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Dissertation
College Algebra for Careers: Unleash the Relevance of Mathematics
University of West Florida Libraries
Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida
2025
Abstract
College algebra (CA) has the highest student enrollment among college-level mathematics courses in Florida public higher education institutions and many parts of the United States. Every academic term, students majoring in engineering, mathematics, accounting, economics, physics, biology, chemistry, or nursing enroll in a one-size-fits-all traditional college algebra (TCA) course with the same course outlines and student learning outcomes for all students. Due to the diverse backgrounds of TCA students, many do not see the relevance of performing algebraic manipulations, solving quadratic equations, and solving systems of equations. As a result, students’ attitudes and motivation in TCA are usually poor. This dissertation in practice employed a quantitative quasi-experimental post-test-only design with nonequivalent groups design methodology and sought to determine differences in three dependent variables: (a) student perceptions of the relevance of CA to their majors and careers, (b) student performance, and (c) student satisfaction of faculty teaching effectiveness. The independent variables in this study were the curricula of two CA courses: a new contextualized college algebra (CCA) course, designed around real-life applications aligned with students’ majors and careers, and the TCA course. In collaboration with Central Florida Two-Year College (CFTYC), a pseudonym, and two full-time faculty of CFTYC, I piloted three sections of a CCA course paired with three TCA sections. Different analyses found no statistically significant differences in the dependent variables. Descriptive statistics showed that student perceptions of the relevance of CA to their majors and careers and student satisfaction with faculty teaching effectiveness were more positive in CCA sections.
Details
- Title
- College Algebra for Careers
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Contributors
- Hongwei Yang (Methodology Expert)Elizabeth ER Robison (Committee Member)Giang-Nguyen T Nguyen (Committee Chair) - University of West Florida, School of Education
- Publisher
- University of West Florida Libraries; Argo Scholar Commons
- Format
- pdf
- Number of pages
- 175
- Copyright
- Unpublished work © Joseph Luc
- Identifiers
- 99381363761806600
- Academic Unit
- School of Education
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Doctor of Education (EDD)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Education (EDD), University of West Florida