Mathematics Support in LHCS

Science students need to develop a level of competence in mathematics to succeed in their studies.  However, Open University students in chemistry, biology and health sciences may well be unaware of the need for mathematical skills prior to embarking on their studies, and given the open entry policy, prior competence even at GCSE standard cannot be assumed.

Support with mathematics (and, where appropriate, statistics) is delivered within the science modules, but time constraints limit both delivery and students’ opportunity to practise.  A significant proportion of these students are anxious about mathematics (over 60% of biology and over 30% of chemistry students being visibly anxious (Pawley and Organ, 2022)). Anxiety and perceptions of others’ skills as superior may also inhibit engagement with in-module support.

Anecdotally students at higher levels may continue to struggle with mathematical skills that have been covered at lower levels, indicating these cannot be assumed to have been fully assimilated.  So, in practice the in-module support at one level may replicate that offered at a lower level, or risk building on shaky foundations.

The typical in-module structure of a relatively long session (60 – 90 minutes) may also be overwhelming for a student intimidated by mathematics, and not allow sufficient time for earlier skills to be built on. In addition, the maths support may not necessarily be delivered by a maths specialist.

To address this, we propose to create a suite of resources that support LHCS students’ mathematical and statistical capabilities outside the confines of an individual module. These would include:-

• Short videos (at most 15 minutes), each explaining a single key concept.
• Mapping of these videos to show dependencies.
• Sets of practice examples accompanying videos.
• “Workshop” sessions on particular concepts, led by an AL, allowing students to practise with help immediately available.
• “Drop in” sessions, led by an AL, with bookable slots, to enable students to get help on an individual basis.

The use of these would be evaluated, and student questionnaires and interviews carried out to establish their impact. If feasible, performance on mathematical components within module assessment would be reviewed to further assess impact.

Pawley, S. and Organ, S. (2022),Recognising and addressing maths anxiety within mature STEM students at a distance learning university, eSTEeM Conference presentation. Sue Pawley and Sally Organ - Recognising and addressing maths anxiety within STEM students | eSTEeM (open.ac.uk)