Implementing innovative assessment methods in undergraduate mathematics

Abstract

The following challenges associated with teaching undergraduate Mathematics will be discussed: Negative attitudes of students to Mathematics, Student’s reluctance to practise Mathematics, and surface learning. Some (or all) of the ways in which assessment can be used to address these challenges will be discussed. If used strategically assessment methods/tasks can enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics. Some of the unique challenges that we as lecturers face in teaching mathematics can be remedied by selecting appropriate assessment techniques/tasks. Using the tutorial time fruitfully is one of the challenging aspects in teaching mathematics. Not taking tutorials and other formative assessments seriously is not an uncommon student attitude in higher education contexts. Students who are pressured for time often do not see the immediate value of formative assessment or of discussion as a useful learning activity. A collection of case studies which clearly document what has been tried in different contexts is very useful in mathematics as this information is limited in the South African higher education sector. An innovative assessment method (peer-assessment) which was introduced for a Linear Algebra second year course at Rhodes University (South Africa) will be presented: The implementation method, purpose of introducing the assessment method, its advantages, and disadvantages will be examined. A reflection on the assessment method and concluding remarks will be provided.