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Neal, Ruth and Patterson, Kellee
(2024).
Abstract
The reticence of STEM students to get involved in group work is well recognised and we wish to address this challenge. At The Open University, in the school of maths and stats we are experimenting with a method of successfully introducing group work into a level 1 statistics module and to take this forward to level 2 and 3 statistics modules. Built into the assessment structure on our level 1 module we already have a practical experiment where data is collected. The experiment involves growing seedlings in light and dark conditions and measuring the root lengths. The students then upload their data to a shared database, this combined data can then be downloaded and investigated by students.
We have introduced a trial of volunteer students to work in groups in an online environment to share this data. The students discussed any issues with the experiment and suggested further analysis that they could or had performed on the shared data. Group work is seen as a skill valued by employers and we are keen to take the opportunity to introduce employability skills to our maths and stats modules.
Plain Language Summary
We introduce group work into a level 1 statistics module, M140. This module has an experiment as part of the assessment, students conduct the experiment, then upload their data to a shared database. The students then volunteered to take part in some online groupwork, where they discuss the shared database in an online forum. The students are encouraged to investigate this combined data, report on their findings and discuss these with their fellow students. The result of our project is that we need to give more detailed instructions for students to follow when investigating the data and provide a format for combining their results.
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
