Teaching math online opens the door to teaching math as a concept rather than a set of skills. Use breakout groups included in web conferencing software to promote student interaction and critical thinking. One idea for a good discussion prompt is described with more to follow in the next blog post.

Data means graphs. Significant, relevant, real-world graphs. And yet, in most math courses, students only see the graphs they find in their textbooks. Years ago there were valid excuses for us using contrived graphs. That is not the case today.

Research suggests that far more students are referred to developmental education courses than necessary, and that developmental education presents a barrier to students’ success. As a result, many in the field have called for reforms to developmental education to address these challenges.

There simply are no one-size-fits-all quick solutions to big problems. Transitional math isn’t a quick or easy fix, and it’s not for every student. But it definitely does solve a problem for many students