Transforming the "sage-on-the-stage": a student-centered approach to learning mathematics

Abstract or Summary

The transition from secondary to tertiary-level mathematics is perhaps the most difficult of all STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects for learners. A main reason for this is the phobia many learners have developed from their previous math-related courses. Other factors include the diversity of student population based on age, ethnicity, work experience, and learners’ personal responsibilities. Tertiary institutes are moving towards approaches to facilitate positive learning experience through shared leadership between learner and facilitator. This presentation will describe the implementation and preliminary findings of our efforts to ease this transition by using this shared leadership approach in two mathematics courses taken by prospective Engineering (Level 3 Certificate) and Information Technology (Level 6 Degree) students. In both our courses, this was done by giving learners the independence to choose on how, when and where learning will occur. Preliminary results suggest a small improvement in class performance but a high level of student satisfaction with this approach. With further refinement of this approach it is hoped to improve retention and completion rates for these courses.