Communicating mathematics at a distance Dr Stephen Garrett

Communicating mathematics at a distance Dr Stephen Garrett University of Leicester

Aims of the talk l Motivate more science DL programmes l Give insight into how academics respond to DL design challenges (Thanks to BDRA)

The course in particular l l l PG Dip in Applied Mathematics Directly relevant to a financial profession Accredited by external body Live since April 07 – two intakes per year Students either associated with UK employers or international “independent” students

Background l l l Subject previously taught through DL by a professional body Profession decided to get Universities involved in education A few on-campus courses available around country, we saw the need for a Universityprovided DL programme

The constraints l l l Very conservative industry Existing DL provider engrained in employers’ minds Our staff experienced in teaching related subjects on campus, but inexperienced in DL

On-campus experience l Key elements of on-campus teaching of mathematical subjects : l l l Lectures Visualisations Problem solving Tutorials Discussion These form the basis for our conversion to DL

Lectures – the first stage of traditional teaching l l Material is introduced for first time in formal atmosphere Mathematical nuts-and-bolts are rigorously stated and models are built up in complexity l Notes are taken for future reference Links to existing knowledge (techniques or theory) are made l In summary: “dense” information flows in one direction l How best to replicate this stage? Text-book type material But need to compliment this with other electronic means so as to teach not just facilitate self-study l l

Visualisations – traditional illustrations of models l l The development of scientific intuition is crucial, visualisations aid this. Traditionally plots are used, but now computer animations are often incorporated into lectures Students benefit from playing with the parameters of a model to see how things change. These very easily translated to DL via Java applets available via Blackboard.

Problem solving and tutorials l Questions are set so students have opportunity to do mathematics – this is often the best way of learning However, it is important that attempts seen by and discussed with tutor PDFs submitted and “PDF ANNOTATOR” used l It is also crucial that students see tutor doing “maths” l l

Pre-recorded tutorials l l l These are recorded in response to the solutions submitted by students They either provide model solutions, or go through some theory that has caused trouble “Camtasia Studio 4” used, with a tablet laptop

Discussion l l l Students benefit from peer support and also some informal contact with tutors This is difficult to replicate in DL subjects Have been using discussion boards but students reluctant to take part l l Subject specific problem or more general? In addition – to provide a sense of a human tutor, podcasts are recorded to introduce topics

The “product” l l l l Delivery of hard copy of notes Access to Blackboard with material divided by chapter Introductory section contains podcast welcoming to module – unfamiliar words are mentioned Material is time-released by chapter to give a suggested pace to the study Coursework questions set - model solutions appear on deadline date Attempts submitted back and “PDF Annotator” to provide feedback Tutorial recorded in response to common problems Discussion boards available and encouraged at all times

Conclusion l l l Theoretical science is possible to teach at a distance and this should be encouraged Expansion to BSc degrees to be thought about Accommodating transferable skills may be difficult