“ Mathematics and Statistics Support post-COVID: Renewal, Redesign and Expansion”

A report on the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) Workshop 2023

On Friday June 9th the IMLSN held the hybrid workshop ‘Mathematics and Statistics Support post-COVID: Renewal, Redesign and Expansion’ via zoom and in the Mathematics Support Centre (MSC) at Maynooth University.

The workshop started with four 30-minute presentations, speaker details, titles and abstracts are available towards the bottom of this page. After lunch, there were three ‘Break Out Rooms’, two in-person and one online. Participants, from across Ireland and the UK, were encouraged to consider:

• The main 'take away' points from the earlier presentations that might inform their own provision for 2023-24.
• The role of networks of maths and stats support (MSS) and what practitioners expect networks should do to help them in their own institutions.

Participants could also discuss any topic they felt relevant following their experience of supporting students over the past year.

A broad range of topics were discussed and are summarized below.

Participants highlighted how reinvigorating it was to meet and support students, particularly first years, in in-person settings. While numbers attending MSCs are still lower than before COVID-19, they are steadily increasing and the importance of reporting on the quality of the student experience along with student numbers was highlighted. The advantages and disadvantages of different MSC venues were also discussed in relation to allowing students sufficient space to study as well as getting help from tutors.

Student engagement with and the effective advertisement of MSS was spoken about at length. It was observed that, in general, students are looking for different types of advertisement, e.g.

• reports/announcements/testimonials from their peers (student ambassadors) who are engaging with MSS,
• descriptions of what students should expect from when they enter the MSC to when they leave,
• QR codes on posters and lecture slides that link to MSC opening times,
• grab student attention in lecture announcements through a comparison of the module grades, broken down by diagnostic test score, of those who engaged with MSS versus those who did not.

Some institutions use diagnostic/screening tests as a method to encourage students to engage with MSS. It was suggested that these tests could be shared across the community and the system ALEKS, an artificially intelligent learning and assessment system, was also discussed in this capacity. Some participants raised the difficulty of finding opening hours that match with student availability, and it was suggested that starting and ending the MSC on the half hour mark might increase the possibly for students to attend (as lectures normally start and end on the hour mark).

Another topic of discussion was the use of online assessment for modules and student use of online calculators for completing assessment. It was agreed that there should be a unified approach across departments in relation to these matters. From the MSS perspective, we witness the pressures that students are under and can understand why they might turn to online tools. We certainly can play a crucial role in advising students on optimal study techniques and on the responsible use of online tools, however, participants were unsure where exactly we should draw the line between doing too much for students and allowing for students’ own personal responsibility. Outside of MSS, it was generally agreed that institutions could provide more incentives for lecturers to reconsider course structures and how assessment is run. A range of related topics were discussed including:

• negative impact of online assessment on student engagement with tutorials and MSS,
• continuous assessment through in-class tests vs online (at home) assessment,
• creating assessments that are not conducive to help from online tools while still noting the need to check basic calculation proficiency,
• students not checking the veracity of online resources they find via search engines,
• negative impact of using recorded lectures with students who have a poor attitude to learning mathematics.

Finally, in relation to networks of MSS practitioners, participants agreed that they play an important role in supporting individual practitioners. Networks facilitate beneficial community events (such as this workshop) and have members who can be contacted for advice.

Aoife Guerin, Ciarán Mac an Bhaird, Aisling McGlinchey, Claire Mullen, Kirsten Pfeiffer.

A pdf of this report can be downloaded here.

“Experiences of Mathematics and Statistics Learning Support during semester 1 (2022-23)”

 

On Friday January 13^th the IMLSN held the online workshop ‘Experiences of Mathematics and Statistics Learning Support during semester 1 (2022-23)’. Following the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, this was a critical semester for engagement with maths and stats supports, now that almost all students are back on-campus. 

The workshop featured 11 five-minute talks from practitioners across Ireland, followed by four breakout room discussions which allowed other attendees, including many from around the UK, to discuss the presentations and add their own experiences.  In summary, nine of the 11 institutions were offering both in-person and online supports for students. One provided online only, and one in-person only due to a combination of staff shortages and a university governance emphasis that teaching/support be mostly face-to-face.

A broad range of online initiatives were implemented including student support hubs and suites of on-demand support materials on Virtual Learning Environments. Booking systems, 1-1 and small group appointments, workshops, and drop-in sessions were also used. Participants discussed the flexibility that online support allowed both students and tutors, especially in relation to remote teaching and learning, lack of office space, the facilitation of reduced transport and accommodation costs. The opportunities that new media provides for assisting students with learning disabilities was also raised.

In general, participants reported mixed take up of hybrid support now on offer. Online support session attendance was not high except, in some instances, during examination periods. There was also an issue with students not attending booked 1-1 sessions. However, in-person support attendance increased when compared to 2021-22, and certain institutions witnessed increased engagement from first- and final-year students. Some workshop attendees expressed surprise at the ‘rapid student return to in-person over online supports’. Finally, participants reported that students required much more individual attention than before COVID-19, with increased inability to progress the problem after support from the tutor.

“Mathematics Learning Support – Linking Practice to Research in the New Normal” 

A report on the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) Workshop 2022

The 13^th annual IMLSN workshop took place online via Zoom on Monday the 13^th of June 2022. There were 26 participants from 14 Irish Higher Education Institutions in attendance at the workshop. IMLSN would like to sincerely thank all those who contributed to this meeting – the organisers Ciarán O’Sullivan and Julie Crowley as well as all participants, facilitators and moderators of breakout rooms.

The chair of the IMLSN, Kirsten Pfeiffer, opened the event by emphasizing the importance of opportunities like this workshop for the community to get together and share their ideas, challenges and experiences.  Attendees were invited and encouraged to get involved with the IMLSN.

The aim of the event was to look forward and envisage what Maths Support might look like in the years ahead. How can we capitalise on our most recent experiences during Covid-times and take what we have learned to develop Maths support for our students? What other areas of opportunity for research do we see for Maths support in Ireland? This workshop provided an opportunity to bring together researchers, tutors and coordinators of Maths support from around the country to discuss these questions.

The workshop consisted of two 15-minute talks and five 5-minute lightening talks on practice and/or research in progress as well as more fully formed research. This talks session was followed by small group discussions in breakout rooms. The proposed themes for these discussions were

• Hybrid maths support / New normal,
• Engaging non-engagers,
• Tutor development,
• Re-usable resources.

The workshop finished with a whole group discussion to get an overview about what has been discussed in the themed discussions and then to focus on what IMSLN can do to help its members achieve the research goals just discussed.

 

Talks Session

Patrick Browne (Technological University of the Shannon) - ‘Reflections on using the WebWorK platform for mathematics’

The first 15-minutes talk opened with an introduction and considerations about the WebWorK online assessment tool for the teaching of mathematics to engineering students. The speaker then suggested a unique approach to getting insights into students’ habits and behaviour when using the WebWorK system, namely investigating log files in a server. These present a wealth of data that is not usually visible to the instructor. Some early results of this data analysis were presented to exemplify the advantage and practicality of this approach.

The slides from Patrick Browne's talk can be downloaded here.

Anthony Brown (University College Dublin) - ‘Supporting students with a weak mathematical background during their first trimester of university study using Numbas’

This 15-minutes talk first described an initiative where the online assessment system Numbas was used to support students taking two Level 0 courses at UCD. These courses were offered to undergraduate students whose mathematics results from their school leaving certificate was weak. The assessment consisted of weekly class tests through Numbas and a ‘traditional’ final exam. The speaker reported on a study to investigate how students’ grades of both types of assessment relate to each other. The findings showed a clear correlation: students’ engagement with the Numbas exams which counted towards the final grade could be compared with the engagement with the same exams which could be taken at any time by the students for revision purposes.

The slides from Anthony Brown's talk can be downloaded here.

Fionnán Howard (Dublin City University) - ‘DCU Online support – current and future’

This lightening talk described the current online support being offered by the maths learning centre in DCU and outlined what can be provided in future. With students having returned to in-person learning, the role of online support may change, but is expected to be desirable for certain students. Using attendance data from 2021-22 to inform the decision, the speaker presented their proposed online supports for next year.

The slides from Fionnán Howard's talk can be downloaded here.

Claire Mullen (University College Dublin) - ‘MathsFit: increasing first-year students' engagement with maths support’

This lightening talk focused on preliminary findings from the ongoing project known as MathsFit, a suite of online and in-person mathematics supports designed for in-coming first-year students of service courses at University College Dublin. MathsFit aims to increase engagement with support especially among students identified as ‘at-risk’ through the MathsFit proficiency quiz. The speaker described the rationale of the project, some engagement metrics, and presented results from the first year of the programme. Early results indicate that MathsFit does improve student engagement with the mathematics support services available.

The slides from Claire Mullen's talk can be downloaded here.

Ciarán Mac an Bhaird (Maynooth University) - ‘The Sigma Accessibility Special Interest Group (SIG)’

This lightening talk provided a brief overview of the work of this SIG to-date, including a survey paper, and the development of resources for mature students and for students with dyslexia, dyspraxia will be provided. These resources are for use in an MSC setting. The speaker outlined current plans for moving the SIG forward, in particular, seeking more people to get involved and splitting the focus between digital accessibility and cognitive disorders or sensory impairments.

The slides from Ciarán Mac an Bhaird's talk can be downloaded here.

Kirsten Pfeiffer (National University of Ireland, Galway) - ‘The IMLSN Resource Website Project’

This lightening talk first described recent developments of the IMLSN Resources Website. The speaker then reported about an ongoing study which aims to get insights about students’ and instructors’ habits and challenges with online mathematics and statistics resources. The plan is to use findings from this study for further advancement of the resources website. This is an ongoing project, and the group is looking for more participants to get involved.

The slides from Kirsten Pfeiffer's talk can be downloaded here.

Surbhi Gautam (Atlantic Technological University - GMIT) - ‘Using Desmos to enhance student learning in Mathematics’

This lightening talk outlined the potential for the use of Desmos to enhance student engagement and understanding. Desmos is a free graphing and teaching tool for mathematics. Teachers can use prebuilt activities or can create activities themselves at [teacher.desmos.com]. The speaker provided interesting and novel example activities and used these to exemplify that students will learn by interacting with mathematical representations, illustrations of the world, and their classmates.

The slides from Surbhi Gautam's talk can be downloaded here.

 

Group Discussion Session

Themed small group discussions in breakout rooms were held that then followed by a whole group discussion to get an overview for the themed discussions and then to focus on what can IMSLN do to help its members deal with any issues that emerged.

 

Theme 1: ‘Hybrid maths support/new normal'                 Moderator: Anthony Brown

The group started by discussing the various approaches that we took during the first phase of the pandemic. These included drop-in online sessions, online sessions using an appointment system, group online sessions, and support using a VLE forum.

The group then went on to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of these different sorts of support, but the only real problem we found was lack of engagement, and this applied to all the different types of support. No one had found a solution for this, but it was mentioned that mature students seemed to be more accepting of online support.

Looking forward, a real worry is that the lack of engagement carried through to face-to-face support when that was re-introduced, especially for first year students. It was suggested that due to the disruption, this cohort of students seems to be quite isolated and less willing to accept support. Most were not sure exactly what support they were going to offer next year, but there was a real eagerness to get some ideas to deal with this lack of engagement.

Theme 2: 'Engaging non-engagers'                       Moderator: Claire Mullen

Participants compared their experiences with non-engagement particularly in the recent COVID-19 years. Issues were raised around students' mental health, financial pressures, and social interactions based on anecdotal knowledge and current learning analytics research. The need for a holistic and ethical approach to how to engage with students deemed 'at risk' was discussed. In particular, the view that not all students wish to engage. Strategies to engage the non-engagers were desired especially as engagement seems to have decreased since the onset of the pandemic.    

Theme 3: ‘Tutor development’                            Moderator: Peter Mulligan

Due to increased workload during COVID-19, it was recognised that finding time for ongoing tutor training was difficult. Hope was expressed that more substantive training could be re-introduced this coming academic year. All members of the room highlighted the importance of quality tutor training and in this regard, the Tutor Competency digital badges seems to tick a lot of boxes. Content templates are available on the IMLSN website which are fully customisable. The four badges were trialled at Maynooth University and NUI Galway. Feedback from the tutors that participated was extremely positive. In particular, the tutors appreciated the formal recognition that the badges provided for the training they received. It was suggested that if an institution were to run the badges in the coming year, they should consider inviting tutors from other colleges to attend. It was mentioned that completing two badges per semester is comfortable for most tutors.

 

Whole Group Summary Discussion

The workshop finished with a whole group discussion to get an overview for the themed discussions. During this whole discussion engaging non-engagers emerged as the key challenge. The issue of engaging disaffected learners was identified as a key problem in the last academic year for many institutions. Plans were discussed to have an IMLSN event focussing on how institutions intend to address this in the coming year in early September.

Plans to promote the IMLSN Tutor Competency digital badges in as many institutions as possible in the coming academic year also emerged as a shared objective for some members of the network.

 

Insights from Feedback Forms

In feedback forms for the workshop participants appreciated the format of the breakout rooms and highlighted the opportunity to meet people and get a sense of how things are going for them in their institution. While enjoying all of the talks, the feedback indicated that participants were very positive about the five-minute lightning talks which allowed for a lot of information to be shared in a short space of time with the possibility for follow up with the person/topic if someone was really interested.

In terms of key takeaways/learning from the workshop the importance of collaboration across institutions was mentioned. The shared challenge of engaging students with mathematics and supports both in person and online was very prevalent in the comments. In terms of potential follow-on events the feedback strongly indicated a preference for more workshop opportunities on addressing engagement in the coming year.

The event was followed by the IMLSN AGM. 

Some of the participants at the Annual Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) Workshop 2022

Date: December 15, 2017

Location: North West Regional College, Derry/Londonderry

Theme of the workshop: “Supporting students, raising standards in maths at secondary and Higher Education level”

Keynote Speakers:

• Ciarán Mac an Bhaird (Maynooth University)
• Chris McCallion (Letterkenny IT)
• Jonathan Cole (Queen’s University)

Organisers:

• Terence McIvor
• Maeve O’Kane

The 11th Annual Workshop of the Irish Maths Learning Support Network (IMLSN) took place on December 15 2017 in North West Regional College, Derry/ Londonderry.

The theme of the workshop was “Supporting students, raising standards in maths at secondary and Higher Education level” and delegates included second level teachers, tutors and lecturers involved in mathematics and statistics support in further and higher education and more generally in third level mathematics education.

The keynote speakers were Ciarán Mac an Bhaird (Maynooth University), Chris McCallion (Letterkenny IT) and Jonathan Cole (Queen’s University).

In his talk “ Evaluating Maths Learning Support Provision: What is the point?”, Ciarán Mac an Bhaird discussed the issues involved in gathering and analysing usage / feedback data and its usefulness in evaluating the effectiveness of Maths Learning Support Services. He focused on the vast experience of the Maynooth MLC in this regard.

“Open Source Freeware as a Tool for Learning Support” was the title of both a paper and practical demonstration given by Chris McCallion. They related to a teaching project underway as part of an Access Programme at LYIT, in which open source and freeware products are being used to provide both student learning support tools and assessment tools.

The paper “Formative assessment in mathematics using log books, peer assessment and reflection”, presented by Jonathan Cole considered the effectiveness of incorporating log books, with weekly worksheets, reflections and peer feedback. These were introduced as part of the redesign of a core mathematics module for first year Engineering students. The impact of which was represented by improvements in the student experience, exam performance, preparedness for second year and overall confidence in their academic ability.

Over the course of the day there were three additional talks which detailed the impact of maths learning support services on student progression at UL (Olivia Fitzmaurice, Aoife Guerin and Richard Walsh UL), highlighted the important socio-cultural role played by maths support centres (Kirsten Pfeiffer UCG) and outlined the observations of the first full-time maths learning support tutor in Ireland (Peter Mulligan MU).

In addition, the afternoon session included three TEL related parallel workshops. These practical sessions focused on different technologies and how they can be used to the enhance teaching and learning of mathematics. They were:

• Open Source Freeware as a Tool for Learning Support (Chris McCallion LYIT );
• Enhanced Technologies Interactive Classroom Delivery ( Martin Peoples NWRC)
• Developing Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills for Mathematics (Franz Schlindwein, Founder of Qubizm Ltd).

The workshop provided delegates with an opportunity to share experiences, discuss challenges and find potential solutions to issues encountered in maths 1support provision. The organisers are grateful for financial support from the Irish Mathematical Society.