PROCEEDINGS OF THE 22ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2019
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
First and final year undergraduate students’ perceptions of university mathematics departments
Page: 910
In many countries, concerns have been raised regarding the lack of participation of students in mathematics at the university level due to a dearth of skilled professionals to meet the needs of an increasingly technological, and thus mathematical, world. In this paper, we report on a study in which we are comparing first and final year undergraduate students’ experiences in mathematics departments. We focus on students’ conceptions of the supports and challenges that they experience in mathematics departments, using a multimodal data collection method, photovoice. We will share findings from this ongoing research project focusing on comparisons between first and final year students’ perceptions of their learning environment. The knowledge that will be gained from this research is crucial in understanding students’ lived experiences and thus making suggestions to address university mathematics pipeline issues