Search results for "university mathematics"
showing 10 items of 21 documents
Study Approaches in Higher Education Mathematics : Investigating the Statistical Behaviour of an Instrument Translated into Norwegian
2019
The revised two-factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) has widely been considered valid and reliable in many contexts for measuring students&rsquo
Analysing tasks for the Flipped Classroom from the perspective of Realistic Mathematical Education
2018
International audience; The advent of Flipped Classroom as a framework for organizing the teaching and learning of mathematics has the potential to revitalize the attention to tasks as a vehicle for meaningful learning in tertiary education. Flipped Classroom is based on the idea of student active learning under close guidance of the university teacher. Due to the possibility to engage the students in meaningful discovery of how mathematics can relate to real-life situations during in-class sessions, the tasks are seen to have a central role in a successful implementation of Flipped Classrooms. This paper explores the realistic mathematics education (RME) as a theoretical framework for task…
Determining your own grade – Student perceptions on self-assessment in a large mathematics course
2018
International audience; In our poster, we report on students' perceptions on self-assessment in large undergraduate course context taught with the DISA model (Digital Self-Assessment) in which the final exam is replaced by self-assessment. The students found that practising self-assessment skills was valuable and encouraged them to study for themselves. At the same time, self-assessment was considered unfamiliar and therefore difficult. We argue that the DISA model encouraged students to take more responsibility on their own learning.
Exploration of new post-secondary mathematics teachers' experiences: preliminary results of a narrative inquiry
2018
International audience; This paper reports on a pilot study that has taken place during the winter semester of 2017, for a larger project whose goal is to understand the process of becoming a mathematics teacher at post-secondary level. With very few information from the literature on this process at this specific level, this pilot study acts as an exploration of the issues and reality the new teachers face. To do so, we conducted a narrative inquiry with three new post-secondary mathematics teachers who were interviewed on a regular basis during a semester. Those interviews provided an insight into the new teachers' experiences by pointing out themes that are relevant to them. We also came…
Seminar groups as part of first-semester mathematics teaching: What did the students learn?
2018
International audience; In this study, the learning encouraged by teaching activities in a small-group setting was investigated through the analysis of students' responses to survey and interview questions. The results indicate that the students perceived an increased ability to communicate mathematics in written form, but to a lesser extent developed their ability to discuss mathematics and build conceptual understanding.
Bridging probability and calculus: the case of continuous distributions and integrals at the secondary-tertiary transition
2018
International audience; This paper focuses on two mathematical topics, namely continuous probability distributions (CPD) and integral calculus (IC). These two sectors that are linked by the formula P(a<=X<=b)=int_a^b f(x)dx are quite compartmented in teaching classes in France. The main objective is to study whether French students can mobilize the sector of IC to solve tasks in CPD and vice versa at the transition from high school to higher education. Applying the theoretical framework of the Anthropological Theory of the Didactic (ATD), we describe a reference epistemological model (REM) and use it to elaborate a questionnaire in order to test the capacity of students to bridge CPD and IC…
Weekly homework quizzes as formative assessment for Engineering students are a fair and effective strategy to increase learning?
2018
International audience; A strategy to apply online weekly homework quizzes as formative assessment for Engineering students was designed and tested in order to study if it increases student's learning. The strategy was to make optional weekly online quizzes not randomly generated that students may retry over and over again until to reach the correct answer, they contribute to 10% of grade but only if students get 45% or more in traditional assessment.The quizzes were applied to two different mathematics courses (Single and Multivariable Calculus) of two different Engineering degrees, each one to around 100 students and during a semester. Student's adherence was very high, nearly all student…
“Making connections” in the mathematics courses for engineers: the example of online resources for trigonometry
2018
International audience; This paper concerns the teaching of mathematics for future engineers, focusing on the theme of trigonometry. We claim that the use of trigonometry in engineering courses requires different kinds of connections: connecting different domains, different concepts, frames and registers. We use here the concept of connectivity, developed in the frame of e-textbooks analysis, to analyse online courses for future engineers in France. We evidence that these courses propose some connections; but their connectivity is not developed enough to meet the requirements of engineering courses.
Student Partners in Task Design in a computer medium to promote Foundation students' learning of mathematics
2018
International audience; A team consisting of three mathematics education teacher-researchers, four former Foundation students (called Student Partners, SPs), and two analytic assistants worked together to produce mathematical tasks in a computer medium for the mathematical learning of current Foundation students (FSs). We have explored the collaboration between the SPs and researchers, the processes and outcomes of task design, and the contribution of the collaboration to tutorial teaching of FSs. We seek insight into the learning of all concerned of mathematics, mathematics teaching, task design and personal-professional development. The project is ongoing. Here we introduce the project an…
Delineating Aspects of Understanding Eigentheory through Assessment Development
2018
International audience; In this report, we share insights we have gained from developing an assessment for documenting students' understanding of eigentheory. We explain the literature and theory that influenced the assessment's development and share question examples. We frame our results in terms of three eigentheory settings (Ax = λx, (A - λI)x = 0, and eigenspaces) and four interpretations (numeric, algebraic, geometric, and verbal). Results from our analysis include students' reasoning being influenced by setting, insights into students' struggle with understanding eigenspaces, and the importance of making connections between and across various interpretations.