A mathematics support program for first year engineering students

1. A mathematics support program for first year engineering students School of Mathematics and Physics The University of Queensland 23 June 2014

2. Email from student I am taking MATH1051 this term (Sem 1 2013). I attempted it last term (Sem 2 2012), but dropped the course… I found the course material dense, and the lecture structure complex; learning bits and pieces from Algebra, and Calc throughout the week, rather than following a linear learning progression through the texts. I took MATH1050 Semester 1 2012, and achieved at 4.

3. Sem 2 2013…. “ It took me 14 hours to do question one of the assignment - I stayed up all night. …. And spending 14h working through simple algebra seems a waste of time for assessment.”

4. Target Group • Engineering students • Repeating the course • Low pass in Foundation Mathematics (FM)

5. Quantitative Data MATH1051: Calculus & Linear Algebra, Sem. 2 2011 • Failure rate: 42% (251 out of 602 students) • 106 (42%) were students with FM1-4 (Foundation Maths grades 1-4, i.e. borderline pass or fail) • 82 (33%) were repeat students (RPT) Composition of Failures,

6. Performance of FM1-4 students

7. Performance of Repeat Students

8. AIMS of SLT • Address poor background skills • Provide support in MATH1051 content • Provide support for examination preparation

9. Pedagogy • Structured Lessons • Continual assessment • Drill & Practice • Depth rather than breadth • Doing by example • Concrete explanations • Spiral approach

10. Background Skills • Online Diagnostic tests • Review Resources • Mathcentre: Algebra Refresher and Calculus Refresher Booklets • One-on-one consultation with students • Background skills addressed throughout the semester.

11. 2. MATH1051 Content • SLT scheme of work closely aligned with the timing and delivery of course content. • Focus on Calculus • Extra time for (3-4 sessions) difficult topics e.g. Series and Power Series. • Additional worked examples to support lecture material. • Assistance with learning how to learn maths.

12. 3. Exam Preparation • Early exposure to examination material • Worked examples mostly from past exams • Exam Preparation from Week 9 of term • Revision exercises, in incremental amounts from Weeks 9 onwards • Mock Exam during swotvac • Intensive revision classes during swotvac.

13. Evaluation • Course results • Pass Rates • Quality of Passes • Performance in final examination • Student Evaluation

14. Statistics Number in brackets are the percentages for the whole cohort

15. Performance in Exam, 2012/2 Linear Algebra Calculus

16. Performance in Exam, 2013/2 Linear Algebra Calculus

17. What students liked • Extra resources e.g. revision material, worksheets. • Additional worked examples • Help with background skills • Classroom teaching • Being in a class with other students who have similar goals

18. Areas for improvement • Too much time spent on background skills • Insufficient time • Cover linear algebra as well.

19. Conclusion • Regularly supported students benefited from the SLT. • Extent of the contribution of SLT is difficult to determine. • SLT resources were well utilised by non-SLT students. • Response rate not great. Majority of high risk students are not coming forward for help.

20. THE END