Developing Statistical Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety via Drop-in Consultations

Abstract

Students in many Australian universities start their studies mathematically underprepared as there are no prerequisites for mathematics, and assumed knowledge requirements are often overlooked. Many degrees include at least one statistics subject for which students require a reasonable level of mathematical ability to successfully complete. Students’ efforts to grasp quantitative skills often lead to feelings of anxiety, stress, and lack of self-confidence. The Mathematics Education Support Hub (MESH) at WSU provides free support in mathematics and statistics to all students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, to increase their engagement, understanding, and abilities in statistics as well as to overcome their anxiety. In this paper we focus on the drop-in consultation service, which provides “just in time” help in campus libraries. Data is collected for every consultation, which enabling an investigation in relation to the mathematics background of students and the problematic topics in statistics. Text mining is used to examine students’ queries to identify the topics in statistics subjects that students struggle most with. Outcomes of this analysis can be used by statistics instructors and mathematics support centres to improve students’ experience in learning and to help to reduce statistics anxiety in future generations of statistics students.
 First published February 2020 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

Evaluating the Impact of Worked Example Videos for Blended Learning in a Large-Enrolment Business Statistics Course

“…There are a range of individual and environmental factors that influence student attitudes and performance in statistics courses. Mathematical skill levels and prior knowledge are one critically important aspect, as students with well-developed learning strategies and prior exposure to statistical concepts are more likely to be academically successful (Ali & Iqbal, 2012;Intepe & Sheaman, 2020;Onwuegbuzie & Wilson, 2003). However, widening participation trends have grown the proportion of students without traditional preparation (such as mature-age learners), meaning there is an increasing cohort who lack a background in statistics (Dart & Spratt, 2021;Nguyen et al, 2016).…”

“…Moreover, in Australia where the present study was performed, a steady decline in students choosing to study higherlevel mathematics in high school has occurred over the last decade (Barrington & Evans, 2016). This combined with Australian universities removing formal prerequisites for admission (Office of the Chief Scientist & Australian Mathematical Institute, 2020) has meant a lack of mathematics preparation at the undergraduate level even for school-leavers (Intepe & Sheaman, 2020;King & Cattlin, 2015). Consequently, there is a growing need to bridge students without an ideal educational background for attempting statistics courses (Dart & Spratt, 2021).…”

“…Anecdotal reports from teaching and support staff in the present study indicated reduced demands for support occurred when the WEVs were introduced, particularly for the peer learning service operated by the faculty. Thus WEVs can complement formal support services like drop-in centres, which are becoming increasingly popular for addressing the decline in commencing students' mathematical skills (Intepe & Sheaman, 2020).…”