Stephanie Treffert-Thomas, Eugenie Hunsicker, Clare Trott
Loughborough University, United Kingdom
The research presented is part of a project to develop a learning resource for students entering STEM degrees. The study aims to address the mathematical difficulties that many students present transitioning into the first year of their Engineering course. To this end data were collected to identify how preferred learning styles, maths anxiety and the specific learning difference of dyslexia relate to outcomes on a mathematics diagnostic test.
In the UK there has been a perceived decline in the mathematical preparedness of students entering STEM degrees. Numerous reports have addressed this issue (for example, Hawkes and Savage, 2000; Marr and Grove, 2010). Lawson (1995) focussed on the mathematical qualification of students entering STEM degrees and found that there was little difference between students’ overall end-of-year performance when presenting a BTEC or a failed A-level qualification (i.e. at grade N or U) upon entry. In the mathematical context, the study also found that algebra skills, in particular, were weak for all students.
For this study, students’ gaps in knowledge were not thought of as evidence of students’ inability to learn mathematics. Rather the research team regarded gaps in knowledge as an outcome of the kind of teaching and learning experienced by students pre-university. This could relate to availability of suitable resources, course content, appropriate teaching methods or students’ choice of course.
To develop a learning resource that could address the various issues presented by students the research team, consisting of a mathematician and two mathematics educators, collected data from (a) a diagnostic test that students took upon entry to the university, (b) a questionnaire about students’ mathematical background and learning preferences, (c) a screening test for dyslexia and (d) a screening test for mathematical anxiety. All students surveyed were enrolled for an engineering degree and in their first year of study. The results presented relate to the following research questions:
How are the study participants characterised in terms of the data collected?
What trends can we identify relating data collected on the survey and screening tests to the diagnostic test outcomes?
What trends can we identify relating data collected on the survey and screening tests to students’ choice of mathematics qualification pre-university?