A mathematics support program for first year engineering students 1 School of Mathematics and Physics The University of Queensland 23 June 2014

from student 2 I am taking MATH1051 this term (Sem ). I attempted it last term (Sem ), but dropped the course… I found the course material dense, and the lecture structure complex; learning bits and pieces from Algebra, and Calc throughout the week, rather than following a linear learning progression through the texts. I took MATH1050 Semester , and achieved at 4.

Sem …. 3 “ It took me 14 hours to do question one of the assignment - I stayed up all night. …. And spending 14h working through simple algebra seems a waste of time for assessment.”

Target Group Engineering students – Repeating the course – Low pass in Foundation Mathematics (FM) 4

Quantitative Data Failure rate: 42% (251 out of 602 students) 106 (42%) were students with FM1-4 (Foundation Maths grades 1-4, i.e. borderline pass or fail) 82 (33%) were repeat students (RPT) Composition of Failures, 5 MATH1051: Calculus & Linear Algebra, Sem

Performance of FM1-4 students MATH1050 Grade Enrolled in MATH1051 (S2/11) No. Failed% Failed % % % % Total % 6

Performance of Repeat Students Previous MATH1051 Grade No. enrolled in MATH1051 (S2/11) No. Fail% Fail % % % Total % 7

AIMS of SLT 1.Address poor background skills 2.Provide support in MATH1051 content 3.Provide support for examination preparation 8

Pedagogy Structured Lessons Continual assessment Drill & Practice Depth rather than breadth Doing by example Concrete explanations Spiral approach 9

1.Background Skills Online Diagnostic tests Review Resources Mathcentre: Algebra Refresher and Calculus Refresher Booklets One-on-one consultation with students Background skills addressed throughout the semester. 10

2. MATH1051 Content SLT scheme of work closely aligned with the timing and delivery of course content. Focus on Calculus Extra time for (3-4 sessions) difficult topics e.g. Series and Power Series. Additional worked examples to support lecture material. Assistance with learning how to learn maths. 11

3. Exam Preparation Early exposure to examination material Worked examples mostly from past exams Exam Preparation from Week 9 of term Revision exercises, in incremental amounts from Weeks 9 onwards Mock Exam during swotvac Intensive revision classes during swotvac. 12

Evaluation Course results – Pass Rates – Quality of Passes – Performance in final examination Student Evaluation 13

Statistics # of Students Pass Rate% credit & above 2012/23281% (63%)45% (40%) 2013/14095% (72%)55% (48%) 2013/25488% (64%)43% (32%) 2014/170Not available TOTAL196 Number in brackets are the percentages for the whole cohort

Performance in Exam, 2012/2 Calculus Linear Algebra 15

Performance in Exam, 2013/2 16 Calculus Linear Algebra

What students liked Extra resources e.g. revision material, worksheets. Additional worked examples Help with background skills Classroom teaching Being in a class with other students who have similar goals 17

Areas for improvement Too much time spent on background skills Insufficient time Cover linear algebra as well. 18

Conclusion Regularly supported students benefited from the SLT. Extent of the contribution of SLT is difficult to determine. SLT resources were well utilised by non-SLT students. Response rate not great. Majority of high risk students are not coming forward for help. 19

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