Abstract:

Numerous studies highlight the central role of cross-disciplinary skills such as reading graphs, converting units, understanding instructions, and using formulas in the success of students enrolled in scientific courses. At Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (University of Liège), the absence of selection criteria for entry into the first year of bioengineering accentuates the heterogeneity in students’ mastery of these skills. However, given the current economic constraints, it is not possible to offer additional supervised remedial sessions to complement the activities planned in the course program.

To address this challenge, we have developed a digital platform for autonomous training aimed at strengthening five key skills: reading and interpreting graphs, converting units, manipulating formulas, understanding scientific instructions and mathematical modelling of a problem. Each competency is practiced through three progressive levels of difficulty. Students have access to 10-question tests, each calibrated to one of the three difficulty levels and randomly generated from a multidisciplinary database (chemistry, physics, biology, economics, etc.).

This diversity of contexts allows them to realize that a gap in one of these essential skills can impact their performance across multiple courses. At the end of each test, personalized feedback helps them understand their mistakes, identify their weaknesses and consolidate their knowledge. The platform encourages active, individualized and reflective learning, while contributing to reducing the initial heterogeneity in basic skills.

This contribution will detail not only the structure and functioning of this tool, but also the initial results of a study examining the relationship between the mastery of these fundamental skills and success in first-year assessments. These analyses will help identify priority levers for improving remedial measures and better supporting students as they transition into higher education in science.

Keywords:

Foundational skills, Digital learning platform, First-year science education, Remediation.