Susan Starkings Centre for Learning Support

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Susan StarkingsCentre for Learning Support
Development (CLSD)London South Bank University

• http//www.lsbu.ac.uk/learningsupport/

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Mathematics Support for Students on Vocational
Courses

• By Susan Starkings
• London South Bank University (LSBU)

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Presentation to Cover

• My background
• Royal Statistical Society and ISI/IASE
• Work Environment CLSD at LSBU
• Skills for Learning Team History, Strengths,
  Weaknesses, Opportunities Threats
• Mathematical/Statistical Examples
• Resources
• Summary Questions

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My Educational Background

• Mature student (24)
• 1st degree Computing, Operational Research
  Statistics
• Postgraduate Statistics and Statistical
  Education, Teaching Qualification
• UK National Teaching Fellow

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Work Background

• FE College 8 years teaching Mathematics,
  Statistics and Computing
• HE LSBU since 1991, faculty based 91-98,
  centrally based 98-to date

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Examination Background

• NEA/NEAB
• London Guildhall University
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Validation University of Helsinki, Finland
• Over 30 LSBU validation panels

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The Royal Statistical Society www.rss.org.uk
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The Royal Statistical Society (RSS)

• Honorary Education Officer
• Chair of the Education Group
• RSS Council
• RSS Executive
• Guy Lecturer

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International Statistical Institute and
International Association for Statistical
Education

• Member of ISI
• Vice President of the IASE 1998-2005
• Conferences ICOTS, ICME
• Website for ICOTS 7 http//www.maths.otago.ac.nz/
  icots7/icots7.php
• Website http//isi.cbs.nl/index.htm
• http//isi.cbs.nl/NLet/newsiase02-3.htm

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CLSD Services for Students

• Library Services
• IT Support
• Skills for Learning
• Student Advice Guidance
• Disability Dyslexia Support

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Skills for Learning

• Study skills support classes
• English language classes home and international
  students
• Pre-Study English course (international students)
• Maths support classes all students
• Fast Track summer programme
• Moving-On course

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Study Skills Support

• Southwark, Havering and Whipps Cross
• Drop in Workshops
• One to One
• Topics covered Essay Report Writing Learn to
  Learn Speaking Skills Postgraduate Research
  Skills Postgraduate Dissertations and Theses

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English Language Development Home and
International Students

• Southwark and Essex
• At Southwark students register for a ten week
  course (2 hours per week) in one or two of the
  following
• Speaking
• Writing
• Grammar.
• At Essex students attend a four week course (2
  hours per week) with optional Clinics in the
  afternoons.
• There are additional English Language Development
  Clinics (drop-ins) at Southwark on Mondays 2 to 4
  pm and Wednesdays 3 to 5 pm throughout semesters.
  

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Fast Track Summer Programme

• 6 weeks Summer Undergraduate Course in Maths,
  Maths and Science, EU English with IT,
  Communications with IT
• End of June to beginning of August (25th June
  3rd August 2007)
• Taught Classes 10-1am every day
• Optional 2-4pm workshops everyday (open to all
  university students)
• Admissions Tutors talks
• Exam at end

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Clearing Fast Track

• Two week course (3rd September 14th September
  2007)
• Taught Classes 10-1pm
• Optional Workshops 2-4pm (open to all university
  students)
• Core Skills - Maths, Communications and IT

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Postgraduate Fast Track

• Two days 10-11th September 2007 or
• Three Evenings 12 -14th September 2007
• Students who have an unconditional offer at LSBU
• Core Research Skills and IT

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Moving On Course

• Southwark
• 6 week course for LSBU graduates (15th January to
  21st February 2007)
• IT plus Communications for Career Development (2
  x 3 hour sessions per week)

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Maths Support

• All Sites
• Drop in Workshops
• One to One
• Scheduled Sessions on various topics
• Nursing Sessions
• PGCE Sessions (Teacher Training)
• Maths Pre-entry for Social Workers

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The Skills for Learning Team

• Manager - Susan Starkings
• Academic Team - Catherine Boyle
• - Graham Barton
• - Plus 50-70 Sessional/HPLs
• - IT Library academic staff
• Administrators - Ahmed Mohamed (F/T)
• - Vacant Post (P/T)

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Responsibilities

• Manage the Academic Admin staff, conduct
  appraisals, recruitment of new staff etc.
• Develop new innovative ways of providing
  service to LSBU students
• Manage budgets of p/t teaching hours and
  operational budget of Pre-Study English course
• Organise programmes of support for students
• Manage quality assurance
• Ensure that the unit complies with QAA
  requirements, HEFCE guidelines

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Responsibilities

• Training and mentoring of academic support
  staff
• Scholarship research
• Teaching/academic/professional activities
• Updating academic knowledge education
  initiatives
• Be active in LSBU central processes e.g.
  validations
• and projects ( e.g. Change Academy Project)
• Develop teaching materials

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• Established unit within LSBU (since 1998) and
  grown significantly since then.
• Service 1998 2006-07
• Fast Track U/G 60-80 350
• Fast Track P/G - 91
• Fast Track Clearing - 25
• Pre-Study English - 100
• Moving On - 98
• Maths for Social Workers 25
• Foundation 40 0
• Maths Support 238 1352
• Study Skills 342 1533
• English - 3577

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Strengths of the Skills for Learning

• Experienced Academics with expertise in
  Mathematics, Statistics, English, Study Skills
  Communications IT
• Classes/support provided at Essex Southwark
  campuses
• Student centred teaching
• Run a good informal staff development programme
• Teaching resources on web and in teaching room

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Weaknesses of Skills for Learning

• Limited access for disabled students
• Turn over of staff
• Training mentoring takes up a lot of time

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Opportunities

• Widening Participation agenda just keeps growing
• Increase usage levels by students
• Greater/closer working relationship with the
  academic staff

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Threats

• Faculties wanting to do their own thing
• Academic Staff moving to other institutions or
  LSBU faculties

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Examples

• Teaching Qualifications
• Business Studies
• Nursing
• Social Work
• Engineering
• Postgraduate

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Postgraduate Certificate in Education(PGCE)
Initial teacher Training (ITT)

• All have to pass tests in Numeracy/mathematics,
  English and ICT
• Cannot get their Qualified Teacher Status without
  passing

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PGCE/ITT Questions

• Number of marks available
• Mental arithmetic 12 marks (12mins)
• Interpreting and using statistical information
  7marks
• Using and applying general arithmetic 9 marks
• Test is timed 48 minutes. 36 minutes for the 16
  longer questions.
• The total marks 28 and the pass mark is 60 i.e.
  candidates must get at least 17 marks to pass.
• For the numeracy test an on-screen calculator is
  available for use on all questions except the
  mental arithmetic section.

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Example Mental Arithmetic Questions

• 1. The entrance fee for an exhibition is three
  pounds seventy five. What will be the total
  entrance fee for a school party of 50 pupils?
• 2. Two-fifths of a class of twenty-five pupils
  were girls. What percentage were boys?
• 3. All 300 Year 11 pupils in a school took GCSE
  English. The number of pupils gaining grade C or
  above increased from 85 in the mock exam to 93
  in the actual exam. How many more pupils gained
  grade C or above in the actual exam than in the
  mock exam?

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Example Longer Questions

• Range of statistical questions graphs, averages
  etc.
• Mathematical questions areas, percentages,
  fractions etc.
• Interpretation
• On screen calculator can be used
• http//www.tda.gov.uk/skillstests/numeracy/testcon
  tent.aspx

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Example Longer Questions
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Example Business Studies

• Increasing by a Percentage
• Suppose we want to increase 200 by 10
• We get 10 of 200 (the increase) and add this to
  200.
• A quicker way is to multiply 200 by 1.2 i.e. 200
  x 1.2 240 but why 1.2? 20 as a fraction is
  0.2 so we want to increase the original number by
  a faction 0.2 i.e. we want the original number
  0.2 of the original number. This is altogether
  1.2 of the original number or the original number
  x 1.2.
• As a formula New value Old value (1
  increase/100)

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Example Nursing
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Maths for Social Workers

• The following are the expenditures for a
  department for 2004
• Monthly expenditure for 2004
• Month
• Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
  Sep Oct Nov Dec
• Amount()
• 227 254 212 227 220 236 254 234
  543 545 550 652
• Display this information graphically
• What is the average expenditure for the year?
• Comment on the years expenditure for this
  department and its possible future expenditure.
• ( 10 marks)

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Maths for Social Workers

• As a social worker you will be expected to
  complete expenses clams. During December you
  incurred the following expenses, which you need
  to claim for
• Attendance at court incurred travelling 53 miles
  round trip.
• Train fare to Plymouth 64.
• Overnight accommodation in Plymouth cost 49.95.

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Maths for Social Workers

• Lunch in Plymouth cost 8.90
• General travelling to visit clients 247 miles.
• Mileage allowance is 32 pence per mile.
• What is the total cost of expenses for December
  that you will claim back?
• ( 6 marks)

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Engineering Example

• An oil company has to decide whether to drill a
  potential oil site. Estimates of the net returns
  ( million), which can be high, medium of low,
  are given in the table below along with prior
  probabilities
• High Medium Low
• Net return 10 3 -10
• Probability 0.4 0.4 0.2
• A test drill may be made that will give one of
  two indications of the likely return from the
  site good or poor. From past experience ,
  the probability that the test drill indicates a
  good return is 0.9 for sites that actually give
  a high return, 0.5 for sites that give a medium
  return and 0.2 for sites that give a low return.
• (a) Draw a decision tree for the problem showing
  all course of action open to the company.
• (b) Analyse the tree to obtain the expected value
  of a test drill.
• (c) Advise the company how they should proceed if
  a test drill coats 200,000

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Postgraduate Students

• Calculus
• Convex and concave functions
• Survey design
• Questionnaire design
• Hypothesis testing
• Drug calculations
• On-line maths tests for accountants etc.

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Resources

• In house resources worksheets, tests etc.
• Math Centre Website
• http//www.mathcentre.ac.uk/
• Contains - teach-yourself booklets, revision
  booklets, guides case studies, exercises, quick
  reference leaflets etc.
• Math Tutor DVD- Rom Discs
• http//www.mathtutor.ac.uk/
• Contains Interactive exercises, tests, video
  tutorials

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Math Centre
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Staff Page
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Student Page
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Math Tutor
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Teaching Led Institution

• Research on resources to aid teaching is
  paramount
• Personal research is how to support students with
  appropriate resources
• Share findings with others
• Skills required by tutors is very different to
  those in academic faculties

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Awards

• Personal award of a National Teaching Fellowship
  (2006) from The HE Academy
• Team Award for University Learning and Teaching
  Team Excellence Award (2007)
• from London South Bank University
• Guy Lecturer (2006) by the Royal Statistical
  Society
• Honorary Fellowship at Eliot College (1998) from
  the University of Kent

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Projects

• Fully integrated Blackboard Site for students
• Interactive Grammar Project
• Student Mentoring
• Study Skills

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Summary

• Keep pool of staff able to teach at the level
  required (i.e. Pre-entry to Postgraduate)
• Administration Organisation increases as the
  service expands
• Running all year has holiday issues
• Funding
• Teaching materials resources
• Evidence Evaluation of success

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Quotes from Students

• I do appreciate what the tutors did for me
• The best aspect of the support class was the
  amount of knowledge I have attained in such as
  short period of time.

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Kazeem Allimi student 2006

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• The course has helped me develop various skills
  to build my future, I enjoyed it and feel that it
  has given me the time to improve my Mathematics,
  I am now doing a degree in Business and Finance.
  I would like to encourage students who feel their
  school/college qualifications are not up to
  standard to go for it, it is highly
  recommended. 

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Marilin Aas
  My friend recommended this course to me, and
it was a good decision I have made in joining the
course, it has made me gain confidence and helped
me tackle my weaknesses. After completing this
course, I now have a clearer idea of what I want
to do for living.
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Skills for Learning Team

• Any Questions ?

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Susan StarkingsCentre for Learning Support
Development

• London South Bank University