Thursday, December 10, 2015

10:00 AM - 10:20 AM

The Shine Dome

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Overview

Deborah Jackson

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Details

Quantitative literacy is an essential graduate capability and one of the basic literacies required for undergraduate programs in Science degrees. This presentation discusses the Maths Skills Program in the College of Science, Health and Engineering at La Trobe University, a program that offers a model for mathematics support tailored to science disciplines. It is a voluntary program for students studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics and Mathematics subjects, and designed for those who are: ➢ under-prepared in mathematics; ➢ not mathematics confident ➢ keen to see the relevance of mathematics to their subject ➢ mature age and need a mathematics refresher ➢ in need of support in the mathematics components of their subject The program offers support for a wide range of subjects and is delivered through three learning modes – worksheets, online programs, and help sessions. Each program is tailored to suit a specific subject, with questions in context and sections on relevance. Feedback from students shows that the program increases mathematics confidence and skills, and students see the usefulness of the program and its relevance to their educational goals. Within subjects, it is consistently found that student groups engaged in Maths Skills have a higher subject pass rate than those groups of students who are not engaged in the program.

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