Shivley, Mary A.
Abstract:
The focus of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of developmentalmathematics and core general education mathematics instruction provided bymathematics faculty of different ranks (professor, associate professor, assistant professor,instructor, and graduate teaching assistant) and retention at the institution aftercompleting the developmental mathematics course within a four-year state institution.This study included a quantitative analysis of archival data from a regional four-yearinstitution of higher education in the Midwest. The sample size (n=1312) includedstudents from one four-year institution from the spring semester of 2010 through the fallsemester of 2012 who were enrolled in a developmental mathematics course. A chisquare test of independence was conducted to compare faculty rank with the followingvariables: completion and pass rates of students in developmental mathematics, retentionat the institution the semester following completion of a developmental mathematicscourse, and completion and pass rates of students in one of the core general educationmathematics courses. Results from the study revealed the rank of faculty teaching adevelopmental mathematics course or core general education mathematics course doesaffect the grade a student received. Students who took a developmental or coremathematics class from an instructor were more likely to successfully pass the course.Instructors for both developmental and core general education mathematics courses hadthe highest percentage rates of student passing grades than all other ranks. Students whotook a course from any other rank (graduate teaching assistant, assistant professor,associate professor, professor) had a higher probability of failing the course.