Abstract:

We report on the development of a diagnostic tool to provide support for non-mathematics students. This tool has been designed to aid the transition onto university courses where mathematics is a requirement, but not a pre-requisite. Our experiences in running espressoMaths (the university-wise mathematics support drop by station), in addition to discussions with academics from different faculties, highlighted the need for mathematics support at the University of the West of England (UWE, Bristol) across a broad range of abilities and applications. Students get very stressed and frustrated by their mathematical limitations affecting their studies. Our aim, in developing the diagnostic tool, is to better prepare such students for their studies so that they feel more supported in their transition to University and start at UWE with a stronger mathematical base.

Dewis, the university’s in-house e-Assessment engine, has been used as the primary diagnostic tool and this provides additional feedback support in the form of signposting to learning materials based on areas that require attention. We carried out an investigation into the mathematical requirements of students from the courses across all the faculties at UWE. The espressoMaths user logs pinpointed the UWE courses and specific areas of mathematics in which students currently require extra support. As a result of this investigation, two courses were identified to be in the pilot study, namely BSc Architecture and BSc Health Sciences. For each course a list of key mathematical topics has been identified and course-specific learning resources have been created to supply a coherent learning mechanism for the different topics.

Keywords:

Diagnostic tool, e-assessment, e-learning.