19th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (CELDA 2022)

USING E-STUDY MATERIALS TO PROMOTE

MATHEMATICS SELF-LEARNING AT UNIVERSITY

Anna Vintere1, Sarmite Cernajeva2 and Vera Gosteine2

1Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Liela Street 2, Jelgava, Latvia, LV-3001
2Riga Technical University, Zunda krastmala 10, Riga, Latvia, LV-1048

ABSTRACT
At present, issues of the education system and quality improvement are topical in the whole world. Today, universities
need to be prepared to offer young people education that makes them competitive in these new working conditions. When
considering development of the education, they shall understand necessity of changing both content and form of the
studies. As today’s youth grow in an era of digital technologies and is dwelling in a virtual environment, they
increasingly are demanding flexible study format that complies with their usual habitat. Therefore, the main task of
universities and other higher educational establishments at this time of change is to develop intellectual skills, exploratory
research attitudes and build ICT skills in a new specialist. Mathematical study programs and didactics need to be
improved on the basis of ICT (paying more attention to the application of mathematics, including using ICT), creating
modern technology-based learning materials and ensuring the Internet access. In order to increase students’ responsibility
for the learning process and to promote the ability to independently acquire knowledge, skills and abilities, it is necessary
to create the preconditions for self-directed learning in higher education institutions, that is, students themselves
participating in setting the purpose of studies, planning the acquisition of the subject, presentations, and evaluating their
work together by agreeing on final assessment with the assessment of peers and teachers. As known, e-studies and
self-assessment tests are the basis of self-directed learning. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the use
of various e-study materials in the learning of a mathematics course, as well as the importance of tests in the self-
assessment of mathematical knowledge and skills. The findings of this study include the analysis of the usage of e-study
materials and tests for assessing students' mathematical knowledge and skills, as well as determination of the importance
of self-assessment tests in the learning of a mathematics course, based on the students' opinion.

KEYWORDS
E-studies, Mathematics, Self-Assessment, Self-Directed Learning, Remote Studies

1. INTRODUCTION
At present, issues of the education system and quality improvement are topical in the whole world. Today,
universities need to be prepared to offer young people education that makes them competitive in these new
working conditions. When considering development of the education, they shall understand necessity of
changing both content and form of the studies. As today’s youth grow in an era of digital technologies and is
dwelling in a virtual environment, they increasingly are demanding flexible study format that complies with
their usual habitat. Therefore, the main task of universities and other higher educational establishments at this
time of change is to develop intellectual skills, exploratory research attitudes and build information and
communication technologies (ICT) skills in a new specialist. As result, nowadays information and
communication technologies are increasingly being used in higher education and training (Crampton et al,
2010).
At a time when is talked about the quality of universities and its improvement, two of Latvia's largest
technical universities: Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies and Riga Technical University
use e-study systems based on the Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (MOODLE)
e-learning platform. The e-study system makes the life of every student easier, as long as he wants to make
his learning process more efficient, modern and faster. With the e-study system, university studies can be
accessed from anywhere and at any time.

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Each subject has a separate section, where it is possible to cooperate with both fellow students and
teaching staff and learn about the issues related to learning the course and, of course, to use the e-study
environment to learn the content of the relevant course. The teacher of each course offers students a variety
of opportunities to study independently and prepare for exams.
The mathematical learning environment is also influenced by the development of information technology
(Galbraith & Haines, 1998). Information communication technologies are used also in the mathematics
studies of both universities to independently learn the available informative and interactive e-materials, solve
tasks with mathematics software, find the necessary information, collaborate online, etc. In both universities,
the e-study environment contains various learning materials that were used as a supplement to full-time
mathematics studies, organizing students' independent work, evaluating knowledge and skills, as well as
communication between students and teachers, keeping track of grades and test results, list of lessons or other
changes etc. (Vintere et al, 2022).
Although ICT has been an important part of higher education for a long time, it was crucial during remote
studies, when students had to put more effort to decide and choose what to focus on, identify things that are
successful and areas that might need a little more work. This type of responsibility for one's education is
characterized by self-directed learning (Vintere et al, 2021). Self-learning is an important part of higher
education both in the context of the fourth industrial revolution and sustainable development (Briede, 2019).
To increase students’ responsibility for the learning process and to promote the ability to independently
acquire knowledge, skills and abilities, it is necessary to create the preconditions for self-directed learning in
higher education institutions, that is, students themselves participating in setting the purpose of studies,
planning the acquisition of the subject and evaluating their work and the progress of studies. The purpose of
this research is to determine the use of various e-study materials in the learning of a mathematics course, as
well as the importance of tests in the self-assessment of mathematical knowledge and skills.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The information provided by the MOODLE system was used for this study, regarding the students' activities
during the mathematics courses taught by the authors of this article, as well as the results of student surveys.
Another functionality offered by the e-system of both universities is obtaining student feedback through
surveys, which are conducted at least once a semester. Internet survey is one of the most modern and
advanced research methods. This is also one of the most commonly used research methods. An objective
opinion on the question of interest can be obtained by clearly and precisely defining the points of the
questionnaire and selecting certain respondents.
The obtained data are essential for improving the quality of studies. After careful evaluation of the
collected data, decisions are usually made to improve the quality of mathematics teaching. This study also
uses the results of a student survey on the importance of self-assessment tests in the learning of a
mathematics course.
According to educational research, the “self-assessment is a process during which students collect
information about their own performance or progress; compare it to explicitly stated criteria, goals, or
standards; and revise accordingly. Self-assessment method is seen as the most powerful means for a tertiary
education organisation to understand and improve its performance. The purposes of self-assessment are to
identify areas of strength and weakness in one's work to make improvements and promote learning”
(Andrade & Valtcheva, 2009). Therefore, the research used the self-assessment method in two senses:
1) tests for self-assessment of students' mathematics course knowledge and skills;
2) students' opinion about the importance of self-assessment tests in learning mathematics.

3. FINDINGS
The findings include the analysis of the usage of e-study materials and tests for assessing students'
mathematical knowledge and skills, as well as determination of the importance of self-assessment tests in the
learning of a mathematics course, based on the students' opinion.

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3.1 The Usage of e-Study Materials by Students

The results of the study confirm the well-known fact that students' activity in the e-study system increases
mainly before the examination period.
In the framework of this study, information on the use of various e-study materials in the 1st and 2nd
semesters has been collected. As indicate results in Table 1, the assessments obtained represent the top
interest of students. The examples of tasks solutions and lecture notes are the most used teaching aids,
whereas students show a little interest about informative materials like syllabus, requirements for successful
completion of a subject, examination requirements and sources of literature.
Table 1. Number of views of different e-study materials
1st semester 2nd semester During lockdown
Informative materials 3.6% 2.2% 38%
Lecture notes 14.5% 12.7% 80%
Samples of problem solving 15.4% 19.2% 72%
Descriptions of laboratory work 13.2% 11.0% -
Formulas 5.2% 11.5% 20%
Tasks for independent work 7.5% 10.0% 18%
Self-assessment tests 12.2% 5.3% 22%
Assessments obtained 28.4% 28.1% -

Comparing student activities during the two semesters, it should be concluded that in the 1st semester,
lecture notes, descriptions of laboratory work, as well as self-assessment tests of knowledge and skills are
used more. In the 2nd semester, the focus of students is more on problem solving samples, and various
formulas are used more, which can be explained by the fact that the study content of the 2nd semester includes
derivatives and integral calculus.
As known, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, studies in all universities were organized remotely, causing a
series of challenges that are usually not relevant in a face-to-face learning environment. This, of course, also
changed students' habits of using e-study system and learning materials, which it contains. As seen in Table
1, very rapidly increased the usage of lecture notes, samples of problem solving as well as usage of other
informative materials. During that time lectures were given on Zoom or another video-conferencing platform,
where a teacher wrote and explained the course content step by step and solves practical exercises. Video
recording of theses lectures were used by students very often. It should be noted that laboratory works were
not organized during lockdown, as both universities are using commercial software MATLAB.

3.2 Tests for Assessing Students' Mathematical Knowledge and Skills

Compilation of tests for the students’ knowledge assessment is the most used one out of multiple e-studies
functionalities. The evaluation of student knowledge through online testing is a relatively new method for
assessing and checking knowledge. It provides ample opportunities for modernizing and optimizing the
learning process. However, the attitude towards assessing the level of knowledge through tests is still unclear.
Reasonable question arises: does testing produce objective results? Because of this, it must be said that
today's tests are significantly different from those used a few years ago. Test theory is one of the directions in
the science of pedagogy, which is rapidly developing. Adherence to the basic laws of this theory allows for
the development of test systems that can be effectively used at different stages of the learning process.
Literature (Dunlosky et al, 2013) describes in detail 10 key teaching methods and evaluates their relative
usefulness. Student testing is referred to as one of the main methods and has received a high-performance
appraisal.
As usual, new ideas, trends and methods generate controversy. Although the use of tests can only be
considered a relatively new method, polar opposite testimonials of tests, their usefulness and the objectivity
of knowledge assessment can still be heard. Sometimes the same arguments sound from both sides i.e. from
those who are for and from those who are against knowledge testing.
Arguments against:
• tests lower the role of the teacher;
• tests do not allow to comprehensively assess the knowledge, its depth, etc.

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Arguments in favour:
• tests reduce the capacity of the study process;
• tests allow you to objectively assess the knowledge to be tested, etc.
This article attempts to answer the question: "Does testing really give objective results and what to do to
obtain them?" Testing itself most often does not cause any significant problems. Important parts of this
process are:
1) The determination of the goals to be tested;
2) The choice of the correct type of questions;
3) The exact wording of the question;
4) The evaluation and interpretation of test results.
The goals we want to achieve through these tests must be set before the start of the test (Appleby et al,
1997). If there are several goals, their importance should be determined, the non-essential objectives should
be discarded, and the same number of questions should be drawn for each important objective.
When selecting the type of questions, it must be considered that the author of the choice questions (these
are questions that ask students to choose the answer from the proposed options) should anticipate possible
mistakes. It is therefore better to choose the questions students can answer themselves. The question should
be short and clearly worded, simple, easy to understand. The question must not pose problems for the
student; it must be done in a way so that the student can answer it using a textbook, remembering facts and
algorithms (Boesen et al 2010). Better yet, if questions can be compiled in such a way as to test intermediate
results and track errors (Seeman, 2015).
The evaluation and interpretation of results is also an essential part of testing, since without a
comprehensive evaluation of the results it is impossible to conclude what needs to be addressed in the future,
how to improve the learning methods and the quality of the study process. The mathematical and statistical
methods that make it possible to efficiently use computer hardware at this stage and thus to automate and
optimize the tasks foreseen are widely used for the evaluation of test results.
In recent years, the authors have collected and implemented a series of tests in the e-study environment,
which serve as an important self-assessment tool and help students to improve their mathematical
competences.
The results of the mathematics course tests during the 1st semester discussed below (Table 2): the first
column - the average rating for the first attempts, the second column - the average rating for the last attempt,
the third - the average rating for the best attempt.
Table 2. Number of views of different e-study materials
First attempt Last attempt Best attempt
Determinants 82% 97% 97%
Operations with matrices 63% 80% 81%
Systems of linear equations 65% 80% 82%
Linear operations on vectors and dot product 55% 61% 62%
Cross product and mixed product of vectors Straight line in a plane 66% 79% 80%
Analytic geometry in three-dimensional space 49% 67% 69%
Limits 52% 68% 69%
Differential calculus of a function of one variable 78% 82% 83%
Extrema of functions. inflection points and asymptotes of a function 71% 83% 85%

Taking all the test ratings together, we get the following results: 63.83% average in the first attempt,
65.98% in all attempts, 79.84% - in the final and 81.69% - in the best attempt. From the Table 2 can be
concluded that often the first attempt is not the most successful, while the last attempt is mostly the best. The
best results were obtained in the test “Determinants” and the test “Limits”, while the worst results are in both
Analytical Geometry tests - “Straight line in a plane” and “Analytic geometry in three-dimensional space”.
Comparing the number of students who completed the test at least once and - the number of total
attempts, it should be noted that the number of students who completed the tests is decreasing on 41%. There
are two reasons for this: first, some students leave university in the middle of the 1st year, secondly, students
grow tired by the end of the term and perform less of the tasks and tests.

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3.3 Tests for Assessing Students' Mathematical Knowledge

Comparing the number of students with the maximum score to the number of students who completed the
test (Table 3), we see that in nine of the tests, more than half of the students gave the perfectly correct
answer, while in the three tests, the correct answers were given by less than half of the students. Of course,
this has an impact on the study results.
Table 3. Number of students (%) who received the maximum score
First attempt
Determinants 92%
Operations with matrices 59%
Systems of linear equations 58%
Linear operations on vectors and dot product 33%
Cross product and mixed product of vectors Straight line in a plane 46%
Analytic geometry in three-dimensional space 41%
Limits 74%
Differential calculus of a function of one variable 63%
Extrema of functions. inflection points and asymptotes of a function 58%

Considering the specifics of the mathematics subject (notes of mathematical relations, drawings,
formulas, etc.), the preparation and adaptation of self-assessment tests to the e-study system is a very
labor-intensive process and requires a lot of effort from teachers. Despite this, self-assessment tests play a
decisive role in ensuring self-directed studies and promoting competence, which results from the
development trends of society. Self-assessment tests are also highly valued by students.
The survey results show, that most of the students consider that even self-assessment tests are needed, as
they help master the material, learn from mistakes and be better prepared for the exam, etc. (Table 4).
Table 4. Students’ opinion about the self-assessment tests
First attempt
Help to be better prepared for exam 43%
Help better understand the topics and to learn from mistakes 63%
Had a significant impact on the final grade 15%
Helped to understand the tasks of the independent works 34%
Contributed to the motivation to learn mathematics 26%

4. CONCLUSION
Not all learning materials in e-studies are used by students. Only about one fifth of students regularly use
problem solving samples. A summary of grades and assessment obtained is usually a resource of primary
interest to students, which leads to the conclusion that the e-study system serves mainly the so-called
non-learning activities.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, remote studies changed the habits of students to use the e-study system
and the learning materials contained in it, with a very rapid increase in interest in lecture notes and video
recordings, as well as problem solving samples. This means that in order to increase students' responsibility
for the learning process and promote the ability to independently acquire knowledge, skills and abilities, it is
necessary to create stricter prerequisites for self-learning in universities.
Results show, that self-assessment tests play a decisive role in ensuring self-directed studies and
promoting self-competence development. Self-assessment tests are also highly valued by students in
achieving mathematics course study results.
When the outcome of data of self-assessment tests had been compared with the final course results, there
could be observed a correlation: generally, students who show good results in the self-assessment tests are
successful at other assessment tests, including exam.

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As the study mainly used the self-assessment method, so the results were based on the opinion of the
respondents and therefore the results cannot be generalized, but can be used to identify problems and identify
future actions or research directions.

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