Addressing continuing mathematical deficiencies with advanced mathematical diagnostic testing

Carr, Michael; Murphy, Eóin; Bowe, Brian; Fhloinn, Eabhnat Ní

doi:10.1093/teamat/hrt006

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Fifty seven percent said they were successful. Since this study involved both 3 rd and 4 th year students, the findings of this study could be assumed to compare favorably with results from previous studies, [12] and [13], which show that, while identifying initial difficulties in transferring, these appear to be resolved at the end of year 4, when articulating students are on a par with direct entry colleagues in terms of average grades. When grades did not dip the reasons given included the intensity of effort required to complete the Level 7 programs and the level of difficulty at Level 8 not being significantly greater than in Level 7.…”

Section: A Dips In Gradesmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Other recent research [12] shows that, while students initially struggle with their math modules, their final average marks are on a par with their direct entry colleagues [13]. The purpose of this paper has been to explore students' own perceptions of their transition, in particular their awareness of experiencing transfer shock or not, their motivations, difficulties and successes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was in spite of research showing that, within the first semester after articulating, many former Level 7 students had had difficulties passing their first math modules in the honors program [12]. In order to be allowed to articulate, these students had been required to attain an average of 60% in their final grades at Level 7.…”

Section: Background To the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is this “transfer shock”?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

O'Shaughnessy¹,

McCarrick²,

Farrell³

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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Transfer shock" is a well-known phenomenon during the process of articulation, when students move from short-cycle applied programs to more academic longer-cycle study programs. In the US context this problematic transition has been observed in students transferring from community colleges into the traditional university system. In Ireland's binary higher education structure, one set of institutions, known as Institutes of Technology (IoTs) allow for this transition to take place entirely within individual institutions. This paper is part of an ongoing investigation into one such IoT, where engineering students who achieve high grades at the end of 3-year (so-called Level 7) "ordinary degree" programs frequently transfer into the 3 rd year of 4-year Level 8 "honors degree" programs, with surprisingly successful outcomes. One surprise derives from the fact that the students who enter Level 7 engineering programs are deemed at the outset to be academically less able, particularly in mathematics, than those who go directly into Level 8 programs from secondary school. Relatively little work has been done on this transition to date. In the 3 rd and 4 th year of many honors engineering programs within this institution it is not unusual to have 30-50% of the students coming from an ordinary degree background, the majority from within the institution itself -with others transferring from other IoTs in Ireland. Previous research has shown that students from this background initially struggle in the 3 rd year of the honors degree program when compared with students who have proceeded directly through the honors program, before going on to successfully graduate. Can this be attributed to 'transfer shock'; even though most of these students are continuing in an institution and with faculty that they are already familiar with? In order to examine this phenomenon we interview students from several engineering disciplines at various points in this transition. We explore the perceptions of the students regarding this transition and, based on the information coming from the interviews, we conduct a large scale survey to be administered to articulating students across engineering programs in the institution. The preliminary results of this survey are also presented here.

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Section: A Dips In Gradesmentioning

confidence: 51%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background To the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Is this “transfer shock”?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

O'Shaughnessy¹,

McCarrick²,

Farrell³

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The authors also wish to extend the quantitative analysis of this study to a much larger group of students, including tradational students, and to benchmark students on entry using the DIT mathematics diagnostics test, in line with Carr et al (2013). …”

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the engagement of mature students with mathematics learning support

Breen

Prendergast

Carr

2015

Teaching Mathematics and its Applications

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The Maths Learning Support Centre (MLSC) in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) provides free mathematical support to all DIT students. This support is primarily delivered through a drop-in service, where students can receive one-to-one tuition, without an appointment, in any area of mathematics. In the first semester of the 2013/14 academic year a significant proportion of students that availed of this drop-in service were mature students enrolled in Engineering programmes. This is of particular interest as mature students constitute a relatively small proportion of the total student body, motivating a deeper study of the reasons for the high levels of engagement in this cohort. To this end two focus groups were conducted, consisting of those who do and do not attend the MLSC. Particular interest was paid to the motivations of student who attend and the reasons given by those who do not. The motivations of mature students were found to be multifaceted while the reasons for non-engagement were mostly in line with the literature. In addition some quantitative analysis was carried to determine what effect the MLSC had on student's academic performance.

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“…The feedback from the focus groups will be used to improve the process in the coming year and an anonymous online survey will be provided to students once they have passed the CSA (or on their final attempt). A more advanced version of the test is currently being developed for students in the later years of the programme (Carr et al 2012), as was requested in the focus groups. It is also intended that retention of these basic skills will be looked at by re-testing groups of students who have passed the CSA in previous years, to ascertain whether these skills have now been properly acquired by these students.…”

Section: Future Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Core skills assessment to improve mathematical competency

Carr¹,

Bowe²,

Fhloinn

2013

European Journal of Engineering Education

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Many engineering undergraduates begin third-level education with significant deficiencies in their core mathematical skills. Every year, in the Dublin Institute of Technology, a diagnostic test is given to incoming first-year students, consistently revealing problems in basic mathematics. It is difficult to motivate students to address these problems; instead, they struggle through their degree, carrying a serious handicap of poor core mathematical skills, as confirmed by exploratory testing of final year students. In order to improve these skills, a pilot project was set up in which a 'module' in core mathematics was developed. The course material was basic, but 90% or higher was required to pass. Students were allowed to repeat this module throughout the year by completing an automated examination on WebCT populated by a question bank. Subsequent to the success of this pilot with third-year mechanical engineering students, the project was extended to five different engineering programmes, across three different year-groups. Full results and analysis of this project are presented, including responses to interviews carried out with a selection of the students involved.

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Addressing continuing mathematical deficiencies with advanced mathematical diagnostic testing

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

Is this “transfer shock”?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

Is this “transfer shock”?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

Investigating the engagement of mature students with mathematics learning support

Core skills assessment to improve mathematical competency

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Addressing continuing mathematical deficiencies with advanced mathematical diagnostic testing

Cited by 12 publications

References 4 publications

Is this &#x201C;transfer shock&#x201D;?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

Is this &#x201C;transfer shock&#x201D;?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

Investigating the engagement of mature students with mathematics learning support

Core skills assessment to improve mathematical competency

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Is this “transfer shock”?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context

Is this “transfer shock”?: Examining the perceptions of engineering students who articulate within the Irish higher education context