Pixel International Conferences

The scenario in higher education must be proactive in taking actions to help new university students to achieve an appropriation of the concepts that lead to meaningful learning. This fact was the motivation to propose an intervention where the motivation of the students was involved [1][2]. This intervention was applied to the initial courses of Calculus and Algebra. During this intervention (program), different experiences were carried out to help students to achieve a better insertion in the university. The objective of this program was to reduce the failure rate of new university students in the courses of Calculus and Algebra through the strengthening of their basic skills and motivation. This program considered an adaptive learning tool, Information and Communications Technologies applied to teach, and finally, gamification. Considered careers in this program were: Civil Construction, Geology, Electronic Civil Engineering, Industrial Civil Engineering, Computation and Informatics Civil Engineering, Agronomy, Biotechnology, Environment, and Sustainability Engineering, Forest Engineering, Commercial Engineering, and Management Engineering. The adaptive learning tool used was ALEKS (McGraw-Hill) [3]. We recorded short video lectures (Capsules) where a docent solves representative examples of Algebra or Calculus that students can review and after the video students can answer an online Quiz. They also have available exercises to prepare online tests and the exam. All these contents were available to be downloaded from the Blackboard platform. The use the students give to all the available contents where tracked and priced. For example, counting how many times students review Capsules, give students Medals that they can gather and at the end of semester Medals were transformed in a grade. The failure rate of new university students obtained in MATE+ program was compared to the results obtained in the same courses in 2017. In 2017 the failure rate was 49% and in 2018 MATE+ achieved 40%. In all considered careers the failure rate was reduced with the exception of two of them: Geology and Computation and Informatics Civil Engineering. The career of Geology and Computation and Informatics Civil Engineering show an increment of 15% and 5% in the failure rate, respectively. A new version of this project should be applied with an emphasis in those careers that present an increment in the failure rate of new students simultaneously with an early alert system.

Keywords: ICT, online Quiz, short video lectures, ALEKS platform, Blackboard platform, gamification;

References:

[1] Gómez-Chacón, I. Ma (2000). Affective influences in the knowledge of mathematics, Educational Studies in Mathematics, 43, 149-168.
[2] ALEKS, McGraw Hill, https://www.aleks.com/, acceded on march 03, 2019.
[3] Pekrun R. 2006. The control-value theory of achievement emotions: assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educ. Psycho. Rev. 18, 315-341.