Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?

Abstract

This paper reports on empirical results from a study that investigated first-year mathematics students’ preparedness for, and response to, online learning. With the appearance of COVID-19 in 2020, lecturers were forced to make sudden changes to the established face-to-face learning environments, and students were expected to adapt to these changes. The idea of a blended learning environment is not new, and students globally have demanded flexibility in mathematics learning environments for some time. However, the idea of a sudden change in environments, particularly to fully online, was new to most lecturers and students. Key aspects in an online environment are students’ ability to self-regulate their learning, and the availability and accessibility of technological resources. Quantitative data from the self-developed questionnaire were collected early in 2021, at a public university in South Africa, from a large sample over several modules. Results indicate students are partially prepared for learning fully online, with significant effect on performance.

Mathematical Modeling in Online Learning Environments: Student Challenges

“…Recent changes have inevitably affected mathematics education. For the purpose of the studies on mathematics education in online learning environments, particularly throughout the COVID-19 epidemic, the adaptation processes of students and educators to online education (Radmehr and Goodchild, 2022;Morton and Durandt, 2023), the use of new approaches and applications (Alabdulaziz, 2021;Lo, Cheung, Chan and Chau, 2021;Fan et al, 2021), difficulties and opportunities related to mathematics education in online environments (Adnan and Boz, 2015;Salsabila et al, 2022) have been discussed. Furthermore, some studies addressed on how students effectively learn mathematics in online learning environments and the factors affecting their motivation positively or negatively (Bringula et al, 2021;Santi et al, 2022;Rutherford, et al, 2022).…”

Analyzing trends in online learning in higher education in the BRICS countries through bibliometric data

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