Design and implementation of multi-purpose quizzes to improve mathematics learning for transitional engineering students

Abstract

For students who are academically ineligible to enter a bachelor program in engineering but still want to upskill their knowledge in engineering, many universities provide an associate degree program in engineering to these students. The higher achievers from the associate degree program can transfer to a full degree program in engineering. Mathematics courses in such associate degree programs are often challenging to both the teachers and students due to various reasons. This paper presents a small part of a mathematics revitalization project on pedagogical adjustment to scaffold mathematics learning for students in an associate engineering program at Central Queensland University (CQU), a regional university in Australia, from 2018 to 2020. The design and implementation of the online multi-purpose quizzes (MPQ) to improve both the learning environment and outcomes for the engineering students from 2018 to 2020 are reported in this work. Statistically, the online MPQ empowered students to achieve their best possible outcomes by attempting the questions with time flexibility, on a confined set of topics, and with more chances of amending errors than the traditional written assessments. Hence, their performance in the online MPQ was consistently better than that in the written assignments in 2018-2020. The weaknesses of the online MPQ are also discussed.