Trends in Basic Mathema0cal Competencies of Beginning ... · Trends in Basic Mathema0cal...
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TrendsinBasicMathema0calCompetenciesofBeginningUndergraduatesinIreland,
2003-2014
Presentedby:DrPáraicTreacyLoca4on:UniversityofGreenwichDate:8/9/15
The‘MathsProblem’
• Deficienciesinbeginningundergraduatestudents’basicmathema4calskillshasbeenanissueofconcerninhighereduca4on,par4cularlyinthepast15years1-4.
• The‘MathsProblem’reportedinUK,Ireland,AustraliaandtheU.S1-3.
1Lawson(2003);2O’Donoghue(2004);3Gilletal.(2010);4Faulkner(2012)
StudentBackground
• Vastmajority(>99%)ofsecondarylevelstudentsinIrelandstudymathema4csathigher,ordinary,orfounda4onlevelfortheLeavingCer4ficate.
• Studentsneedtopassmathema4csathigherorordinaryleveltogainplaceonTechnologybasedorSciencebasedundergraduatecoursesattheUniversityofLimerick(UL).
ProjectMathsProjectMaths,graduallyintroducedbetween2010and2012,aimsto:
• encourageagreaterfocusonproblem-solvingskillswhilealigningassessmentwiththeserevisedclassroomprac4ces5,6;
• placegreateremphasisonstudentunderstandingofmathema4calconceptswithincreaseduseofcontextsandapplica4onsofmathema4csinrealworldscenarios5,6.
5Na4onalCouncilforCurriculumandAssessment(2008);6DepartmentofEduca4onandSkills(2010).
BonusPoints
• BonuspointsintroducedforLeavingCer4ficateMathema4csExamina4onsin2012.
• Studentsareawarded25bonuspointsiftheyachieveagradeD3orbederintheirLeavingCer4ficateHigherLevelMathema4csexamina4on.
Grade Points Grade Points
HA1 100 OA1 60
HA2 90 OA2 50
HB1 85 OB1 45
HB2 80 OB2 40
HB3 75 OB3 35
HC1 70 OC1 30
HC2 65 OC2 25
HC3 60 OC3 20
HD1 55 OD1 15
HD2 50 OD2 10
HD3 45 OD3 5
StudentBackground
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Percen
tageofthe
coh
ort
Year
HigherLevel
OrdinaryLevel
OtherorMissing
Figure: Proportion of students entering UL service mathematics modules from Leaving Certificate
Higher Level, Leaving Certificate Ordinary Level or other (2008-2014).
Diagnos4cTest
• StudentsbeginningtheirSciencebasedandTechnologybasedundergraduatecoursesattheUniversityofLimerick(UL)havehadtheirbasicmathema4csskillstestedthrougha40ques4ondiagnos4ctestduringtheirini4alservicemathema4cslecturesince1998.
• Studentswhoscore18/40orlessareconsidered‘atrisk’offailingtheirservicemathema4csmodule.
Diagnos4cTestQues4ons
Diagnos4cTestQues4ons
%of‘AtRisk’Students
Figure:Percentageofyearlycohortthatscored18/40orlessintheULdiagnos4ctest
30.6
25.6
33.6
40.4
35.3
40.6 42.246.1 44.8
53.7
48.7 48.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Percen
tageofthe
coh
ort
Year
2003v2014:PerformanceinDiagnos4cTest
Year Mean N Std. Dev. 2003 22.03 337 6.573 2004 22.67 406 6.574 2005 21.25 497 6.739 2006 20.13 626 7.091 2007 21.15 580 6.982 2008 20.27 544 7.053 2009 20.15 682 7.443 2010 19.44 644 7.008 2011 19.84 686 6.963 2012 18.32 739 6.451 2013 19.05 645 6.376 2014 18.91 633 6.379
2003v2014:PerformanceinLC
Figure:Propor4onofLeavingCer4ficategradesachievedbystudentsenteringULservicemathema4csmodulesin2003and2014.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
HA HB HC HD OA OB OC OD NS
Percen
tageofthe
Coh
ort
LeavingCer0ficateMathema0csGradeAchieved
2003
2014
2003v2014:‘AtRisk’
0 0 1.612.5
25.4
57.1
100
0 514.8
49.1 45.7
87.493.3
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
HA HB HC HD OA OB OC
Percen
tage
2003
2014
PercentageofstudentsthatachievedagivenLeavingCer4ficatemathema4csgradewhoweredeemedtobe‘atrisk’in2003and2014.
Consistency
• Faulkneretal.(2010)foundthatstudentsenteringULwithpar4cularleavingcer4ficatemathema4csgradesperformedtoasimilarlevelinthediagnos4ctestbetween1998and2008.
• Thesameconsistencywasnotpresentwhencomparingyearsinwhichbonuspoints/ProjectMathswereintroducedintotheLeavingCer4ficateexamina4ons.
MeanScorebyLCGrade
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
MeanScore(outof4
0)
HB
HC
HD
OA
OB
Figure:Meanscoreinthediagnos4ctestofstudentsthatachievedagivenLeavingCer4ficatemathema4csgradebetween2003and2014.
Conclusions
• Thepropor4onofstudentspredictedtobeatriskoffailingtheirservicemathema4csend-of-semesterexamina4onshasincreasedsignificantlybetween2003and2014.
• Sincetheintroduc4onoftheProjectMathsCurriculumandbonuspoints,significantdeclinesinbeginningundergraduates’performanceofbasicmathema4calskillsareevident,par4cularlyamongstudentswhohaveachievedHigherLevelCgradesandHigherLevelDgrades.
• Isgradedilu4onanemergingissue?
ReferencesDepartment of Education and Skills (DES) (2010). Report of the Project Maths Implementation Support Group, Dublin: Department of Education and Skills. Faulkner, F. (2012). An analysis of performance in mathematics for technology undergraduates and an investigation of teaching interventions for these students. Faulkner, F., Hannigan, A., & Gill, O. (2010). Trends in the mathematical competency of university entrants in Ireland by leaving certificate mathematics grade. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, 29(2), 76-93. Gill, O., O’Donoghue, J., Faulkner, F., & Hannigan, A. (2010). Trends in performance of science and technology students (1997–2008) in Ireland. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 41(3), 323-339. Lawson, D. (2003). Changes in student entry competencies 1991–2001. Teaching mathematics and its applications, 22(4), 171-175. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (2008) Project Maths – Information for Schools. Available: http://www.ncca.ie/uploadedfiles/mathsreview/pmaths_en.pdf [accessed 7th July 2015] O’Donoghue, J. (2004). An Irish perspective on the “Mathematics Problem”. In Plenary lecture at Irish Symposium for Undergraduate Mathematics Education (Vol. 2).