Return to Maths and Stepping into Statistics Resources

An earlier project titled Summertime Maths has been the starting point for this new project titled Return to Maths and Stepping into Statistics. Summertime Maths was initially set up to target students entering the University of Wollongong who need a brush up on their basic skills before starting their first year and to support students commencing their degree. The website/DVD has modules which contain theory refreshers, skills tests and worked examples & solutions and information about mathematics degrees at UoW. This resource is now available online and the DVD version was officially released at the 2008 Maths Teachers Day which is run by the School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics.

Funding from UOW and Australian Learning and Teaching Council (previously the Carrick Institute) has assisted in the project development of Return to Maths and Stepping into Statistics. The resources are targeted at students undertaking 100 level subjects that involve numeracy,mathematical and statistical thinking and skills. These students include nurses, chemists, engineers, commerce students, pre-service teachers and more. Students will be able to access resources, in their own time for review on a dvd or website or be directed to them via a subject website.

The resources being made are an excellent resource for lecturers and students alike. A variety of mediums are being used in this project. With a Tablet PC, a short amount of time and specialist capture and annotation software it is possible to create short videos that demonstrate mathematical processes and concepts. Lecturers may work with familiar software such as PowerPoint, pdf and word documents or statistical and mathematical packages and combine these with annotations or voiceover to create resources. Video resources are also produced with the help of the UOW Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR). These are primarily used to develop maths in context and motivational videos. Animations are currently being incorporated for Engineering resources.

Staff and students have been involved in both projects and these collaborative efforts recognise and fulfil the needs of both students and lecturers. A cross faculty team with representatives from Commerce, Education, Informatics, Health and Behavioural Science, Engineering, Science, Learning Development, and CEDIR meets monthly to review the project’s progress, ensure quality of the resources that are being made and to put forward suggestions for resources to meet cross-faculty mathematics and statistics education needs. This ensures that the resources developed are usable across disciplines.

The ultimate aim of this project is for material to be released to the wider educational community, schools and universities. Collaboration with partner universities has been instigated to allow the sharing of expertise, creativity and resources with a view to producing a comprehensive website and DVD of mathematics learning support materials that can be shared across educational institutions. International links have been initiated to introduce a wider range of materials such as flash animations and games. Contributions and collaboration with people interested in developing the resources is most welcome. The project manager may be contacted by email sdenny@uow.edu.au.