Teachers' 'shocking' maths takes toll
Article Abstract:
The education and skills committee was told on 19 April 2004 that the maths skills of many school teachers are "bordering on the shocking" and that they exacerbate serious problems that universities already face in recruiting the next generation of academics and science students. Adrian Smith, principal of Queen Mary, London University, told the committee of MPs that maths is crucial to the study and understanding of engineering, science and technology subjects at university and that so many students are dropping maths either before or straight after they take their GCSEs that universities are finding it difficult to recruit enough prospective entrants with A levels in maths.
Publication Name: Times Higher Education Supplement
Subject: Education
ISSN: 0049-3929
Year: 2004
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
B-grade maths students are so bad, they may as well guess the answers
Article Abstract:
A-level maths standards have declined to the point where students who got B-grades in their A-levels score little better in a basic university test than if they just randomly guessed the answers, according to a study that monitored the performance of students in their first year on an electronics course at York University. The study, which examined the performance of the students in maths tests at the University over the past 15 years, also revealed that today's A-grade students would have finished bottom of the class 15 years ago. The findings lend more weight to claims that A-levels are no longer as tough as they once were.
Publication Name: Times Higher Education Supplement
Subject: Education
ISSN: 0049-3929
Year: 2004
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
How to get maths to really add up for students. Universities bemoan the poor quality of maths candidates, but lecturers can do more to help understanding by showing students the importance of making connections between ideas, says Peter Khan
Article Abstract:
University students have notoriously faced difficulty with mathematics, but instead of blaming the students, perhaps the professors can do things to make the subject easier to understand. Strategies for making math learning more effective include focusing on the underlying thought, connecting visual images to related ideas and looking for connections between and ideas.
Publication Name: Times Higher Education Supplement
Subject: Education
ISSN: 0049-3929
Year: 2001
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: County responds to higher calling. Is a return to grants really the answer? Colleges protect livestock in crisis
- Abstracts: Jobless dominate poll. More migratory Canadians are flying back home. Toronto blazes trail in giving guarantee to graduates
- Abstracts: Grants key to dropout rate, v-cs warn. Dropout rates are down while access drive has little impact. Minister expects progress
- Abstracts: It's Brit Art, but not as we know it. Huygens buries the Beagle's bones. Groundforce explores bugs' life