Development and Assessment of Openly Available WeBWorK Problem Sets for Underserved Mathematics Courses
No Thumbnail Available
Issue Date
2017
Authors
Jones, Keith
Bridges, Leah
Publisher
Keywords
SUNY , State University of New York , IITG , Innovative Instructional Technology Grants , WeBWorK
Abstract
This project brings together expert faculty members and qualified undergraduate students to design, implement, and test up to 1,000 WeBWorK problems sets for introductory math courses. WeBWorK, a free and open source online homework system, is used by over 700 institutions worldwide, including at least 11 SUNY campuses, provides students with practice with mathematics and offers immediate feedback on problem solving attempts. However, many subjects outside of Calculus, particularly in general education and teacher preparation, are currently underserved by this system. The content created by this project will be broadly applicable across SUNY campuses to incorporate homework software into a wider variety of classes, whether traditional or online. Additionally, student assistants will be engaged in pedagogical discussions on mathematical content, performing mathematical analysis, and utilizing a scripting language to create the problems, making this project an applied-learning experience for advanced math students at SUNY Oneonta. The results of the project will be well documented and made publicly available through a SUNY Oneonta webpage to guide other faculty and institutions interested in implementing WeBWorK. The PIs further intend to conduct an investigation into student perceptions of WeBWorK and learning outcomes within the context of general education and teacher preparation courses.
Description
This project will improve student outcomes in general education and teacher preparation mathematics courses by developing problem sets for the free and open source WeBWorK online homework system, while offering applied learning experiences to upper level mathematics students.