A Blended Learning Approach in Mathematics

Blended learning (face-to-face plusonline learning) is now partof the learning landscape in Higher Education, not just for campus-based courses but also for courses designed for students studying at a distance (Distance Education). Thispaper focuses on exploring blended learning as an approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics in Higher Education. Its provide insight and understanding of current and future trendsregarding how conventional face-to-face instruction in mathematics is influenced by web-based/computer-supported learning. Practical pedagogical issues related to mathematics and blended learning in HigherEducation are also discussed. The researcher recommends that higher institutions could utilize blended learning environment such as WebCT in the teaching and learning of mathematics in Higher Education.

2000

Proceedings of the 14th Wseas International Conference on Applied Mathematics, 2009

Mathematics at an undergraduate level is frequently presented to the students in quite a traditional way. When implementing the Bologna education reform in Portuguese universities, the number of contact hours of the courses decreased, therefore increasing the need of a more self-responsible learning by the student. This means that the student has to work by himself (i.e., outside lectures and examples classes) on a regular basis. This implies that the lecturer is supposed to plan the students work, in principle weekly basis. In this paper we intend to describe an experience made at the Department of Mathematics for Science and Technology of the University of Minho in Portugal. Using an e-learning platform specially designed for teaching Mathematics called Maple T. A., we designed, programmed and made available for the students various sets of exercises organized in Question Banks on the course of Calculus. The advantage of this platform is that if properly designed, the questions can be always different and with different methods of solving (because of the use of random variables), the student can do it whenever and wherever he is (he does it via internet) and it feedback is made available to the students as soon as he submits the exercise. At the end of the year and with the aim of being able to evaluate how did the students feel about this experience, the students were given a survey implemented on the e-learning platform. The results of this survey strongly suggest, among other things, that using Maple T.A. helped the students in the study of the course of Calculus, and that it helped to achieve better results on the course.

AKSIOMA: Jurnal Program Studi Pendidikan Matematika

The background of this research was the development of blended learning in teaching mathematics. This study aimed to determine the benefits of blended learning in teaching mathematics by analyzing previous research. The method in this study is a systematic literature review (SLR), it descriptive based survey in the form of an analysis of 25 articles from the Science Direct database in the 2010-2020 period. The results showed that there are many benefits of blended learning in mathematic, which includes: to improve mathematical thinking skills, develop good perceptions, improve learning outcomes, increase self-regulation, increase thinking/problem-solving skills, improve communication skills, increase student participation, simplify the assessment process, increase computational thinking skills, and critical thinking skills. The most significant benefit of blended learning is student learning outcomes, shown in 52% of the articles. The research implies the importance of supporting t...

Generic skills are such an important requirement for successful engineers that their development in undergraduate courses is deemed essential. This paper summarizes the design of a blended learning environment based on mathematical thinking and creative problem solving aimed at improving generic mathematics skills in a group of undergraduate engineering students. The main goal of this study is to identify the effectiveness of the designed blended learning mathematics course on engineering students' generic skills. Results indicated that the blended learning engineering mathematics course has a positive effect on students' communication, problem solving and technological skills. However, the scores for both pre-and post-test for students' teamwork skills remained virtually the same. Some students' responses to the mathematics problems and journal writing describing their struggle, progress and growth encountered in the research implementation are also presented.

In March 2001 a group of mathematicians working at Università Bocconi (Milan) started a project focused on integrating the use of e-Learning technologies into the traditional structure of Mathematics courses for undergraduates. A preliminary description of our experience was presented at the Second International Conference on the Teaching of Mathematics at undergraduate level (Crete 2002). After a brief up-to-date description of the whole project, we examine the possible roles of Internet course forums; we believe that a lively and effective virtual classroom is the key factor to differentiate between weak and strong uses of blended learning technologies. However, the analysis of quantitative data coming from the tracking of messages exchanged in course forums seems to show that online participation accounts for only a slight improvement (if any) in the students' performance in mathematics. Finally, we draw some conclusions and suggest future developments.

2006

This paper describes the following technological aspects of blended learning of mathematics: effective preparation of electronic teaching materials suited for different students' needs (PDF, HTML and XML + MathML parallel generation), videotaping of mathematics lectures, automated (self)testing of subjects taught using the computer algebra system Maple and preparation of interactive teaching materials with the MapleNet technology. Authors describe results achieved and the experience gained during preparation and implementation of these challenges in a Calculus course taught at the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno, in autumn 2006.

International Journal of Advanced Research in Education and Society

Blended learning has recently gained popularity in training and education. It was a combination of two learning styles, which are face-to-face teaching and some of the technological aids that have been widely used in teaching and learning. This study is meant to be an addition to the in-class lectures and to assist students in understanding calculus subjects at their own pace and time. The purpose of this study is to describe students' perceptions of blended learning and to determine whether blended learning affects their readiness and challenges in learning calculus. A total of 86 Mathematics Education students were involved in this study, in which a series of questionnaires were distributed to evaluate their readiness and learning perceptions. Based on the findings, a conclusion has been made regarding the role of blended learning in supporting teaching and learning. The results showed that students demonstrate positive perceptions using the blended learning approach in some o...

ZDM, 2020

Blended learning, which combines face-to-face workshops with self-directed online learning, is becoming a good alternative in designing and deploying professional development programs. The online component adapts to teachers' time constraints, requires fewer trained professionals for its implementation, and enhances participants' opportunities to engage in the exploration and visualization of mathematical concepts and ideas. Also, the face-to-face component of this instruction modality allows spontaneous communication and collaborative construction of knowledge in real settings. This paper describes the instructional model of Suma y Sigue, a b-learning professional development program for primary and middle school teachers, which has been designed and implemented in Chile since 2015, aimed at developing mathematical knowledge for teaching. A particular feature of the program is its high-degree of self-directed autonomous online learning. We discuss how contextualized situations are articulated to create a learning environment in which teachers get involved in a progressive construction of multiple components of this knowledge. We also describe the implementation of the program, discussing the effects of scaling in teachers' experiences, and also how the information gathered upon implementation has led to changes in the training of instructors and in the program's instructional design.

ZDM, 2016

In this literature survey we focus on identifying recent advances in research on digital technology in the field of mathematics education. To conduct the survey we have used Internet search engines with keywords related to mathematics education and digital technology and have reviewed some of the main international journals, including the ones in Portuguese and Spanish. We identify five sub-areas of research, important trends of development, and illustrate them using case studies: mobile technologies, massive open online courses (MOOCs), digital libraries and designing learning objects, collaborative learning using digital technology, and teacher training using blended learning. These exemplary case studies may help the reader to understand how recent developments in this area of research have evolved in the last few years. We conclude the report discussing some of the implications that these digital technologies may have for mathematics education research and practice as well as making some recommendations for future research in this area.