Contextualizing Arithmetic into Developmental Elementary Algebra Using Guided Problem Solving

Abstract

Many colleges are finding that the use of acceleration in developmental education is a promising direction for improved student progress toward a degree or certificate. Acceleration has been defined in the literature as the reorganization of curricula and instruction in ways that facilitate the completion of educational requirements in an expedited manner. A commonly cited technique for acceleration in developmental mathematics is to contextualize material from a prerequisite course into a later course, thereby eliminating the need for the prerequisite course. In this paper, we present a case study of how an arithmetic course was contextualized into an elementary algebra course. We address policy and structural prerequisites, design and implementation, and discuss some consequences of this approach. We conclude with evidence of the success of our approach using quasi-experimental methods. Our intention in this manuscript is to offer concrete examples of how we implemented this work, while maintaining sufficient generality so that abstraction of the basic principles will allow others to replicate this work within different courses.