Using spreadsheets to develop applied skills in a business math course: Student feedback and perceived learning

This paper describes the redesign of a business math course and its delivery in both face-to-face and online formats. Central to the redesigned course was the addition of applied spreadsheet exercises that served as both learning and summative assessment tools. Several other learning activities and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thomas Mays
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: McMaster University 2015-10-01
Series:Spreadsheets in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ejsie/vol8/iss3/1
Description
Summary:This paper describes the redesign of a business math course and its delivery in both face-to-face and online formats. Central to the redesigned course was the addition of applied spreadsheet exercises that served as both learning and summative assessment tools. Several other learning activities and assignments were integrated in the course to address diverse student learning styles and levels of math anxiety. Students were invited to complete a survey that asked them to rank course activities and assignments based on how well they helped the student learn course material. Open-ended items were also included in the survey. In the online course sections, students reported higher perceived learning from the use the spreadsheet-based application assignments, while face-to-face students preferred demonstrations. Qualitative remarks from the online students included numerous comments about the positive learning impact of the business application spreadsheet-based assignments, as well as the link between these assignments and what students considered the “real world.”
ISSN:1448-6156