Letting Go of Lecture
by Paul Fain
Dec. 23, 2011, Inside Higher Ed
. . . “Welcome to the ‘emporium’ approach to remedial mathematics, a major change in teaching style. Remedial math is perhaps the biggest stumbling block in higher education. Roughly 60 percent of incoming community college students are unprepared for college-level work, typically in math and English, and place into developmental courses (the preferred term among academics).” . . .
“Loosely defined, an emporium class is one in which students work on computer-based math software and move at their own pace. Professors track their progress online, and answer questions individually, both online and in the lab. Remedial math is typically broken into three classes, beginning with pre-algebra. But under the emporium approach, separate courses are abandoned for one sequence. A student might finish the coursework in just a few weeks -- some do -- while others will toil for three semesters or more. Mastery is required, regardless of how many times students must take tests or assignments. Converts to the approach, which has been spreading rapidly over the last decade, rave about its results. But that doesn’t mean it’s any less jarring for professors.” . . .
