We report on three approaches taken to incorporate collaborative activities into undergraduate mathematics classes. There is strong evidence from research in K-12 classrooms that these, and similar, approaches support a range of positive learning outcomes for students. Despite the potential benefits the cited studies have shown, research into the…

Students approach learning in different ways, depending on the experienced learning situation. A deep approach is geared toward long-term retention and conceptual change while a surface approach focuses on quickly acquiring knowledge for immediate use. These approaches ultimately affect the students' academic outcomes. This study takes a…

The goal of the study is to explain the behavioral, normative and control beliefs of vocational college students about their intentions in using worked-example based video podcast (WEBVP) technology in mathematics courses. The research is based on the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). It was carried out on 110 students of Computer…

Deficiencies in beginning undergraduate students' basic mathematical skills has been an issue of concern in higher education, particularly in the past 15 years. This issue has been tracked and analysed in a number of universities in Ireland and internationally through student scores recorded in mathematics diagnostic tests. Students beginning…

It is well documented in both the British press and mathematics education literature that many consider A-levels (qualifications for secondary school leavers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) to be insufficient preparation for undergraduate mathematics study in the UK. A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics are not solely intended for…

Being situated within a course at the applied end of the spectrum of maths degrees, the pure mathematics modules at Sheffield Hallam University have an applied spin. Pure topics are taught through consideration of practical examples such as knots, cryptography and automata. Rubik's cubes are used to teach group theory within a final year pure…

This paper analyses introductory statistics students' verbal and gestural expressions as they interacted with a dynamic sketch (DS) designed using "Sketchpad" software. The DS involved numeric data points built on the number line whose values changed as the points were dragged along the number line. The study is framed on aggregate…

Mathematics anxiety affects primary pre-service teachers' engagement with and future teaching of mathematics. The study aimed to assess the level and range of mathematics anxiety in first year pre-service teachers entering their teacher education course, and to investigate the sources of this anxiety as perceived and identified by them. Data…

Lexical ambiguity arises when a word from everyday English is used differently in a particular discipline, such as statistics. This paper reports on a project that begins by identifying tutors' perceptions of words that are potentially lexically ambiguous to students, in two different ways. Students' definitions of nine lexically ambiguous words…

We report on the implementation of a monitoring scheme by the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the National University of Ireland Maynooth. The scheme was introduced in an attempt to increase the level and quality of students' engagement with certain aspects of their undergraduate course. It is well documented that students with higher…

Many technologies have changed the way individuals live and learn. Google Inc. has played significant roles in business and academic worlds. Google Apps for Education and Google Classroom have been offered to higher institutions around the globe. Although large cloud service provider such as Google do not encrypt all their stored electronic data…

Concern has been expressed that many commencing undergraduate mathematics students have mastered skills without conceptual understanding. A pilot study carried out at a leading Australian university indicates that a significant number of students, with high tertiary entrance ranks, have very limited understanding of the concept of function,…

Office hours provide time outside of class for students to consult with instructors about course material, progress, and evaluation. Yet office hours, at times, remain an untapped source of academic support. The current study examined whether office hour attendance in combination with a learning reflection would help students learn material in an…

For many scientists, researchers and students Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation is an important and necessary tool to perform Bayesian analyses. The simulation is often presented as a mathematical algorithm and then translated into an appropriate computer program. However, this can result in overlooking the fundamental and deeper…

With the proliferation of new affordable recording technologies, many universities have begun offering students recordings of live lectures as a part of the course resources. We conducted a survey to investigate why some students choose to attend lectures in person rather than simply watching the recordings online, and how students view the two…