PILOT MATH 021 MASTERY PROGRAM
During fall semester 2008, four sections of MATH 021 at the Penn State University Park campus will be administered in a new way which we call a Mastery Program. Key components of this new approach will be:
· Course material will be divided into 12 modules.
· Monday, Wednesday, and Friday lectures will cover the modules at a pace of approximately one module per week.
· Students will take a 10-question quiz on each module when they believe they are ready, provided they have completed testing on all the previous modules. There will also be deadlines for completion of each quiz. A student may repeat a quiz on any module up to 3 times.
· Quizzes on the modules will be conducted electronically using the Pollock Building e-Testing Lab.
· Quizzes will be graded on a 0-10 scale. Mastery will be demonstrated when a student earns a quiz score of 8-10 out of 10. More details on the levels required to master each module will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
· A student’s final grade will be based on the number of modules on which he/she has achieved mastery. There will be no midterm or final exams. Again, more details on the number of quizzes required to earn each letter grade (A, B, C, D, or F) will be provided at the beginning of the semester.
This is a pilot program. The format of the course may be conducive for students who believe they possess some mastery of the course content. In particular, those students who do have a strong background in college algebra will be allowed to complete the course many weeks prior to the final examination period if they are able to complete their mastery quizzes in a timely fashion. Students who complete modules will be allowed to “work ahead” of the course lectures to complete future modules at their own pace.
The following sections will be part of the pilot:
· MATH 021.002 (9.05 a.m.)
· MATH 021.003 (10.10 a.m.)
· MATH 021.005 (11.15 a.m.)
· MATH 021.009 (1.25 p.m.)
If you want to take part in the pilot, you need only sign up for one of these sections. If you don’t want to be part of the pilot, sign up for another section; there is a “traditional” section of MATH 021 available at each of the above times.
For more information or to ask questions, please contact:
Dr. James Sellers, Director, Undergraduate Mathematics
(814) 865-7528