Extreme Apprenticeship – Engaging undergraduate students on a mathematics course

Johanna Rämö 1 * , Thomas Vikberg 1
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1 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Helsinki, Finland
* Corresponding Author
EUR J SCI MATH ED, Volume 2, Issue 2A, pp. 26-33. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/9623
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ABSTRACT

This paper describes how an educational method called Extreme Apprenticeship has been used in teaching mathematics to undergraduates. The aim has been to facilitate the transition from secondary to tertiary education and to teach students the kind of skills they need in further studies and professional life. We report how the Extreme Apprenticeship method has been implemented in the course Linear algebra and matrices I at the University of Helsinki. This first year mathematics course has approximately 400 students each year. We compare the method with the traditional lecture-based approach that was in use before introducing the Extreme Apprenticeship method. We focus on how these two methods engage students. The results show that the Extreme Apprenticeship method managed to engage the students better than traditional teaching, as more students completed their coursework than before. Even though the new teaching method demanded a lot of personal effort from the students, they did not think that the workload was too big, and were pleased with the course.
Keywords: mathematics education, Extreme Apprenticeship, tertiary education, linear algebra

CITATION

Rämö, J., & Vikberg, T. (2014). Extreme Apprenticeship – Engaging undergraduate students on a mathematics course. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2(2A), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/9623

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