How do students deal with difficulties in mathematics?

We report on a study carried out by the Mathematics Department at the National University of Ireland Maynooth to determine why students do or do not engage with mathematics support. Initial interviews were conducted with students who had failed first year. This paper gives preliminary findings from interviews with a second group of students who had passed first year. Students were chosen who had similar mathematical backgrounds to the first group and who had all engaged with mathematics. The students’ mathematical backgrounds do not appear to be the only major factor in determining engagement. We found that both groups experienced similar difficulties and problems. However, the second group had several different strategies or coping mechanisms to enable them to get through. We compare the two groups and will discuss some of these coping mechanisms in detail

Interactive and multimedia contents associated with a system for computer-aided assessment

This paper presents a research study addressing the development, implementation, evaluation and use of Interactive Modules for Online Training (MITO) of mathematics in higher education. This work was carried out in the context of the MITO project, which combined several features of the learning and management system Moodle, the computer-aided assessment for mathematics STACK, the mathematical software GeoGebra, several packages from the type-setting program LaTeX, and tutorial videos. A total of 1962 students participated in this study. Two groups of students taking a Calculus course were selected for a deeper analysis. In regard to usability and functionality, the results indicate that MITO scored well in almost all aspects, which is fundamental for their introduction into formal university courses. The analysis of the data reveals that the use of MITO educational contents by students mainly occurs about one week and a half prior the evaluations. Moreover, there is a strong correlation between the results of online assessments on MITO in a continuous assessment model and the final grade on the course

Who uses STACK? A survey of users of the STACK CAA system, May 2015

STACK is online software which implements a question type designed to assess mathematics and is described in more detail in Section 2 below. This document contains the results of a survey of users of STACK. STACK is open source software which is freely available. In the year ending 1st April 2015 STACK was downloaded 10168 times from the Moodle plugin database. However, it is difficult to know how many people actually use STACK and this does not equate to numbers of live servers. Since users are at liberty to download and use the software the developers have no intrinsic mechanism for tracking usage, which a commercial licence might provide. The goals of the survey are (i) to provide a minimum benchmark for the number of STACK users, (ii) understand how STACK is being used in extent and purpose of use, (iii) provide users with a mechanism to suggest changes or new features

E-assessment: Past, present and future

This review of e-assessment takes a broad definition, including any use of a computer in assessment, whilst focusing on computer-marked assessment. Drivers include increased variety of assessed tasks and the provision of instantaneous feedback, as well as increased objectivity and resource saving. From the early use of multiple-choice questions and machine-readable forms, computer-marked assessment has developed to encompass sophisticated online systems, which may incorporate interoperability and be used in students’ own homes. Systems have been developed by universities, companies and as part of virtual learning environments. Some of the disadvantages of selected-response question types can be alleviated by techniques such as confidence-based marking. The use of electronic response systems (‘clickers’) in classrooms can be effective, especially when coupled with peer discussion. Student authoring of questions can also encourage dialogue around learning. More sophisticated computer-marked assessment systems have enabled mathematical questions to be broken down into steps and have provided targeted and increasing feedback. Systems that use computer algebra and provide answer matching for short-answer questions are discussed. Computer-adaptive tests use a student’s response to previous questions to alter the subsequent form of the test. More generally, e-assessment includes the use of peer-assessment and assessed e-portfolios, blogs, wikis and forums. Predictions for the future include the use of e-assessment in MOOCs (massive open online courses); the use of learning analytics; a blurring of the boundaries between teaching, assessment and learning; and the use of e-assessment to free human markers to assess what they can assess more authentically

Developing a web-based video tutorial on using HyperStudio

The goal of this project was to provide an effective way for students to learn how to use an authoring language, HyperStudio, through an efficient interactive on-line environment. The author begins by identifying the necessary components for effective web-based tutorials and exploring video\u27s impact on delivering web-based tutorials. The process used to plan, design, develop and implement this project was explained. This project demonstrates how a web-based tutorial can be created to assist the traditional classroom as a supplementary medium

An analysis of student reaction to the use of interactive video and hypermedia to enhance post-secondary biological science education

The perceived effect on student learning provided by interactive technology in the biological sciences has been studied on a small, private, two-year college campus. The first portion of the study was the perceived effectiveness of interactive video when used for class presentations for biological science majors. The second portion of the study evaluated five campus-produced interactive laserdisc tutorials designed for individual and group use for students taking a general introductory biology lab course

E-assessment for learning? Exploring the potential of computer-marked assessment and computer-generated feedback, from short-answer questions to assessment analytics.

This submission draws on research from twelve publications, all addressing some aspect of the broad research question: “Can interactive computer-marked assessment improve the effectiveness of assessment for learning?” The work starts from a consideration of the conditions under which assessment of any sort is predicted to best support learning, and reviews the broader literature of assessment and feedback before considering the potential of computer-based assessment, focusing on relatively sophisticated constructed-response questions, and on the impact of instantaneous, tailored and increasing feedback. A range of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are used to investigate factors which influence the engagement of distance learners of science with computer-marked assessment and computer-generated feedback. It is concluded that the strongest influence on engagement is the student’s understanding of what they are required to do, including their understanding of the wording of assessment tasks and feedback. Clarity of wording is thus important, as is an iterative design process that allows for improvements to be made. Factors such as cut-off dates can have considerable impact, pointing to the importance of good overall assessment design, and more generally to the power and responsibility that lie in the hands of remote developers of online assessment and teaching. Four of the publications describe research into the marking accuracy and effectiveness of questions to which students give their answer as a short phrase or sentence. Relatively simple pattern-matching software has been shown to give marking accuracy at least as good as that of human markers and more sophisticated computer-marked systems, provided questions are developed on the basis of responses from students at a similar level. However, educators continue to use selected-response questions in preference to constructed-response questions, despite concerns over the validity and authenticity of selected-response questions. Factors contributing to the low take-up of more sophisticated computer-marked tasks are discussed. E-assessment also has the potential to improve the learning experience indirectly by providing information to educators about student engagement and student errors, at either the cohort or individual student level. The effectiveness of these “assessment analytics” is also considered, concluding that they have the potential to provide deep general insight and an early warning of at-risk students