University  of Kentucky

Department of Mathematics  Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0027

The best calculus class at the University of Kentucky is composed almost entirely of women, minorities, and students from rural and smaller school districts. This is MathExcel, an innovative, award-winning program designed to give capable students from these groups the best possible chance to excel in this crucial course. MathExcel students enroll in special sections of calculus which encourage collaborative learning in a personal, communal atmosphere. All students in calculus take the same tests and are graded on the same standards. This is how MathExcel students compare with regular ones:

The MathExcel advantage is always substantial, and in seven of these sixteen semesters it has been larger than 1 point. Every semester MathExcel students make almost twice as many A's and B's and their withdrawal and failure rate is very much smaller. The table below is the most recent sample. Note that MathExcel students do not have exceptional natural ability: their average math ACT score is always within two points of the rest of the class.

In Fall 1995, 40 of the 68 MathExcel students were women, 10 were African-Americans, and 36 were rural students¹. There was 1 white urban male. In Fall 1992 five of the top 6 students in Calculus I were in MathExcel. Four of these were women and the man was from a rural district. The top 2 overall were MathExcel women from rural districts.

Calculus is required of majors in engineering, all the physical sciences, mathematics, secondary math education, and many biology majors and pre-meds. The dropout and failure rate of about 30% for regular students is unfortunately normal, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Getting a D or even a C can also discourage a student from continuing, with some reason. Our experience shows that less than half of students receiving a C or lower in calculus will be able to complete a major requiring it. Since a regular student has a less than even chance of doing better than a C, the calculus sequence is a serious barrier to success.

MathExcel is not remedial. It is a different kind of honors class, celebrating achievement attained by cooperation, hard work, and perseverance, as well as by raw talent. We are after capable students from these groups, because we think the loss is greater when a good student is discouraged from a calculus-based major by a C than when a marginal student fails.
 

MathExcel is a one year program beginning each academic year. It consists of special sections of Calculus I in the Fall and Calculus II in the Spring. These are 4 credit courses of 300-500 students and 15-25 sections. Regular students attend 3 lectures by a Faculty member and 2 recitations led by a Teaching Assistant.

MathExcel students always attend the same lectures (1 MathExcel section in the same room with 2 regular sections), do the same homework, take the same tests at the same times, and are subject to the same grading standards as regular students².

Instead of the recitations, MathExcel students attend special 2 hour MathExcel Workshops 3 times each week. Thus MathExcel requires 3 more hours of class per week. To recognize this extra time, a MathExcel student is also enrolled in a special Calculus Workshop, which carries 2 hours of Pass/Fail credit. Thus a MathExcel student earns the 4 hours of normally graded credit received by every Calculus I/II student plus 2 hours of Pass/Fail credit.

 

Admission to MathExcel is by application to the address below. We look for ability, dedication, and affinity for cooperative effort. We interview applicants personally in visits to high schools around the Commonwealth and at the Freshman Advising Conferences on campus in March, June, and July.

Our results are due to the MathExcel Workshops and the dedication of MathExcel students. The Workshops are organized around cooperative study, and their activities are more stimulating and somewhat more challenging than regular homework or test problems. Each Workshop is led by one of our best Teaching Assistants, assisted by two paid Undergraduate Assistants chosen from among the top students who have recently completed the first year calculus sequence.

At the beginning of each Workshop session the students are given a Worksheet of calculus problems. They are expected to work together in small groups, and to get busy right away with little preparation by the Leader. The problems are more challenging than assigned homework97which is done prior to Workshop97and there are more problems than anyone could reasonably expect to complete in 2 hours. When a group has difficulties, Leaders and Assistants do not simply give a solution. They serve more as guides, in a Socratic role. The students learn from each other, achieving solutions mainly through their own efforts. Understanding gained this way is deeper and lasts longer.

The Workshop is much more effective and efficient than the same time spent studying alone or watching someone else work problems. Workshops are self contained and non-judgmental. Students usually do not take home unfinished worksheets, and their work is not graded. The atmosphere is informal, intense, and very constructive. Any competition is purely recreational. MathExcel students help each other compete with all the rest.

Leaders and their Undergraduate Assistants constantly seek to provide an atmosphere that is congenial, supportive, and above all personal. We encourage MathExcel students to develop a strong sense of community, and they do. In a nutshell, MathExcel is a much more personal experience. Probably no other undergraduates at UK receive as much attention from their teachers and, just as important, from each other. In colorful corroboration there is appended a selection of responses to a survey of MathExcel students and Assistants. The importance of friendships is a recurring theme.

MathExcel is based on the ideas of Uri Treisman and modeled on the Emerging Scholars Program at the University of Texas at Austin. MathExcel is recognized as one of the best of the over one hundred programs like it around the country.

Workshop Leaders are selected for proven ability as teachers, interest in collaborative learning, and their personal qualities. We expect and get extraordinary effort from them. A MathExcel class and its Leaders and Assistants develop bonds which promote a special level of engagement from all concerned. Laura Schueller, a Leader in 1992-93, is an experienced teacher whose section was consistently at the top in exam scores (on three occasions its average was 93). She said "I am having the time of my life. My students are not just succeeding, they are excelling."

The Undergraduate Assistants are a great asset to MathExcel. The year 1994-95 was typical. Several of the twelve Assistants were alumni of the Governor's Scholars Program and several held UK scholarships. Jenny Hays, Scott Arrington, and Callie Owen held Singletary Scholarships, the best UK has to offer. Nine were women. The Assistants are wonderful role models. They know how important their appointment is, and they are honored by it. Moreover, the experience is very good for them. Their role as teachers of calculus leads them to a real mastery of it, and they get highly marketable experience on the cutting edge of educational methods. Connie Meredith said "I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of such an important and worthwhile program and felt more a part of the University".

MathExcel gets the best we have.
 

We are continually struck by how MathExcel seems to bring out the best in everyone involved. Students like these respond to the constructive atmosphere, the presence of so many others like them, and our explicit and implied expectations. The Workshop Leaders, their Undergraduate Assistants, and MathExcel students are all energized and inspired by each other and the Workshop setting. Perfect attendance at a Workshop is not unusual, and the norm is above 95%.

MathExcel is now a component of UKExcel, a group of independent collaborative workshop programs. UKExcel currently comprises ChemExcel and BioExcel, similar opportunities in our basic Chemistry and and Biology courses, and SummerExcel, a Summer enrichment program for selected incoming students. For further information about ChemExcel contact Professor Joe Wilson at the UK Department of Chemistry, (606) 257-7058, jwilson@ukcc.uky.edu. BioExcel is directed by Professor William S. Cohen at the UK Biology Department, (606) 257-1030, wscohen@ukcc.uky.edu. SummerExcel is managed by the UK Office of Minority Affairs, (606) 257-1991.

The Math House is a single family house owned by the University and turned over to the Math Department in Fall 1992 as a place for students and faculty to gather for study and socializing. It has proved to be a fine location for Collaborative Workshops, for its intimacy and informality are especially conducive to the atmosphere we seek, and the sense of community among our students is increased by meeting in "their" house. MathExcel and ChemExcel students have free access to the House and make additional casual use of it. The Math House is an extraordinary facility, and is cited in a monograph on academic facilities published by Project Kaleidoscope, a clearinghouse for innovation in mathematics and science education funded by the National Science Foundation.

There are now 22 adaptations of MathExcel at UK and other institutions. Eastern Kentucky University offers MathExcel in Calculus I, II, and III. MathExcel at EKU is led by Professor Amy King, (606) 622-2248. MathExcel at East Carolina University was started in Fall 1997 by Professors Mike Spurr, (919) 328-6461, and Katalin Szucs. MathExcel at Oregon State University was begun in Fall 1998 by Professor Tom Dick, (541) 737-1570. The Achievement in Mathematics (AIM) Program at Lexington Community College is another adaptation, which is serving as a model for dissemination to community colleges in a six state area of Appalachia. This project is supported by the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative, a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The AIM Program is coordinated by LCC Professor Ana Leon, (606) 257-4148, aeleon00@ukcc.uky.edu. It serves as the model for 10 similar programs at community colleges in Kentucky and the Appalachian regions of Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Further details can be obtained at the address below.

 

Inquiries are cordially invited: (606) 257-8836 (Office)  (606) 268-4742 (Home)  freeman@ms.uky.edu

Professor Michael Freeman  Department of Mathematics  University of Kentucky  Lexington, Kentucky 40506-0027