Closing the gap: The Dutch perspective on solving mathematics problems

Dr. Natasa Brouwer

Dr. Koos Winnips

Dear MariaWe’re angry. We’re noticing we are not up to university education. On a

daily basis we notice we have not have enough maths on high school. So, now we have to enroll remediation programmes or stop our studies. Our teachers are compaining, but what can we do? We wished we had more maths on high school.

Now you are working to improve education. Good idea, but you are planning to do less maths? If that continues the new students can’t understand anything. We would like to have more maths. We hope you keep thinking for a while.

Cheers,

10.000 students

Letter to Maria

• Students not satisfied with transition

• 2006: “Dear Maria” petition by 10.000 students and HE lecturers:

“I had a good grade in secondary school but I cannot cope with HE mathematics”

Concerns of the HE teachers:low success at the first mathematics

exam

Institution Cohort No. students

Pass 1st exam

RUG 2007 159 25%

UU-chemistry

2006 83 25%

UM-business 2006 1030 47%

TUD-science 2007 345 37%

Fontys-tech 2007 48 40%

UU-economy 2007 262 38%Source: Transition monitor, project NKBW, 2008-2010

• What’s the problem?

• Choices and organisation

• Results of projects

• Didactics

• What can you do?

Monitor: Students NOT satisfied on transition

in the Netherlands

Transition from secondary to university education. Dutch national survey, Transition monitor, NKBW project 2010.

maths: technology students

maths: economy students

Englsh: technology students

Englsh: economy students

%

Transition problem - Context

• Lisbon agreement of the European community– 50% of population university education– 15% more students in natural sciences (2000-2010)

• Netherlands: changes in secondary school in the 90’s– profiles (science, economics, society and culture)– math in context– graphical calculator

Strategies to bridge the gap

• help students to bridge the gap (2003-2006)– remedial education after secondary school

• minimize the gap between secondary and higher education (2007 - – collaboration between secondary and higher

education– tuning the test in algebraic skills: exit test = entrance

test– monitor the transition gap

Dutch projects• Institutional activities and projects • ICT national projects with up to 3 partners

– material– methods– tools

• Collaboration between projects –SIGMA - Special Interest Group Mathematics Activities

• ICT national projects with up to 20 partners– National knowledge bank of materials – Pilots and collaboration (HE and SE)– Applications: intelligent tools and applications, feedback

• ICT national projects up to 5 partners– Other transitions– Higher years

2003

2004

2006

2007

2009

2011

• tests in algebraic skills:– secondary school to diagnose and practice – starting point of the remedial courses at university– establish commitment of teachers (SE and HE)

• monitoring – evidence based research – trends in bridging the gap: inform the

stakeholders and society

Minimize the gap

Peter Riley Bahr, Res High Educ (2008) 49, 420-450.research sample: 107 colleges, 85,894 freshmen

Importance of remedial mathematics courses

Transitional Remedial Courses

Source: European project STEP (Studies on transition electronic Programmes)Database: http://www.science.uva.nl/onderwijs/database/step/public/index.php

Transitional remedial courses: didactic scenario

Source: European project STEP (Studies on transition electronic Programmes)Database: http://www.science.uva.nl/onderwijs/database/step/public/index.php

Transitional remedial courses:educational vision

Source: European project STEP (Studies on transition electronic Programmes)Database: http://www.science.uva.nl/onderwijs/database/step/public/index.php

eMathematics

7 Reasons to use e-learning in Mathematics

Puts students to work (practice in their own time)

Unlimited practice

Direct feedback

Passive -> active learning

Dale (1969)

Fits many styles of learning

Wizmohttp://www.wizmo.nl/en/home.html

You can share materials

http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/calculus/applications-of-antidifferentiation/separable-equations-modeling/

Sharing materials

• Khan Academy

• http://www.khanacademy.org/exercises?exid=equivalent_fractions

• Build it yourself:

• http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/create

iTunesU

Safe to make mistakesCLa$$y: Dr Math: do you have any math questions for me today? Cla$$y: yes, arithmetic nd geometric sequences Dr Math: ok, can you tell me if this is an arithemtic or geometric

sequece 8 10 12 14 16... Cla$$y: arithmetic Dr Math: right and this one 3 6 12 24 48 .... Cla$$y: geometric Dr Math: right. so what's your questions now Cla$$y: how do we find out wat ur 'nth' term is Dr Math: when you have a sequence you need to determine the first

term and the "delta". for the arithmetic sequence 8 10 12 14 16 the first term is 8 and the delta is 2. the formula ofr the nth term is an = a1 + (n-1)d

Butgereit (2008), Meraka Institute CSIR, Pretoria

(14:37:58) smartie: yes can you tell me hw 2 calculate the area of a circle(14:38:24) dr.math: sure, do you have a radius?(14:38:55) smartie: 7.2cm(14:39:14) dr.math: so if you have a radius then the area of the circle is pi x radius x radius

Keep dancing!

Leadership lessons from a dancing guy