Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning

Nagham Mohammad; Mihai Nica; Kimberly M. Levere; Rachel Okner

doi:10.29333/iejme/12960

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Nagham Mohammad ¹ ^* , Mihai Nica ¹ , Kimberly M. Levere ¹ , Rachel Okner ¹

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¹ Department of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CANADA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Out-of-class activities play a crucial role in student learning. However, student opinions on the design of these activities are rarely measured across several different classes. The purpose of this study is to understand students’ preferences and attitudes towards new “Engaged Mathematics Labs” in which professors and teaching assistants assisted students in completing an assignment during lab time. We analyze both qualitative and quantitative survey responses from ~200 first year students participating in “Engaged Mathematics Labs” across two different levels of mathematics classes at a large Canadian public university. Results indicate that students enjoy being able to work in groups regardless of major or gender. Moreover, students learned to effectively use resources available in the course to solve questions that deepen their understanding of course concepts. Understanding the student preferences from this study can help form the design of future learning activities and future pedagogical studies.

Keywords

mathematics labs
MathMatize
Top Hat
teaching assistants
collaborative learning

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, 2023, Volume 18, Issue 2, Article No: em0732

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960

Publication date: 01 Apr 2023

Online publication date: 13 Feb 2023

Article Views: 1100

Article Downloads: 794

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How to cite this article

APA

Mohammad, N., Nica, M., Levere, K. M., & Okner, R. (2023). Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 18(2), em0732. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960

Vancouver

Mohammad N, Nica M, Levere KM, Okner R. Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2023;18(2):em0732. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960

AMA

Mohammad N, Nica M, Levere KM, Okner R. Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2023;18(2), em0732. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960

Chicago

Mohammad, Nagham, Mihai Nica, Kimberly M. Levere, and Rachel Okner. "Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2023 18 no. 2 (2023): em0732. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960

Harvard

Mohammad, N., Nica, M., Levere, K. M., and Okner, R. (2023). Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 18(2), em0732. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960

MLA

Mohammad, Nagham et al. "Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 18, no. 2, 2023, em0732. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/12960