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Looking for some sea air, a free lunch and the chance to share ideas about maths and stats education?
The University of Wollongong is hosting the end-of-year First Year in Maths NSW workshop on 13 December 2023, and we would love you to be there. The workshop is free and will take place at the Wollongong campus. The talks will be streamed via Zoom for those who cannot make it in person—a link will be sent closer to the day. The theme for this FYiMaths NSW workshop: “Technology and Mathematics/Statistics”, but if you want to talk about other things that is fine—as we all know, workshop themes are not intended to be strictly applied! The event details and registration information are below. FYiMaths NSW at the University of Wollongong invite mathematics and statistics educators in NSW (and Australia, even the world) to a workshop on first year tertiary education in the quantitative disciplines and the transition from secondary education. Please register if you wish to attend, and please also indicate as part of your registration whether you wish to give a talk. To register please complete the form at https://forms.gle/TLkATKQx8GeYQMqM7 First Year in Maths NSW Workshop – December 2023: This workshop builds on the activities of the FYiMaths network by providing a local forum for the exchange of education-related issues and ideas and professional/academic networking. Date: Wedneday 13 December 2023 Venue: University of Wollongong, Wollongong campus, or via Zoom Time: 10am until 5.00pm (arrive 9.30am for tea, coffee and networking) Cost: Free (morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch provided) Join us for dinner after at a local restaurant (at your own cost) Information about the speakers and program will be provided when the workshop's schedule is finalised.
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Coventry University (CU) is inviting applications from suitably qualified graduates for a fully funded PhD studentship as part of the university’s Trailblazer PhD program. The PhD will focus on investigating the role of social factors when engaging with Mathematics and Statistics Support (MSS) services and developing a model or framework of engagement based on these factors. The aim is for this model to inform the practice and policy of MSS services across the UK and beyond, helping with important reporting commitments that all MSS services are required to do.
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 | Author: Poh Hillock Contact: [email protected] School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland |
Introducing the UQ2U Program
The UQ2U program at The University of Queensland (UQ) was rolled out in 2018 with the aim of redeveloping and transforming UQ courses to deliver greater flexibility and high value on-campus learning experiences. In the first phase, several strategically significant UQ courses including Calculus and Linear Algebra I (MATH1051) were selected for the program.
MATH1051 is strategically significant for the following reasons:
- It is the first university level maths course for many UQ students.
- It lays the foundation in calculus & linear algebra for higher-level maths and engineering courses.
- It services more than 45 different programs at UQ.
- It has a yearly enrolment of nearly 2000 students.
Many students do not take the course by choice (the course is a compulsory requirement in engineering, for example). Motivation and engagement are big issues, with the result that the course has a high failure rate ranging from 20% to 30% each semester.
MATH1051 Course Structure
In the traditional setting, MATH1051 students attend 3 face-to-face lectures, 1 1-hour tutorial and 1 1-hour Matlab practical class each week. During lectures, students fill in the course workbook while examples are being explained by the lecturer. Lectures are live streamed, with recordings available to students a couple of hours after the lecture. Assessment activities (typically short quizzes) are conducted during tutorials, after which students are able to receive help with problem sets. Due to the limited time remaining after the assessment activities, the tutorials tend to be tutor centred with little time for peer interaction and collaboration.
UQ2U MATH1051 was implemented in Semester 1, 2019. Students now have the option of viewing the online lectures (via the edge.edx platform) or attending face-to-face lectures. Both the face-toface lectures and online lectures cover the same content from the course workbook. The online lectures give students the flexibility to learn at their own pace anytime and anywhere. Students attend one 2-hour workshop each week. During the workshop, students complete assessment activities (either a quiz or a collaborative exercise) and get help with problem sets and assignments. The additional hour gives students the opportunity to collaborate, discuss and work on problems with their peers. The workshops are conducted in collaborative spaces equipped with round tables with 6-8 seats per table. Students also attend the 1-hour Matlab practical sessions as per the traditional structure.
Online Lectures
The online lectures are delivered via the edge.edx platform and organised in modules. Each module consists of a video, several quizzes testing the video content and if applicable, an interactive animation. Students begin by viewing a video, filling in the workbook as they would in a face-to-face lecture. They then complete the quizzes following the video. Interactive animations are also available to assist students with learning key concepts.
The edge.edx resources have been immensely popular not only with students who opted for online lectures but also with students who attend face-to-face lectures. The latter have used the resources in a variety of ways:
- Pre-study for face-to-face lectures
- Review after face-to-face lectures
- For catching up missed classes
- For learning optional workbook content not covered in the face-to-face lectures
Student Feedback
In a survey on edge.edx, students were asked the following open-ended questions:
- What aspects of MATH1051 edge.edx helped your learning?
- MATH1051 edge.edx can be improved by …..
Responding to how edge.edx had help with their learning, students made the following comments:
Much easier to navigate than lecture recordings.
Can read ahead so students are not lost during the lectures.
More precise explanation given in videos compared with lectures.
Great for revision purposes; Consolidating f2f lectures; Visual.
Much better than reading a textbook
Learning twice (f2f & edge.edx )
Practice questions after videos
It's accessibility is the best feature
Its a source of help and understanding without having to go to uni or email someone
Clarification if they missed something in lectures
A way of handling the large amount of content
Self paced learning; Manageable sized videos
More active than listening during lectures
More in depth than lectures; Catching up when there is a clash in class
Easier to keep up than in lectures
Catching up for late enrolments
Great for external students (ESP )
I can get ahead; Balancing work & uni
Accessibility
Being able to choose when I want to learn has helped a lot
Adjust speed of videos
I’m a big fan of the online modules ( edge.edx ).
I will never be able to learn from a lecture format with someone talking at me for an hour.
This semester is so much better.
Responding with how edge.edx can be improved, students commented:
Want more challenging questions
Some issues with quizzes (blank questions & incorrect answers )
More questions following videos; Written version of the video
Easier navigation of the platform. It would be nice to have a way to go to a specific video or quiz without having to go to the main page or skip through the sections. Maybe a menu on the side with all the chapters and quizzes?
Exam style questions
Worked solutions
Better graphics
Better feedback instead of simply a cross or tick
Shorter videos
Whole section practice exam? A bit slow. Higher definition videos; Easier navigation for mobile phones.
Workshops
The workshops were the most successful aspect of UQ2U MATH1051. All workshops were held in collaborative spaces with round tables (6-8 seats per table). Workshop size ranges from 40 to 70; the student-tutor ratio was 20:1.
1 st hour:
- Summary of previous week’s lecture content.
- Students complete warm up exercises (core content) collaboratively, followed by tutor-led whole class discussion
- One-on-one assistance with problem sheets (tutorial sheets), help with assessments (assignment, mid-semester and final exam preparation).
2 nd hour:
- Students are given a collaborative exercise to complete in groups of 3 or 4. The collaborative exercise covers questions which pick up from the warm up exercises. There is a mix of problems covering theory, calculations, and applications. Importantly, a couple of exam style questions are also included.
- Tutors move around to assist groups of students, leading whole class discussions where appropriate (e.g. discussion of questions which present common difficulties).
Workshop attendance was strong throughout the semester, with an average attendance rate of 80%. In a survey conducted in Week 3 of the semester, students were asked to give their impressions of the workshop format.
Positive student responses included:
Relaxed atmosphere
Knowledgeable tutors
Different ways of explaining maths from different tutors
Liked the structure, formal first giving an overview, summary, then individual group work. Worksheets encouraged collaboration & discussion. Opportunities to meet other students taking the same course. Assignment help was very much appreciated. Weekly quizzes provide motivation to stay on top of coursework
Well structured and planned
Lots of additional help with assignment One on one help
More efficient than other courses
Learn the most from workshops, an advantage over lectures; Similar to school format
Gentle adjustment to uni
Study time and space.
Negative student responses included:
Noisy
Classes too large
need more tutors
Had to wait a long time to get help. Collaborative space made it difficult to see when tutor is working on whiteboard.
More group work would be great.
Not all tutors were on board with the workshop format which required team teaching. Tutors reported a lack of rapport due to large class size. At the start of the semester, a number of the more experienced tutors felt that new tutors were not given opportunity to practise teaching skills as the workshop format did not encourage lengthy explanation at the board. However, as the semester progressed and tutors were more accustomed to the new format, the same tutors reported a heightened level of engagement amongst students during the workshops.
Early Reflections of Blended Learning
UQ2U MATH1051 was a considerable investment of time and money. While there was no significant improvement in the pass rate and course rating in Semester 1, 2019, student feedback on the workshops and edge.edx has been overwhelmingly positive. On a personal note, having been involved with this course since 2012, I have witnessed a heightened level of engagement amongst students. Dropping in on several tutorials, I definitely felt a buzz walking into these workshops. Students were talking about maths, working on maths, asking questions and discussing problems.
We have learned many valuable lessons along the way. The first is to go easy with flipping lectures. Early attempts at a complete flip were not successful and in fact left students overwhelmed and unsettled. In subsequent weeks, we went with a softer flip, i.e. traditional lectures with occasional flips on selected sections of the course. Other important lessons include:
- Manage expectations at the start of the semester; explain to students that face-to-face lectures will be semi-flipped.
- Video viewing for lecture preparation should be no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Workshop class size should not exceed 50.
- Collaborative exercises completed as a group work better than individually completed quizzes; students felt stressed with the weekly quizzes. The collaborative exercises alleviated the stress, and encouraged interaction and engagement.
- Meet tutors regularly to discuss teaching ideas and workshop experiences.
We look forward to improving the blended learning experience for our students in the coming semester!
Author: Rheanna Mainzer
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
 Rheanna Mainzer graduating from La Trobe | In November 2017, I finished my PhD in Statistics, said goodbye to La Trobe University (where I’d spent the last nine years of my student life) and got my first full-time job working in the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Centre (MSLC) at The University of Melbourne. I had been very involved with teaching at La Trobe and was both excited and terrified at having been given the opportunity to lecture and co-ordinate a subject at The University of Melbourne. |
My previous four years of casual teaching experience at La Trobe included co-ordinating a fourth-year reading subject (no lectures required) for 8 (yes 8!) students, and guest lecturing here and there for an audience of around 14 third-year students. Skip ahead to July 2018 and I was now preparing to lecture and coordinate the first-year subject Experimental Design and Data Analysis (EDDA) for THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY extremely bright and motivated students studying the Bachelor of Biomedicine. EDDA is a core subject, which means that although these students may have no interest in statistics at all, they must pass this subject in order to obtain their degree. I was conflicted. As a self-confessed serial overachiever, I wanted to do the best job I could at teaching EDDA. However, because of the huge challenge in front of me, I also just wanted to get this semester over and done with. Thankfully, I had some great support from others in the MSLC, my 12 tutors and my mentor/Jedi master Yao-ban Chan, who teaches the same subject in Semester 1.
MSLC team at The University of Melbourne
I was really feeling the pressure in the lead-up to the start of the semester. A post appearing on “UniMelb Love Letters”, a popular Facebook page among the students, did nothing to settle my nerves. How was I supposed to follow Yao-ban when he is so popular and well-loved among the students?
 | In fact, I was so on edge that I had nightmares for two weeks leading up to the first lecture. I vividly remember one nightmare where I was supposed to be lecturing a large audience. Yao-ban stood next to me telling me to start speaking but no words would come out. In an attempt to calm my nerves, I spent way too many hours preparing for this first lecture (think double digits!), |
| I watched a lot of TED talks to observe different public speaking styles (see this hilarious talk by Will Stephen) and sought advice from anyone and everyone (apologies to everyone I pestered over afternoon tea). Three days before semester started, I went to check out the 500-seat lecture theatre I would be using and did a trial run through the first few lecture slides. My voice was shaky with nerves as I addressed the empty seats. A supportive friend sat in the back row to give me feedback and stayed there until I felt comfortable with the microphone, technology and the space. | |
My First Mathematics Lecture
Finally, it was time for that first lecture. Sleep deprived, stressed and scared of messing up, I walked into the lecture theatre and saw the students staring back at me. I was surprised at the relief I felt. Actual students were far less scary than empty seats, and I realised that they were probably more intimidated by me than I was by them.
Two pieces of the previously mentioned solicited advice resonated with me throughout the semester. The first was “Don’t talk at them, explain to them.” Prior to this I’d thought of public speaking more like reeling off some memorised script while trying not to black out – usually I’d have very little recollection afterward of what had happened. Public speaking didn’t come naturally to me, to say the least. I began to explain things to my audience like I would if I was one-on-one with a student, which was something I knew how to do and was comfortable with. The second piece of advice was given by a colleague at La Trobe: “Remember where you came from.” I had a great experience as a student at La Trobe. This advice reminded me to not only offer my students the same experience, but to stay true to myself. I’d had many fantastic lecturers and teachers in the past, but it was important for me to develop my own style and not copy someone else’s. I realised that I found it difficult to talk for 50 minutes straight, so I would try to break up the lecture into two or three sections with some sort of interactive activity (discussion, question, poll, statistics-related game or story) in between. This gave me (and the students) a much-needed break to reset focus and concentration.
Slowly the amount of preparation I was doing before each lecture reduced. I was still getting nervous but was able to settle down once I started speaking. It wasn’t until week 9 or 10 that I started to feel more relaxed and became comfortable “winging it” a little more. When it was time to say goodbye to my students at the end of the very last lecture, I was surprisingly emotional. Partly because I really liked this group (I’m sure that I’ll remember some of them forever), but mostly because of the sheer effort it took to get through that first semester. It had felt like a constant battle to keep on top of all my work, and I’d spent so much time out of my comfort zone and in a heightened state of stress. Ending that last lecture, I realized just how exhausted I was. But I was also very proud of myself for stepping up to the challenge and seeing it through. I felt like I had been battling a beast, and the beast had finally been slain.
Tips For First Time Mathematics Lecturers
So here are some personal lessons that I’d like to share from this first lecturing and co-ordinating experience:
- I didn’t sleep past 6am all semester ... even on weekends.
- Students falling asleep in class is very off-putting. I had my first sleeper in week 3, right in the front row. While part of my mind was focussed on teaching the basics of probability, the other half was fantasising about walking up to this student and poking him awake. This obviously affected my concentration and ability to focus on the material. I learnt quickly that students can’t fall asleep in class if they are writing notes. I began to use the document camera to add additional explanation for them to copy down.
- Have the exam template ready early in semester so that you can add to it as you go. This way you can avoid working seven days straight to write a new exam from scratch (like I did).
- Moving close to campus was a good decision. At the start of the year I was spending almost three hours a day commuting. Reducing this time significantly had a big impact on my mood and energy during the day.
- I really like the biomed students and taking ownership of a subject. You can build a much better rapport with the students when you see them more often. Being the lecturer puts you in a position of power. Use this to your advantage but don’t abuse it.
- Public speaking is a skill. Like any other skill, you can get better with practice.
- Try not to screw up, but don’t be too hard on yourself if you do.
- Lecture preparation can suck up all your time if you let it (and for first-time teaching, it’s probably inevitable that this will happen). Preparing efficiently for lectures is a skill. At some point you have to say, “Yep, that’s enough”. I wasn’t very good at this and let it take up too much of my time. I did find that reading over lecture notes before bed helped me deliver a better lecture the next day.
- Academia (and teaching) is not really a 9 – 5 job. Students can be fussy. It’s hard work and not a career path to choose if you’re not passionate about your subject material. But it can also be very rewarding. I received some very nice feedback from my students at the end of semester, and I even got my very own “UniMelb love letter”.
What can we do to help new lecturers (particularly those fresh out of a PhD with little to no experience)?
- Let them tutor the subject first, especially if they are new to the university. It was hugely comforting to me that I got to tutor the subject the semester before I co-ordinated it, to become familiar with the material and course structure.
- Share best practices and tricks of the trade. Celebrate wins and milestones.
- Match them up with a good mentor (someone who will answer questions, give advice, review assessment, etc.). Yao-ban has been incredibly patient with me and my millions of questions. When he referred to me as “young padawan” over lunch one day, it was probably the highlight of my life.
- Create/foster a supportive culture where it is okay to ask questions, share material and help each other out.
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