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Mathematics Support Centres resources

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Guides (6)

Resource type evaluation of mathematics support centres - a review of the literature (sigma)
This sigma guide reviews published literature concerning the evaluation of mathematics support centres. There is a growing body of research studies, which have looked into a number of areas such as: the establishment of a MSC; the usage of MSCs and mechanisms for recording usage data; feedback from students and staff and ways to collect this; effects on achievement, pass rates and retention rates; and the prevalence of MSCs in the higher education sector. More recently researchers have begun to examine the effects of MSCs on undergraduatesâ?? mathematics learning experiences and mathematical confidence, and to address issues concerning students who are â??at riskâ?? or underachieving and not engaging with the facilities offered by their MSC. This report reviews and synthesises all the available published research evidence so that informed decisions can be made about the value of mathematics support activity and the targeting of future funding.
Resource type Gathering student feedback on mathematics and statistics support provision - A guide for those running mathematics support centres (sigma)
This sigma guide has been written for those who are responsible for managing mathematics support centres. It is the culmination of a project involving staff from many support centres around the UK. Authored by Dr David Green, Mathematics Education Centre, Loughborough University, it contains a wealth of advice and information for those who want to gather student feedback, and contains examples of forms which are currently being used.
Resource type Good Practice in the Provision of Mathematics Support Centres (LTSN)
A second edition of the popular LTSN funded guide for those interested in the establishment and development of Mathematics Support Centres in universities and other institutes of higher education. Authors: Lawson, D., Croft, A.C. and Halpin, M.
Resource type mathematics learning support in UK higher education - the extent of provision in 2012 (sigma)
This sigma guide reports on a survey conducted in 2012 to deteremine the number of UK universities that offer some form of mathemathics support and the nature of their provision.
Resource type Setting up a maths support centre (HE STEM)
The focus of this HE STEM guide is to provide mathematics support to students across all STEM disciplines to ease the transition from School/College in to University. This is a key factor influencing drop-out from STEM degrees and a targeted provision for mathematics support is a proven way to counter this. It includes cases studies from the Universities of Coventry, Portsmouth, York. Lincoln and Kent and articulates the experiences of the two Sigma Directors Professor Duncan Lawson, Coventry University and Professor Tony Croft, Loughborough University joint winners of the 2011 Times Higher Award for Outstanding Support for Students
Resource type Tutoring in a Mathematics Support Centre - A Guide for Postgraduate Tutors (sigma)
This sigma Guide is written for postgraduate students who are working in, or who want to work in, mathematics support centres. It distils the wisdom of seven people, who have many years of experience in mathematics education and in the work of support centres, into a practical resource for postgraduate students. In addition, it contains activities which can be used during training sessions to simulate working in a mathematics support centre. The guide is edited by Tony Croft and Michael Grove and authored by A.C.Croft, J.W.Gillard, M.J.Grove, J.Kyle, A.Owen, P.C.Samuels and R.H.Wilson.

Research Papers (6)

Resource type A Framework for Discussing the Location of the Maths Drop-in Workshop
A framework for discussing the location of a mathematics drop-in workshop by Ian beverage. Mathematics Support Newsletter, Issue 2, 1994.
Resource type Evaluation of mathematics support centres: a literature review
Janette Matthews, Tony Croft, Duncan Lawson, and Dagmar Waller. (2013) Evaluation of mathematics support centres: a literature review. Teaching Mathematics Applications. first published online September 3, 2013 doi:10.1093/teamat/hrt013 Mathematics Support Centres (MSCs) have been established at universities in the UK and a number of other countries, of which colleagues from Australia and Ireland have been the most prolific in publishing about their work. Their main functions are to address issues surrounding the transition to university mathematics and to support students’ learning of mathematics and statistics across the wide variety of undergraduate courses. There is a growing body of research examining the operation and impact of MSCs. This article will review and synthesize available published research evidence so that informed decisions can be made about the value of mathematics support activity and the targeting of future funding. Evidence will be shown of the evaluation of MSCs in each of the following areas: the collection of data and the challenges that are presented in both quantitative and qualitative studies; analysis demonstrating MSC usage and activity; analysis showing the impact of MSCs on students, staff and the institution. The article will conclude by identifying areas where further research would be helpful.
Resource type Offering Training to Postgraduates who Tutor in Mathematics Support Centres
Tony Croft, Shazia Ahmed, Verity Aiken, Leslie Fletcher, Michael Grove, Andrew Mead, Chetna Patel, and Robert Wilson: (2013) Offering Training to Postgraduates who Tutor in Mathematics Support Centres. MSOR Connections 13(1), 3-7. DOI: 10.11120/msor.2013.13010003 This report summarises the deliberations which took place during a workshop held to discuss issues to consider when recruiting and training postgraduates to work in mathematics support centres. It distils the current wisdom of a group of mathematics support professionals with experience of managing and tutoring in mathematics support centres. There exists an active national network (the sigma network) for those involved in university mathematics and statistics support; this report concludes by identifying how members of the higher education community may participate in this network.
Resource type Summer internships in sigma-sw
Matthew Taylor, Ollie Bond, Callum Anderson and Andrew Kennedy. (2012) Summer internships in sigma-sw. MSOR Connections 12(1), 23-27. DOI: 10.11120/msor.2012.12010023 We report on the experience of Loughborough Universityâ??s Eureka Centre for Mathematical Confidence in establishing a small pilot project to provide one-to-one mathematics support for neurodiverse students who attend other local universities and where no such provision is available. We outline the background to the scheme and report on the three students involved.
Resource type The extent of mathematics learning support in UK higher education—the 2012 survey
Glynis Perkin, Tony Croft and Duncan Lawson. (2013) The extent of mathematics learning support in UK higher education—the 2012 survey. Teaching Mathematics Applications, 32 (4), 165-172 doi:10.1093/teamat/hrt014. Many higher education institutions have introduced some kind of mathematics learning support provision in response to the well-documented ‘mathematics problem’. In 2001 and 2004 two independent studies were undertaken to assess the number of universities offering mathematics learning support to students in addition to that provided through lectures, tutorials and the personal tutorial system. The results of these surveys showed a growth in the number of institutions providing support from 46 to 66. In this article we report on a survey carried out in 2012 to establish the current position regarding the provision of mathematics learning support in UK universities. In addition to determining the number of institutions providing mathematics learning support—there has been a further rise to 88—the article analyses the distribution of mathematics learning support by university mission group and by the type of support provided. The main findings are that the extent of mathematics learning support provision is largely independent of mission group and the dominant provision is drop-in support.
Resource type The redesign of a quantitative literacy class: student responses to a labbased format
Nicole Scherger (2013). The redesign of a quantitative literacy class: student responses to a lab based format, Teaching Mathematics and its Applications 2013 32(4), 206-213 doi: 10.1093/teamat/hrt003. The purpose of this study was to observe students’ retention, success and attitudes towards mathematics in a community college quantitative literacy course, taught in a lab-based format. The redesigned course implemented the daily use of Microsoft Excel in the classroom demonstrations, group activities and individual assignments, and utilized data from many fields of study. Results showed statistically significant growth in attitudes towards real-world application problems, the use of computers in mathematics, and the consideration of taking additional mathematics courses. There was also marginally significant growth in students’ attitudes towards the relevance and utility of mathematics. Higher retention and success rates in the redesigned course were also observed, although those rates were not found to be statistically significant.

Staff Resources (3)

Resource type And the winner is... mathematics support
At the Times Higher Awards ceremony on 24th November 2011, it was announced that Loughborough and Coventry Universities had won the award for Outstanding Support for Students, in recognition of the work of sigma, Centre for Excellence in University-wide mathematics and statistics support. Whilst sigma at Coventry and Loughborough Universities received the award, the real winner was mathematics and statistics support across the country. In this booklet, we outline how sigma's work has contributed to the growing recognition of the importance of mathematics and statistics support and to the development of a national and international community of practitioners. Authors : Ciaran Mac an Bhaird and Duncan Lawson
Resource type Maths EG Teacher Interface
The teacher interface for Maths EG which may be used for computer-aided assessment of maths, stats and numeracy from GCSE to undergraduate level 2. These resources have been made available under a Creative Common licence by Martin Greenhow and Abdulrahman Kamavi, Brunel University. Teachers need to register (top right of screen) and thereafter login to use the system, after which they may use it to compose their own tests by selecting (specifically or randomly) questions from the entire database of questions. Instructions are available from the title page.
Resource type Numbas Editor
Numbas is a free, open-source e-assessment web-based system developed and used extensively at Newcastle University (http://numbas.mathcentre.ac.uk/). Numbas consists of a set of tools which produce SCORM-compliant exam packages particularly suitable for creating formative assessment and learning materials in mathematics, statistics and numeracy.