Online Educational Resources for Incoming First Year Calculus Students

TitleOnline Educational Resources for Incoming First Year Calculus Students
Faculty/College/UnitScience
StatusCompleted
Duration1 Year
Initiation04/01/2012
Completion03/31/2014
Project Summary

Over 3500 students enrol in first-year calculus courses at UBC each year. In the 2010/2011 academic year, 9% failed and 45% received a grade of”C” or lower. This was even more pronounced in MATH 180 where 21% of students failed in 2010/2011. Moreover, the average final grade obtained by Faculty of Arts students in three of the UBC first year calculus courses was 60%, 53%, and 59.2%.

Two main obstacles prevent student academic success: (1) gaps in their knowledge base that need to be revealed and corrected, and (2) reliance on ineffective study method. We propose to develop an online diagnostic test and a pre-calculus program that would help incoming first-year students make a successful transition from high school to university mathematics.

Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year2012/2013
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorFok-Sheun Leung
Year 1: Funded Amount41,472.80
Year 1: Team Members

Fok-Sheun Leung, Mathematics, Faculty of Science
Andrea Han, Skylight, Faculty of Science
Janet McCracken, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology
Greg Mayer, Mathematics, Faculty of Science