Application of Maple T.A. system in teaching mathematics for students of non-mathematical specializations at university level

W artykule przedstawiono doświadczenia z pilotażu wykorzystania platformy Maple T.A., przeprowadzonego w trakcie kursu Matematyka dla pierwszego roku studentów Wydziału Biologii i Nauk o Ziemi Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Omówione zostały wyniki ankiety przeprowadzonej wśród uczestników kursu. Przeprowadzono także analizę napotkanych problemów oraz osiągnięć dydaktycznych w kontekście możliwego zastosowania platformy Maple T.A. we wspomaganiu nauczania matematyki dla studentów studiów niematematycznych. Ponadto zaprezentowano przykładowe treści e-learningowe skonstruowane w trakcie kursu.

We discuss in the paper the results of a pilotage of Maple T.A. system during a course ‚Mathematics’ given for first year students of the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences of Jagiellonian University. As confirmed in a survey, most of the attendees had only very basic knowledge of mathematics, hence the content of the course was very demanding for them. The basic aim of significantly increasing the number of home assessments for students while keeping the work load of academic staff at the same level was achieved. Basing on tutorial attendance as well as on results of the questionnaire we conclude that Maple T.A. is a very good tool in stimulating students involvement and regular work. The final pen and paper exam that consisted of five open question was passed by around 70% of those who attended, which is a satisfactory result taking into account the very poor mathematical background of students. Particularly good results have been achieved by students of Geology, what suggests that the Maple T.A. can increase results of teaching mathematics, especially for students of engineering sciences. In the paper we also discuss technical problems we experienced during the pilotage and we present sample e-learning materials created.