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The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics

Open Distance Learners at Open University Malaysia (OUM) are generally mature working adults who have left school for a considerable number of years. They may not remember the basic foundations in mathematics that they have learnt in school. Furthermore, mathematics being generally perceived as a t...

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Main Authors: Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed,, Ng , Richard, Kaur, Abtar
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Published: 2008
Subjects:
LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
Online Access:http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/483/1/effects_farina.pdf
http://www.pcf5.london.ac.uk/
http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/483/
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spelling my.oum.4832013-06-19T06:27:07Z The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed, Ng , Richard Kaur, Abtar LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education Open Distance Learners at Open University Malaysia (OUM) are generally mature working adults who have left school for a considerable number of years. They may not remember the basic foundations in mathematics that they have learnt in school. Furthermore, mathematics being generally perceived as a tough subject and quite unpopular makes studying it again difficult after so many years; and this can result in anxiety among most learners. This is apparent in the low GPA of students taking basic and introductory mathematics at OUM. With this in mind, a study was conducted to provide this OUM Online Distance Learners (ODL) initial support to better prepare them for further understanding of mathematics in their future course of study. A one-day workshop was conducted to provide pre-instructional support to selected OUM learners. The workshop which was attended by 22 students, focused on the following: basics of numbers, algebra, logarithms and exponents. A pre-test was administered at the beginning of the workshop, the contents were then taught and finally a post-test was administered towards the end of the workshop. Further, an analysis was carried out to assess the impact of pre-instructional support on the long-term enhancement of student knowledge, motivation and sustenance for the course. At the end of the semester, students’ results were analyzed and compared with results of those students who did not attend the workshop. In addition, comparison of results was also made between students who were under the workshop instructor (current tutor) and students under another tutor. Results obtained showed that the pre-instructional workshop has an impact on the students’ ability to understand and apply what was taught. There was a strong correlation between workshop participation and final exam score. Independent samples t-test conducted showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of online discussion ratio and final examination between participants attached to a tutor conducting the workshop and extended coaching compared to participants attached to another tutor using the normal teaching guide. 2008-07-13 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed text http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/483/1/effects_farina.pdf http://www.pcf5.london.ac.uk/ Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed, and Ng , Richard and Kaur, Abtar (2008) The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics. In: The 5th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning, 13-17 July 2008, University of London. http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/483/
institution Open University Malaysia
building OUM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Open University Malaysia
content_source OUM Knowledge Repository
url_provider http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/
topic LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
spellingShingle LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed,
Ng , Richard
Kaur, Abtar
The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics
description Open Distance Learners at Open University Malaysia (OUM) are generally mature working adults who have left school for a considerable number of years. They may not remember the basic foundations in mathematics that they have learnt in school. Furthermore, mathematics being generally perceived as a tough subject and quite unpopular makes studying it again difficult after so many years; and this can result in anxiety among most learners. This is apparent in the low GPA of students taking basic and introductory mathematics at OUM. With this in mind, a study was conducted to provide this OUM Online Distance Learners (ODL) initial support to better prepare them for further understanding of mathematics in their future course of study. A one-day workshop was conducted to provide pre-instructional support to selected OUM learners. The workshop which was attended by 22 students, focused on the following: basics of numbers, algebra, logarithms and exponents. A pre-test was administered at the beginning of the workshop, the contents were then taught and finally a post-test was administered towards the end of the workshop. Further, an analysis was carried out to assess the impact of pre-instructional support on the long-term enhancement of student knowledge, motivation and sustenance for the course. At the end of the semester, students’ results were analyzed and compared with results of those students who did not attend the workshop. In addition, comparison of results was also made between students who were under the workshop instructor (current tutor) and students under another tutor. Results obtained showed that the pre-instructional workshop has an impact on the students’ ability to understand and apply what was taught. There was a strong correlation between workshop participation and final exam score. Independent samples t-test conducted showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of online discussion ratio and final examination between participants attached to a tutor conducting the workshop and extended coaching compared to participants attached to another tutor using the normal teaching guide.
format Conference or Workshop Item
author Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed,
Ng , Richard
Kaur, Abtar
author_facet Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed,
Ng , Richard
Kaur, Abtar
author_sort Siti Farina Sheikh Mohamed,
title The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics
title_short The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics
title_full The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics
title_fullStr The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics
title_full_unstemmed The Effects of Pre-Instructional Support on ODL Learners in a Blended Learning Environment on the Learning of Mathematics
title_sort effects of pre-instructional support on odl learners in a blended learning environment on the learning of mathematics
publishDate 2008
url http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/483/1/effects_farina.pdf
http://www.pcf5.london.ac.uk/
http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/483/
_version_ 1644308988442968064
score 13.211869

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