In this paper, we consider the experiences of mathematics lecturers in higher education and how they moved to emergency remote teaching during the initial university closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted in May–June 2020 which received 257 replies from respondents based in 29 countries. We report on the particular challenges mathematics lecturers perceive there to be around teaching mathematics remotely, as well as any advantages or disadvantages of teaching mathematics online that they report. Over 90% of respondents had little or no prior experience teaching mathematics online, and, initially, 72% found it stressful and 88% thought it time-consuming. 88% felt there was a difference between teaching mathematics in this way compared with other disciplines. Four main types of challenges were associated with emergency remote teaching of mathematics: technical challenges; student challenges; teaching challenges; and the nature of mathematics. Respondents identified flexibility as the main advantage of online teaching, with lack of interaction featuring strongly as a disadvantage. We also consider respondents’ personal circumstances during this time, in terms of working conditions and caring responsibilities and conclude by summarizing the impact they perceive this experience may have upon their future teaching. Forty-six percent% of respondents self-identified as having caring responsibilities, and 61% felt the experience would affect their future teaching.

This study explores students' perceptions of the effectiveness of a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) design project, taken as part of a first-year engineering module, in developing professional skills needed for engineering practice. Students completed surveys before and after the PBL group project, and produced personal reflections on the process. The closed survey questions were analysed quantitatively and the main themes from the reflections outlined using General Inductive Analysis. Students rated themselves as having improved across a range of professional skills as a result of the project, with particular emphasis on teamwork, communication skills, understanding of the design process and selfdirected learning. In addition, they highlighted improved confidence, as well as new friendships they developed, an important element of a module like this as they transition from secondary to higher education. They were particularly positive about the scaffolded approach taken within the PBL project in terms of its contribution to their learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to closures of university campuses around the world from March 2020 onwards. With little or no time for preparation, lecturers turned to emergency remote teaching to continue to educate their students. Online mathematics education poses particular challenges in terms of both the hardware and software necessary for effective teaching, due to issues with mathematical symbols and notation, among others. In this paper, we report upon an online survey of 257 university mathematics lecturers across 29 countries, which explores what hardware and software they used for emergency remote teaching, for what purposes they used these and what training and support were made available to them at the time. We also consider what approaches they took to emergency remote teaching and what were their reasons for this.

In this paper, we present a range of formative assessment types for engineering mathematics, including in-class exercises, homework, mock examination questions, table quizzes, presentations, critical analyses of statistical papers, peerto-peer teaching, online assessments and electronic voting systems. We provide practical tips for the implementation of such assessments, with a particular focus on time or resource constraints and large class sizes, as well as effective methods of feedback. In addition, we consider the benefits of such formative assessments for students and staff.

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