School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education
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Browsing School of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology Education by Subject "Assessment procedures"
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Item Open Access Student's experiences with distance and online learning of university-level undergraduate mathematics in Nigeria(University of the Free State, 2016-06) Reju, Comfort Okwuegbune; Jita, Loyiso C.; Moloi, Tshele J.English: Enrolment and success rates in undergraduate mathematics are relatively low, even for the face-to-face mode of study. The situation is worse for distance and online modes. At the same time, distance and online learning is becoming progressively more popular with higher learning institutions across the globe. In order to increase enrolment in undergraduate mathematics and to boost success rates at open and distance learning (ODL) institutions, a clear understanding of the needs of distance and online mathematics students is required. In particular, it is important to understand their current experiences with four elements of provision: instructional delivery (ID), assessment procedures (AP), learning facilitation (LF) and support services (SS). The key question being answered by this study is: What are the students’ experiences with distance and online learning of university-level mathematics at two major distance-learning universities in Nigeria? The research uses a mixed-methods approach involving questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and document analysis to understand the way distance and online students perceive their mathematics experiences, with regard to these four elements, in two major ODL institutions in Nigeria. The analysis of data included descriptive methods, inferential statistics and specifically Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression to test for relationships between variables and students’ narratives. Experiential learning theory (ELT), transactional distance theory (TDT) and cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML), which are found to be influential in distance and online education, were used as lenses to explain student perceptions of ID, AP, LF and SS. The findings reveal that teacher/tutor availability to facilitate and regulate learning and to mitigate the many challenges of learning mathematics in this mode is possibly the most critical success factor. Significant challenges also emerged in the Nigerian context, especially with internet availability and in obtaining adequate and self-explanatory course materials. Students frequently have to reach beyond the basic resources provided in their institutions by seeking textbooks and course materials from other ODL institutions. Consequently, the students called for better inclusion of more up-to-date technologies (with special emphasis on accessible hardware, user-friendly software and stable internet access) in the ID, AP and LF of distance and online mathematics learning. The institutional failure to satisfy this demand is another major finding of this study. The ELT, TDT and CTML models of learning, which call for distance and online students’ maximum commitment to the learning experience, are relevant in terms of their emphasis on enabling understanding, content sharing and online interaction using technologies. It is evident from the findings that, despite the rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT) in our present time, there needs to be far more effective incorporation of modern technology in the teaching and learning of mathematics at ODL institutions, including training teachers/tutors to use it optimally. The study also recommends that distance and online mathematics learners need to be supported in the construction of their own knowledge, by restructuring the learning processes to be more learner-centred. Moreover, regulatory agencies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Nigeria, set up for quality assurance purposes, need to actively oversee the support of mathematics learning at university-level in order to strengthen the experiences of students and learning in online and distance modes. Finally, the pedagogical issues of ensuring that mathematics students at ODL institutions are not disadvantaged require that priority and resourcing be given to mathematics and perhaps other similar scarce-skills subjects.