ABSTRACT
From March 2020, the Mathematics Support Centre at University College Dublin, Ireland, and the Mathematics Education Support Hub at Western Sydney University, Australia, moved wholly online and have largely remained so to the point of writing (August 2021). The dramatic and swift changes brought on by COVID-19, in particular to fully online modes of teaching and learning including mathematics and statistics support (MSS), have presented students and tutors with a host of new opportunities for thinking and working. This study aims to gain insight both from students and tutors about their experience of wholly online learning and tutoring in the COVID-19 era. In this sense, it represents a 'perspectives' study, the idea being that before we examine specific aspects of this experience, it would be best to know what the issues are. Employing a qualitative analysis framework of 23 one-on-one interview transcripts with tutors and students from both institutions in Australia and Ireland, we identified five key themes as central to the shared experiences and perspectives of tutors and students. In this study, we discuss three of these themes in relation to the new normal with the intention of supporting MSS practitioners, researchers and students going forward. The themes describe the usage of online support, how mathematics is different and the future of online MSS. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.
ABSTRACT
The dramatic changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way in which mathematics and statistics support is offered. Students and staff have been presented with new opportunities and challenges. One-on-one interviews were conducted late in 2020 with 23 students and staff who had experience with fully online mathematics and statistics support. The interviewees were from University College Dublin, Ireland, and Western Sydney University, Australia. Utilising thematic analysis, five themes around online mathematics and statistics support common to both universities were identified. In this paper the three themes related to connection are explored;they are pedagogical changes, social interaction, and appreciation of mathematics and statistics support. These themes highlight the need felt by both students and staff for mutual connection. The paper concludes with a discussion on the repercussions of this study for future considerations of effective online mathematics and statistics support. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.