Blended Learning in Multi-disciplinary Classrooms - Experiments in a Lecture about Numerical Analysis

Numerical analysis (NA) is a core, compulsory discipline in most scientific, particularly engineering undergraduate programs. Teaching numerical analysis to students with diversified backgrounds and different abilities of learning (visual, aural, read/write kinesthetic learners) is challenging because of its interdisciplinary nature and modelling requirements. Such a challenge in turn, can lead to low success indicators (related to but not limited to student performance) at both whole-class and per-student levels. Negatively affected indicators include subjective (e.g. satisfaction with the subject) and objective ones (e.g. lower overall grade average and absenteeism from class). This paper reports on efforts made at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) in Brazil to favorably change such indicators. The efforts involve applying blended learning (BL) together with gamification procedures to motivate students to engage more deeply in the learning of numerical analysis. As a consequence, it is expected that the other performance indicators will also be positively impacted. Data for a set of success indicators have been collected since 2007 at UFCG. A total of 25 classes encompassing close to 1,500 students and other professionals using the approach in different application domains – including chemical, electrical and civil engineering, environmental studies, security services, health services – have been observed. Collected evidence indicates the BL/gamified procedures improve results over conventional face-to-face only classes. This positive evidence suggests that “soft skills”, typical of social sciences (as opposed to the “hard skills” of numerical calculus) as well as interdisciplinary subjects – particularly those that is crossovers of computer science and design or culture or music – may also benefit from such an approach, particularly in multicultural classrooms