Perceptions of Students on Introductory University Mathematics: Perspective Study on First Year Undergraduate Students

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
Perceptions Of Students

Using iPads in University Mathematics Classes

2015 ◽  
pp. 2049-2066
Author(s):  
Rim Gouia ◽  
Cindy Gunn ◽  
Diana Audi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
The Future ◽  
Educational Requirements

This chapter reports on two studies carried out with first-year undergraduate students in Mathematics classes. The first study investigates regular use of iPads over the course of one semester. Overall, the students reported positive impressions regarding the use of iPads in their Mathematics classes. However, only 47% stated that they would join an iPad class in future semesters. The second study is a qualitative follow-up to the first to find out why the majority said they would not join an iPad class in the future. The students in the two studies could see both the value and the drawbacks that the use of iPads in their Mathematics classes would provide. The findings suggest that as supplement to instruction the use of iPads has the potential to enhance the learning process, but classes delivered using iPads only would not meet the educational requirements or expectations of the study's participants.

Using iPads in University Mathematics Classes

2015 ◽  
pp. 60-77
Author(s):  
Rim Gouia ◽  
Cindy Gunn ◽  
Diana Audi
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
The Future ◽  
Educational Requirements

This chapter reports on two studies carried out with first-year undergraduate students in Mathematics classes. The first study investigates regular use of iPads over the course of one semester. Overall, the students reported positive impressions regarding the use of iPads in their Mathematics classes. However, only 47% stated that they would join an iPad class in future semesters. The second study is a qualitative follow-up to the first to find out why the majority said they would not join an iPad class in the future. The students in the two studies could see both the value and the drawbacks that the use of iPads in their Mathematics classes would provide. The findings suggest that as supplement to instruction the use of iPads has the potential to enhance the learning process, but classes delivered using iPads only would not meet the educational requirements or expectations of the study's participants.

scholarly journals Lottery Strategy: An activity for new undergraduate students to introduce and reinforce introductory statistical concepts

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Salim Neil Khan
Keyword(s):  
Probability Theory ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Classroom Activity ◽  
Mathematics Courses ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
Machine Analysis

Most university mathematics courses involve the students studying a statistics module in their first year. However, depending on which modules they took at A-level, they arrive at university with varying degrees of interest and ability in statistics. This article presents a classroom activity that introduces and reinforces introductory probability concepts to help prepare and engage the students for the statistics that they will encounter on their course. In the activity, the students consider and contrast two different strategies for selecting numbers for a lottery, in order to conclude which is best under which circumstances. It comprises a mixture of experimentation using a lottery machine, analysis using probability theory, and simulation using computers.

scholarly journals Harder things will stretch you further: helping first-year undergraduate students meaningfully engage with recent research papers in probability and statistics

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Grindle ◽  
Elinor Jones ◽  
Paul Northrop
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
University Mathematics ◽  
General Readership ◽  
Probability And Statistics

Abstract Undergraduate research increasingly features in university mathematics degrees. Despite this, research papers are used infrequently in mathematics teaching, and this is especially the case for first-year undergraduates. Mathematical subjects are more likely than other STEM disciplines to pinpoint cognitive difficulty as the principal reason for not exposing undergraduate students to research papers. In this paper, we test whether first-year students can engage effectively with research papers. We describe an intervention that exposes first-year, first term undergraduate students to current research in probability and statistics by asking them to read a research paper and summarize it for a general readership following an interview with the paper’s author. Our findings show that the activity introduced students to new fields of knowledge and helped to develop a clearer understanding of scientific process, leading to a heightened sense of personal satisfaction at engaging closely with current research. We argue that structured reading of research papers can lead to productive and rewarding engagement with difficult content, recent and current research and with research processes and that this should make us reconsider the role of research papers in the undergraduate mathematics curriculum.

Using Mnemonics to Facilitate Learning of Japanese Script Characters

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Manalo ◽  
Julie Trafford ◽  
Satomi Mizutani
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Pass Rate ◽  
Japanese Language ◽  
First Year ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Alphabetic Language

Extra tutorial sessions on the use of pictorial mnemonics to facilitate memorization of Japanese hiragana and katakana script characters, as well as vocabulary words and kanji characters, were offered to university first year undergraduate students taking a beginners’ Japanese language course. 27 students, most of whom were experiencing some difficulties with the course, volunteered to attend. Although the improvement in actual marks that the students evidenced subsequent to attending the sessions did not prove to be statistically significant, a significant improvement in pass rate was found. Furthermore, the students rated the sessions highly in terms of their helpfulness, and the majority indicated that they believed the sessions helped their performance in the course assessments. It is concluded that mnemonic strategies can effectively be employed in facilitating retention of the script of a foreign, non-alphabetic language within a real educational setting. 初心者対象の日本語コースを取っている大学１年生に、日本語のひらがなとカタカナ、及び語彙と漢字の記憶を促進するため、絵を用いた連想法を使った追加授業が提出された。２７名（そのうちのほとんどは、コースにおいて何らかの困難に直面している）が自主的に追加授業に出席した。追加授業出席後、学生の実際の小テストの点の向上には有意差は認められなかったものの、合格率の向上においては有意差は確認された。さらに、追加授業に出席した学生は授業が役立ったと高く評価し、大多数が追加授業がコースの成績の成果に貢献したと思うと述べた。本論は、実際の教育現場で英語のアルファベットを用いない外国語の文字を教える際、連想法を効果的に使用することができると結論づけた。

Correlating entrance data and first year academic performance of students enrolled in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Porto

2021 ◽  
pp. 030641902110156
Author(s):  
TMGP Duarte ◽  
AM Lopes ◽  
LFM da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
First Year ◽  
Female Type ◽  
The University ◽  
First Year University ◽  
Over Time

Understanding how the academic performance of first year undergraduate students is influenced by home, personal and institutional factors is fundamental to delineate policies able to mitigate failure. This paper investigates possible correlations between the academic performance of students at the end of high school with their achievements at the end of first year university. Data for students in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) program within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto are analysed for the period 2016/2017 to 2019/2020. The students’ performance is measured by two metrics and the students are structured as a whole and by groups, according to their gender (Male/Female), type of secondary school (Public/Private), living place (Away/Home) and the rank of MIEM in their application list of options (Option 1/Option 2–6). The information is organized statistically and possible correlations between the data are investigated. The analysis reveals limited correlation between the two metrics, meaning that all students may exhibit good or poor results at the end of first year in MIEM, independent of their status at entrance. An unanticipated pattern is exhibited for the group Option 2–6, since it shows that, despite entering into MIEM without top application marks, the students in this group can perform as well as the others. This behavior is consistent over time.

scholarly journals A virtual alternative to molecular model sets: a beginners’ guide to constructing and visualizing molecules in open-source molecular graphics software

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siripreeya Phankingthongkum ◽  
Taweetham Limpanuparb
Keyword(s):  
General Chemistry ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Molecular Model ◽  
Bond Line ◽  
First Year ◽  
Molecular Graphics ◽  
Model Sets ◽  
Graphics Software

Abstract Objective The application of molecular graphics software as a simple and free alternative to molecular model sets for introductory-level chemistry learners is presented. Results Based on either Avogadro or IQmol, we proposed four sets of tasks for students, building basic molecular geometries, visualizing orbitals and densities, predicting polarity of molecules and matching 3D structures with bond-line structures. These topics are typically covered in general chemistry for first-year undergraduate students. Detailed step-by-step procedures are provided for all tasks for both programs so that instructors and students can adopt one of the two programs in their teaching and learning as an alternative to molecular model sets.

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