Personality, Learning Approaches and Teaching Styles in Undergraduate Mathematics Project PLATSUM Yuriy Rogovchenko, University of Agder Josef Rebenda, Brno University of Technology 7. 12. 2016 Prague

Partners

Different people… We are all different – tall or short, slim or not, with blonde or red hair…

Similar problems… However, quite often we are very similar in our problems with learning mathematics.

A simple experiment… For the fall 2006 course, Calculus I for the Biological and Social Sciences at John Hopkins University, Professor W. Stephen Wilson administered the same final exam he had used for the course in the fall of 1989. The SAT mathematics scores of the two classes were nearly identical, as the percentage of the Arts and Sciences freshman class. The content of the course had not changed.

Surprising results… In 1989 class, 27 percent of students received As on the test and 23 percent Bs. When 2006 class was graded on 2006 scale, 32 percent received As and 37 percent Bs. If 2006 class was graded on the 1989 scale, only 6% would have received As and 21% Bs. If 1989 class was graded on the 2006 scale, 52% would have received As and 26% Bs.

The facts… W. Stephen Wilson, professor of mathematics at Johns Hopkins University: “I am inclined to conclude that the 2006 JHU students are not as well prepared as the corresponding group was in 1989, despite there being significantly more competition to get into JHU today than ever before. As it stands, universities have no way of rejecting applicants who do not know arithmetic adequately for college-level mathematics.”

The big idea… “A general conclusion or guiding principle for mathematics education applicable to every student may be: Use interaction, find the differentiation and do the adaptation.” Solve Sæbø et al.

Implementation Survey design Data collection Data analysis Summary of results, preparation for publication

Results Agree with previous studies in Norway (H. Brovold, S. Sæbø) Some personality types are disfavored (Feeling, Extroverts) Some personality types prefer certain learning strategies (Introverts, Sensing x Extroverts, iNtuitive, and Feeling x Thinking) Some personality types attend less to lecture and exercises (Perceiving, Feeling)

Does one size fit all?

Thank you very much for your attention! We are done… Thank you very much for your attention!

Questions please…