Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Prof Deborah King – University of Melbourne.

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

Prof King is the Coordinator of Learning and Teaching Innovation at Melbourne University

Talking about mathematics educators rather than education – interested in people – community and collaboration.

Talking about the personal perspective of an accidental teacher (Prof King as a personal story).

Background of Prof King

First in family to finish high school. Family thought she was nuts to continue in education. Definitely didn’t want to be a teacher and left uni.

Returned as a mature student in a mathematics department that valued teaching over research and started tutoring during her third year.…

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Dr Harry Wiggins – University of Pretoria (http://www.up.ac.za/en/mathematics-and-applied-mathematics/article/1942109/mr-hz-harry-wiggins)

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

The problem:

How should we teach a mixed ability class?
Children already come to us differentiated. It just makes sense that we would differentiate our instruction in response to them (Tomlinson 1999)

We teach with an average student in mind.
Our teaching is content driven, and we don’t take our students into account.

Unfortunately (sometimes) – this leaves the academically strong students starved and bored in class.

Academically stronger students face a higher level of boredom at school than their peers.…

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Prof Ansie Harding – University of Pretoria (http://www.up.ac.za/en/mathematics-and-applied-mathematics/article/1941897/prof-af-ansie-harding)

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

Both a privilege and a formidable task to teach hundreds of students.

Specifically, at University of Pretoria, classes of 200-500.

Questionnaire on practices, advice, engagement, humour, motivation, etc.

12 respondents, all experienced lecturers.

Why? Guidelines to someone starting out on large group lecturing.

Tried to make sense of responses to the questionnaire.

Try and find 6 skills of large group teaching, and organise them hierarchically.

1. Control and respect of the group:
   1. a large group should be controlled through authority.

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Dr Tracy Craig – UCT (photo taken from http://uct.academia.edu/TracyCraig)

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

Research with Trevor Cloete  – UCT Centre for research in engineering and science education.

Dynamics Education research group: With mechanical engineers and the Academic Development Programme.

Current study: Vector proficiency

Originally interested in the difficulties students find with (originally dynamics) and now vectors. In particular differences in notation and terminology between mathematics and dynamics (more purely engineering).

Vectors are used throughout dynamics.

Vectors are a very divided subject:

Some students ‘get’ vectors. Other students really struggle and have to memorise the process.…

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Rachel Passmore – University of Auckland (photo taken from https://www.math.auckland.ac.nz/people/rpas014)

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

“A face to face explanation of the solution to a mathematics problem demonstrates understanding far more than a written report” David Holgate, Delta 2013

Traditional form of assessment not suitable for ‘second-chance’ students.

From the NCTM website: suggestions for alternative forms of assessment.

• Promoting student discussion: already using
• Observe students engaging in maths: already using
• Presentations: not doing yet
• Interview students or personalise feedback: Already using journaling

Try: Video assessment

Challenges for the lecturer:

• What topic?
• assessment rubric
• time limit
• max file size
• how video should be submitted
• evaluation of learning benefits
• other technical issues

Challenges for the students:

• Having to work as a group
• Learn how to make a video: Editing, sound tracks, captions, credits, uploading
• Camera shy
• ESL students
• Time management for the group

In the end:

• Chose simultaneous equations
• Rubric loosely based on David Holgate’s
• Used youtube
• No technical issues

The students:

• Group work outside of class a challenge but all but a couple submitted a video
• Sense of achievement at finished product
• Camera shy used puppets
• ESL – get non ESL presenter

Rubric:

• Is the mathematics correct?

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Dr Justin Munyakazi – UWC (photo taken from https://www.uwc.ac.za/Biography/Pages/Dr.-Justin-Munyakazi.aspx)

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

Are students actually learning what we intend to teach them? An analysis of student responses to first-year calculus examination questions (Munyakazi, Kizito, Elengemoke).

Background and Context

first year university maths for BSc students in South Africa: around 240 students. This particular course (MAT105) has a very low pass rate: around 20-30% despite interventions.

Uses Stewart Calculus as a text.

Mode of delivery: lectures, tutorials, one to one consultations.

Using tablets and posts lectures on the learning management system.…

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

R Nazim Khan – UWA (photo taken from http://www.uwa.edu.au/people/nazim.khan)

See paper: Assessments: an open and closed case.

Looking at the difference between open book exams and closed book exams.

Closed book exams: How much can a student hold in their head. Only demonstrates what students can do with what they’ve memorised.

Open books exams are more like real life.

These ideas don’t have any data in them. There is research about which is ‘better’. Bailie and Toohey: Not clear that open book is really any better.

First year stats level: Can we investigate whether open or closed book leads to different understanding. Observational study:

Univariate statistical methods and some probability with an open book assessment.

Not possible to compare open book assessment with previous years due to other variations.

Because it was open book:

Students had copied down solutions from old tests: Not a good sign.…

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Anita Campbell – UCT (photo taken from http://uct.academia.edu/AnitaCampbell)

Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

How would you define peer learning?

Poll answers (as asked in the talk):

• Learning through sharing ideas and experience with others with similar levels of expertise
• Students interactions on a problem and thus learning together (not teaching each other but exploring together)
• Letting students combine their knowledge and understanding by teaching each other and problem solving together
• Students learning with each other and from each other
• Exchange of information/critique of peer’s work

Students learning from each other without immediate intervention by a teacher (Boud, Cohen and Simpson 1999(

A bidirectional learning activity that benefits both parties (Keppell et al).…

Blogging from The Tenth Southern Hemisphere Conference on the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Mathematics and Statistics

Prof Tim Dunne – UCT (photograph taken from the Elephant Delta website)

Professor Dunne will be discussing the Rasch model, some information of which can be found here. Quoting from wikipedia:
The Rasch model, named after Georg Rasch, is a psychometric model for analyzing categorical data, such as answers to questions on a reading assessment or questionnaire responses, as a function of the trade-off between (a) the respondent’s abilities, attitudes or personality traits and (b) the item difficulty.
Live blogging: Note that these are notes I’ve taken live, but will edit this today into a more readable format. I want to put this up straight away though to see if I have any obvious misunderstanding. Equations will also be put into more readable format ASAP.

David Andrich pioneer of the Rasch method.…