Foundation Programme: Preparing Students for Computing & Engineering Degrees

1. A Foundation Programme Preparing Students for Future Study in Computing and Engineering Degrees Kerri Spooner kspooner@aut.ac.nz Tony Clear Tony.clear@aut.ac.nz School of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences Auckland University of Technology This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

2. History, context and rationale • Programme structure and content • Pedagogical and programme level strategies • Analytical work done • Conclusion and recommendations This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

3. History, Context and Rationale for the programme • Auckland University of Technology gained University status 2000 • Former Polytechnic established in 1890 Staircasing philosophy with students progressing from certificates and diplomas onto degree programmes • Now profile markedly different. 91.5% students taking degree and postgraduate studies This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

4. However …… • STEM disciplines within Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies committed to supporting equity of access to students that would otherwise be barred from University study in STEM. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

5. Certificate of Science and Technology • Pathway ‘second chance learners’ into Computing, Engineering and Mathematics degrees. • Secondary goal to increase the participation of Maori, Pacific peoples, and female students into these subjects This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

6. Core paper: LSKL401 Academic Literacies Seven papers from:COMP400 Foundation ProgrammingCOMP401 Foundation Problem SolvingLSKL403 Tertiary English and Critical Thinking MATH400 Foundation MathematicsMATH401 Foundation AlgebraMATH402 Foundation CalculusPHYS400 Foundation Physics APHYS401 Foundation Physics BSTAT400 Foundation Statistics ENG400 Introduction to Engineering This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

7. Pedagogical and Programme level strategies • Pedagogical expectations of lecturers “Connect with students and teach outside of the box” Open to and use new and innovative ways for successful student achievement and engagement Provide an Active Learning environment in class Promote student engagement in class Use strategies for knowing students academically Identify at risk students Refer at risk students to support services Encourage peer connections within class Encourage and develop successful student study behaviours Develop and improve course materials to be better attuned to students’ entry level into the programme “Teach students our subject not our subject to students” This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

8. Pedagogical expectations of students Regularly attend classes Attend a weekly skills workshop Develop positive peer relationships Become reflective learners Develop study habits This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

9. Support Strategies Pre-entry diagnostic testing Student Experience Team (SET) Academic student advisors Disability Student Support Service (DSS) Skills workshops Student Learning Centre (SLC) Learning Contracts English for Academic Skills Independence (EASI support) This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

10. Other things put in place Dedicated teaching teams. Professional development to increase range of teaching strategies. Review of course materials and assessments to improve student engagement and expand variety of support resources. Imbed student goal setting in courses. Use of the Student Experience Team as a strategy to encourage compulsory attendance Smaller class sizes. EASI support for students with weaknesses in English. • Things noted and fine tuned Introduction of Math400 This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

11. Analytical work done Research Question: ‘Is a student’s performance in the Certificate of Science and Technology an indicator of their future success in a Computing, Engineering or Mathematics degree?’ Method: Student data from CertScT and subsequent degrees analysed. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

12. RQ1. Is there a correlation between students’ average grade in the certificate and their average grade in the degree? • RQ2. How do certificate students perform over time in their subsequent degrees? • RQ3. How do certificate students perform in subsequent degrees compared to non-certificate students? • RQ4. Are there any certificate papers that are predictive for subsequent success? • RQ5. Is there a difference between people from a native English background and people who are not native speakers of English? This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

13. Results: • RQ1. Is there a correlation between students’ average grade in the certificate and their average grade in the degree? positive relationship 89.1% (342 out of 384) students who passed their certificate papers also passed their degree papers. Certificate students who achieved an average grade of B- or better are very likely to pass in their degree. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

14. RQ2. How do certificate students perform over time in their subsequent degrees? A or B average in the certificate go on and pass their degree papers. C average in the certificate were more unstable on the degree. Certificate students who achieved an average grade of B- or better are very likely to pass in their degree.(Supported by the analysis of RQ1). This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

15. RQ3. How do certificate students perform in subsequent degrees compared to non-certificate students? 88.3% of certificate students passed papers in their degree 87.5% of non-certificate students passedpapers in the degree. No significant difference between certificate and non-certificate students’ performance on a degree (Fisher Exact test (p=75%). • RQ4. Are there any certificate papers that are predictive for subsequent success? Not conclusive, analysis only had a 70% correct classification rate. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

16. RQ5. Is there a difference between people from a native English background and people who are not native speakers of English? No major differences in performance of native and non-native speakers of English. Summary: The Certificate of Science and Technology is preparing students for subsequent STEM degrees. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

17. Financial benefit • In line with New Zealand Government objective to increase number of students in STEM But • Need for new EPI for funding purposes. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

18. Recommendations • STEM Degree programmes to provide academic support for students who gain entry with C-, C or C+ average from a completed Certificate of Science and Technology • Students eligible for consideration for stair casing to have passed all four 1st semester papers with a B+ average with two of these papers being Academic Literacies and Foundation Algebra. • Review CertScT papers for additional relevant engineering content • Increase focus on developing behaviours necessary for successful completion of a degree • Consistent programme administration support This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

19. Conclusion • CertScT supports equitable access to students wishing to study STEM disciplines • Successful in its aims to effectively prepare students for success in undergraduate STEM degrees. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

20. Future research • Investigate Maori and Pacific Island Performance • Investigate and campaign for effective funding for programme • Investigate performance of Foundation Mathematics students progression on degrees • Documentation of past Certificate students views on the programme This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

21. Student feedback “Completing the Certificate in Science and Technology has played a significant role in my studies towards the Bachelor of Engineering honours degree. It had been almost 10 years since I finished high school, the foundation course was very useful as it refreshed what I had forgotten and provided basic skills that students are assumed to have for higher level education. I found the mathematics and physics papers to be the most beneficial, as you learn first principles that are required and can be seen later in higher study. Another good paper would be Foundation Problem Solving, I realised how useful it was after I started the computing and programming papers in my bachelor’s degree.    From the foundation course I was able to build a strong base to start my bachelor’s degree. A strong base has led me to not purely memorise material, but allowed me to better understand and put reasoning behind what was taught.” This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

22. “I found that the foundation course was great because I was able to use it as a stepping stone into the engineering honours degree. I was also able to gain knowledge such as the basics of programming without which would have made the first year of engineering much more of a struggle than it was. The foundation course also allowed me to form relationships with people who were also going into engineering. These relationships made it easy to form study groups early on in the engineering degree that played a big part in allowing me to get good grades.” This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

23. “I had been accepted into BE(Hon) at AUT, however it had been almost 6 years since I had been at Uni and knew I needed to some revision on my physics and maths. I did one semester and took the two mathematics papers and the two physics papers. I feel they helped me a big deal and if I hadn’t done them I’m not sure I would have passed the engineering mathematics papers I had to do in the BE(Hon). I would recommend this course to anyone who hasn’t been at school for a few years or anyone who missed or didn’t do very well with their last year of school.” This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

24. Historical CertScT enrolment nummbers This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

25. Staircasing students • 106 from semester 1 (106/311) This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

26. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

27. Email 31 March 2016 “The Certificate in Science and Technology continues to be a strong feeder programme for degrees in the STEM fields.  Of the 381 students enrolled in this programme in 2015, 17% were Pacific and 8% were Māori.  The University has demonstrated strong growth in success rates for this programme, and is particularly proud of the results achieved by Māori and Pacific students.  Course completion data show that the overall success rate for this programme has increased from 65% in 2012 to a provisional 77% in 2015.  There was, moreover, a significant performance gap for Māori and Pacific students in 2012, with course completion rates of 51% and 52% respectively.  This gap has now closed for Māori students, who achieved a 77% success rate in 2015.  There has also been a marked improvement for Pacific students, with a course completion rate of 73%. ” This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

28. Acknowledgement The authors wish to acknowledge the work of the late Graham Bidois previous programme leader for the programmes presented here. It is through his commitment to equitable access and positive outcomes for students, and his drive and vision that the programme in its various iterations has been able to achieve its aims. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

29. Big thank you to my co author Tony Clear This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

30. Ongoing developments • Reviewed through annual programme leader reports, paper leader report and ongoing analysis and observation of the programme • Review CertScT papers for additional relevant engineering content • Increase focus on developing behaviours necessary for successful completion of a degree. • Regular meetings between CertScT degree students and CertScT students • Balance female to male staff on CertScT This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

31. Challenges for the programme • Funding from New Zealand Government through Tertiary Education Strategy using Educational Performance Indicators • EPIs based on completion rates not progression • Contradiction for staircasing students • Administration changes This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

32. Conclusion • CertScT supports equitable access to students wishing to study STEM disciplines • Successful in its aims to effectively prepare students for success in undergraduate STEM degrees. • Financial benefit • In line with New Zealand Government objective to increase number of students in STEM • Need for new EPI for funding purposes. This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International