WELCOME TO THE ADULT LEARNING ACADEMY:

MATH EDITION!

Debbie Char Assistant Professor of MathematicsDevelopmental Math CoordinatorSt. Louis Community Collegedchar@stlcc.edu

THINK HEALTHCARE WORKERS DON’T NEED

MATH?

Think again!

The patient’s headache began at 1330. It’s now 0200.

How long has he had the headache?

The newborn weighs 3.7 kilograms.

Should we worry?

The surgery costs $7500. Insurance pays 80% after a $500 copay.

How much will the patient owe?

5mg of medication must be given for every kilogram a patient weighs.

Is 250 mg a reasonable dose for a

120-lb woman?

The patient’s temperature

is 37 degrees. Should we call the

doctor?

A patient exercises for ¾ of an hour every day

for a week.

Has she exercised for 4 hours as she promised

her doctor?

The mean age for onset of a disease is 15.

Can a 5-year-old get the disease?

As many as 3,000 to

6,800 deaths are

caused annually by medication

math errors.

HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS NEED TO KNOW MATH!

But not everyone is

ready

for the math required in Healthcaretraining courses

So we created the

ADULT LEARNING ACADEMY

(ALA)

ALA:Integrated Reading and Writing (IRW)MATH 020

COMPASS TEST PLACES STUDENTS INTO ONE OR BOTH SUBJECTS

HOW WE DO MATH in the ALA...

We run year-round...

A new cohort begins every 2

weeks. Our 16 cohorts so far total

168 students.

SELF-PACEDStudents have taken from 1 to 22 weeks

to complete ALA Pre-Algebra (Math 020), Average completion time: 5 – 6 weeks.

CONTEXTUALIZEDAll word problems are related to

healthcare.

MODULARIZED, COMPETENCY-BASED

Eight modules: a student must score at least

75% on the test for one module

before continuing to the next.

INTENSIVEStudents are expected to

spend at least 20 hours per week in the

ALA (including Reading,

Writing, and Math)

OPEN-SOURCE VIDEOS

Khan Academy math videos and practice exercises are available free of charge,

anywhere a student has internet access.

HANDS-ON, SMALL-GROUP WORKSHOPS

Workshops provide an overview of each unit, offering hands-on activities and emphasizing

important points in the unit.

PERSONAL ATTENTIONAt least one Instructor or Educational Assistant

is available five days a week to answer questions.

MOHEALTHWINS ADULT LEARNING

ACADEMY PRE-ALGEBRAFLOWCHART

Between February 11 and August 23, 2013, 135 students started Math ALA. Here are their results:

The First Thirteen Cohorts

61% completed all 8 units

Mean time to completion: 5.6 weeks

Mean improvement in Compass score: 21.5 points

We have expanded the ALA to

include an Elementary Algebra

course in the same format!

We are so excited!