Linda Galligan

Possible effects of English-Chinese language differences on the processing of mathematical text: A review

When comparing Chinese and English language, large differences in orthography, syntax, semantics, and phonetics are found. These differences may have consequences in the processing of mathematical text, yet little consideration is given to them when the mathematical abilities of students from these different cultures are compared. This paper reviews the differences between English and Mandarin Chinese language, evaluates current research, discusses the possible consequences for processing mathematical text in both languages, and outlines future research possibilities.

Learner-centred mathematics and statistics education using netbook tablet PCs

Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this technology is available to both the lecturer and the students. However, cost is often the barrier to students’ use of tablet PCs for their university studies. This article argues that more affordable netbook PCs with tablet capabilities can be viable alternatives to full-sized tablet PCs to enhance active and collaborative learning in mathematics and statistics. For a whole teaching semester, netbook tablet PCs were given to volunteer students from two different cohorts. Students were enrolled in nursing mathematics or introductory statistics in non-mathematics majors at an Australian university. The aims were to gauge the suitability of this technology and to identify what active and collaborative learning emerged in these first-year classes. While the netbook tablet PCs were actively promoted in their tutorials, of additional interest was students’ use of the technology for any aspect of their studies both inside and outside the classroom. The outcome of this study was to inform a university decision to provide inexpensive tablet technology to larger cohorts of students. The results highlight different approaches required in the mathematics and statistics classes to achieve collaborative and active learning facilitated through the technology. Environmental variables such as the tutor, student, learning space, availability of other technologies and subject content had an impact on the nature of learning. While learner-centred education can be facilitated by inexpensive netbook tablet PCs, we caution that the savings may come at the expense of computing power.

Tertiary Mathematics Education

Mathematical and statistical education research relevant to students in tertiary settings is reviewed. This is an expanding field and is evolving as researchers shift their attention from the reporting of innovations in lecturing practice and course design to include a deeper consideration of the experiences of educators and learners in this space. The purposeful inclusion of group work and discussion, focus on concepts, authentic problem solving, interactions in lectures with student response systems and online learning are all changing the way mathematics and statistics are taught at this level. The authors note that traditional measures of achievement in the form of exam marks are still relied upon, and call for theory-based and theory-building research including investigations of depth of understanding, and of transfer of knowledge and skills to new situations. An emphasis on the learner’s experience and the employment of cross-disciplinary teams of researchers are further suggestions.

Reframing e‐assessment: building professional nursing and academic attributes in a first year nursing course

This paper documents the relationships between pedagogy and e‐assessment in two nursing courses offered at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. The courses are designed to build the academic, numeracy and technological attributes student nurses need if they are to succeed at the university and in the nursing profession. The paper first outlines the management systems supporting the two courses and how they intersect with the e‐learning and e‐assessment components of the course design. These pedagogical choices are then reviewed. While there are lessons to be learnt and improvements to be made, preliminary results suggest that students and staff are extremely supportive of the courses. The e‐assessment is very positively received with students reporting increased confidence and competency in numeracy, as well as IT, academic, research and communication skills.

Becoming a female leader in higher education: investigations from a regional university

ABSTRACT Issues of gender imbalance in leadership have long been a significant issue in universities, as is the case across most industries. This paper explores the experiences of seven females who have successfully achieved senior leadership positions at a regional university in Australia. While the experiences of these women differ in many ways, there are certainly similarities in the challenges and adversities that they have faced, and their perceptions of what has allowed them to experience success in their leadership roles. This paper provides a number of recommendations for women aspiring to be leaders in higher education, such as committing to ongoing development, taking opportunities when presented, developing resilience, developing a track record, and seeking support, and also recommendations for institutions.

Mathematics Screencasts for Teaching and Learning

During our ongoing research into the use of mathematics screencasts at university, we have seen an increased utilization of mobile technologies both for teaching and learning. The ubiquity of mobile devices has allowed students and lecturers to create, curate and view screencasts far more easily than ever before. Whilst creating screencasts with such ease is deemed beneficial, one needs to caution that the quality of screencasts and inherent accuracy remains central to learning and teaching. As a result, our research has led us to the development of a tool for teachers and students to evaluate their own and others’ screencasts. This chapter describes a case study of the use of mobile devices and screencasting in mathematics teaching, combined with the utilization of the evaluative tool in developing pre-service teachers’ understanding of mathematics and how to teach it. It concludes with future directions in using mobile technologies to assist mathematical understanding and pedagogical content knowledge.

Examining undergraduate student retention in mathematics using network analysis and relative risk

ABSTRACT Higher education faces challenges in retaining students who require a command of numeracy in their chosen field of study. This study applies an innovative combination of relative risk and social network analysis to enrolment data of a single cohort of commencing students from an Australian regional university. Relative risk, often used in epidemiology studies, is used to strategically investigate whether first year mathematics subjects at the university demonstrated a higher risk of attrition when compared to other subjects offered in the first year of study. The network analysis is used to illustrate the connections of those mathematics subjects, identifying service subjects through their multiple connections. The analysis revealed that attrition rates for eight of the nine subjects were within acceptable limits, and this included identified service subjects. The exception highlighted the issue of mathematics competencies in this cohort. This combined analytical technique is proposed as appropriate for use when investigating attrition and retention at faculty and institutional levels, including the determination of levels of intervention and support for any subject.

Conceptualising, implementing and evaluating the use of digital technologies to enhance mathematical understanding: reflections on an innovation-development cycle

This chapter first outlines the challenges related to teaching in quantitative disciplines (for example, mathematics, statistics, engineering, science and economics) in on-campus and online environments. It is followed by an analysis of the contribution that our decade of published and unpublished research has made to resolving these challenges. In so doing, we highlight a phased cycle of innovation (that is, conceptualising, implementing, evaluating and reconceptualising), and report the impact of the work on learning and teaching across different environments. Finally, the chapter provides an overview of developments that have worked and that are still successfully used, and others that did not proceed beyond trial status. Unsuccessful trials are rarely reported, but we make an exception here, as they are an integral part of this innovation cycle.