At the upcoming March 28 CVHEC Math Task Force covening, Taft College math professor Nathan Cahoon will follow up his Oct. 25 convening presentation on the “Verifying single-course prerequisite” strand for AB1705 implementation.

CVHEC Math Task Force going ‘beyond’ its service to

student success with next AB1705 spring convening

[REGISTER – MTF March 28]

While its work with math curriculum for Assembly Bill 1705 over the past two years nears a conclusion for now, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Math Task Force will convene this spring to ramp up its mission within a broader math landscape for the valley’s 10-county region.

CVHEC announced “The Central Valley Way to Math Success: AB 1705 Success and Beyond” Convening is set for March 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the new West Fresno Center of Fresno City College.

The daylong event continues two years of discussion by Central Valley community colleges and their counterparts statewide about meeting the state law requirements related to equitable placement, support and completion practices for STEM programs.

Registration information is available on the event page of the CVHEC website. The free event is open to anyone interested in advancing math strategies for student success in the Central Valley, said Dr. John Spevak, CVHEC regional coordinator who oversees the consortium’s Math Task Force and serves as facilitator.

The convening will primarily examine updates of Central Valley community colleges’ progress on their calculus and precalculus curricula for implementation of Assembly Bill 1705 curriculum requirements next fall, Spevak said, especially in light of a recent California Community Colleges memo which provides “additional direction on placement and enrollment options.”

“At this Math Task Force convening, we will also continue the vibrant conversation for even more intersegmental collaboration related to improving success for students in STEM math courses,” he added.

CVHEC formed the Math Task Force in 2019 to streamline math pathways for students by examining topics, issues and recent legislation as part of the consortium’s mission: improve certificate and degree completion rates in the 10-county region from San Joaquin to Kern Counties. It is made up mainly of math educators and administrators from community college members of the consortium.

Since mid-2023, the CVHEC Mask Task Force has held three virtual sessions and three in-person meetings to address the various options available to the state’s community colleges for AB1705 implementation. Data experts from the participating community colleges and representatives from the K-12 segment as well as from educational organizations and agencies have also participated in the AB1705 discussions.

“The consortium has dubbed this unique situation ‘The Central Valley Way’ because of its innovative approach of bringing the region’s community college math community together for the first time, a collaboration that underlies the spirit of CVHEC’s mission,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, CVHEC executive director and president-emeritus of Merced College.

“The Math Task Force and its partners are to be commended for their continued dedication to math success for Central Valley students. We appreciate and thank them for truly going beyond the call of duty.”

At the March 28 convening, participants in break-out sessions will hear what their math colleagues are doing regarding innovative pedagogy and student support structure now that curricula has been finalized and fall schedules are set, said Spevak, who is vice-president emeritus of Merced College.

Dr. Erik Cooper of the CCC Chancellor’s Office is scheduled to again address the task force this time regarding the CCCCO memo issued Dec. 10, 2024, “Updated Guidance for Placement and Enrollment for Students in STEM Programs.” Cooper has spoken to the task force in two previous convenings via Zoom.

Updates about MTF work will be presented by leads of four strands that guided the Central Valley approach to addressing AB1705:

Developing a single-course prerequisite to calculus – Jeremy Brandl, Fresno City College
Developing a calculus course with a corequisite – Shelley Getty, Taft College
Verifying single-course prerequisite – Nathan Cahoon, Taft College
Profs concerned about C.O. guidelines – Tina Akers-Porter, Modesto Junior College

Brandl and Getty also will report about their presentation at the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges Conference (AMATYC) Nov. 14-17 in Atlanta where they shared CVHEC’s story addressing AB 1705 the past two years. They attended the national math conference with Dr. Tammi Pérez-Rice, course program specialist for the Charles A. Dana Center (University of Texas at Austin) who has co-facilitated past MTF convenings with Spevak.

The event will close with a discussion regarding the future direction of the MTF convenings, Spevak said.

The March MTF meeting also signals a major step for the task force’s successful effort to bring valley community college math professors and administrators together to address issues such as AB1705 curriculum as a single voice, Spevak said, noting that the event title has a strategic meaning.

“‘And Beyond’ is a key phrase, because the successful teaching and learning of calculus has gone beyond Central Valley community colleges to Central Valley universities,” Spevak said.

For example, another feature of the convening will be a presentation by Dr. Zenaida Aguirre-Muñoz, University of California Merced professor who will report on a $1.4 million project collaboration between UC Merced and Fresno State: “Why, What and How Calculus.” Both universities are CVHEC members.

That project is “redesigning introductory calculus courses to focus on conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills by incorporating innovative approaches.” Zenaida, who is co-PI for the grant, will be joined by team colleagues at the task force’s March 28 meeting, Spevak said.

Registration is now available.

Event questions: contact Ángel Ramírez, operations and finance manager, at angelr@csufresno.edu or 559.292.0576.

Media inquiries: Tom Uribes, CVHEC communications coordinator, text 559.348.3278 or cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu

See:

· Math Task Force AB1705 collaborations to continue – (November 15, 2024)

· AB1705 update: Math Task Force Convening draws state higher ed officials – (October 4, 2024)

· AB 1705: Math Task Force sets Oct. 25 reconvene with 3 strands – (September 12, 2024)

· Math Task Force resumes AB1705 curriculum planning April 19 – (April 17, 2024)

· Math Task Force continues AB 1705 work with April 19 convening – (March 15, 2024)

· MATH TASK FORCE: ‘Something extraordinary’ (Jan. 26 wrap – February 23, 2024)

· CVHEC SPOTLIGHT: Math Task Force Convening Jan. 26 in the news – (February 23, 2024)