Utilizing an Emporium Course Design to Improve Calculus Readiness of Engineering Students

The intervention has targeted incoming students in Engineering and Computer Science degrees at the University of Texas – Pan American. Participating students were selected who had a record of participation in Pre-Calculus classes in high school, but who had not demonstrated their readiness to take Calculus, as measured by placement tests and existing credit, which applies to a significant number of entering students. The course design uses an emporium method, specifically the Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) software, in a computer lab to deliver to students an intensive program of mathematical practice and exploration. The course design is meant to take advantage of students' existing knowledge, rewarding them for it in fact, and focus them on specific Algebra and Trigonometry topics in which they need more practice and one-on-one instruction. The purpose of this activity is to accelerate the Calculus preparedness for a subset of students held back due to standardized test scores and perhaps limited mastery of the prerequisite content. The benefits we aim to show are improved engineering readiness, reduced time-to-graduation, and improved performance in gatekeeper courses. In this report we show the results of the first cohort, which did improve the Calculus placement for most students and were significantly more successful at doing so than a traditional Pre-Calculus class, although the subsequent improvement in performance in the Calculus 1 course was not statistically significant.