Pathfinder Project Semester

Dr Sury Rajah Mr Noor Ally Prof Deonarain Brijlal Prof David Day Prof Darren Lortan Dr Adhir Maharaj Pathfinder Team 2

A.Preamble  Low level of preparedness in Basic Mathematics for higher education.  Remedying this serious problem  Such students are at risk for failure in Mathematics in their first year of study and hence require assistance early in their tertiary studies.  To improve conceptual understanding and competencies in these prior learning areas, interventions have to be done outside of the lectures  E-learning presents a suitable vehicle for implementing interventions  It is proposed that "at risk" students be identified and inducted in a pathfinder project using E- learning as the primary mode of delivery for academic support in Basic Math. 3 Proposal – Dr. S. Rajah

B. The incorporation of E-learning will be examined in terms of  design of learning, teaching and assessment material with Mathematical content  communication through electronic devices between learners and tutors/lecturers in formats which include Mathematical symbols and text  multiple online assessments in an interactive E-environment with instant feedback and tutorial support. 4

The purpose of this course is to provide online tuition in Basic Mathematics, in particular the prior learning areas which are required for success in Math101.  Learning Outcomes Students will demonstrate competency in areas of Basic Mathematics  Student Selection A purposefully selected sample of first year Engineering students will be chosen for this project. A special Pre-test on basic mathematical competencies 5 C. Basic Mathematics Online Course

The content of the class will include:  Web-Links::Study Guides, E-texts,Video clips  Announcements-Test Details and Seating Arrangements, Any other news items.  Discussion, Chats – etc. NOTE: These would include written Mathematical content – typed or hand-written A suitable interactive platform to discuss topics, raise concerns, etc. Ask for additional assistance in particular topics, etc Mathematical content  Module content -Notes of lessons,Tutorial questions with solutions – written work,MCQ’s Practice tests, Past Papers, Additional Notes, Articles of interest  Remedial exercises on poor performance learning areas identified through tests  Grading will include- Timed assessments which contribute towards class mark Feedback to students, Repetitive tests on critical learning areas which are designed for students to achieve a benchmark performance of 80% Students and lecturers must be able to monitor their performance and hence their progress during the course. 6 D. Design of E- environment A suitable LMS which is user friendly but also fast needs to be identified. Current environments include ‘Blackboard’ and ‘Moodle’

 Student support needs: access the LMS both on and off campus word-processing capability which handles equation editing software. capable of supporting software such as Scientific Workplace devices that are capable of handling hand written input in Mathematical format  Teaching support needs Software capable of generating MCQ tests from a data base Input devices capable of converting technical Math content in hand written notes into typed format. Devices. 7 E. Technical Support and Capability

Tablet and chrome book combo Chrome book only Tablet only 8 F. Devices.

An action research study will be carried out to:  1) determine the effectiveness of E-learning practices used in this study on remediating basic mathematical gaps in prior learning which have been identified in the at risk students.  2) determine the statistical impact on remediating Basic Mathematical gaps on the Math 101 pass rate.  3)Evaluate the devices and software used to create Mathematical Content in the Blackboard class.  4) compare the influence and impact of various electronic devices used to effect e-learning with the students using the different modes of delivery and access.  5) Evaluate the devices as effective communicators of Mathematical Content between students and lecturers 9 G.Evaluation Plan