Conference presentation
Numeracy Ready Project
SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Gold Coast, Queensland, 05/11/2019 - 05/11/2019)
05/11/2019
Metrics
14 Record Views
Abstract
Numeracy proficiency among Australian students has been dropping (ARACY, 2015), with Australia now ranking 19th in the list of 50 countries who partake in the international Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), lower than all other English-speaking countries apart from New Zealand. In a seminal study linking numeracy to academic retention, Parsons and Bynner (2005) found low numeracy to be more problematic than low literacy with regard to successfully undertaking tertiary studies, with resultant implications for student retention. The School of Business and Tourism has seen falling student success rates and increased attrition among quantitative units.
To improve foundation mathematics skills and thus positively enhance student success rates and student confidence, the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in collaboration with the library and the School of Business and Tourism (SBaT) have created Numeracy Ready modules that are student-centred, just-in-time learning for students who are missing foundation mathematic skills needed to succeed in their current units. Students are encouraged to use these learning modules to engage in mathematic content through activities that then allow for evaluation and remediation. Students in SBaT take an online quiz embedded in their unit and then receive results and feedback as to which modules they need to undertake to improve their foundation mathematics skills. The Numeracy Ready modules are designed to have a small amount of front-loaded content to improve engagement. The majority of the learning takes place through an interactive video where the teacher practises the skills using similar problems found in the evaluation area. The students then practise the skills and if they are still having problems the students are directed to additional resources to help them learn the concept. The learning modules have been developed to support students across multiple SBaT units by CTL and the Library using the LibWiz tool, videos and evaluative questions.
ARACY. (2018). Report Card: The Wellbeing of Young Australians. Retrieved from https://www.aracy.org.au/shop/publications/report-card-the-wellbeing-of-young-australians
Mullis, I. V. S., & Martin, M. O. (Eds.). (2017). TIMSS 2019 Assessment Frameworks. Retrieved from http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/frameworks/
Parsons, S., & Bynner, J. (2005). Does numeracy matter more? London: Institute of Education.
Details
- Title
- Numeracy Ready Project
- Creators
- Jenelle Sue Benson - Southern Cross UniversityM. WilliamsMieke Witsel - Southern Cross University
- Conference
- SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Gold Coast, Queensland, 05/11/2019 - 05/11/2019)
- Identifiers
- 991013135809502368
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Teaching and Learning
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference presentation
- Local Fields
- Evidence Based Practice - SoLT