Serious Games for Mathematics Support in Higher Education

Serious games may complement existing content in higher education and promote student engagement with taught materials. A systemic review of serious games for mathematics support in higher education between 2008 and 2018 was undertaken. There was limited research in this specific area but key themes emerged. These were the application of ARCS theory for initial design, technical considerations in creating serious games for mathematics, consideration of student computing abilities and provision of clear instruction and training prior to use. The review will inform the development of a local gaming resource to support existing mathematics support materials

The Workplace Simulation Project

Undergraduate students often seek voluntary placements in diagnostic laboratories in order to gain work experience to enhance their employment prospects. A combination of resource and legislation requirements limits the number of employers able to support such voluntary placements in the current climate. The Workplace Simulation Project is a summer course for second and final year undergraduates, which assists in the development of employment skills of those participating. The course is designed to include core elements of employment within the science and healthcare sectors, with generic aspects being common to all forms of employment. The laboratory where the course is based possesses small workload clinical chemistry and haematology analysers. Those attending will follow the requirements of the workplace, such as attendance, punctuality and professional behaviour. They will gain skills in the maintenance and quality checks of equipment, running of equipment, laboratory health and safety, internal quality control and external quality assessment, results reporting and dealing with unexpected or problematic situations. In addition there will be an introduction to external accreditation services as a small service run by the laboratory is currently being assessed by UKAS and a document management system operates. Learning will be facilitated through instruction, performance, competency assessment and regular verbal feedback. On successful completion of the course students receive a final report and a certificate. Likert-scale analysis of the student experience has shown a favourable response to the course

Student Numeracy Support Using Bespoke Reusable Learning Objects

The variation in entrance numeracy qualifications and skills for undergraduate students embarking on Life Sciences programmes can be addressed by a variety of support options in their first year of study. Appropriate numeracy teaching and practice is embedded into course modules and offered within academic tutorials. There is also a wealth of external e-books, mathematics websites and reusable learning objects that students can be directed towards for self-study. Despite these initiatives many students continue to lack confidence in their ability to apply the relevant mathematics to solve problems and in some cases this can affect their overall performance throughout the degree. A recent small study found a highly positive response from students to the provision of worked calculations and explanations to a selection of numeracy problems, which they were able to access via the virtual learning environment throughout the duration of a module. Most reported to using this in preparation for a summative data handling test and in subsequent student questionnaires most felt that its provision had improved their test performance. A project was undertaken to provide University of Westminster Life Sciences students with a bespoke local numeracy resource to support their studies. To ensure that this resource would contain an appropriate range and selection of examples, all staff members and research students were asked for voluntary contributions to the project. The request was for a single numeracy problem relating to one of their teaching or research areas, the worked calculation for the problem, the correct answer and a summary of the application(s). All contributions were collated and used for the production of a web-based interactive numeracy resource and a text-based version to encompass different student learning preferences. These resources will be made available to all students from September 2011 via the virtual learning environment and as a hard copy booklet. The usefulness of this new resource will be monitored by a combination of student and staff feedback and the analysis of the end of year student performance

Can the use of digital badges enhance maths support?

The University of Westminster School of Life Sciences offers maths support to students, within modules and as extracurricular sessions. We are currently working on a new project which will provide all students with permanent access to a dedicated site on our virtual learning environment for maths support. The organisation and structure of this site in addition to providing generic core mathematics skills for our courses will also provide specific items relevant to each of our degree pathways. The site will include existing resources we have available, links to external sources and new to our provision, the option of digital badge recognition for the completion of some of the available activities. It is envisaged that a well-constructed set of activities leading to digital badges will encourage use of the site and improve engagement for those requiring maths support

Curriculum and beyond: Mathematics support for first year life science students

The move into higher education is a real challenge for students from all educational backgrounds, with the adaptation to a new curriculum and style of learning and teaching posing a daunting task. A series of exercises were planned to boost the impact of the mathematics support for level four students and was focussed around a core module for all students. The intention was to develop greater confidence in tackling mathematical problems in all levels of ability and to provide more structured transition period in the first semester of level 4. Over a two-year period the teaching team for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology provided a series of structured formative tutorials and “interactive” online problems. Video solutions to all formative problems were made available, in order that students were able to engage with the problems at any time and were not disadvantaged if they could not attend. The formative problems were specifically set to dovetail into a practical report in which the mathematical skills developed were specifically assessed. Students overwhelmingly agreed that the structured formative activities had broadened their understanding of the subject and that more such activities would help. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the package of changes undertaken resulted in a significant increase in the overall module mark over the two years of development

Connection between slow and fast dynamics of molecular liquids around the glass transition

The mean-square displacement (MSD) was measured by neutron scattering at various temperatures and pressures for a number of molecular glass-forming liquids. The MSD is invariant along the glass-transition line at the pressure studied, thus establishing an ``intrinsic'' Lindemann criterion for any given liquid. A one-to-one connection between the MSD's temperature dependence and the liquid's fragility is found when the MSD is evaluated on a time scale of approximately 4 nanoseconds, but does not hold when the MSD is evaluated at shorter times. The findings are discussed in terms of the elastic model and the role of relaxations, and the correlations between slow and fast dynamics are addressed.Comment: accepted by Phys Rev E (2010

Complete and Voluntary Starvation of 50 days

A 34-year-old obese male (96.8 kg; BMI, 30.2 kg m⁻¹) volitionally undertook a 50-day fast with the stated goal of losing body mass. During this time, only tea, coffee, water, and a daily multivitamin were consumed. Severe and linear loss of body mass is recorded during these 50 days (final 75.4 kg; BMI, 23.5 kg m⁻¹). A surprising resilience to effects of fasting on activity levels and physical function is noted. Plasma samples are suggestive of early impairment of liver function, and perturbations to cardiovascular dynamics are also noted. One month following resumption of feeding behavior, body weight was maintained (75.0 kg; BMI, 23.4 kg m⁻¹). Evidence-based decision-making with the fasting or hunger striking patient is limited by a lack of evidence. This case report suggests that total body mass, not mass lost, may be a key observation in clinical decision-making during fasting and starvation