Coordination between High School and University Teachers in Spain to Reduce Mistakes in Calculus

Abstract

In level tests carried out in recent years to evaluate the competence acquired by calculus students enrolled in the Computer Software Engineering degree at the University of Oviedo, it has been observed that a significant percentage of students make very similar conceptual errors. This article describes the research undertaken by a working group of teachers called BACUNIMAT, currently made up of two university professors and five high school professors. The name BACUNIMAT is the acronym in Spanish for the High School and University Teachers Working Group. The aim of this research group was to analyze the main deficiencies in mathematical knowledge that students possess upon arrival at university. The analysis was performed in order to propose solutions to alleviate these deficiencies. The research proposes how to focus mathematical teaching in secondary schools in order to better prepare students for university.

An Intervention Based on Identifying Topics That Students Have Difficulties with

“…It is the requirement of a bridging course before starting the first semester at university. This proposal was already mentioned in previous research [1] and it was considered convenient for more than 50% of students. Currently, most universities in Spain do not offer a formal bridging course that covers either one or two semesters like in other countries, but we agree with a previous study [6] that the current heterogeneity of the student cohort entering third-level education makes it necessary to implement different entry pathways that in some cases would require a bridging course.…”

“…Questions 5 and 6 are related to the definite integral and, finally, question 8 is about linear systems resolution. Please note that four of these questions, numbered as 1, 3, 4 and 5 were employed by authors in a previous study [1].…”

“…Several authors note that certain errors in mathematics subjects are made by a high percentage of students. This circumstance seems to be widespread not only in Spain [1], but also in most other countries [2][3][4][5][6] despite their different education systems. The reasons why students make mistakes in mathematics can be very diverse.…”

“…The present research follows the line started with a study [1] published in 2019 in which the subject of analysis were, on the one hand, 52 students from our Calculus course who were studying the degree of Computer Software engineering in the 2017-18 academic year and had recently entered the University from high school and, on the other hand, 300 students (including the previous ones) who were taking the same subject in different engineering degrees at our university.…”