5 Questions with... the "Do The Math" Team from Essex County College!

What's more collaborative than interviewing 4 presenter for 1 presentation? That's why we head to the Garden State to talk with the team from Essex County College!

Tell us a little about yourself.

 We are part Math Geek, part Student Advocate, and part Graduation Whisperer. We have developed a strong common bond based on our commitment to removing both academic and institutional barriers to student retention and graduation. We were acutely aware that both developmental math, and math in general, was one of several “killer courses” within our institution. Borrowing from the adage “something old, something new,” we jointly crafted a multi-pronged approach to solve the issue of delayed progress at Essex County College due to math avoidance, math anxiety, and/or failure.   

What is your experience in academic advising, higher education, and NACADA?

Our combined credentials include: Over 75 years of teaching experience in local, international, and on-line course instruction. Dr. Weisman actually developed a computerized Math Instruction program, which became the foundation of one of our math interventions. Although we are brand new to NACADA, Dr. Davis & Dean Mack have presented a prior proposal at the Regional Conference and were subsequently asked to repeat the presentation as a pre-conference workshop at the National Conference in Salt Lake. We LOVE NACADA and quote various NACADA articles, workshops, and colleagues frequently during formal and informal discussions. All four of us see advisement as an integral part of the academic experience. Dean Mack has recently been charged with developing the academic model for the college campus. Together we have piloted several successful retention and graduation initiatives, not the least of which includes a strategy to accelerate Math progression, reduce math anxiety, and decrease the number of math avoiders (and their subsequent delayed graduation).

Tell us about your session. What can attendees look forward to?

We hope that participants will find our session innovative, interesting, but most of all, empowering. Yes, we will be talking about Math. But we really will be outlining a fairly comprehensive, college-wide approach to identifying a hurdle and then knocking it over when it’s obvious we can’t jump over it. Hopefully, participants will also see the genuine respect and affection the team has developed for each other, and the specific results that true collaboration can produce. We've also been told that we can be quite entertaining.

What do you hope attendees gain from going to your presentation?

 Examples of how different perspectives produced a cohesive, yet multi-pronged approach to improving a student’s mathematical progress, increased retention, and improved graduation rates, including:
a. Math Retest Policy
b. New Student Advisement Pilot
c. M Grade for developmental Math
d. Ability to Test Out Mid-Sequence (08/09)
e. Accelerated Math Opportunities (09/100)
f. Returning Student Advisement Pilot
g. Graduation Math

Each of these initiatives will be discussed in some detail. Summaries of the program, including any relevant promotional materials, will be available for participants to review.

What do you hope to personally gain from presenting in Lancaster?

We can’t wait to get feedback from participants. The NACADA sessions engender information sharing, new ways to look at ideas, and helpful, practical tips on how to make things happen on your campus. This shouldn’t be any less true as a presenter. Peer review is a wonderful thing. Coming away knowing a new colleague or two wouldn’t hurt either.