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Adapting Maths Support Centres to Webwork

Adapting Maths Support Centres to Webwork. Nuala Curley UCD. Adapting Maths Support Centres to Webwork. Increased use of online teaching resources. Research in Neuroscience. Maths Support Centres: personal contact. Adapt webwork. What is WeBWorK?.

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Adapting Maths Support Centres to Webwork

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  1. Adapting Maths Support Centres to Webwork Nuala Curley UCD

  2. Adapting Maths Support Centres to Webwork • Increased use of online teaching resources. • Research in Neuroscience. • Maths Support Centres: personal contact. • Adapt webwork.

  3. What is WeBWorK? • Internet-based system for generating tutorial exercises. • Library of over 2500 problems. • What areas are covered?

  4. How is WeBWorK used? • Use Library problems. • Edit problems. • Write your own problems.

  5. Example • Don't show this problem on the next update. • Add this problem to the target set on the next update. If f(x)=Cos (sin(x2)) , find f’(x)Find f’(2). File name: Library/maCalcDB/setDerivatives5ChainRule/s2_5_7.pg Edit itTry it

  6. Advantages • Gradually build knowledge of a concept. • Individualised versions. • Limited trials. • Thinking time:motivation. • Immediate feedback. • Sets automatically graded :continuous monitoring. • Very suitable for large classes. • Not multi-choice.

  7. Disadvantages Student difficulties: • Entering data. • Prior knowledge may be needed. • Students have no understanding of topic. Lecturer difficulties: • Takes time to become familiar with its use and build up a well designed set of questions to match your course. Support Centre difficulties: • unnecessary extra work.

  8. Entering difficulty • BOMDAS eg • If you enter 3/4*5 = 3.75 but if you enter 3/(4*5) = 3/20. • Enter Sin2t you get (Sin(2))*t. • √(2x) must be entered as (2x)1/2.

  9. Further example of difficulty in entering data If you want to enter for example 2+3Sin24x 2+3sin^2(4x) is wrong. You must enter something like: 2+3(sin(4x))^2 or 2+3sin(4x)^2. Students can use the "Preview Button" to see exactly how their entry looks.

  10. Prior knowledge may be needed • For example to answer a question on the domain of a function students must be familiar with interval notation. • Q1. What is the domain of • f(x)=(x2-4)/(x-2) where x is a real number. • Input (-∞,2)U(2,∞) in this fashion only.

  11. Students have no understanding of topic. MSC then becomes a teacher of the topic from basics.

  12. How does this effect the Maths Support Centre? Considerable extra work for the centre: • Inputting data. • Covering prior knowledge required. • Teaching.

  13. Significantly Reducing Difficulties • Introductory course on entering data. • Matching lecture, tutorial and webwork.

  14. Trial planned next year for Commerce students in UCD • Size of class: approx 600. • Small size tutorials. • Short webwork at end of the tutorial. • Marks allocated for webwork, mid term exam and final exam.

  15. Conclusion • Excellent Resource. • Use of it needs careful preparation and planning. • Research needed to ascertain its true value. • Library needs constant updating with increase in level of courses covered.

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