Abstract:

In the autumn of 2022, groups of students worldwide embarked on their university education with a distinct educational background from preceding cohorts. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant proportion of their secondary education was conducted via virtual platforms, resulting in limited peer-to-peer interaction. In response to this, a decision was made to change the way that an introductory course in calculus, with around 250 students, was taught at the University of Iceland. Before the pandemic, the course was taught conventionally, with a teacher delivering a lecture to a large group of students in a big lecture hall, followed by a practice class where students would work independently on problems.

The course structure was revised to incorporate group work, promoting greater peer-to-peer interaction. The goal was also to implement lessons that would promote deep understanding of the material, rather than rote memorisation and repetitive calculations. A decision was made to implement some of Peter Liljedahl's practices designed to move toward a Thinking Classroom, which he had designed and tested on hundreds of classes from kindergarten to secondary school levels. The Thinking Classroom (TC) is a methodological framework that promotes student thinking, and includes practices to keep students actively engaged, rather than being passive recipients of information.

A survey conducted at the end of the semester revealed that the vast majority of students found the TC classes engaging and felt that they contributed significantly to the group work. Around 65% of the students felt they learned more from the TC classes compared to lecture classes, and around 70% of the students wished for TC methods to be implemented in other classes as well.

Keywords:

Mathematics, engagement, active learning, group work, Thinking Classroom.