Investigating the Engagment of Mature Students with Mathematics Learning Support
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Journal ArticleDate:
2015Author:
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Cormac Breen, Mark Prendergast and Michael Carr, Investigating the Engagment of Mature Students with Mathematics Learning Support, Teaching Mathematics and its Applications, 34, 1, 2015, 16 - 25Abstract:
The Maths Learning Support Centre (MLSC) in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT)
provides free mathematical support to all DIT students. This support is primarily delivered
through a drop
-
in service, where students can receive one
-
to
-
one tuition, witho
ut an
appointment, in any area of mathematics. In the first semester of the 2013/14 academic year a
significant proportion of students that availed of this drop
-
in service were mature students
enrolled in Engineering programmes. This is of particular inte
rest as mature students constitute
a relatively small proportion of the total student body, motivating a deeper study of the reasons
for the high levels of engagement in this cohort. To this end two focus groups were conducted,
consisting of those who do a
nd do not attend the MLSC. Particular interest was paid to the
motivations of student who attend and the reasons given by those who do not. The motivations
of mature students were found to be multifaceted while the reasons for non
-
engagement were
mostly in
line with the literature. In addition some quantitative analysis was carried to determine
what effect the MLSC had on student’s academic performance.
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/mprendeDescription:
PUBLISHED
Author: PRENDERGAST, MARK
Type of material:
Journal ArticleCollections
Series/Report no:
Teaching Mathematics and its Applications34
1
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Full text availableSubject (TCD):
Mathematics Education , Maths Learning Support , Student EngagementDOI:
https://doi.org/10.1093/teamat/hru027Metadata
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