Formative assessment in mathematics for engineering students

Abstract

In this paper, we present a range of formative assessment types for engineering mathematics, including in-class exercises, homework, mock examination questions, table quizzes, presentations, critical analyses of statistical papers, peerto-peer teaching, online assessments and electronic voting systems. We provide practical tips for the implementation of such assessments, with a particular focus on time or resource constraints and large class sizes, as well as effective methods of feedback. In addition, we consider the benefits of such formative assessments for students and staff.

The Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Social Impact on Education: Were Engineering Teachers Ready to Teach Online?

“…In addition, the homogeneous groups showed that there was no significant difference between the DCU and the MCU regarding these aspects. The superior autonomous learning of the students, and their greater knowledge of the basic concepts when following these courses, led the teachers to adopt significantly different attitudes compared to the BCU, a common situation also remarked upon in another study [ 65 ]. It may therefore be affirmed that the type of subject matter had no influence over the students’ perception of the controllable aspects of the experiment.…”

“…As explained in Section 3.1.1 , the students of BCU are younger (around 2 years younger on BCU on average than on DCU and MCU) and at the start of their university career, when their knowledge base is weaker [ 62 ]. It implies that they tend to need closer monitoring, as they have less capacity for autonomous learning, which makes the valuation of this aspect lower than in more advanced courses [ 65 ].…”

“…In contrast, while teaching attitudes were valued more negatively in the online teaching of the DCU and the MCU, the valuation of the BCU was 0.4 points higher for online teaching, reflecting the concern of the BCU teachers to provide further support to students for proper understanding of the concepts [ 65 ], so they improved their performance online [ 63 ].…”

Creating mathematics formative assessments using LaTeX, PDF forms and computer algebra

“…The authors acknowledge that it has always been a challenge for those who teach in the mathematics discipline to provide engaging and valuable learning experiences that equally serve the needs of both mathematics and non-mathematics-focused courses. As evidenced by recent studies of higher education mathematics subjects in the United Kingdom and Europe (Fhloinn & Carr, 2017;Frode, 2017;Iannone & Simpson, 2015), subject engagement in the mathematics discipline by students is heavily influenced by whether or not a student is undertaking a course that is mathematics-focused, for example, engineering, science or actuarial studies. In fact, a closer look revealed that students who engaged with the intricacies of the mathematical method (how to arrive at a solution or answer a question) were also those who were enrolled in a mathematics-focused course.…”

“…In recent years, there has been a proliferation of educational technologies aimed at supporting the implementation of formative assessment in mathematics learning and teaching in more efficient ways. Three recent studies, completed by Barana and Marchisio (2016), Fhloinn and Carr (2017), and Frode (2017), explored automated formative assessment in mathematics in higher education in Europe. These studies provide insight into the advantages of developing automated formative assessments.…”