Web-Based System Improves Students' Mathematical Understanding

May 1, 2007

A Web-based tutoring system has ld to a marked increase in students' understanding of mathematics at Black Hills State University, in Spearfish, South Dakota. "We're exceeding expectations with it," Gary Hagerty, associate professor of mathematics, told Campus Technology.

The software, called ALEKS, replaces the traditional homework assignment with Web-based individual study. Hagerty noted that the number of students completing algebra and taking trigonometry, for instance, had "more than doubled." The upshot was that more of his students later enrolled in calculus courses.

The software system's main promise is that it allows individualized, self-paced instruction. Based on how students answer questions and solve homework problems, the software tailors individual lessons, tracks results, and issues progress reports on each student. By stressing problems and solutions, the software offers other benefits: Instructors have more time to concentrate on mathematical theory in the classroom; the traditional homework assignment and collection are a thing of the past; and grading is less of a chore.

"I'm now at a much higher level of working with students," Hagerty claimed, meaning he can teach to a wider range of math skills. Using ALEKS, slower students can make up time and work while more knowledeable math students can move ahead.

Students purchase the software, which was developed by the University of California, Irvine, in the mid-1990s, just as they would any textbook, at their college bookstore. The price depends on the subject and whether ALEKS comes with a text or is a text replacement.

Source: Linda L. Briggs, "Software Boosts Math Success Rates at Black Hills State U," Campus Technology, April 15, 2007