1. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 1 Tutorial action prior to the enrollment of mathematical subjects in Technical Engineering Teresa Sancho Vinuesa, Maria Antònia Huertas, César Córcoles, Ángel Alejandro Juan, Antoni Pérez Universitat Oberta de Catalunya tsancho@uoc.edu, mhuertass@uoc.edu tsancho@uoc.edumhuertass@uoc.edu

2. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 2 Outline Introduction Tutorial Action Experience in Telecommunication Engineering Experience in Technical Engineering for Information Systems and Technical Engineering for Information Management Conclusions and Future lines of action

3. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 3 Introduction Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (www.uoc.edu) on-line Higher Education through Virtual Campus Engineering student profile adults, professional experience, not much availability, prior knowledge is often insufficient, low level of motivation to study mathematics Low academic results in subjects of mathematics PreviousTutorial Action

4. Tutorial Action Mathematical background level: high school or equivalent Aim: help students self-assess their mathematical background level, before they register for a mathematics course in engineering studies. MODEL JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 4 Tutorial action Educational action Student

5. Experience in Telecommunication Engineering TUTOR sends a set of exercises with the help of a brief guide provides a summary of the concepts and basic processes in each topic gives the solutions to the exercises sends guidelines for interpreting the results STUDENT uses books and their own notes when taking these tests sees if they have managed to solve them correctly and sees the procedure for the correct answer evaluates their results with the help of the tutor can decide whether to register for the subjects in the first semester or if it would be advisable to revise before doing so JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 5

6. Experience in Telecommunication Engineering (II) Keys for the interpretation of the results: 1.If they have not solved at least two of the problems correctly (out of seven), it is essential that they enroll in the subject Introduction to mathematics for engineers. 2.If they have done four of the seven correctly, but they are not capable of understanding and explaining the solution to the other three, it is advisable that they enroll for the introductory course. 3.Otherwise, they can enroll directly in the subject of Mathematics I. Communication between students and tutors is low. Communication between teaching staff and tutor is low. The student takes the last decision. The majority of the students who do the test are enrolled in Introduction to mathematics for engineering. Those that follow that course are satisfied. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 6

7. Experience in Technical Engineering for Information Systems and Information Management TUTOR send a diagnostic test (30 test questions with 4 options) the test is recommended for students that have not studied mathematics equivalent to high school level for the last two years Netquest: a tool for on-line surveys. It gives on-line feedback of the results to the teaching staff consulting material like that of the online Proyecto Descartes is allowedProyecto Descartes sends the key of answers for the self- assessment of the student STUDENT uses their own notes and any other material when taking these tests sees which questions he/she has managed to answer correctly evaluates their results alone with the help of the tutor can decide whether to enroll for the subjects in the first semester or whether to follow an introductory math course JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 7

8. Experience in Technical Engineering for Information Systems and Information Management (II) Keys for the interpretation of the results: if there are 10 or more incorrect answers (of a total of 30), we recommend the students to enroll in the subject Introductory course of mathematics for engineers that the UOC offers. Communication between students and tutors is low. Communication between teaching staff and tutor is low. The teaching staff knows directly the results of the test. The student takes the last decision. The teaching staff do not know the student’s decision It is not known how many students who enrolled in Introductory course to mathematics for engineering have done the test. Those that follow it remain satisfied. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 8

9. Experience in Technical Engineering for Information Systems and Information Management (III) Some results of the direct feedback from the automatic tool of the teacher questionnaires (anonymous data): JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 9 ErrorsYears 16.7%8 10 20.0%3 26.7%2 46.7%6 50.0%8 56.7%20 Mean 33.3%8.14

10. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 10 Conclusions and Future lines of action Tutorial action before students enrol for a mathematics course is absolutely necessary. An Introduction to Mathematics for Engineers Course is good to prepare students to follow engineering courses with the required mathematical knowledge and skills. Evaluation of the results of the current tutorial action (communication among the different agents, efficiency, level of satisfaction of the different actors) and the designing of a plan of improvement in relation to the fixed goals are necessary. It is necessary to check the current diagnostic system and to describe a plan to improve it, taking into account the UOC educational model. We expect to be able to present the new model on the portal of the JEM to you very soon !

11. JEM 2008 Barcelona, 31 January 2008 11 Teresa Sancho tsancho@.uoc.edu M. Antònia Huertas mhuertass@uoc.edutsancho@.uoc.edu mhuertass@uoc.edu