The experiences and effect of two post-secondary mathematics remediation programs

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience and effect of two post-secondary mathematics remediation programs at a Midwest university. The two mathematics remediation programs were provided as part of a summer bridge program designed to assist entering freshmen students who demonstrated low mathematics proficiency levels based on University math placement exam scores. One of the remediation programs was web-based. The other program was structured as a more traditional face-to-face instruction course. The research questions were: (1) What differentiated the student experience in web-based and face-to-face post secondary mathematics remediation programs? (2) What differentiated the effect of web-based and face-to-face mathematics remediation programs on mathematics proficiency? (3) What differentiated student perceptions of the effect of web-based and face-to-face mathematics remediation programs on self-efficacy, goal orientation and math anxiety?;The research approach was an intrinsic case study that used the mixed methods of survey, interview, document review and descriptive statistics. The findings of the study were: (1) The experience of the web-based and face to face students was differentiated by the degree of the instructor direction and external motivation. (2) There was moderate differentiation in the effect of web-based and face-to-face post-secondary mathematics remediation programs on mathematics proficiency. (3) There was moderate and inconsistent differentiation in student perceptions of the effect of web-based and face-to-face post-secondary mathematics remediation programs on self-efficacy, goal orientation and math anxiety. The most notable differentiation was in the student perception of effect on math anxiety.