Maths

Another lecturer joins the discussion (one can't exactly say debate) on Maths teaching. Lindsay Johnson looks at the assessment procedures in the Keller Plan courses, and how the principles embodied in them could be incorporated into the "traditional"—type courses.

A consequence of adopting a Keller Plan system of teaching is that objectives for particular sections of the course are clearly spelled out so that students know what is required of them for a pass in the tests. The clarity of objectives combined with the modular structure of the course ensures that students know where they stand as far as grading is concerned at all times.

Students will recognise a great contrast between this situation and that in more traditional courses. In these, students are assessed against criteria which are never known to them, and are possibly never formulated clearly by teachers marking examination scripts. In fact, it must be recognised that grading in many courses in this university is norm referenced. This means that the grade gained by a particular student depends not only on that student's understanding of the course but on how many other students in the class understand it better.

I believe that we (the university teachers) should be moving towards a situation where objectives for all courses are clearly understood by both teachers and students. The criteria for gaining particular grades should be laid down at the beginning of courses so that examinations can be designed with these criteria in mind. There is no reason why such a development must be confined to new types of course — it is possible for traditional courses, but would require detailed design and planning.

The main difficulty with the development proposed above is that some of the higher order skills which may be required for A and B grade passes are difficult to describe unambiguously. The skills we have normally accepted for a pass level in mathematics courses are fairly easily described, but the skills involved in "understanding of concepts" and "ability to translate a physical problem into a mathematical one" are not so easily "pinned down."

Students should also recognise that clear objectives and grading criteria not only help the student to know when goals are reached, but also make it clear to teachers when they are not. I believe that the Keller Plan courses are a development towards this situation. Students are more highly motiviated to do the work necessary to reach their goals because of the certainty that this will be reflected in the grade they are awarded for the course.