Students' Self-work During Lectures in Calculus Courses – Cognitive and Affective Effects of a Small Intervention

Abstract

This study describes the effects of a small pedagogical intervention in first semester calculus at an engineering college; it is a collaboration between two lecturers: a pure mathematician and a mathematics education researcher, who wished to learn about the effects of self-work (i.e., students solving problems on their own during class) on students' exam achievements, self-efficacy, and students' written communication. Students were given mastery experiences of self-work and feedback in three out of five classes. In all five classes, students were given in-class quizzes with peer instruction. Data was collected in multiple forms: quiz results, questionnaires, exam questions, and reflections; both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods were used. The findings show self-work increases students’ engagement and self-efficacy and slightly improved students’ achievement in class and on the final exam grade. Moreover, it positively influences students' learning experience. There were nonconclusive findings for improvement in the quality of students' written communication in the final exam. Self-work can be easily incorporated, even in coordinated courses with a common syllabus and a large lecture, without requiring instructors to make big changes to their lecture style. Effects of self-work should be further studied.