Mathematics support past, present and future (original) (raw)

Mathematics Support as a Practical Discipline

This paper explores the status of Mathematics Support as a practical discipline. The emergence of Mathematics Support as a practical discipline in UK Further and Higher Education is described by reference to its historical origins, through surveys of the extent of provision within UK Higher Education Institutions and through centralised developments in the UK. The Mathematics Support service provided by the sigma Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning is described. Theories of academic disciplines by Becher and Craig are introduced and an analysis of the discipline of Mathematics Support is provided with reference to these two theories. Finally, conclusions are drawn into the status of Mathematics Support as a practical discipline.

Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education Scholarship in Mathematics Support services

2010

Mathematics Support is a recognised collective term for a variety of extracurricular mathematics and statistics teaching and learning services and resources provided by many Tertiary Educational Institutions. Typical services currently provided in the UK are described. Even with excellent Mathematics teaching, the authors argue that, in the current UK Tertiary Educational climate, there is still a need for Mathematics Support services. This paper provides evidence of maturity and scholarly practice within the UK Higher Education Mathematics Support community of practice.

Scholarship in Mathematics Support services

Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 2010

Mathematics Support is a recognised collective term for a variety of extracurricular mathematics and statistics teaching and learning services and resources provided by many Tertiary Educational Institutions. Typical services currently provided in the UK are described. Even with excellent Mathematics teaching, the authors argue that, in the current UK Tertiary Educational climate, there is still a need for Mathematics Support services. This paper provides evidence of maturity and scholarly practice within the UK Higher Education Mathematics Support community of practice. The definition of scholarship of teaching and learning and its application within this context is discussed. Three areas where scholarship can be demonstrated in Mathematics Support services are identified and explored. Firstly, scholarship in the Mathematics Support community of practice in the UK since the early 1990s is demonstrated through surveys of the extent of Mathematics Support provision. Secondly, scholarly practice in Mathematics Support is explored through case studies of good practice. In particular, a detailed case study of the use of electronic record keeping in Mathematics Support tutoring to improve support effectiveness is provided. Thirdly, the Mathematics Support excellence rewarded by the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning status given to Coventry and Loughborough Universities is investigated. Evidence is provided of scholarship both leading to this award and in developments in Mathematics Support services provided after it was made. This paper concludes by evaluating how far scholarship has gone within the discipline of Mathematics Support and anticipating how the community of practice will develop in the future.

Approaches to studying and the effects of mathematics support on mathematical performance

2011

The concern over undergraduate engineering students' mathematical skills and the means of addressing this through the provision of mathematics support is the main driver of this research. With the emergence of mathematics support within mathematics education there has been an associated research community interested in measuring the effectiveness of mathematics support provision. Recent studies have measured improvements in mathematics performance for students who have used mathematics support against those who have not by comparing prior mathematical ability against examination results. This does not address the issue of individual differences between students and resulting changes in mathematical ability. However the provision of mathematics support for individual students is resource intensive hence evaluation of the effectiveness of the support is essential to ensure resources are efficiently used. This mathematics education research examines the effectiveness of mathematics support in addressing the mathematics problem. It does this by considering individual differences and the mismatch of mathematical skills for studying at University by analysing the effectiveness of mathematics support in improving mathematical skills. The dataset for the analysis comprises of over 1000 students from a Scottish Post-92 University, over 8% having made use of mathematics support, and nearly 2000 students from an English Russell Group University, with just over 10% having made use of the support. It was discovered that in both sets of data the students who came for mathematics support in comparison to their peers had a statistically significant lower mathematical skills base on entry to their course, and at the end of their first year had improved their mathematical skills base more than their counterparts. Although the analysis is based on data from UK Universities we believe the findings are relevant to the international community who are also engaged in the provision of mathematics support.

Evaluation of mathematics support centres: a literature review

Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, 2013

Mathematics Support Centres (MSCs) have been established at universities in the UK and a number of other countries, of which colleagues from Australia and Ireland have been the most prolific in publishing about their work. Their main functions are to address issues surrounding the transition to university mathematics and to support students' learning of mathematics and statistics across the wide variety of undergraduate courses. There is a growing body of research examining the operation and impact of MSCs. This article will review and synthesize available published research evidence so that informed decisions can be made about the value of mathematics support activity and the targeting of future funding. Evidence will be shown of the evaluation of MSCs in each of the following areas:

A Practitioner’s Guide to Implementing Cross-Disciplinary Links in a Mathematics Support Program

International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 2014

With widening participation in the university sector and the reduction in prerequisites for entry into many university science courses, students are arriving at university with reduced competencies in mathematics. As quantitative skills are crucial for study in science, under-preparation has direct effects on multiple disciplines. The Maths Skills Program for first year science and statistics students at La Trobe University was developed in collaboration with science coordinators to provide students with mathematics support that highlights the relevance of mathematics to their disciplines. In a recent paper (Jackson & Johnson, 2013), the authors discuss this program and its effect on students' mathematics confidence, mathematical skills and subject learning outcomes. This current paper focuses on the challenges faced in developing such programs, how and why crossdisciplinary links were highlighted, and what responses were obtained from surveys of students and interviews with science coordinators. The model used for this support, from creation to implementation, is also detailed in this paper. Questionnaire results indicated the students saw the relevance of the program to their educational goals, believed the questions written in context helped them learn their subject, and the focus on relevance helped them understand how mathematics was related to their subject. This corresponded with the responses from the science coordinators who found the program to be relevant to their disciplines and assisted students in applying mathematics in context.