A New Blended Model for Small Scale Learning in Calculus for the Physical Sciences

Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Fok-Shuen Leung, Department of Mathematics, University of British Columbia
Vanessa Radzimski, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of the Fraser Valley
Small classes that enact student-centered pedagogies have been shown to be effective in developing students’ problem solving skills, conceptual understanding, and facilitating effective peer-to-peer engagement. Small, active classes are pedagogically superior, but university resources do not afford all courses to be taught in this manner. In this talk, we will share a blended teaching model that splits this difference. In the blended model, three weekly lectures are replaced with a single faculty-led lecture and two smaller graduate student-led classes. In the small classes, the aim is to have students spend about 80% of the time in an active learning environment, working on problems in groups and on the boards. We share quantitative and qualitative data on the impacts of implementing this model in a section of first-year integral calculus. Our data suggests that this innovative, blended teaching model has a significant positive impact on students’ final exam marks, as well as their attitudes towards mathematics. We will also share the ways graduate students may benefit in their pedagogical development, as this blended model provides a safer space for graduate students to experiment with implementing student-centered pedagogies in their teaching.
supperseries@science.ubc.ca