HEA Funding for Numeracy Project
A group of investigators from Anglia Ruskin, led from the Faculty of Science and Technology, is starting a project developing and studying the effectiveness of online support for numeracy skills in students entering higher education. The project has been funded largely by a grant of £30 000 from the Higher Education Academy, with a further substantial contribution from FST.
SUMS - Students Upgrading Maths Skills - has arisen from an earlier project, NuMBerS (Numerical Methods for Biosciences Students), funded by HEA Biosciences. NuMBerS, led by Dr Dawn Hawkins of the Department of Life Sciences, developed online support for biosciences students to help them to use numerical methods. The online resources complemented a taught module 'Biomeasurement' and the accompanying book of the same name, published by Oxford University Press. The NuMBerS resources were originally available through a WebCT online course, but have now been placed on a public website at http://www.anglia.ac.uk/numbers.
NuMBerS in turn prompted a follow-up project under an Anglia Ruskin learning and teaching fellowship awarded to Dr Toby Carter, also of FST Life Sciences and project leader on SUMS. One of the activities under this project was to investigate the extent to which the materials developed under NuMBerS to support biosciences students could be used in other subject areas. A stakeholder group was convened from all faculties. This group confirmed that several of the resources could be 're-purposed', especially if they could be given a subject-specific context. The group also or echoed the experience of Life Sciences lecturers that some students require support for more basic numerical skills.
The SUMS project has been designed to investigate the extent of the 'math gap', what effects it has on students and on the curriculum, and what can be done to address the problem using online learning materials. The proposal was prepared by representatives from all faculties, from INSPIRE, from Learning Support Services, and from two of our regional partners. Funding from FST will support the extension of the NuMBerS resources to cover more areas of basic support, and to do so in a way that works for a wider range of learners, including those with specific learning difficulties as well as the common 'maths phobia'.
The research activities in SUMS will include an analysis of students' use of online materials, and their effectiveness in addressing specific numeracy problems. Teaching staff will be invited to complete an online survey that explores the impact of low numeracy skills on the curriculum and on students' performance.
As well as funding the research component of the project, the HEA grant will fund an open workshop on numeracy issues across disciplines, in FE and HE. The workshop, entitled 'Maths Gap: Exploring numeracy issues in Further & Higher Education', will take place at Homerton College on 16-18 December 2008.