Title :
What can be done to bridge the competency gap between upper-secondary school and university mathematics?
Author :
Silius, Kirsi ; Pohjolainen, Seppo ; Kangas, Jussi ; Miilumäki, Thumas ; Joutsenlahti, Jorma
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Math. & Hypermedia Lab., Tampere Univ. of Technol., Tampere, Finland
Abstract :
It has been observed that the mathematical skills of students entering university have deteriorated in Western Countries in recent decades. In the report of SEFI (The European Society for Engineering Education), it is emphasized that this phenomenon prevails in Europe. Mathematical competency is a prerequisite for studying technical sciences. Most Finnish students completing advanced upper-secondary school mathematics continue their studies in universities and polytechnics. Student enrollment in technical sciences has increased which has caused decreasing in a proportion of students with sufficient mathematical competency. This creates a knowledge gap between upper-secondary school mathematics and university mathematics. Bridging this gap requires measures at the very beginning of mathematics studies at university. The purpose of the paper is to describe the actions and supportive measures taken at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) to improve the situation. The effects of the measures taken are likewise presented.
Keywords :
education; mathematics; European Society for Engineering Education; competency gap; knowledge gap; mathematical skills; technical science; university mathematics; upper secondary school mathematics; Educational institutions; Engineering education; Mathematics; Natural languages; Tutorials; Writing; mathematics learning; mathematics teaching; study support; teaching development;
Conference_Titel :
Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 2011 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Amman
Print_ISBN :
978-1-61284-642-2
DOI :
10.1109/EDUCON.2011.5773172