Easing the Transition from School Mathematics to University > Project Report

Project Report

The project was designed to develop an understanding of the transitional experiences of mathematics and other STEM undergraduates. The development of the teaching and learning of first year students within their respective courses is an important feature of retention and the recommendations developed through this project will aid lecturers meet this aspiration, or at least be aware of some of the issues that have been identified through the two main strands of the project; examining and addressing transitional issues (from staff and student perspectives), and also enhancing engagement and CPD opportunities for HE staff within secondary schools.

The grounded theory approach adopted enabled a number of key themes to emerge through the student interview transcriptions, which helped inform further research into transitional issues and aided the success of the subsequent online survey to over 3000 Further Maths Support Programme (FMSP) students nationwide.

An investigation of the FMSP survey data indicated that not only had engagement with FMSP aided the students’ mathematical understanding, but an unexpected consequence was that the methodology aided their transition to undergraduate study as they developed essential study skills and adopted learning styles akin to those required within HE. It was also of interest to note that, in the past 12 months, the University of Bath’s Mathematics Department has begun to use FMSP resources to help support their first year students, whilst the University’s Computer Science department has also decided to support future cohorts of Maths and Computer Science students with similar material.

As a chartered Maths teacher with experience of developing continuous professional development (CPD) models within secondary mathematics, the project leader has a commitment to the CPD of others within mathematics education. One of the major legacies of the project has been the development of links between undergraduate course leaders and secondary schools. The opportunity to discuss current A-level syllabus content has proven invaluable to HEI staff and has informed the restructuring of course material in a variety of STEM-related courses at the University of Bath. Also, the opportunity for school visits for HE staff and reciprocal lecture observations within HEIs enabled the Project Lead to identify features of delivery which may be considered good practice.

The final report for the project can be downloaded below:

Maths Transition - Final Report

Project Highlights

1. Identifying the very positive effect that the FMSP initiative has had on transitional issues through its lecture-style delivery system and online Moodle resources. This Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI) government-funded initiative to support the study of Further Maths within further education provides study skills that are viewed as desirable by undergraduate students. This finding is backed by the endorsement of certain academic departments at the University of Bath of FMSP material to support first year undergraduates.

2. Working with HE academic staff to inform the redesign of first year degree course content to better reflect the experiences of students in schools, has proved highly successful. Through this work, subject staff have gained an insight into the diverse nature of mathematical entrance qualifications and have been able to tailor their undergraduate course materials accordingly.

3. Using the project lead’s experience of CPD models within the secondary sector to feed into the professional development review cycle of academic staff also proved a success. A collaborative approach was adopted between teacher and lecturer and informed the planning and delivery of a lecture sequence, incorporating teaching methodologies common to the secondary sector, and involving participatory mechanisms to engage students within the lecture environment. In this way, aspects of sixth form teaching that first year students would be familiar with were incorporated, aiding both transitional issues and an enhanced understanding of the material being covered.

Staff involved

Garrod Musto
Project lead, Kingswood School