University of Greenwich Journals and Working Papers
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Creating authentic assessment in mathematics
Full text linkAssessment of students’ mathematics knowledge within higher education (HE) has normally taken a very traditional approach. Closed-book assessments have long been the favoured mode of assessment (Iannone & Simpson, 2011) which often requires students to recall facts, formulae, and methods. One could argue that this type of assessment is limited in its ability to effectively assess how well a student’s ability to authentically use mathematics has developed. Due to the recent pandemic, many institutions were forced to rethink their assessment methods so that they could be delivered online and remotely. As such, there has been a renewed sense of need for more ‘authentic’ assessments for mathematics-based programmes.In this paper, we will discuss our journey of creating more authentic assessments for apprentices enrolled on a new Data Science Degree Apprenticeship, particularly in mathematics/statistics. We will compare two years of delivery of the course; the first year of delivery which comprised of traditional assessment methods (coursework/exam) and the second year of delivery that used more authentic assessment methods. We will discuss the pros and cons of each model by reflecting on our practice and drawing on apprentices’ feedback
A Tool to Visualise and Interact with Probability Density Functions - Development and Case Study
Full text linkThis article is an overview of the design, implementation and testing of a tool to visualise and interact with probability density functions. The tool is a desktop application implemented entirely in Python using the tkinter library for the graphical user interface. The project was undertaken as part of a collaboration between Mathematics and Computer Science. The goal of the application is to provide a simple user interface for teaching staff and students to visualise and interact with probability density functions. The application should help improve students’ understanding of the concepts involved and its simple design should reduce the complexity barrier that often faces users when using technology in the classroom. Following initial testing, a variety of teaching staff were involved with trialling the tool, together with student volunteers from a first-year and second-year statistics module at Swansea University. Feedback was obtained and evaluated from all participants. For the teaching staff group, we found that all four participants strongly agreed that the application is easy to use and that the user interface was not distracting. Furthermore, all teaching staff stated that they would consider using the application in their own teaching and all would recommend using the application to a colleague/friend. For the student volunteer group, all twelve participants either agreed or strongly agreed with the statements that the application is easy to use, useful and not distracting. Similar to the teaching staff group, all the student participants stated that they would consider using the application in their own learning and all would recommend the application to a friend. A full analysis of the survey results is provided in the Feedback section
Student Co-Creation of Resources in a Second Year Linear Algebra Course
Full text linkIn this project, we investigated how designing their own tutorial questions could help level 2 mathematics students negotiate the often-challenging transition from level 1 in the Scottish curriculum. One student from the level 2 linear algebra course at the University of Aberdeen volunteered to create practice questions on topics of linear algebra they selected. Through analysis of the participant’s interview, we showed, in accordance with the literature, that the activity benefited them in terms of study skills (motivation, focus, independence), in terms of mathematics learning (deep learning and mathematical knowledge construction). We also found that the activity had contributed to improving the volunteer’s resilience to learning mathematics, and their sense of legitimate participation in the mathematics community. This has not been discussed in the literature and is a significant finding considering the known difficulty for mathematics students, in particular women, to feel they ‘belong’. This research further suggests that if the activity took place in groups, it could also help develop a peer-support community which students could rely on to negotiate the transition to level 2
Exploring Learning experiences of Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in a Public Health Undergraduate Degree.
Full text linkWhilst university data highlights that BAME students are awarded up to 33% lower assessment outcomes than their white counterparts, there is limited contextual information to explain why the situation arises. A small scale qualitative project sought to explore the barriers and enablers to Public Health students\u27 learning experiences through semi-structured interviews. Emerging themes included the role of the family in their learning; the influence of peer groups and others in their motivation to study and becoming an independent student and these themes are viewed from a critical intercultural and intersectional perspective.
Reimagining Library Learning Spaces, or Risking Digital Piracy in Universities: Students Views on Spatial Boundaries, Time, and Self-Study Modalities in the Post-Digital Era of AI
No full textHigher education (HE) is changing. Students are crossing boundaries, such as physical (those of countries) or digital (through distance learning). During COVID-19, the concept of a learning space was redefined, for many studied at home. As the student experience changes, so does the use of learning spaces. This article focuses upon ‘post-digital’ learning spaces and goes on to frame a narrative about how our HE institutional environments need to sharpen the now much hazier boundaries between the physical, digital, spatial and temporal realms; by drawing upon research with 103 Chinese postgraduates in a Sino-British university, it demonstrates piracy of ebooks as one indicator – and disruptor – of a shift in post-digital lived experience (analysis shows how students turn to online ‘shadow libraries’, to save not just money, but time and space too, redefining universities, reading and information retrieval practices); it concludes by discussing how institutional repositories need to be transformed into multifunctional spaces where students can access resources in various ways, not just in hard copies of books. In consequence, it positions the need for a future ‘post-digital library’ in universities as a place of collaboration, creativity, enterprise and critical thinking, not as one of stacked shelves
Zero waste: leveraging blended learning materials in traditional teaching
Full text linkIn recent years, and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, several university course units have moved from a traditional format, made of face-to-face lectures supplemented by notes and exercise sheets, to a blended learning format based mainly on asynchronous engagement with recorded lectures, videos, and notes, followed by supplementary synchronous sessions to consolidate and expand on the core material. While during Covid-19 the latter format presented clear advantages, as things slowly go back to normal course leaders are free to choose between the two formats, each of which has its own set of advantages and challenges.In this case study we explore the transition from a blended learning course back to a traditional face-to-face format, focusing on the use of an innovative ‘anthology’ approach to repurpose digital materials. Originally a blended learning course featuring a mix of videos, notes, and quizzes, the course underwent a transformation to adapt to a more conventional format without sacrificing the accumulated digital resources. Through this transition, an anthology of learning materials was created, which serves as supplementary support for student learning, providing a wealth of learning aids, ranging from mandatory activities to entirely optional exercises. Challenges encountered during this transition, specifically avoiding an increase in workload, and the maturity required from students, will be examined. We aim to provide a framework to highlight the potential of effectively reutilising blended learning resources within traditional teaching frameworks, while being mindful of workload issues, to enrich the students\u27 learning experience
Investigating students’ perception of the importance of calculus: a cross-discipline comparison to inform module development
Full text linkThis study compares perceptions of calculus across disciplines in university education. As highlighted by Rasmussen et al. (2014) further work is needed to understand the “relationship between calculus and the client disciplines of engineering, physics, biology, and chemistry”, with calculus courses often designed from the perspective of Mathematicians. Here, we aim to give insight of when it is appropriate to group such disciplines together for taught calculus modules in Higher Education (HE).This short study assesses how students perceive the importance of calculus across disciplines including Mathematics, Electronic Engineering, Economics and Business.Specifically, we consider the following: 1) Are there differences in how students from different disciplines perceive the importance of studying calculus? 2) Do students view the field of calculus as: something to be learned to pass their course; something to be fully understood; or a tool for future study/career? Whilst this small study cannot answer these important, open questions, overall it does reveal that students in Mathematics and Economics have similar perceptions about calculus, whereas, Business students viewed calculus significantly differently to the other disciplines. Therefore, these results give some initial indications of appropriate groupings for cross teaching calculus, and importantly give an area of focus for which further research should develop, regarding how these grouping would affect attainment, pass rates and other phenomena noted in HE calculus module
Designing a blended delivery foundation mathematics course: Targeting self-efficacy, skill development and social connectedness
No full textFoundation mathematics courses play a crucial role in allowing students who have not achieved the pre-requisite mathematics credits for tertiary studies to re-engage with STEM studies. This paper describes how targeting self-efficacy, skill development and social connectedness have influenced the design of a foundation mathematics course at a New Zealand university. These design goals are grounded in education literature, and the paper outlines how focusing on these goals has resulted in the design of a course that incorporates novel approaches to learning and assessment, including online and face-to-face components. These approaches include the use of large, automatically graded weekly quizzes; adaptive learning quizzes for essential skills such as fraction arithmetic; and an emphasis on face-to-face learning and connection through tutorials and collaborative problem-solving workshops. The paper concludes with reflections on the success of the course so far and raising questions for future investigation
Designing an introductory statistics subject for students with diverse educational backgrounds and chosen qualifications
Full text linkThis is a case study on the design of a first-year undergraduate statistics subject at La Trobe University, entitled Making Sense of Data, which is taken by students from various disciplines. To account for students\u27 diverse educational backgrounds and chosen qualifications, this subject is designed such that all students complete core statistics concepts, while a third of the subject contains stream-specific content. This subject design provides students with a solid foundation in statistics, while addressing the demand for a flexible first-year statistics subject which is accessible and relevant for students enrolled in a variety of tertiary degrees. This structure allows for stream-specific lectures, computer lab material, assessments, and even statistical software programs to be used across different streams. The design also incorporates strategies for addressing statistics anxiety within the curriculum. In this paper, we present the outcomes of this subject design in terms of student performance, engagement and satisfaction. We also present iterative and reflective changes that have been made to the subject over time, in response to student and staff feedback, and discuss the impact these changes have had on student outcomes
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