Using SOWISO to realize interactive mathematical documents for learning, practising, and assessing mathematics

Abstract

Successes of computer aided learning in mathematics education have led to high expectations of teachers and learners. A teacher would like to be able to review what students actually do when learning online, how much progress they make, which difficulties arise during learning, and to which subjects attention must be paid in the next lessons. Learners expect that they can consult their instructional materials anywhere, anytime and device-independent, and that they receive immediate and intelligent feedback on their work. At the Faculty of Science of the University of Amsterdam we realize the envisioned interactivity and support in SOWISO. This is a cloud-based environment in which a course has the look-and-feel of an interactive module: texts, randomised examples and randomised exercises with automated feedback are integrated, and online formative and summative assessments are fully supported. We describe and evaluate a SOWISO-based course in basics mathematics for first-year psychobiology students, in which formative assessment and learning through worked examples are key elements of the instructional design.