Stats from Scientific Mathematics

70% and above is first class, 60%-70% 2:1, 50%-60% 2:2, 40%-50% third class and below 40% is a fail. The assessment is comprised of 50% coursework and 50% end test.

Coursework (17 submissions): 10 students passed at first class; 2 passed at 2:1; none passed at 2:2; and 3 passed at third class. Two students failed. Two students achieved a mark of 100% and one achieved 99%.

End Test (17 submissions): 8 students passed at first class; one passed at each of 2:1 and 2:2; and 2 students passed at third class. The remaining 5 students failed. No one achieved 100% but one student did get 99% and 2 more marks in the 90s.

This means that overall 7 students have passed at first class, 2 at 2:1, 3 at 2:2 and 2 at third class. 4 students failed.

Of those that failed: 2 did not hand in any coursework; 1 did not complete the end test. These three students achieved a failure mark in the component that they did take. The fourth student attempted both the coursework and the end test but achieved a failure mark (~20%) on each.

On attendance (there were 12 classes): 4 students have 50% attendance or greater; 1 student attended 3 classes; 2 attended 2 classes and 10 attended only one class. 5 students have not attended a class. Only one of these 5 passed; 2 of these handed in neither assessment.

Of the 4 who attended 50% or more of the time, 3 passed at first class and the fourth achieved a high 2:1, which is nice to see. At the lower end of the attendance scale, there are a range from first class to fail, but above 50% attendance all students got a very good pass. This latter group is, of course, self-selecting.

Marking the End Test

I have rapidly marked the End Test. I had the evening free, was anxious to see the marks and have a busy week followed by two weeks of holiday ahead, so it was good to get it done.

Week 13: End Test

I arrived at the class 15 minutes early. One student arrived as I did and another was in the room already. By the time I started the test at 15:04, 16 students had arrived! There are 22 students on the VLP but I am not sure how many of them are actually still taking the module. 17 students handed in the coursework, though I know one of these has since left the course.

One student turned up after half an hour. At the end he asked me if he could hand in the coursework next week (it was due 4 weeks ago; it was set 6 weeks before that!). I said no. He asked me about resitting; I guess he didn't feel he did very well in the test.

10 minutes before the end I announced 10 minutes to go. I saw several of the students checking through their answers and then sitting patiently for the last minute or two, which was nice to see.

Getting ready for the End Test

An hour before the End Test I sent a final email reminding the students the test is today. This is about the 4th or 5th email I have sent with the test date and I hope that they will turn up!

Week 12: Revision week

5 students attended, though this was the shortest session of the course. I was prepared to answer questions on any aspect of the course, though in case structure were needed I had prepared the revision notes and copies of the Mock End Test (based on last years end test). The students who attended had been through the Mock End Test and highlighted questions on which they had queries. I assisted the students with the areas they had found difficult and then they left.

Writing the end test

I have written the questions for the End Test. This is roughly based on last years test though I have taken out one logarithms question (there are 3 out of 12 on the end test and 6 out of 8 on the coursework) and replaced it with a differentiation question. This will mean the final mark depends more on the calculus section of the course, though you can still get a good pass without it. I am reluctant to change the end test much more as:

• The students have last years test as a mock and will be preparing on that basis
• I am told that the chemists who run a lot of the forensics modules will be looking for logarithms questions since that is more useful to that course
• The students have only been tested on logs in coursework, and if anyone got through this with help it should be revealed when they do the end test whether they can actually do this topic.
  

Preparing for the revision class

Really, they could ask me anything on any part of the course, which makes todays class a little daunting. I have printed some copies of the mock test (last years) and the revision notes I have written.

I wonder how many will turn up. Attendance has dwindled from 4-5 to 1-2 in recent weeks and I wonder if this will continue or if the approaching end test will encourage an upsurge.

Revision materials

I have decided to produce some revision material for the revision class. I have pulled together a reminder of the key concepts from the course with examples on 8 pages.

I decided to type this in LaTeX, a typesetting language with good support for mathematics. I have used LaTeX only a little and this is my first real document produced using the language. This went well but slowly as there was a lot to learn. Using default settings, I have produced material that looks a lot like that produced by my lecturers during my degree, which makes me feel like a lecturer.

Week 11: Integration as area under the curve

The final class built on last weeks material advancing the concept of indefinite integration to definite integration. One student attended, who had attended last week and the class went smoothly. The Achilles and the tortoise analogy came home with summation of area under a curve.

This ends the taught material. I have sent another email to all students reminding them of the date of the test and pointing out that next week's class will be a revision session.