Background: Students often harbour negative attitudes towards research methods and statistics courses, and such attitudes may be associated with harmful cognitive and behavioural responses. Research on these effects has been restricted to the investigation of direct links between attitudes towards statistics, statistics anxiety, academic…

The study investigated first-year preservice teachers' affective, conative, cognitive, social, and physical wellbeing in a mathematics education subject at a regional university in Far North Queensland. Data collected included pre and post surveys with forty-nine preservice teachers, and interviews with preservice teachers and teacher educators.…

The dramatic changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way in which mathematics and statistics support is offered. Students and staff have been presented with new opportunities and challenges. One-on-one interviews were conducted late in 2020 with 23 students and staff who had experience with fully online mathematics and…

The Mathematics and Statistics Support Centre (MSSC) at Central Queensland University (CQU), which is part of the Academic Learning Centre (ALC), has been in operation since 1984 as the first MSSC in Australia. The Mathematics Learning Support (MLS) centres have spread to almost every university in Australia currently. The MSSC at CQU offers free…

The use of online student response systems (OSRSs) is increasing within tertiary education providers, however, research investigating their potential to enhance student engagement is limited. The aim of the current study was to examine the impact of an OSRS using an experimental crossover design. Quantitative data measuring student engagement was…

For many mature-aged students, there can be a considerable gap between finishing formal study and beginning university. They are often required to draw on qualifications and skills, including mathematics, which are dated, but necessary for success. Most universities offer several pathways that prospective students can take to enter university:…

To explore the mathematics learning experiences of those more likely to come from non-traditional educational backgrounds, ten students studying one or two maths units in the Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) at CQUniversity Australia were interviewed. The aim was to investigate how these students learnt to become…

Transfer of learning, the application of learning to different contexts over time, is important to all learning for development. As 21st century skills specifically aim to be "generic," there is an assumption that they can be transferred from context to context. We investigate the process of transfer in problem solving, with specific…

First-year engineering students often struggle to see the relevance of theoretical mathematical concepts for their future studies and professional careers. This is an issue, as students who do not see relevance in fundamental parts of their studies may disengage from these parts and focus their efforts on other subjects they think will be more…

In this paper, we report on developments in the Mastery Learning (ML) curriculum and assessment model that has been successfully implemented in a metropolitan university for teaching first-year mathematics. Initial responses to ML were positive; however, we ask whether the nature of the ML tests encourages a focus on shallow learning of…

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions mathematics students have of the knowledge and skills they develop throughout their programme of study. It addresses current concerns about the employability of mathematics graduates by contributing much needed insight into how degree programmes are developing broader learning outcomes for…

In 2014 we commenced working on the Inspiring Mathematics and Science in Teacher Education (IMSITE) project, aimed at improving mathematics and science education in Australia by improving the recruitment, development, and retention of mathematics and science teachers. In this project we undertook a range of activities, the most exciting of which…

This article examines pedagogical changes to a mathematics education course for pre-service teachers (PSTs) over a three-year period. Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) is used as a conceptual framework underpinning the course redesign. A case study of one campus (Campus A) is presented. It is chosen for analysis because, of the three campuses on…

Students who are studying introductory statistics units but are enrolled in non-statistics majors often struggle with the content, and do not stay engaged. Support structures are in place at many Australian universities to help these students. Most of these are face-to-face support centres that the students can visit during opening hours. To…

Many teachers of statistics recommend using real-life data during class lessons. However, there has been little systematic study of what effect this teaching method has on student engagement and learning. The present study examined this question in a first-year university statistics course. Students (n = 38) were interviewed and their reflections…