COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REGULARLY ASSIGNED, REGULARLY COLLECTED, PROMPTLY CORRECTED, AND PROMPTLY RETURNED HOMEWORK IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE MATHEMATICS CLASSES

This study was designed to determine the effects of
requiring student completion and submission of homework
problem assignments, their correction and return, on a regular
basis, on community college student achievement in two
mathematics courses. These courses were introductory college
algebra (designated Mathematics X) and college algebra (designated
Mathematics Y). Additionally, student persistence
in the courses was studied. Implications of the study included the following:
1. Requiring homework problem assignments to be
completed and submitted on a regular basis as a teaching aid
is acceptable for the instructor who approves of this practice.
For the instructor who does not, any other teaching
tool currently in use is equally effective.
2. Proper placement in the mathematics sequence
may be the influential factor for persistence. This was indicated by the one statistically significant experimental
outcome.
Recommendations for further study included the
following:
1. Determination of methods to improve instruction
in community college mathematics courses.
2. Determination of improved placement techniques
for students in community college mathematics courses.
3. Determination of factors which increase persistence.
4. Determination of factors which will reduce the
large within-groups variance found in this study (which may
be the placement techniques mentioned above).