A quantitative analysis of the relationship between an online homework system and student achievement in pre-calculus

Abstract

Supporting student success in entry-level mathematics courses at the undergraduate level has and continues to be a challenge. Recently we have seen an increased reliance on technological supports including software to supplement more traditional in-class instruction. In this paper, we explore the effects on student performance of the use of a computer software program to supplement instruction in an entry-level mathematics course at the undergraduate level, specifically, a pre-calculus course. Relying on data from multiple sections of the course over various semesters, we compare student performance in those classes utilizing the software against those in which it was not used. Quantitative analysis of the data then leads us to conclusions about the effectiveness of the software as well as recommendations for future iterations of the course and others like it.

Mobile‐Based micro‐Learning and Assessment: Impact on learning performance and motivation of high school students

“…Furthermore, its role receives greater importance especially in content‐heavy curriculums (Ruohoniemi & Lindblom‐Ylänne, ) and large class sizes (Harfitt & Tsui, ). The study builds on existing research about the benefits that computer‐based homework offers to students, for example, immediate feedback and step‐by‐step scaffolding (Hauk, Powers, & Segalla, ; Mendicino, Razzaq, & Heffernan, ) as well as optimization of student learning (Babaali & Gonzalez, ; Kelly et al, ). In line with previous findings suggesting that use of mobile devices in teaching yielded higher achievement scores than conventional teaching in all subject areas (Tingir et al, ), our MBmLA approach improves student factual knowledge.…”

The effect of adding online homework assignments to a small introductory physical geology class

“…Berry (2013) found that weekly online homework assignments were the single most effective of the active learning strategies investigated at improving student performance in an introductory geology class (enrollment ∼200). Richards-Babb et al (2011) found that online homework improved student performance in introductory chemistry (enrollment > 200), and Babaali and Gonzalez (2015) found it improved student performance in a pre-calculus course (enrollment ∼200). Therefore, the preponderance of evidence, including from this study, indicates that regular online homework assignments improve student performance in a variety of fields and in both large and small classes.…”

“…The performance of students using online homework systems has been compared by researchers in many fields, including chemistry (Richards‐Babb, Drelick, Henry, & Robertson‐Honecker, 2011), economics (Rhodes & Sarbaum, 2015), geology (Berry, 2013), mathematics (Babaali & Gonzalez, 2015; Roschelle, Feng, Murphy, & Mason, 2016), physics (Bonham et al., 2001; Cheng, Thacker, & Cardenas, 2004), and others. However, such studies have most often been conducted in large introductory classes that have hundreds of students enrolled and student access to the instructor may be limited due to the sheer number of students the instructors interact with.…”

Panorama sobre los sistemas de evaluación automática en línea en matemáticas

“…En educación superior hay resultados positivos en el uso de estos sistemas en matemáticas generales de primer año (Lowe, 2015;Vasko et al, 2018), en cálculo (Babaali & Gonzalez, 2015;Figueroa-Canas & Sancho-Vinuesa, 2017) y estadística de primer año (Jonsdottir et al, 2017). En estas implementaciones se aprecia que los estudiantes tienen una mayor autonomía para decidir si utilizan o no estos sistemas.…”