Globally, universities are striving to increase enrolment rates, especially for low socioeconomic status and mature-aged students. In order to meet these targets, universities are accepting a broader range of students, often resulting in a widening mathematical knowledge gap between secondary school and university (Hoyles, Newman & Noss, 2001). Therefore, even amid the growing trend of scaling back services, there exists a need for extra learning support in mathematics. Mathematics support services are recognised as vital in assisting students to both bridge the knowledge gap and become independent learners. Through a survey of students using the Mathematics Learning Centre at Central Queensland University Australia, it was found that the implementation of scaffolding, adult learning principles and the embedding of mathematics support provides students with not only fundamental mathematical knowledge but also the skills required to become self-directed learners.
Project based learning is becoming widely accepted within engineering programmes across Australia. Supporters of this method of learning and teaching claim the method immerses the student in the subject and allows them to learn through hands on activities. Students are assessed based on their ability to complete a given project within a team environment. We examine the project based learning engineering programme at Central Queensland University and the students' opinions of its components. Present research and practice into authentic assessment and project based learning are investigated and comparison is made between these and the responses of the students.
“Decision is the central intellectual activity in our everyday lives” and statistics is central to these activities (Longford, 2021, p. xi). The ability to manipulate and interpret data is an important component in decision making. A misunderstanding or poor grasp of data distributions and statistical methods can lead to assumptions that are not accurate. When these inaccurate assumptions are presented as factual to decision makers also possessing little or no statistical knowledge, poor decisions can be made. This paper investigates how an interpretation of statistics played a role the decision to remove multiple-choice questions from invigilated examinations at a regional Australian university. The case is further argued that it is important for everyone to have a basic understanding of statistics.
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