Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Engineering and Science Education
Committee Chair/Advisor
Matthew Voigt
Committee Member
Naneh Apkarian
Committee Member
Eliza Gallagher
Committee Member
Kelly Lazar
Abstract
For institutions offering multiple sections of Calculus 1, course coordination allows for consistency among the sections through the reduction of variation of material and/or instructional approaches. Studies on course coordination have shown that a coordinated system can bring benefits to instructors and promote equality for students across multi-section course so they can expect the same instructional treatment as their peers. The benefits to students are often left implicit in current research and usually measured through academic success while the benefits to instructors are well documented. Past studies have also stressed the importance of consistency and fairness across sections brought by course coordination, linking equal treatment with coordination.
This study aims to address gaps in the current literature by explicitly examining the benefit of course coordination on student experiences through equitable classroom practices in multi-section math courses and viewings its impact through the lens of mathematical identities. Furthermore, given the underrepresentation and attrition of women and gender fluid students in mathematics, we choose to center these identities in the research. As such, this study answers what aspects of course coordination influenced students’ experiences in their math course and how did those experiences impact their math identity, specifically for women and gender fluid students.
The research design for this study draws on a qualitative multiple exploratory case study with a phenomenological lens rooted in positioning theory. It was conducted at a southeastern research-intensive university that included two calculus courses, business calculus and long calculus.
Data were collected from ten student participants through periodic video journals, math identity surveys, and individual interviews with students. Individual interviews with course coordinators and instructors as well as artifacts and classroom observations were also done to contextualize the student data. Thematic analysis was performed to analyze the data.
When it came to uniform elements, participants reported that coordinated policies around timing provided structure and engagement but instructor agency to adjust these policies, such as flexibility with due dates, accommodated their needs and promoted their content understanding. Furthermore, participants reported that their instructors’ ability to facilitate interactive lessons supported developing relationships and that their instructors’ encouragement of resources assisted in the utilization of resources which contributed to positive views of mathematical ability. We found that participants reported that instructor pedagogy was more salient in their described experiences than their awareness of uniform elements.
Of the ten participants involved, three of them described a change in their math identity from their experiences in the course. Two of them, both identified as cisgender women, had their math relationship strengthen due to their ability to be positioned as mathematical explainers and mathematical inquires over the semester through their instructors’ utilization of embedded resources, facilitating interactive lessons, and student-centered pedagogy. One participant, who identified as a transgender woman, had her math relationship weaken due to the absence of being positioned as a mathematical explainer throughout the semester. She expressed feeling uncomfortable with peers around her due to her social identity, experiencing the class differently than her peers and necessitating research that examines these difference and coordination that aims for equity and equality.
Course coordination promotes instructor support of students’ mathematical identities in two major ways: providing necessary resources and support for instructors to facilitate interactive lessons and student-centered pedagogy and agency to accommodate student needs.
Recommended Citation
Sullivan, Tyler, "An Equity Centered Analysis of Course Coordination's Effect on Undergraduate Calculus 1 Students' Mathematics Identity" (2024). All Dissertations. 3730.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/3730