[Maths-Education] seminar 12th June 4:30pm

[M Melissa Rodd]

Dear colleagues

I am delighted to announce that Professor Margret Brown and Dr Sheila
Macrae will be coming to give a seminar at the Centre for Science and
Mathematics Education at Leeds University on Thursday 12th June entitled

WHY MATHEMATICS UNDERGRADUATES FAIL: A STUDY OF SECOND YEAR STUDENTS IN TWO
UNIVERSITIES

ABSTRACT: As part of an ESRC-funded longitudinal study, 'Student
Experiences of University Mathematics', we have been following through a
cohort of undergraduate single honours mathematics students at two
traditional universities with high ratings for research and teaching. We
were particularly interested in those who completed the first year
successfully but experienced problems in the second year (2001/2).  We
report on the results using both statistical data relating to such factors
as whether they entered with further maths A-level, and on data from
questionnaires and interviews about students' perceptions of their
teaching, their motivations for studying mathematics, and the effects of
such factors as their social life.  This suggests some actions that
universities might take to reduce student failure and disillusion.


Margaret Brown, Sheila Macrae, King's College London, Hannah Bartholomew, 
University of Auckland, and Melissa Rodd, University of Leeds


All welcome

We meet for tea from 4pm for 4:30 start. The seminar finishes at 6pm.

We are located in the EC Stoner building, (see (3) on the map):
http://education.leeds.ac.uk/devt/campus.gif
The Mathematics Education rooms are on LEVEL 8 and the seminar will be held
in room 8.90 
The location of the University of Leeds can be found from
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/campus_map/campus.htm


best wishes,

Melissa

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Dr Melissa Rodd
Lecturer in Mathematics Education
School of Education
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT

0113 3434613/fax 3434683
mobile 07 808 726957