Students

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Research Papers

• Investigation of completion rates of engineering students
  This paper by ROSS CUTHBERT and HELEN MACGILLIVRAY discusses analysis of data on initiatives to improve retention rates on engineering degree programmes at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. The paper was presented at Delta 07 - the Southern Hemisphere Symposium on Undergraduate Mathematics Teaching. The Mathematics Access Centre at QUT offers optional extra support and examination workshops. The paper reports that students accessing these are nearly twice as likely to complete the course as the whole cohort, and half as likely to discontinue engineering.
• Is Mathematics Support worthwhile ? An overview of the 3rd Irish Workshop on Mathematics Learning and Support Centres
  This paper, by Mac an Bhaird & O'Shea, is an overview of the 3rd Irish Irish Workshop on Mathematics Support and Learning Centres. Being able to accurately evaluate support centre services is a very important issue. We hosted this conference inviting speakers from support centres in Ireland and leading experts in the UK to discuss the procedures they use to evaluate their services. This paper is an overview of the talks given and contains many relevant links for similar material in the area
• Justifying the existence of Mathematics Learning Support; Measuring the effectiveness of a Mathematics Learning Centre
  In this paper by Olivia Gill and John O'Donoghue, the authors look at various ways of measuring the success of the Mathematics Learning Centre at the University of Limerick. (Click link to download the paper).
• Participation (Diagnosis + Prescription) = Resolution
  This paper by CHETNA PATEL, The Robert Gordon University, demonstrates how appropriate mathematical diagnosis followed by study support improves engineering students' performance. The paper is published in MSOR Connections (Vol. 4 No.2) May 2004.
• Success in engineering mathematics through mathematics support and changes to engineering maths lectures at Harper Adams.
  This article by SARAH PARSONS (Harper Adams University College) describes the positive effects on examination results of introducing mathematics support and implementing other changes. The article presents data which shows that significantly improved results followed from changes introduced in 2001 which included substantial mathematics support provision. However, because many other changes (changed content, separate lectures for some groups, diagnostic testing etc) were introduced at the same time it is not possible to isolate particular effects of the mathematics support provision. Nevertheless external examiner comments reflect the value of mathematics support. The article is published in MSOR Connections Feb 2005 Vol. 5 No.1.
• The effectiveness of a special mathematics course for improving the transition from secondary education to higher professional education
  This paper reports upon "the mathematics problem" experienced in some universities in the Netherlands. A mathematics course was designed to tackle the problem. The paper reports upon its effectiveness. The paper was presented as part of the SoTL conference through the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. (The London Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 7th International Conference, Proceedings 2008, Volume 4 City University London ). Authors: Cees Terlouw Rob de Goede Marian Kienhuis.
• The impact of the mathematics support centre on the grades of first year students at the National University of Ireland Maynouth
  (FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACCESS THIS LINK DIRECTLY.) This paper, by Mac an Bhaird, Morgan & O'Shea, is an analysis of first year students' grades in the academic year 2007-2008. We compared the grades of students who attended the MSC and those who did not. To compare students of similar abilities, we split the groups (First Arts and First Science) up into smaller groups depending on their grades (Leaving Cert) at the end of second level. There was a significant difference in all sub groups. We then expanded by comparing the grades of students depending on the results of their proficiency tests. Again there was a significant difference. All students seems to benefit from support but this is particularly true for 'at-risk' students.
• Widening Participation in subjects requiring data handling skills: the MathsAid Project.
  FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS DIRECT ACCESS TO THIS PAPER MAY BE UNAVAILABLE. MathsAid is a university-wide maths support service offering one-to-one tutorial support and more. This paper by ATKINS, MAY and MARKS-MARAN (Kingston University, UK) discusses the initiative and provides information about its evaluation by questionnaire, usage data and interviews with students. The paper is published in the Journal of Further and Higher Education, Vol. 29. No. 4 (2005) pp 353-365.