Bag-Lunch Education Seminar

Abstract: We will present some relatively new technologies we have used to create online lecture notes, exercise sheets and slides with interactive elements. The syntax is a mix of: a subset of LaTeX (MathJax), markdown (a minimalist formatting syntax), and other less important bits for fancy customizations. The learning curve is comparable to learning the non-maths bits of LaTeX (documentclasses, enumerate, margins, …)

The output is an HTML which can be hosted online or distributed in QM+. This technology can also produce PDF but in my opinion, LaTeX is best placed for PDF production.

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Abstract: A concept map is a visual tool that is used to summarize and organize knowledge. It illustrates relationships between different concepts, and its creation makes it easier to understand, analyze and retain information.

In this talk, I will give examples of concept maps I create to support my teaching as well as concepts maps created by students as part of formative assessment. I will then discuss how concepts maps can be used in summative assessment.

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Title: LEArning starts with LEA by Dimitris Kalogiros

Abstract: Dimitris is a Lecturer in Data Science based at the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary University of London as well as the London City Institute of Technology.

Dimitris is the Learner Engagement Analytics (LEA) Lead at the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences and in this seminar he will discuss how LEA-driven pathways can drive personalised learning. The talk will be focusing on the proposed framework for multi-level quantitative and qualitative analysis of learner engagement data for monitoring and enhancing (not merely increasing) engagement as well as informing the curriculum design and teaching practices with the aim of identifying the various potential barriers students from different backgrounds and various characteristics face regarding their engagement with learning.

Title: Relating Academic content to the Workplace and Employability by Pedro Vergel

Abstract: Pedro will be talking about different techniques used to increase employability and relating content to the workplace. He will present a case study of a PG level module that offers examples of the variety of techniques used to increase the employability of our students. One additional benefit of using these techniques has resulted in an increase in attendance and engagement in the module.

In this talk, we present the latest updates from three EDI summer projects conducted at QMUL.

Starting in 2022, we created a booklet featuring short biographies of mathematicians often overlooked in traditional narratives.

Last year we expanded several of these biographies into posters and produced a series of video interviews with a diverse group of mathematicians, including QMUL PhD students, academic staff from various institutions, and professionals.

This year we launched a social media campaign to enhance the visibility of these interviews which have also been made accessible online for students, the posters are now displayed within the mathematical department, and we presented the project at different outreach events.

Our last project delved into the history of mathematics from various cultural and mathematical perspectives in contrast to Western-centric proofs and definitions, with a focus on two specific topics, the Pythagorean Theorem and Irrational Numbers, that will form the initial chapters of a broader resource we plan to develop. With these initiatives, we have contributed to promoting diversity and inclusion within and outside our local mathematical community, providing inspiring role models for the next generation of mathematicians.

Female and young women of ethnic groups underperform in mathematics compared to their male colleagues, which represents a decline in skills [2]. Most people agree that mathematical concepts are hard, abstract, and challenging to comprehend. One of the challenges faced by female students from ethnic groups is understanding and then communicating mathematical concepts, which eventually results in dissatisfaction and a lack of confidence.

Importantly, the major gap is the absence of real-world framework in the curriculum. For example, traditional math lecture has often focused on remembering the formulas and procedures without practical demonstration of how it’s relevant to real world situations. Other environmental factors, such as the attitudes of parents and teachers towards female students, the mathematical abilities of the students, lack of inclusive curriculum and the historical background of gender stereotypes in society, can influence and increase the level of math anxiety and prevent students from realising their full potential.

I’ll explore the challenges that female students have when studying and using mathematics in post-primary, college and university settings, along with some doable adjustments that could be beneficial. My goal is to establish inclusive learning atmosphere that support the teaching and facilitate successful communication of
mathematical concepts in female students.

In this seminar by Queen Mary Academy we will discuss barriers that learners who learn differently face and we offer some strategies and tools that can support educators being more inclusive in the design and delivery of their teaching. It will be an opportunity to reflect on your practice and to learn where to find further support at the university.

After attending this seminar, you will:

1.Learn about some of the challenges and strengths neurodivergent learners might face;

2.Become aware of support and training at the university;

3.Reflect on inclusive practice in the design, delivery, and assessment of your modules;

The International Center for Academic Integrity observes that HEIs “tend to address academic integrity by identifying and prohibiting behaviours that run counter to the principles of integrity” (2021:4). However, we also know that experience of previous poor academic performance is a key factor in cheating (Khan, 2014).

So, what if we deliberated on how students thrive and how we support them - in all their diversity -to excel academically through the values of academic integrity? What alternative methods of promoting and facilitating academic integrity might this lead to? Jo Trelfa and Olumide Popoola from Queen Mary Academy look forward to joining you in this conversation.

In this seminar by Queen Mary Academy we will discuss barriers that learners who learn differently face and we offer some strategies and tools that can support educators being more inclusive in the design and delivery of their teaching. It will be an opportunity to reflect on your practice and to learn where to find further support at the university.

After attending this seminar, you will:

1.Learn about some of the challenges and strengths neurodivergent learners might face;

2.Become aware of support and training at the university;

3.Reflect on inclusive practice in the design, delivery, and assessment of your modules;

This is an open discussion on issues related to the mechanics of tutorial
delivery, encouraging student engagement, providing feedback to students,
and on any other relevant topic that participants would like to address.

The International Center for Academic Integrity observes that HEIs “tend to address academic integrity by identifying and prohibiting behaviours that run counter to the principles of integrity” (2021:4). However, we also know that experience of previous poor academic performance is a key factor in cheating (Khan, 2014).

So, what if we deliberated on how students thrive and how we support them - in all their diversity -to excel academically through the values of academic integrity? What alternative methods of promoting and facilitating academic integrity might this lead to? Jo Trelfa and Olumide Popoola from Queen Mary Academy look forward to joining you in this conversation.

This seminar will summarise a project exploring how analysis of climate change can be embedded in a range of modules including pure, applied, statistics and computing using student co-creators. We will then use this project to reflect on the potential for student co-creation in curriculum development.

Dr Lubna Shaheen will be discussing the strategies she used this year to raise the end of year evaluation percentages. She will be talking about teaching strategies implemented in courses Maths A and Maths B.

The EDI summer project on Diversifying the Maths Curriculum at QMUL has been running during the past two years, and is an example of co-creation with a group of PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, led by Dr Claudia Garetto. Our project aims to increase visibility of underrepresented groups in the Mathematics undergraduate curriculum, by showing that the mathematical community is far more diverse than traditional teaching may lead us to believe. The project has produced a booklet of short biographies and online resources on mathematicians from diverse backgrounds.

In this seminar, we’ll be looking at how you will be able to assess engagement levels for your module. We’ll learn how to access and use tools such as activity reports, logs, module statistics and activity overview in QMplus. In addition to this, there will be information on how to view engagement analytics in QReview and Power BI. We’ll also learn how to access attendance reports for zoom sessions. This will be followed by a Q&A.

Join us for this joint seminar, where Prof Morten Brekke will discuss MatRIC (the Centre for Research, Innovation and Coordination of Mathematics Teaching at Agder University), and QMUL colleagues will discuss their approaches to (Engineering) Mathematics education.

Prof Morten Brekke - Transforming Mathematics teaching - the how?

Part 1: MatRIC -Centre for Research, Innovation and Coordination of Mathematics Teaching

In this first part I will briefly introduce MatRIC, its mission and overall achievements. MatRIC (Centre for Research, Innovation and Coordination of Mathematics Teaching) is a National Centre for Excellence in Education in Norway appointed in 2014. Its vision is “Students enjoying transformed and improved learning experiences of mathematics in higher education”. I will show examples of how we have tried to transform and improve learning experiences of mathematics in higher education and I will focus on three main objectives:

1. Improvement of students’ learning experiences, with activities such as drop-in support (by students for students), mentors who are liaisons between students and the centre, camp for teaching assistants, and a forum for the MatRIC-team and mentors (MatRIC Forum).
2. Improvement of teaching with, for example, project about mathematics for economics students; annual national/international conference on mathematics education. Induction course for mathematics educators. Forum for learning about digital assessment. Development of national guidelines regarding mathematics for engineering education, and Partnership for learning and teaching (Platinum)
3. Research into learning and teaching mathematics, engagement in national and international conferences and collaboration with our priority research centre MERGA (Mathematics Education Research Group at Agder).

Part 2: Mathematics assessment project, failure rate down from 44% to 12 %

In this part I will focus on a design sprint project in engineering mathematics. We have struggled with failure rates of over 40 percent in mathematics in our engineering education for several years. Several measures have been tried without significantly affecting the failure rate. In the spring of 2022, the dean of the faculty decided that something drastic needed to be done and decreed that a one-week design sprint should be conducted to change the way the calculus course was taught. The change was to be based on experiences from a previous pilot carried out by MatRIC. The idea was to change the assessment of the course from a final exam to conducting sub-tests during the course. The development of this assessment method was carried out during the design sprint, where the mathematics academic community, along with the examination office, Canvas responsible, and study administration, worked together for five days. During this time, clarifications were made about the regulations and rules within the examination regulations, IT systems, and Canvas.

The assessment is a portfolio consisting of 4 sub-tests, each worth up to 15 points. Additionally, students must submit a text document where they present four tasks of their choice. In the text document, students are assessed on their ability to write mathematics correctly, as well as their ability to present mathematical arguments in writing. This section is worth up to 40 points. The test is conducted under supervision so that students cannot receive help while taking it. The test questions are randomized so that no two students receive the same tasks, although the tasks are related to the same topic. Students can take the test as many times as they wish during a two-week period. These testing periods are spread throughout the semester.

Dr Melania Nica - The placement year: an experiential learning perspective

Students at QMUL can opt for a year in industry experience as part of their degree. From an academic perspective this is a work-based learning experience that contributes credits towards the university degree. In this talk I will present my perspective, as the SMS placement co-ordinator, about how prior interaction with peers already in placement and potential employers can help students not only to secure a job but also to perform well in their future roles. Further I will talk about the academic assessment of the placement students - this is different than their work performance. At SMS the credit earning assessment is based on individual reflection on the learning experience in work, self-awareness and contextual awareness.

Dr Rehan Shah - Teaching Ethics in Mathematics? You must be joking!

For the last 20 years it has become increasingly obvious, and increasingly pressing, that mathematicians should be taught some ethical awareness so as to realise the impact of their work. This extends even to those more highly trained, ranging from graduate students to academic staff. But what should we be teaching mathematicians and how should we do it? In this talk, I will discuss the need for the consideration of ethical aspects within mathematics and outline some of the ways in which we can incorporate the teaching of ethics within mathematics courses at university.

Dr Pedro Vergel - Using active learning to increase student engagement and employability in postgraduate lectures
At higher education institutions, many lectures are still taught in a traditional manner, with students passively listening to a lecturer deliver academic content. However, there is an abundance of literature that suggests an active learning strategy is more effective and has a positive effect on student engagement and performance.
I have introduced collaborative active learning exercises into lectures with the aims of increasing student engagement, facilitating the development of employability skills, and meeting learning objectives at programme, university and higher education levels. This research has served to improve teaching pedagogy and inform the wider academic community of improvements than can be made in similar modules for the benefit of students’ learning.

In this special session we will hear from two different speakers. 

Talk 1

The summative assessment of mathematics: the closed book exam, and some alternatives, Paola Iannone.

Assessment of mathematics at university is often given for granted: much effort goes in designing meaningful exam questions which are fair, for which marking can be highly reliable and that  test  the competencies we value (or at least which we think assess the competencies we value). Not much thinking however is devoted to find out whether the closed book exam is the only  (or the best) way to assess mathematics  and what are the consequences of the exams we set on students’ understanding of what is mathematics and their engagement with the subject. The pandemic changed all this to some extent  forcing academics to think about assessment methods and what to do when the closed book exam is no longer an option. In this talk I will first give an overview of assessment of mathematics in the autumn 2019 in the UK. I will then present some of my research on assessment by focusing predominantly on the  impact that types of assessment have on students’ engagement with mathematics. I will then discuss other assessment methods and conclude with some reflection on the link between assessment and teaching. 

Talk 2

Strategic approach to feedback, Eleni Katirtzoglou

Most course evaluation forms contain a question that reads something like this:

“How satisfied are you that the feedback received on this course will be helpful in preparing you for the final course assessment?”

And in most cases the scores in this question are low. Providing meaningful and comprehensive feedback to student work is a challenging task: student numbers keep growing and recourses, especially time, are limited. 

I will discuss a strategic approach to feedback that I implemented in two second year undergraduate courses that improved student satisfaction. The strategy was part of my Round Table course model (an interactive teaching and learning method) and was aligned with the course learning objectives as well as formative and summative assessment.

In this seminar, we’ll be looking at how you will be able to assess engagement levels for your module. We’ll learn how to access and use tools such as activity reports, logs, module statistics and activity overview in QMplus. In addition to this, there will be information on how to view engagement analytics in QReview and Power BI. We’ll also learn how to access attendance reports for zoom sessions. This will be followed by a Q&A.

I will talk about using QM+ Module Announcements and Student Forum. From getting it set up, rolling over tricks, as well as how I have used it.

In this talk we we will present the finding of the EDI summer project on Diversifying the Maths Curriculum. Our aim is to provide examples of mathematicians from minority groups (women, ethnic minorities, LGTBQ+, etc) and discuss how their short biographies can be introduced in our curriculum.

Plom is a system for administering handwritten tests, exams or homework on paper, but marking and returning them online.  Pages are adorned and printed with individualized QR codes.  Students write the paper.  Papers are then scanned, and graded online by a team of TAs.  PDF files are returned to students.  The instructor and the Learning Management System (e.g., Moodle or Canvas) get a spreadsheet of grades.  Plom supports randomized tests for close-quarters writing or multiple sittings using a novel approach of interleaving versioned questions.

Plom is Free and Open Source Software.  UBC Mathematics has used the system for around 12000 papers in 20 courses.  We are interested not just in logistics but also in how we can use the resulting data to improve our pedagogy around testing.

Dr. Hugo Maruri-Aguilar recently visited Morpeth Secondary School to better understand our students' background and how they have been taught before they get to us. He was hosted by teacher Sebastian Bicen, who will join us for our first BagLES discussion of 2018.

Since I discovered for myself mathematical mindsets, I have never taught a lecture. The principles of mathematical mindsets allow me to transform each lecture into an interactive teaching session during which I constantly give and receive appropriate feedback. To find out what students feel during these sessions, we conducted experiments taking EEG recordings of participants as they solve mathematical problems and discovered that problems informed by mathematical mindsets increase the participants’ motivation.

The Engagement Retention and Success team have been working on restructuring Y1 tutorials by observing our lectures and tutorials and running workshops with our TA's. This will be an opportunity to meet them, hear their experiences and discuss our tutorial provision.