Enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal de larga evolución

Perspectives

The quantitative analysis of closed-response questions on the Q course survey revealed that for the majority of questions there was no relationship between QLC use and student responses. In fact, when questions on the survey were asked generally about the students’ experiences in mathematics Q courses, QLC use was only found to have significant relationships with students reporting that they had not had difficulty with any topics and students reporting they had not sought help with doing mathematics problems. In both cases, students who had visited the QLC were less likely to report the option. Since the QLC is intended to provide support to students who need help with their mathematics Q courses, it would be surprising if we had not received this

result since one expects that students attending the QLC would have a topic that they were struggling with.

When students were asked to describe a specific situation in which they sought help, the only significant relationship was found between QLC use and students’ re- porting that a main difficulty they had with solving the problem they were describing was understanding the steps they needed to take. This suggests that in the scenarios they described, students who had used the QLC were more likely to desire guidance in completing a problem. In all other cases it could not be concluded that there was any relationship between a chosen response and QLC use.

These results give more confidence that the results from this study will be of interest to educators and administrators even outside of QLCs. This study largely takes place within the context of the QLC, however the similarity between responses of QLC users and those who had not used the QLC indicate that the study’s findings about students’ needs may apply beyond QLCs and could be used to improve practice in general.

In addition to the quantitative data, we can also look at the responses from both the QLC users and the non-QLC users when describing a specific situation in which they sought help. The analysis of the responses given by participants in the Q course survey revealed seven strategies that the students appreciated that had been used by the various resources they had accessed. The seven strategies were explaining step-by- step, giving more examples, guidance as they completed their work, simplifying the topic, explaining why something was true or worked, using visuals in explanations, and giving insights into the class or topic. When we compare this to the strategies described by QLC users in the QLC survey we see that the responses are very similar. The QLC survey did not reveal the strategies of guidance or insights but otherwise

agreed with the responses from the Q course participants. There were no responses in either survey that contradicted what the participants were saying in the other.

The additional topic of insights match what was seen in the analysis of tutor and student interviews. For example, as peer tutors who have experience with the content they are helping the students with, the tutors often try to share their own insights about the material. This was specifically seen in Drake’s comment about sharing effective procedures that he has found with his students. Thus, as with the quantitative data, the qualitative comparisons also suggest that understanding the needs of the students who visit the QLC and the strategies that they find beneficial may apply beyond QLCs and to students who do not use this resource.

5.4

Chapter Summary

In this chapter I have discussed the findings of the dissertation. This study makes a unique contribution to the literature through the comparison of the tutors’ and the students’ perspectives on the students’ needs and successful tutoring strategies. Thus, this chapter has discussed not only the separate perspectives of tutors and students but also how these two perspectives compare.

We see that overall, tutors and students agree about where students have difficul- ties, however two contrasts do emerge. First, tutors believe that students’ difficulties with prerequisite material hinders the students’ success whereas students seem to see their difficulties with prerequisite material as less important. Second, tutors and stu- dents seem to agree that students struggle with moving from understanding concepts to solving problems, however tutors speak about this in terms of creative problem

solving whereas students relate this to following procedures.

We also see that tutors and students mainly agree on why tutoring is successful, however they disagree on whether or not students are attending the QLC just to get homework answers. Finally, the comparison of the perspectives of students who visit the QLC and those who do not was discussed. There are no major differences found.

Concluding Remarks and Future

Research Directions

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the mathematical needs of students enrolled in quantitative courses and the successful support strategies used by the tutors at the QLC. With this in mind, I now conclude with a brief discussion of the conclusions and implications that can be drawn from the findings as well as suggestions for future research directions.

6.1

Concluding Remarks

The findings from this dissertation are relevant not only to those who directly work with or in QLCs, but also to educators and administrators in higher education more broadly. Through these findings, insights are gained about the needs of our under- graduate students as well as ways that they can be successfully supported in their mathematics courses. As such, this section will begin by focusing on the insights

gained about tutoring at QLCS, then turn to the implications for practice more broadly in higher education.

6.1.1

Tutoring at QLCs

The findings from this dissertation illuminate that students’ needs in undergraduate mathematics courses go beyond their difficulties with the content. Students also may be struggling with their transition to higher education. To ease this transition, it may be beneficial for QLCs to aim to be environments where tutors display appropriate study habits and act as examples of how to be independent learners. Since students tend to see tutors as less intimidating than professors, the tutors have the ability to relate to students on a peer-to-peer level and to address the transition by discussing their own experiences and techniques for being successful.

In addition to this, it emerged in both the perspectives of tutors and students that one aspect of tutoring at the QLC that was particularly beneficial was the use of techniques that engaged the students in the mathematics. Rather than tutors simply re-explaining concepts to the students, tutors used strategies that required students to be involved in solving problems on their own. Tutors at QLCs should feel encouraged that these strategies are appreciated by the students that they work with and that the students feel that these strategies have helped them to successfully complete assignments and understand the content they are learning.

Finally, an important implication of the findings is that tutors need to be prepared to handle the conflict between their students’ goals for a tutoring session and the actual challenges that the students face. For example, the findings revealed that tutors often recognized that students had difficulty with prerequisite knowledge and

that this hindered them in their current courses. However, the students’ goals for the sessions rarely included reviewing previous material and mainly focused on completing an assignment or working on new material. As such, tutors need to be prepared to maneuver this situation and to steer students towards their actual needs rather than simply catering to the direct goals of the students. This is necessary if the support provided is going to be successful in helping students to achieve higher proficiency levels in mathematical content.

6.1.2

Implications for Practice

Educators in undergraduate mathematics can also learn about their students’ math- ematical needs and about ways that students can be supported through considering the findings of this dissertation. The tutors’ and students’ perceptions can lend valu- able insights about these two topics and they shed light on two areas for educators to consider.

First, the needs of students in our mathematics classes may encompass more than just the mathematical content that is being taught. Students, especially those in their first year of higher education, are adjusting to a new environment where expectations and teaching styles may differ from those they were accustomed to in high school. As such, some students may struggle in their college mathematics courses not because of a lack of preparation or effort but rather because they have not learned how to succeed in this new environment. It may be worthwhile for educators to reflect on this and consider if there is anything that they can do to alleviate some of the tension in this transition or to support students in finding the methods that will make them successful college learners.

Second, the success of the tutors’ techniques of engaging students during tutoring sessions leads to a suggestion that incorporating some form of active learning within the classroom, in office hours, or in some other way will benefit students. This is not a new concept; there has been a push for active learning to be incorporated in undergraduate mathematics classes, as was discussed in the literature review. How- ever, the success of the tutors’ strategies adds to this in that we see that students are actually seeking out support that provides opportunities to engage with the material. Educators may want to ask themselves if there are opportunities for more student engagement within their regular practices.