Report looks at ways of bringing maths to life

Citation

(2005), "Report looks at ways of bringing maths to life", Education + Training, Vol. 47 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2005.00447aab.007

Report looks at ways of bringing maths to life

Mathematics lecturers who bring the subject to life, and programmes to give students the study skills they need to tackle the subject at university, are called for in a report sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Teaching that is well beyond them and fails to stimulate interest is a big turn-off for undergraduates, according to the study led by Professor Margaret Brown, of King’s College, London.

Against the background of a shortage of maths graduates and teachers, the research examined why some students develop more positive attitudes to the subject, while others transfer, fail or drop out. Researchers questioned students during three years of maths-degree courses at two traditional city universities with high gradings for research and teaching. They found many of the students had been good at maths at school without having to work very hard, but while some adapted to more challenging work and the need for new styles of study, others did not.

Initially, students spoke of the usefulness of maths in general and for future careers. However, as they progressed, many were disappointed that the maths they were learning had become so pure as to have no obvious use. While 82 per cent felt initially that employers would look favourably on a good maths degree, this fell to 65 per cent by the end.

Statistics was not generally liked, even among those for whom it had been popular at school. This led fewer to specialise in this area, although there is an acute national shortage of statisticians. Students were enthusiastic about project work, which enabled them to consolidate what they had learned and work at their own pace. All felt more likely to retain knowledge gained from projects than learned for examinations.