Enhancing maths teaching resources: Topic videos and tutorial streaming development

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Schwerin, Belinda
Espinosa, Hugo
Gratchev, Ivan
Lohmann, Gui
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2021
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Perth, Australia

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CONTEXT Engineering maths courses can be challenging for first- and second-year undergraduate engineering students. This situation is especially aggravated when those courses are delivered simultaneously to students representing different degrees, such as Science, Engineering, Information Technology, and Education. In addition, traditional didactic methods, such as lecturer-led teaching, fail to enthuse and inspire students, leading to their disengagement from the course, high failure rate, and eventually lack of student retention. PURPOSE OR GOAL This study aims to better relate mathematics courses with engineering applications by encouraging active-learning participation from students. The objective is to develop a set of teaching resources for each of the teaching modules within the course. These resources include topic videos and streamed tutorials, which supplement what is currently offered. This strategy develops extra resources to engage and support students without necessarily changing how the courses are taught. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODS The Engineering curriculum for the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) at Griffith University comprises three Mathematics courses. The second-year course, Calculus II, was used as a case study for this pilot project. Topic videos (video bites; 10 to 20 minutes duration) were developed to assist students in developing their understanding of the content and articulate the learning outcomes of each module and their applicability to different engineering contexts. In addition, sets of tutorial problems that target different levels of maths knowledge (starting, intermediate, challenging) were developed to better engage students at different skill levels. These streamed tutorial sets address the varied mathematical ability within the cohort, better supporting both underperforming and advanced students who want to be challenged. The teaching resources were implemented in the teaching period March to June 2021; their effectiveness was measured through surveys and individual/group interviews. Failure rates and grade distributions were assessed by comparison with data obtained from previous cohorts. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES The proposed online resources supplemented the current teaching material to better enhance the learning experience of all students, with an emphasis on the Engineering cohort. Outcomes included increased student engagement and reduced failure rates, as the targeted resources better supported students with different maths abilities. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY The teaching resources developed in this pilot project may be implemented in all course delivery modes, including online and blended alternatives, making it an attractive additional online resource that can easily be implemented in current pandemic times. The success of the pilot project provides indications of benefits for other schools and programs to apply a similar approach in their maths or other multidisciplinary courses.

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Proceedings of REES AAEE 2021

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Engineering education

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Schwerin, B; Espinosa, H; Gratchev, I; Lohmann, G, Proceedings of REES AAEE 2021, 2021