Do lower entry-level students benefit most from engagement-centered teaching in a compulsory first year mathematics subject?

In Australian universities there has been increase in the proportion of students entering with low numerical skills. Yet, science disciplines require increasingly sophisticated mathematical and computational methods. This misalignment is especially challenging in highly diverse student cohorts. We investigated how an engagement-focused delivery of a first year quantitative skills subject altered (i) students' affective attributes, (ii) their appraisal of their own learning and (iii) how these measures related to student achievement for lower and higher entrylevel student groups. We found no change between the start and the end of semester in students' affective attributes. Further, our results (i) suggest that students improved their judgement of their understanding and skills by the end of the semester and (ii) encourage ongoing development and evaluation of engagement-focused teaching strategies to lift the performance of lower entrylevel students.

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STARS: Students Transitions Achievement Retention & Success 2015

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