Message Boards Message Boards

[WSS16] Student Mathematics Resource and Textbook Project

Posted 8 years ago

The Student Mathematics Resource and Textbook project, or SMaRT project, is an Ohio University founded project which involves the development of a web-based learning resources (WBLR) and an aligned web-based curriculum (WBC). The WBLR offer content to students, instructors, and the general public free of charge, and functions with the WBC to offer curricula for a nominal fee. Through working partnerships both within and outside of Ohio University, the project team is developing customizable web-based textbooks available to the general public that will be used in conjunction with a collection of student and instructor resources to create a consistent and accessible sequence of courses ranging from College Algebra through Calculus.

Mathematics is a keystone to academic and professional success and universities across the United States are faced with troublesome fail and retention rates in many of its foundational mathematics courses. Students often turn to web-based resources since their textbooks are static in nature and often lack the readability, accessibility, and consistency to effectively deliver their content. The aim of this project is to replace the need for these external textbooks with an internally customizable curricula and on-line learning resources that include written explanations, interactive figures, video examples, linked remediation, and an open forum to help students study, learn, connect, and engage with mathematical concepts. The goals of the SMaRT project are to:

  1. Increase student engagement with internal resources which are accessible, consistent, student focused, and are customizable.
  2. Increase students' knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts as well as their ability to retain and apply material to subsequent courses.
  3. Increase student retention and lower fail rates related to foundational mathematics courses.

An example of the precalculus resource can be seen below.

Student Notebook

We are currently seeking any interested parties that would be willing to extend this project to subject areas beyond mathematics.

POSTED BY: Blake Regan
Reply to this discussion
Community posts can be styled and formatted using the Markdown syntax.
Reply Preview
Attachments
Remove
or Discard

Group Abstract Group Abstract