Math Zone wrong answer for some

Since the introduction of the Math Zone in spring 2007, the automated teaching tool has shouldered the bulk of USM’s introductory math students.

This method is preferred by some students, but others find it difficult to adjust to the absence of face-to-face interaction with a teacher.

The Math Zone, located behind Vann Hall, is a small building which houses 60 computers for students to learn basic math concepts and complete homework assignments. Students are taught by a video of a teacher then asked to complete examples of the discussed techniques.

For sophomore Micheal Roberts of Mobile, Ala. the lack of face-to-face interaction makes it difficult for him to truly grasp the concepts he is taught.

“I don’t get how they expect us to really learn anything if we don’t have a teacher to ask questions about things that we don’t understand,”Roberts said.

C.S. Chen is a professor in the math department, and one of the minds behind the Math Zone. Chen said the Math Zone was created primarily because of the large volume of students enrolled in introductory math courses such as college algebra.

The course is a part of the university’s general education curriculum, with a prerequisite of remedial math if a student’s math portion of the ACT is below 20. Both of these classes can include Math Zone components.

Although one of the reasons behind its creation was a small number of professors and a large number of students, Chen said the limited space in the current Math Zone sometimes can undermine this purpose.

”There are 66 computers [in the Math Zone] and we allow 660 students per semester to enroll in courses in the Math Zone,” Chen said. “There is a ratio of 1 computer to 10 students at any given time.”

When the renovations to the old bookstore are finished, the math zone will be relocated there, and will add an additional 84 computers, bringing the total to 150.

Chen also acknowledged that some students still complain about the lack of face-to-face interaction with a teacher, but said there are options available for those students. If several students happen to struggle with the same concept at the same time, the department assigns a tutor to that group of students. According to Chen, the time and date of this tutoring session is based on the availability of the majority of the students.

“This way of teaching these introductory classes is becoming the standard at universities around the country,”Chen said. ”Some parts of the program are still under study, but it feels like this is the way to go.”

Hannah Pickard, a freshman English major from McComb, Miss. is enrolled in a traditional college algebra class which meets in a classroom setting.

Pickard says that before she enrolled in her math class, she had heard of the Math Zone, but wasn’t familiar. She didn’t enroll in her math class to avoid visiting the math zone, but said it worked out that way.

“I would rather have a teacher to talk to as I learn things,” Pickard said. “Being able to ask about something I don’t understand as I am learning it really helps me.”

Pickard said she doesn’t think she would have wanted to take a class in the math zone for that reason, in addition to her personal disinterest in math.

“I’m bad at math. I mean, I can manage, but I don’t know if I could make it without that teacher-student interaction,”she said.