Mobile devices, and their applications, are becoming common-place around the world, and especially with adult-age college students in the United States. At the same time, community college students who are interested in becoming members of the trade workforce, such as auto mechanics, are continuing to need to learn basic mathematic concepts such…

This study investigates the link between basic math skills, remediation, and the educational opportunity and outcomes of community college students. Capitalizing on a unique placement policy in one community college that assigns students to remedial coursework based on multiple math skill cutoffs, I first identify the skills that most commonly…

Students with disabilities present a unique instructional design challenge. These students often have qualitatively different ways of processing information, meaning that standard instructional approaches may not be effective. In this study I present a case study of a student with a mathematical learning disability for whom standard instruction on…

We examined, on a trial-by-trial basis, fraction magnitude comparison strategies of adults with more and less mathematical knowledge. College students with high mathematical proficiency used a large variety of strategies that were well tailored to the characteristics of the problems and that were guaranteed to yield correct performance if executed…

Beginning algebra is a gatekeeper course into the pipeline to higher mathematics courses required for respected professions in engineering, science, statistics, mathematics, education, and technology. Beginning algebra can also be a perfect storm if the necessary foundational skills are not within a student's grasp. What skills ensure beginning…

Mathematics, in general, and algebra courses, in particular, have been categorized as "gatekeepers" for higher education, better jobs, and even citizenship. For many low-income and working adults, community college is the institution where they choose to develop their mathematics understanding so they can pursue their dreams.…