Neil Challis, Jeff Waldock & Sarah Woodall

1. Working with Student Interns to
Enhance our SHU Maths Support
Provision
by
Neil Challis, Jeff Waldock
and Sarah Woodall

2. Introduction
• Maths Help has provided drop-in Maths
support for all students since 1992.
• Recently a process of re-invigoration has
begun, supported by a student intern project
to gather usage and non-usage data, and
generate ideas on how to enhance provision.

3. We hope that ....
• .... this (short) talk will generate discussion
which will contribute to the process of re-
invigoration.
So:
• butt in,
• ask questions,
• tell us what you think,
• give us your ideas.

4. Purpose of Maths Help
• to provide drop-in support in maths and stats,
• to supplement support within modules for
students who, although generally well
qualified for HE, are not prepared
mathematically.
• Such students may be at risk of failure to fully
achieve, or even to satisfactorily progress.

5. The need for the service
• In 2011, the Advisory Council on Mathematics
Education estimated that “of those entering
higher education in any year, some 330,000
would benefit from recent experience of
studying some mathematics (including
statistics) at a level beyond GCSE, but fewer
than 125,000 have done so.”
• The service receives, on average, over 1200
visits per year.

6. Recent initiative
• In summer 2014 two student interns worked
with Mathematics staff to gather evidence and
identify opportunities for enhancing Maths
Help.
• The resulting evidence is being used to plan a
revised, improved and extended service.
• Key outcomes follow.

7. Sustainability
• Funding for Maths Help needs to be placed on
a firm footing.
• Maths Help should be more closely
coordinated with other forms of academic
support.

8. Expansion
• We should exploit the potential that exists for
wider use of the service, by students across all
four faculties
• We should therefore establish closer links
between Maths Help staff and academic staff
across other disciplines.
• Opportunities for better publicity for the service
should be investigated.
• In particular, Maths Help should be highlighted in
the SHU prospectus, at open days and in the SHU
OFFA Access Agreement.

9. Operation
• The opportunity exists for final year
Mathematics students to assist Maths Help
tutors.
• We will consider additional modes of support
e.g. targeted sessions, appointments, virtual
support, to complement the current face-to-
face drop-in support which students have
stated to be important in improving
confidence.