Original: April 26, 2011 Issue 15

By: Klara Cachau-Hansgarh

Staff Writer

Next year, Montgomery College will offer a new course for students looking to complete math levels 90 and 91 quickly and efficiently. MA 94 will be a lab centric course that combines material previously offered in two separate semester long courses.

56 sections will be offered across Montgomery College’s campuses, each with approximately 30 students. In newly constructed labs, students of various skill levels will spend 75 minute class periods mastering the material they are already familiar with and being introduced to new coursework.

Professor Stephanie Pepin, the coordinator for lower level math courses at Montgomery College’s Rockville Campus, stated that this new program is a nationally driven initiative for generating understanding and success.

Students will be able to progress through the course at their own leisure ensuring confidence as they move forward in college mathematics. “They get to spend more time on the things they need to work on, “said Pepin, emphasizing that the key to this success lies in the self-paced nature of the class.

Pepin noted that similar programs across the U.S. have been highly effective. According to Pepin this system has been found to accelerate students towards completion and ultimately graduation, often after transferring to four year universities.

Professor Ingrid Scott, who teaches mathematics at the Rockville Campus, expressed “It’s an all new method, nothing like the classical lecture environment.”