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Maths for distance-learning science students

Maths for distance-learning science students. Sally Jordan The Open University 14th September 2005. Background information. Open University Science Faculty students come from a very wide range of mathematical backgrounds; may not have studied maths for a long time;

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Maths for distance-learning science students

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  1. Maths for distance-learning science students Sally Jordan The Open University 14th September 2005

  2. Background information Open University Science Faculty students • come from a very wide range of mathematical backgrounds; • may not have studied maths for a long time; • are often very lacking in confidence in their mathematical abilities. Maths for Science is a 10 CATs point Level 1 course, designed to be studied before our Level 2 science courses.

  3. Maths for Science content • Starting points (includes arithmetic, negative numbers, fractions, powers) • Measurement in science (includes SI units, scientific notation, significant figures) • Calculating in science • Algebra • Using graphs

  4. Maths for Science content cont. • Angles and trigonometry • Logarithms • Probability and descriptive statistics • Statistical hypothesis testing • Differentiation • Appendix: Resolving vectors

  5. Maths for Science • Teaching material is in course book, CD-ROM, supplementary material • Supported by telephone advice line and computer conference • Maths is taught in the context of Science • Many worked examples and questions

  6. Maths for Science • The course runs 4 times a year and lasts 10 weeks or 4 months • About 4500 OU students have studied the course since September 2002 • The Course Book is available as a hyper-linked eBook as part of the PPLATO project (http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/sp/PPLATO/publish/)

  7. Maths for Science • Student quote: ‘I found ‘Maths for Science’ an excellent course - I used to sit and practically cry when I got things right, which I would never have imagined, in a million years, ever being able to do. It gave me so much confidence - one of the best things I have ever done.’ • Students are more likely to complete L2 Science courses if they have taken Maths for Science previously.

  8. Maths for Science assessment We wanted to provide feedback that was: • Rapid • Targeted • Detailed We wanted to do this for both formative and summative assessment.

  9. Each End of Course Assessment • is web-based • is available to students for the final 5 weeks of the presentation • can be attempted in as many sittings as a student wants, with no time limit • has only about 25% of questions which are multiple choice.

  10. Answering questions • Students are given three attempts at each question. • Feedback increases after each attempt and the marks awarded decrease in line with this. • When a student gives the correct answer, or after three incorrect attempts, the full answer is given.

  11. What have we learnt? • The most badly answered question on every assessment is of the type…..

  12. Why is this question so poorly answered? • Many students give incorrect units • Many students give incorrect significant figures • Many students’ understanding of precedence is weak; they find

  13. Taking the work forward • We are continuing to analyse the data from the Maths for Science assessments in order to investigate students’ mathematical misunderstandings. • This is leading to improvements to the questions and to the course itself and also contributing to our understanding of why so many students struggle with maths.

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