I hope to discover ways to break the debilitating dependence some students have on the instructor, some of them unable to accomplish any mathematics unless specifically shown what to do, in detail.

I hope to learn ways in which I might render the classroom, as well as the discussion board, free of anxiety.  I hope to learn to provide my students with an environment which encourages them to take risks, to ask questions, to try their own solutions to challenging problems.