Evaluation of an online maths bridging course

In recent years there have been concerns regarding the level of maths of undergraduates commencing STEM degrees. Students who are struggling with first year maths are at risk of withdrawal at HE level. One way of tackling this issue in the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Huddersfield was to develop and deliver an Online Maths Bridging Course.

The online ‘Summer Maths Bridging Course’ was designed and piloted in August and September 2013 to provide basic maths tuition free of charge to students starting year 0 in Science. The aim was to deliver the course online to allow those students who are not local to access the course thereby capturing a wider student base. The course was the first of its kind in the School of Applied Sciences and it is intended to be rolled out to all Year 1 undergraduates enrolled on to courses in this School.

The Summer Maths Bridging Course was delivered using multiple media formats to encapsulate different learning styles and covered 6 topics: basic numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, indices and basic algebra. Pencasts, screencasts, PowerPoint presentations with and without audio, worksheets, worked examples and weekly live webinars were used with 70 students. By the end of the 4 week course students were expected to have completed 6 unit quizzes to assess their knowledge. The students were encouraged to become independent learners through self-study and were introduced to the university’s virtual learning environment (VLE) to assist them in their transition onto their degree. The results from student feedback and plans for the 2014 rollout will be discussed in this presentation.