Mathematics Department Faculty Members Receive OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grant Funding Nov 13

Mathematics Department Faculty Members Receive OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grant Funding

November 13, 2023

Terra State Community College is proud to announce that Mathematics Department members Sarah Long (Associate Professor) and Michelle L. Younker (Associate Professor and Lead Faculty) have been awarded funding for their independent course redesign projects through the OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grant Program. The grant provides each participant a $650 stipend to support their exploration of open education, alignment of course content with learning outcomes, and advocacy for affordable open-access course materials.

Professor Long will focus on redesigning the first course in the Calculus sequence, while Professor Younker will apply redesign principles to College Algebra. Both projects have the common goal of providing STEM-prep pathway students with no-cost course content and technology access.

"Sarah and I applied for the grant with the idea of providing our STEM-prep students with free course materials and technology options. Sarah's focus is materials for our Calculus I course (the first in the Calculus sequence), and I am focusing on materials for College Algebra - the first in the pre-requisite course sequence leading to Calculus. College Algebra and Calculus texts can cost a couple hundred dollars. This can be cost prohibitive for students. When you also consider that a Texas Instruments graphing calculator costs an additional $150 or more, students can't afford to purchase the text and materials after they pay tuition. Open Educational Resources (OERs) level the playing field by removing those costs from the class. We can provide quality materials and technology access to the students, aligned with Ohio Transfer learning outcomes for ease of transfer, at no cost to the students. The mathematical concepts in these courses haven't changed in centuries; what has changed is how students make sense of the information, how they visualize problems to create solution strategies, and the importance of connecting the mathematics with students' programs of study," said Younker.

The grant work began on October 30, 2023, and will result in course offerings for the Spring, Summer, and/or Fall of 2024.

Sarah Long is an Associate Professor of Mathematics with more than 19 years of experience teaching in Ohio's two- and four-year institutions. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Ohio Mathematics Association of Two-Year Colleges and has significant experience curating and developing open resource materials. Sarah has degrees in Electrical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from the University of Toledo. She is a recipient of the American Association of Community College's Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award.

Michelle L. Younker is an Associate Professor and Lead Faculty of Mathematics with over 31 years of experience teaching in Ohio's two- and four-year institutions.

She serves on the Department of Higher Education's Ohio Transfer 36 Mathematics, Statistics, and Logic Transfer Review Panel and is a steering committee member for the Ohio Mathematics Initiative. Michelle has degrees in Mathematics/Computer Science and Mathematics Education from Bowling Green State University. She is a recipient of the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges Mathematics Excellence Award.

For more information about Terra State Community College degrees and certificates offered, visit terra.edu. You can apply and register now for Spring semester, which begins on January 16, 2024.

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