Educating to inspire active learning approaches in mathematics in Norwegian universities

Abstract

This is a report of an analysis of some of the data generated by a national survey of teaching approaches used in higher education mathematics courses. The overall purpose of the survey was to explore how widespread is the use of teaching approaches that might promote students’ active learning of mathematics. The paper includes a brief presentation of the authors meaning of the expression “teaching actions that have the potential to promote active learning”. The analysis focuses on the responses of 95 lecturers working in 13 Norwegian HE institutions. The goal is to expose underlying patterns in lecturers’ responses to questions about the teaching actions they may incorporate in their practice. The analysis incorporates descriptive statistics (e.g., mean scores) and exploratory factor analysis to expose underlying reasons for patterns of lecturers’ responses. Qualitative, interpretative approaches are used, both in the design of the survey instrument and in making sense of the outcome from the statistical analysis.