Dissertation
Experiences of non-traditional students in a self-paced, computer-based developmental mathematics course at a community college: a mixed methods study
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000201
Abstract
Prior research has shown that adult learners who are non-traditional (NT) college students come to college with different needs, desires, and goals than traditional college students. The problem is that community college educators need to better understand the needs of the changing population of the student body to equitably and effectively serve them. One effect of the problem is that NT student retention and degree attainment rates are lower than those of traditional students. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the experiences of NT community college students taking self-paced computer-based developmental mathematics classes. The following research questions guided the study: (1) What does it mean to NT students to be placed into the developmental mathematics population of community college students? (2) What are NT students' perceptions of their engagement with the developmental mathematics course learning software? (3) What are the NT students' perceptions of their engagement with their community college developmental mathematics instructors? The researcher analyzed data from 66 student survey responses and 10 semi-structured interviews with students and identified three themes: (a) NT identity; (b) the need for human support; and (c) software as tool. The researcher concluded that: (a) NT students are negatively affected by their time spent away from high school and mathematics content; (b) NT students perceived that timely access to their instructor was important to their success; and (c) NT students liked using the computer software and found it to be user-friendly. The researcher offered recommendations for instructional design, for community college administrators, and for developmental mathematics instructors.
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Details
- Title
- Experiences of non-traditional students in a self-paced, computer-based developmental mathematics course at a community college
- Creators
- Rebekah Agar
- Contributors
- Deanna Hill (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- xi, 112 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991014833546404721