Promoting engagement via engaged mathematics labs and supportive learning

Abstract

Out-of-class activities play a crucial role in student learning. However, student opinions on the design of these activities are rarely measured across several different classes. The purpose of this study is to understand students’ preferences and attitudes towards new “Engaged Mathematics Labs” in which professors and teaching assistants assisted students in completing an assignment during lab time. We analyze both qualitative and quantitative survey responses from ~200 first year students participating in “Engaged Mathematics Labs” across two different levels of mathematics classes at a large Canadian public university. Results indicate that students enjoy being able to work in groups regardless of major or gender. Moreover, students learned to effectively use resources available in the course to solve questions that deepen their understanding of course concepts. Understanding the student preferences from this study can help form the design of future learning activities and future pedagogical studies.

A comparison of flipped learning with traditional learning (face-to-face) in large calculus courses: The effects on students’ achievement and cognitive engagement

“…Without a clear motivation to complete lab activities, students' emotional and cognitive engagement could suffer (Krause et al, 2020). Furthermore, students should be provided ample time to think through and complete activities to prevent the feeling of being rushed (Krause et al, 2020;Mohammad et al, 2023).…”

“…To supplement the learning done in traditional or flipped lectures, mathematics labs introduce a collaborative environment, where students can apply the concepts they learn in lecture to real-life situations (Krause et al, 2020). In this study, "engaged mathematics labs" (Mohammad et al, 2023) were implemented using three of the weekly labs, which were each 50 minutes long. Students formed their own groups of two to four when they arrived.…”