The project is led by the university in Graz, which, together with partners from Portugal and our university, intends to first examine the level of math anxiety and in the future develop the foundations of an open educational environment supporting both students and lecturers.
From Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Dr. Elżbieta Zienkiewicz, Associate Professor from the Faculty of Chemistry, and Dr. Adam Marczak from the Faculty of Mathematics are involved in the project. “We are both experienced educators heavily involved in teaching in the first year of engineering studies,” explains Prof. Zienkiewicz. “When our Austrian partners, with whom we have collaborated before, invited us to this project, we decided to support them with our knowledge, especially since our teaching experiences are very similar.”
Mathematics forms the basis of almost all engineering studies. However, especially for those starting their studies, the jump between the level required in high school and at the university is enormous. Another issue is the lecturers themselves, whose requirements and teaching methods are often not entirely understandable to students.
“Hence the idea to take care of young people starting their education at university, providing them with a safe environment to bridge the gaps between their existing knowledge and the new requirements,” says Dr. Adam Marczak from the Faculty of Mathematics.
The project, funded by the Unite! Seed Fund, aims to create an environment where individuals interested in this method of teaching mathematics can collaborate. “Initially, our goal is to diagnose the current state of affairs. In the next step, we will examine the correlation between math anxiety and the student’s actual skill level,” explains the researcher from W13. “Then we need to address real changes in the context of the approach to teaching mathematics.”
The outcome will be an open platform where lecturers can share best teaching practices, discuss emerging challenges, and exchange or co-create open educational resources.
“These are long-term plans, and for now, we have a survey ahead of us, to which we will soon invite all students, especially those in their first year. We hope for a significant response,” says Dr. Adam Marczak.
More about the project on the Unite! website. Lecturers and students interested in this project are invited to contact us via email at unite@edventure.studio.
