Active Approach to Algebra or A^3

California State L A University Auxiliary Services Inc., Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This MSP-Start Partnership project, "Active Approach to Algebra" develops a close partnership between California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA) and the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) and establishes supplemental partnerships with four area community colleges. This two-year project focuses on partnership-building, data collection and analysis, the implementation of comprehensive evaluation measures, and the development of an action plan which includes Professional Learning Communities. The project will culminate with a full MSP Targeted proposal which will be designed to improve the teaching and learning of algebra at MUSD high schools. This project reaches a diverse student body at CSULA, which is a federally designated Title III and Hispanic Serving Institution with 42% (nearly 9,000) Latino students, and reaches an underrepresented population in the Montebello Unified School District, with 94% of the students of Latino heritage and 36% learning English as a second language. Moreover, this project reaches many students who are the first in their families to attend college, who are of low socioeconomic status, and who work at least part-time jobs to support their education. This partnership studies how student interest and success in science and math is related to a strong foundation in algebra and studies if teaching algebra can be made more effective and engaging by using problem-based learning assignments in environmental sciences. The effectiveness of group-learning approaches, especially for students from underrepresented backgrounds, is also examined. An external team is overseeing the evaluation and results on partnership building will be disseminated broadly.