A first year UG curriculum

Written by Deak Kirkham

School	Mathematics
Activity / intervention Rationale Aim	Creation and implementation of a ‘first year UG curriculum’ in Year 2 of the provision. With a focus on discussion, as agreed between the EAP lecturer and School faculty member, a series of five sessions (per semester) was created and delivered. Themes varied. Some were mathematical (the parity of zero; experimental mathematics); others focussed on the reflective and academic skills (a verbal report on key moments in one’s mathematics career, Academic Personal Tutor roleplay); others were pedagogical linguistic (a discussion of varieties of English and which may be more or less relevant to academic study in the UK).
Why it was good / worked	Students were able to discuss mathematics- and study skills-relevant themes in a structured, open and assessment free space.
Results Direct	Attendances maintained themselves.
Indirect	NA
Feedback Students	Verbal feedback on Written anonymous feedback obtained at the end of the Semester was also positive about the opportunity to talk and to discuss mathematics in a more light-hearted and ‘alternative’ perspective.
Staff	Two observations by staff (EAP practitioner and Mathematics faculty member) were positive. Conversations from these observations generated further ideas, suggesting that observation by peers is useful in early stage development of an in-sessional provision.