A Improving Your Math Skills Course Education Essay

Introduction

Bettering Your Math Skills was offered over the period January 12th to March 6th ( 8 hebdomads ) to ease the new cohort pupils at the Open Campus January consumption. This was the 2nd offering of the class for pupils come ining the BSc Management programme across the Open Campus Country sites. Prior to summer 2008, this class was available to pupils at Trinidad and Tobago sites merely.

As with the old offer of the class during summer 2008, the eight hebdomads of class bringing was site based with local face to face coachs supplying 6 hours of direction per hebdomad for a sum of 48 contact hours. Two student/course coordinator and two tutor/course coordinator audio conferences were besides conducted. The class coordinator, Mr. Roger Charles was responsible for posting on-line class updates and reacting to administrative questions and related inquiries in the Tutor/Student Exchange Forum. 118 pupils were registered for this offer of the class across 19 Open campus sites. The module adviser to the programme Mr. Martin Franklin of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, continued to supply support to the class coordinator as required.

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Course fees remained at the rate of US $ 180.00 per pupil for a entire income of US $ 21,240.00.

Course Assessment

The January/March offer of the class saw a alteration in one of the constituents of the in class appraisal, with an online graded quiz replacing the face to confront mid class scrutiny. The engagement grade for completion of hebdomadal online quizzes as the other constituent of coursework remained unchanged.

The displacement to to the full online coursework constituents means that jobs associated with the reception of books and Markss sheets from the OC sites have been eliminated, and pupils were able to see their coursework Markss good in progress of the terminal of learning. The displacement besides realized some nest eggs for the Open Campus, as coachs will no longer be required to tag books as portion of the place duties, and the associated US $ 5.00/per book costs will no longer be incurred.

Course Materials

The class stuff remained unchanged for this offer of the class. At present this consists of photocopied infusions from a assortment of beginnings in chapter format. The stuff is non unit based, larning aims are non stated and there are no worked illustrations to steer pupil activity in the class.

Two transcripts of a recommended Pre concretion text per site were provided for pupil usage as portion of the class resources available at the several site locations.

The overall cost for purchase of the recommended text, production and transportation of the class stuffs was about US $ 4,400.00 broken down as follows:

Photocopying and transportation of 43 page brochure to 19 sites - US $ 3830.00

Purchase of recommended text - US $ 570.00

Course Coachs

Most of the face to face coachs were returning coachs, the exclusion being the coach at the Mona, Jamaica site. As stated antecedently, the coach support continued to be site based, with on-line interaction limited to that between the pupils and the class coordinator. No learning took topographic point online.

During the old offer of the class, local coachs expressed concern over the deficiency of entree to the on-line constituents of the class ( hebdomadal online quiz for which a engagement grade is awarded ), given that their pupils often requested explanations/clarification on some of the countries covered.

The Learning Support Supervisor agreed to ease sing entree for coaches during the January/February offer, nevertheless the chance was non followed up by most of the coaches and the focal point of their attempts remained on face to confront interaction at the several local sites.

In respect to wage, prior to the January/February offer, local coachs were paid at the hourly rate particulars to their sites, up to an upper limit of 48 hours. Ratess varied across the site locations runing from US $ 27 to US $ 37.50 per hr. The January/February offer saw the catching of coachs in conformity with the standardised agreements in topographic point for coach services, and debut of the level rate of US $ 950 for the period of battle. The level rate was reviewed during the period of class bringing in response to concerns expressed by some site coordinators on behalf of the coachs that the wage was unequal given the figure of hours of direction required. The Director APAD agreed to an extra payment of US $ 160, for a entire wage of US $ 1,110.00 per coach.

The overall Open Campus cost for proviso of local coach support was US $ 15,540.00.

REVIEW OF COURSE COORDINATOR 'S REPORT

Specific facets of the class coordinator's study ( see fond regard ) are discussed under specific headers below.

Course Outcomes - Pass/Fail Ratess

Of the 118 pupils registered for the class, the concluding grade entries indicate that 61.6 % attained the base on balls grade of 50.

In respect to the pass/fail rate for the class, four sites recorded hapless pupil public presentation with in surplus of 50 per centum of the pupils neglecting the class: Cave Hill (66 %), Mayaro (63 %), Mona (55 %) and St Lucia (84 %).

One pupil from each of the following sites attempted the class without local coach support and was non-successful: Bahamas, BVI, Cayman Islands, Montego Bay and Montserrat. Note that these sites were advised prior to the start of learning that local coach support where the figure of pupils was little would non be cost effectual and those pupils should be encouraged to take the class in the summer.

In seeking to explicate student public presentation on the concluding scrutiny the class coordinator's study discussed the inability of several of the pupils '' to come to footings with some of the subjects in the program. The subjects that presented some step of trouble were cited as Graphs, Logs and solutions of coincident equations. All three are cardinal countries of accent in ECON1003 - Mathematicss for Social Sciences, the Level 1 class for which Improving Your Math Skills is designed to function as academic readying.

In reexamining the debatable countries originating from a reappraisal of the concluding scrutiny books, the Course Coordinator farther noted the followers:

Areas where pupils were most successful were sets and simple factorisation. Students seem to hold trouble negociating logs in peculiar. Too many pupils had jobs finding the right points for the graph and that was a direct consequence of them non being able to correctly utility values into the equation and being able to work out (negotiating directed Numbers).

A reappraisal of the class lineation indicates that the subjects showing the greatest trouble for pupils are those scheduled for bringing subsequently in the class. As a effect, there may non hold been sufficient clip to cover them at the degree of item required.

Course Delivery

In respect to class bringing the Course Coordinator 's study suggests three specific countries of concern, as follows:

• Teaching and Facilitation of Learning, in peculiar the local coach 's cognition and accomplishment in steering acquisition
• Instructional Design, in peculiar the relationship between the class aims, class activities, the instruction schemes, and usage of on-line resources
• Learning experience in relation to the scholar 's prerequisite cognition and the ability of the class to run into their demands.

Teaching and Facilitation of Learning

During the lead up to the first offer of the class to the Open Campus Sites in summer 2008, Sites Heads were asked to enroll local coachs on counsel from the module adviser at St Augustine, Mr Martin Franklin. Selection standards included ownership of a first grade in Mathematics, a lower limit of 2 old ages learning experience in the capable country and a instructor's sheepskin. However, run intoing the sheepskin standards proved hard and most of the coaches selected at the respective sites have met the grade and experience standards merely. This has deductions for the facilitation of teaching/learning. The class coordinator's study high spots this in portion as follows:

"Some coachs may necessitate counsel in fixing their pupils for some of the more debatable subjects in the program''

The cognition of the single local coachs however, the above statement points to the demand for managed coach support, proviso of enhanced class resources and clear guidelines on the instruction schemes to be employed.

Instructional Design

As indicated antecedently, the stuffs for this class are non designed in a mode that speaks to specific larning aims and results. Local coachs were hence guided by the information provided by the class coordinator during the two teleconferencing Sessionss with them, the class lineation where the class purposes are stated and which lists the class subjects in sequence and other information provided by the class coordinator via electronic mail as the demand arises.

The class purposes are listed in the class lineation as follows:

• Engage pupils in larning activities affecting cardinal cardinal constructs in Mathematicss.
• Improve pupils ' proficiency in Pre-Calculus Mathematicss.
• Build pupils ' assurance in Mathematics prior to reading ECON1003.
• Supply the basic tools needed to assist pupils appreciate and acknowledge the usage of appropriate basic mathematical constructs in a given job state of affairs.

The mode in which these purposes are to be achieved is non instantly clear since these purposes are non tied to specific larning aims and declared class activities. The learning schemes to be employed are non-stated. This renders monitoring by the class coordinator or class bringing support, hard at best.

The outlook that class bringing is happening in promotion of the class aims appears to be a country that will necessitate reexamining given the following infusion from the class coordinator's study:

After reexamining several of the books it would look that many pupils in the assorted districts, were unable or prepared sufficiently to pull off with the more complex facets of the program

If the class is to function as academic readying for ECON1003, a demand is suggested for clear articulation of course/unit aims, development of related class activities and handiness of standard resources including tutorial sheets and solutions. Online resources besides need to be sourced to advance easiness of apprehension of subjects; more so in those subjects which student public presentation indicates may be debatable.

Learning Experience

The module at St Augustine recommended that all appliers to the BSc Management programme who passed O ' Level Mathematics over five old ages ago, or who have taken O ' Level Mathematicss at the secondary degree, but did non achieve a passing class, be required to take this class. Students hence come to the class with different degrees of pre necessity cognition that would necessitate changing attacks to instruction in maintaining with their acquisition manners and ability to understand and retain the constructs taught. The full push of the class is remedial, which would besides necessitate specific attacks to instruction to run into the demands of weaker pupils. The extent to which this is evidenced in respect to the construction of the class stuffs or expressed instruction schemes and guidelines is non instantly evident.

The class coordinator 's study speaks to the proficiency of the pupils and the likely impact on their learning experience. There is a suggestion for reappraisal of the period allocated for class bringing in relation to the deepness of coverage of the subjects. He notes the followers:

Several of the coachs indicated that because of the low degree proficiency amongst some of the pupils, they needed more clip to decently and adequately present the more hard facets of the programme. ''

The inquiry hence arises as to the adequateness of an eight hebdomad period of class bringing for coverage of the relevant subjects in the face to confront puting merely, given that the accent is on remedial work as a characteristic of the class design. Alternatively, the figure of subjects to be covered during the period and the deepness of coverage required, may be excessively ambitious given the mark audience and the varying abilities and anterior cognition pupils bring to the class. This poses jobs for bringing when all of the varying abilities are gathered in one schoolroom and the coach has to run into all of the demands in the limited clip available.

The class rating instrument was non available at the terminal of instruction, therefore pupils taking the class were non able to measure the learning experience. Such information would hold served as a usher to countries of betterment. However, a reappraisal of the remarks posted by pupils in the Tutor Student Exchange Forum speaks to two facets of the acquisition experience that are informative. Remarks related to the quality of the class stuff and the instructional design are shown below.

The unit stuff was collected at the campusa. I was inquiring where is it that the stuff contains merely 2 chapters and the remainder of it is merely exercises.I need some illustrations to follow for the last 2 quizzes and was unable to acquire much aid from the stuff given. What other press release is at that place? A Had some jobs with indicies and powers. ''

Mr Charles I 'm at a lost herea I was give a transcript of a brochure with 43 pages which every bit far as Is can

Tell does non truly explicate excessively mucha.. I 'minquiring if there is any other class stuff that was given out to the other sites and non here. If so please allow me cognize. Will the cxc mathematics text work for this class? ''

While these pupil posters speak to the demand for a closer expression at the design of the class stuff supplied to pupils and the supports available, they besides provide limited penetration to the larning experience of pupils and suggest a demand for more contact with class teachers.

Recommendations for improvement

The recommendations for betterment highlighted in the class coordinator 's study focal point on the followers:

Improved resources to back up instruction and facilitate acquisition: Provision of worked illustrations and development of tutorial sheets to steer teaching/learning

Monitoring of coach public presentation: Development of supervising systems

Expanded period for class bringing

Items 1 and 2 are steps that can be accommodated as short term betterments to ease the following offer of the class ( at the clip of authorship, the bill of exchange register agenda lists the class day of the months as June 1st to July 27th 2009 ).

Item 3 may be considered as portion of a comprehensive reappraisal of the class content, class aims, the class stuffs and bringing manner. This will incur a cost to the Open Campus for the services of either an Instructional Designer or a substantial class author and the services of a Curriculum Development Specialist.

For the short term, it is recommended that the following be considered in the context of Items 1 and 2 to ease readying for the summer offer and these enterprises be assessed at the terminal of the summer offering:

Summer 2009 Offer

Improved resources to back up instruction and facilitate acquisition: Worked illustrations are an indispensable usher to ease pattern. These illustrations should construct on the stuff contained in the recommended text and supply exposure to different combinations of the type of mathematical jobs that pupils are likely to meet as portion of their readying for ECON1003. In run intoing this demand the class coordinator should work with the Programme Coordinator to ease the resources required to back up instruction and acquisition:

• Designation of on-line resources (Personal computer to work in coaction with Campus Librarian)
• Preparation of tutorial sheets (Course Coordinator)
• Preparation of worked illustrations to supplement stuffs (Course Coordinator)
• Development of guidelines for coachs on countries for focal point in face to confront Sessionss (Course Coordinator)

Consideration should be given to decrease of the accent on face to confront schoolroom direction and debut of online learning support to complement the direction provided in the schoolroom:

Reduce face to confront schoolroom direction to 3 hours per hebdomad and supply clear coach guidelines for the countries of focal point. Emphasis should be placed on those subjects that the reappraisal of scrutiny books indicates as the most ambitious for pupils.

Supply all face to face coachs with on-line entree to the online environment

Introduce an Online Teaching Assistant to the class to help the class coordinator with facilitation of tutorial sheets, proviso of elaborate solutions at the terminal of each hebdomad and general feedback to pupils.

A engagement grade should be awarded for each tutorial sheet entry from pupils

Reappraisal of the 30 % coursework constituent to supply more pupil inducements for engagement in guided activities:

Participation grade for completion hebdomadal online pattern quiz (already a characteristic of the class - 7 Markss)

Participation grade for entry of tutorial sheet replies (tutorial sheet to be available at the terminal of each hebdomad - recommended 8 Markss)

Graded online quiz (component already included in class - decrease of the weighting required - recommended 15 Markss).

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