On-line approach = math success √
Jamie Mulholland, 778.782.7655, l_mullholland@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
The developers of Simon Fraser University’s first on-line math course in a degree program want the new offering to boost students’ success in one of the discipline’s most important and challenging subjects.
Designers at SFU’s Centre for Online and Distance Education and two math instructors hope their interactive version of Calculus I with Review will make the course more student-friendly and digestible.
All undergrads pursuing a degree in the physical or applied sciences must take the course. Conventionally, a math instructor delivers what some may view as their biggest academic hurdle to a packed lecture hall of sleepyheads at 8:30 a.m.
Lecturer Jamie Mulholland, an SFU math grad, and senior lecturer Veselin Jungic teach the live course and spent five months developing its on-line version.
They believe the interactivity and viewing convenience of their 40-minute, pre-recorded, web cam videos will significantly boost the student success rate in the live course. Nearly one-fifth of students fail or have difficulty passing the course’s first semester.
The downloadable videos mimic a live class environment. “Students see my face and what I’m writing on a board, close-up, in the same computer window,” explains Mulholland. “Instant feedback on assignments, which are linked to discussion boards and chat rooms, aim to build confidence and comprehension.”
Matthew DeVos, one of the math department’s newest assistant professors, stars in two humorous, promotional videos aimed at motivating students to enroll in the on-line course, which begins in January.
“It will greatly benefit students who are weak in math and/or are raising a family and working while studying,” says DeVos, who is good-natured about the drubbing of his professorial credibility in the promotional videos.
Clad in pajamas and carrying a bike in one hand and a helmet in the other, a longhaired, disheveled DeVos turns up late for the live course.
Not only does he risk being docked marks but he suffers the humiliation of having Mulholland say, “Nice pajamas Mr. DeVos,” before a packed lecture hall.
Mindy Ogden, the math department’s undergraduate secretary, filmed and edited the promos.
-30-(digital photos available on request)