The use of technology in mathematics support: An overview of the 4th Irish workshop on mathematics learning and support centres

This article provides an overview of the 4th Irish Workshop on Mathematics Learning and Support Centres which was organised by the Irish Mathematics Support Network and took place in Dublin City University in December 2009. The workshop focused on the use of technology in mathematics support with speakers reviewing a wide range of different approaches and also addressing core issues such as the relative value of computer-assisted learning and the optimum manner in which to integrate technology into teaching. A brief review of each presentation is given, highlighting key points raised

A quantitative, longitudinal analysis of the impact of mathematics support in an Irish university

Mathematics support has become embedded in a large number of higher education institutes in Ireland and UK in particular. Measuring the impact of such support is a challenging task, which can be attempted either qualitatively, through the use of surveys or focus groups, or quantitatively, looking at data such as number of visits and subsequent exam performance. Here, we consider a quantitative analysis of the impact of a mathematics support centre in an Irish university, based on data gathered over the past 12 years. A binary logistic regression was carried out which showed that, when prior mathematical achievement and module studied were kept constant, the odds of a student who attended mathematics support once passing their module were 1.63 times higher than for one who had never engaged with the service. The odds for those who attended 15 or more times were almost 14 times higher. This study also showed that there was a significant difference between those who never engaged with mathematics support and those who attended once, meaning that such cohorts should be considered differently, which has not traditionally been done in other studies conducted to this point

Getting to grips with online mathematics education during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a move to emergency remote teaching in many universities across the globe, beginning in the early months of 2020. As a result, lecturers and students had to transition to an online form of education at very short notice. Due to the symbolic nature of the subject, online education in mathematics presented additional challenges, in terms of representing mathematical notation and communicating effectively with students online. In May 2020 and again in May 2021, we undertook an anonymous online survey of mathematics lecturers in higher education, aiming to investigate their experience of emergency remote teaching and any changes to their practice as a result. We received 257 and 190 responses respectively, and respondents were based in 30 countries, primarily in Europe. They reported on the types of hardware and software they used; whether they opted for live sessions or pre-recorded; the main challenges they and their students faced; and the changes to assessment necessitated by the move online. In this paper, we report upon their reflections of their journeys in online teaching, as they compare their initial experiences of emergency remote teaching with their approaches one year on

Project Maths academy: Using Khan Academy's exercise platform as an educational aid in a post-primary mathematics classroom

The focus of this paper is a First Year post-primary mathematics class in which Khan Academy's online exercise platform was used weekly for an academic year. Interviews were conducted with the teacher, and students were surveyed about their opinions of the platform and its usage. Regular classroom observations took place to gain an insight into the context of these opinions. A subsequent survey compared these students’ attitudes towards mathematics classes with those of their peers who were not using the platform. Test scores were compared between three classes (one using Khan Academy; two not) to ascertain whether the platform had any effect on student performance. The platform was found to be an invaluable tool for class management: the teacher was able to provide the capable students with enough work while attending to students in need of support. Students enjoyed their time spent on the platform and the more capable students were able to work at their own pace and tackle more challenging exercises. Test results show that the platform may have a negative effect on student performance in the areas of integers and probability, but a positive effect in coordinate geometry. We comment on the evidence for statistically significant differences in the general results of those using the platform and those not

Notes on group-work based tutorials in a large service teaching module

We report on a teaching project that involved the use of peer-supported group-work tutorials in a large (n = 414) service teaching module in Dublin City University in the academic year 2010-11. We describe the background and motivation for the project, and its design and execution. This includes a corresponding tutor training element. We report on feedback on the tutorials obtained from students and tutors, and discuss the students’ performance on the module assessments in the light of the group-work tutorials. We found little evidence of success in the project, and attempt to relate this to existing conceptual frameworks describing the effective implementation of group-work

What we can learn from attendance data at a mathematics support centre during and after campus closures due to COVID19

In this paper, we consider the impact of campus closures on the Mathematics Learning Centre (MLC) in Dublin City University (DCU) in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions which required online teaching. Up to March 2020, the MLC operated as an in-person drop-in service in the university’s main library. Any DCU student who needed additional mathematics support could “drop in” without making a booking in advance and get help from a tutor. There was no online provision on offer, although plans had been evolving to offer a skeleton online service in the evenings. From March 2020, and throughout the academic year 2020-21, the majority of university teaching in DCU took place completely online, as did the service offered by the MLC. By necessity, mathematics support took a different format to the previous in-person drop-in centre. Students could pre-book a 25-minute session online via Zoom with a tutor, and they could attend alone or as part of a small group as per their preference. There were no restrictions on how many sessions a student booked or how often they attended, although they were encouraged to book no more than one per day, to allow themselves time to work on the material covered in the session. Several papers have explored the practices implemented by Irish universities during the initial move to online learning in March 2020 (Hodds, 2020; Mac an Bhaird et al., 2021). Previous papers have reported on the in-person MLC attendance in DCU, and analysed trends in engagement and success rates of students who use the service (Jacob & Ní Fhloinn, 2019). However, no such analysis has been undertaken to date of engagement with the online support provision. Here, we will consider attendance patterns, with a particular focus on first year students compared to older year groups, to investigate any emerging trends. We will also discuss the knowledge gained by mathematics support providers following a full year of online provision and how this might impact future practice

Problem-solving Potential (PsP) in the regular mathematics classroom

A student’s Problem-solving Potential (PsP) is defined by their mindset, their mathematical resilience, and the problem-solving skills they possess. This triad construct of PsP was developed as part of a doctoral study, and investigated amongst six cohorts of highly-able mathematics Transition Year students through an educational intervention. Prior research into mindsets, largely spearheaded by Dweck (2006), found a relationship between achievement and growth-orientated mindsets; which extol the virtues of learning over “looking smart”, and the value of making mistakes, among other attributes. Mathematical resilience is further subdivided into value (belief that mathematics is important), struggle (acknowledgement that struggle is a valuable part of learning mathematics), and growth (referring to growth mindsets) (Kooken et al., 2016). Prior research of mathematical resilience focussed on the development of this concept amongst low-achieving students; whilst our research investigated its development within highly-able students. There is a popular belief amongst educational researchers that mathematics is best learnt through the construction of knowledge by the learner, and mathematical problem-solving is one approach that creates this opportunity for all learners (Mason et al., 2010). Our educational intervention utilised collaborative problem-solving, and was designed to: introduce strategies for problem-solving; encourage reflection on the problem-solving process; provide opportunities for the extension of problems; and develop communication skills. In this paper, we will highlight the benefit of developing PsP in the mathematics classroom for highly-able students by discussing the relevance of each aspect of the construct through the findings of the doctoral study; and also how the development of PsP may impact lower-achieving students

Getting to grips with online mathematics education during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a move to emergency remote teaching in many universities across the globe, beginning in the early months of 2020. As a result, lecturers and students had to transition to an online form of education at very short notice. Due to the symbolic nature of the subject, online education in mathematics presented additional challenges, in terms of representing mathematical notation and communicating effectively with students online. In May 2020 and again in May 2021, we undertook an anonymous online survey of mathematics lecturers in higher education, aiming to investigate their experience of emergency remote teaching and any changes to their practice as a result. We received 257 and 190 responses respectively, and respondents were based in 30 countries, primarily in Europe. They reported on the types of hardware and software they used; whether they opted for live sessions or pre-recorded; the main challenges they and their students faced; and the changes to assessment necessitated by the move online. In this paper, we report upon their reflections of their journeys in online teaching, as they compare their initial experiences of emergency remote teaching with their approaches one year on