Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?

Wilmari Morton; Rina Durandt

doi:10.29333/ejmste/13189

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Wilmari Morton ¹ ^* , Rina Durandt ¹

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¹ Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This paper reports on empirical results from a study that investigated first-year mathematics students’ preparedness for, and response to, online learning. With the appearance of COVID-19 in 2020, lecturers were forced to make sudden changes to the established face-to-face learning environments, and students were expected to adapt to these changes. The idea of a blended learning environment is not new, and students globally have demanded flexibility in mathematics learning environments for some time. However, the idea of a sudden change in environments, particularly to fully online, was new to most lecturers and students. Key aspects in an online environment are students’ ability to self-regulate their learning, and the availability and accessibility of technological resources. Quantitative data from the self-developed questionnaire were collected early in 2021, at a public university in South Africa, from a large sample over several modules. Results indicate students are partially prepared for learning fully online, with significant effect on performance.

Keywords

COVID-19
first-year mathematics students
online learning
performance
self-regulated learning
technological resources
tertiary education

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2023, Volume 19, Issue 6, Article No: em2272

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189

Publication date: 01 Jun 2023

Online publication date: 12 Apr 2023

Article Views: 850

Article Downloads: 516

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How to cite this article

APA

Morton, W., & Durandt, R. (2023). Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(6), em2272. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189

Vancouver

Morton W, Durandt R. Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(6):em2272. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189

AMA

Morton W, Durandt R. Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2023;19(6), em2272. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189

Chicago

Morton, Wilmari, and Rina Durandt. "Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2023 19 no. 6 (2023): em2272. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189

Harvard

Morton, W., and Durandt, R. (2023). Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(6), em2272. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189

MLA

Morton, Wilmari et al. "Learning first-year mathematics fully online: Were students prepared, how did they respond?". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 19, no. 6, 2023, em2272. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13189