Session Information
24 SES 07, Achievement and Performance in Mathematics Education
Parallel Paper Session
Chair: laura Velasco
Contribution
Mathematics is perceived by the students (and by the society) as the typical example of “difficult matter” (Wood, 2008). At the University level, this vision has been increased due the poor level of mathematical pre-knowledge shown by the new students. The current examination for entering at the University in Spain does not solve this situation, because students can pass this examination without solving any mathematical question. Nevertheless, a good level of mathematical knowledge is a basic need for some Graduate studies, as the Engineering studies (Crawford, Gordon, Nicholas and Prosser, 1994; Kent and Noss, 2003).
Due to this situation, our interest has been to develop an experience of improvement this poor mathematical performance during a first degree in engineering at the University of Salamanca. This experience has been developed using a flexibility scheme which includes an hour of duplication of groups, called "seminar" (De Miguel et all, 2006; Exley and Dennik, 2007). This distribution has features of internal organization and use of physical space that makes it suitable for our purpose. It is remarkable that this flexibility of scheduling has supposed a high degree of collaboration between academic staff at the Center and teachers responsible of the groups involved in the experience.
The aim of this work is to evaluate and, if possible, to quantify the goodness of the use of flexibility to enhance mathematical learning. To make an evaluation as complete as possible of this experience, we have taken into account various kind of data. Data corresponding to the partial qualifications are analyzed to show significant improvement of learning issues. Those qualifications of individual performance are compared to traditional qualifications provided by traditional examinations.
Affective and emotional issues are also taken into account by using the surveys of satisfaction from the University. Nevertheless, the official survey tends to be too general for our propose, because is a standardized test used for all the teachers and matters at the University. Due to our interest in a more accurate evaluation of the experience, we have developed a specific test to evaluate satisfaction with the teaching staff and with the course design.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
BISHOP, A. (2000). Enseñanza de las matemáticas ¿Cómo beneficiar a todos los alumnos?. En GORGORIÓ, N., DEULOFEU, J. y BISHOP, A. (eds.) Matemáticas y Educación. Retos y cambios desde una perspectiva internacional. Barcelona: Editorial GRAO. CONSEJO DE COORDINACIÓN UNIVERSITARIA (2006). Propuestas metodológicas para la renovación de las metodologías educativas. Madrid: Servicio de Publicaciones del Ministerio de Educación. CRAWFORD, K., GORDON, S., NICHOLAS, J., PROSSER, M. (1994). Conceptions of mathematics and how it is learned: The perspectives of students entering university. Learning and Instruction, Vol. 4, pp. 331–345. DE MIGUEL, M. et all (2006). Metodologías de enseñanza y aprendizaje para el desarrollo de competencias: orientaciones para el profesorado universitario ante el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Madrid: Editorial Alianza EXLEY, K. & DENNIK, R. (2007). Enseñanza en pequeños grupos en Educación Superior: tutorías, seminarios y otros agrupamientos. Madrid: Editorial Narcea. ICMI (1997). On the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics at University Level. ICMI Bulletin No.43. KENT, P. & NOSS, R. (2003). Mathematics in the university education of engineers. Ove Arup Foundation Report, Ove Arup Foundation, London WOOD, L.N. (2008) Engineering Mathematics. What do students think? ANZIAM Journal. Vol 49, pp. C513-C525.
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