Abstract
High failure and withdrawal rates in introductory post-secondary mathematics courses are a problem locally, nationally, and internationally. This leads to first-year mathematics courses creating a closed door, or a barrier, to further study of mathematics, of STEM disciplines, and in University as a whole. In this article, the authors describe the implementation of a modified course structure in a first-year undergraduate mathematics course. The new structure makes use of a combination of mastery learning strategies together with the beneficial effects of small class sizes to address the issues of historically high failure and withdrawal rates and low grade-point averages. Results show that careful planning of the structure of a course can have a positive effect on student success, and thus on attitude towards mathematics.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding the success of students in post-secondary mathematics courses [17, 33], and some authors claim that future success in college and completion of a university degree can be affected by students’ success in a first-year mathematics course [26, 32]
Due to resource limitations, it is in most cases not viable to reduce class sizes across the board, this course structure allows for targeted identification of students who would most benefit from a smaller class, and an opportunity for these students to benefit from the positive effects of a more active learning environment and more frequent instructor interaction in the classroom
We were extremely encouraged by the results of our trial with this course structure
Summary
There has been growing concern regarding the success of students in post-secondary mathematics courses [17, 33], and some authors claim that future success in college and completion of a university degree can be affected by students’ success in a first-year mathematics course [26, 32]. A majority of the students in MATH 1010 are from faculties outside of the Faculty of Science, and for all but a small few of them, this will be their last encounter with mathematics at the post-secondary level For these students, it is especially important that the effect of this course on their attitude toward learning mathematics be positive. Siewert of the Black Hills State University in response to low success rates in their Basic Algebra course (2013) In this course structure, students were provided an early “alert” mechanism, which allowed them a second chance to learn and master the course outcomes, while still covering the same course content as in previous terms. Due to resource limitations, it is in most cases not viable to reduce class sizes across the board, this course structure allows for targeted identification of students who would most benefit from a smaller class, and an opportunity for these students to benefit from the positive effects of a more active learning environment and more frequent instructor interaction in the classroom
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
