Welcome to On Ramps College Algebra

  • Here is the page for College Algebra students. On Ramps courses are dual enrollment, meaning students are concurrently enrolled in a high school and college course. Students are able to earn credits for high school and college at the same time. On Ramps College Algebra covers several of the major topics that are covered in previous Algebra classes. However, this course goes deeper into the content than previous classes did and (most significantly) strictly limits the use of a graphing calculator.

    COURSE DESCRIPTION
    In College Algebra, students deepen their critical thinking skills and develop their ability to persist through challenges as they explore function families: Linear, Absolute Value, Quadratic, Polynomial, Radical, Rational, Exponential, and Logarithmic. Students analyze data algebraically and with technology while developing their knowledge of properties of functions, matrices, systems of equations, and complex numbers. The pedagogy of the course, Inquiry-Based Learning, encourages students to take an active role in the construction of their learning. This learning will be accomplished by abstraction, generalization, problem-solving, and modeling.
     
    Course Pre-requisites
    • Algebra I
    • Recommended: Geometry
     
    Course Learning Outcomes

    By the end of this course, you will have a deeper and more connected understanding of the
    following:
    • Function Families: Linear and Absolute Value Functions; Quadratic and Cubic Functions;
    Polynomial, Rational, and Radical Functions; Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
    • Function Compositions, Transformations, and Inverses
    • Matrices and Systems of Equations and Inequalities
    • The Complex Number System
    • Modeling, Data Analysis, and Function Regression
    • Sequences, Series, and the Binomial Theorem
     
    Course Format and Procedures

    This course uses Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL), a pedagogy designed to engage students in
    the educational process. Inquiry-Based Learning is a student-centered methodology, which
    emphasizes the importance of the active construction of learning. Therefore, students are
    expected to pose questions, make decisions, design plans and experiments, discuss,
    collaborate, communicate results, and provide justified answers and explanations when
    engaged in the inquiry process.

    Characteristics of an IBL classroom

    • Students work together in groups to explore various mathematic concepts.
    • Instructor listens to student conversation to monitor creation of mathematical ideas.
    • Students present work on the document camera. This helps facilitate classroom
    discussion, closure to a problem, and allows for the Instructor to pose extension
    questions to the class.
    • If a misconception occurs across the classroom the Instructor may choose to bring
    the class back together and pose leading questions to guide the discussions in the
    correct direction.
    Overall Goals
    • The overall goal is to have students “do” mathematics - that is, to have students
    engage in thinking about the connectedness that exists between various basic areas
    of mathematics.
    • Students should work to provide rigorous arguments at different levels that support
    the development of these connections.
    • The hope is that students will more deeply understand the discipline of mathematics
    and the fact that if one does not ask “why” when engaging in “doing” mathematics,
    then the processes experienced are strictly mechanical.