Support for students in their transition to the first year of an engineering degree

The research presented here is a project to support students entering STEM degrees. The study aims to investigate and address the mathematical difficulties that many students present when making the transition to undergraduate Engineering courses. Data were collected on students’ mathematical background, self-reported preferences in terms of preparing for assessments and outcomes on a mathematics diagnostic test. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyse the data, expanding the preliminary results reported in Treffert-Thomas, Hunsicker and Trott (2016). One of our findings showed that students without A/AS-level qualifications tended to use additional materials and online materials in particular more often than students with A/ASlevel qualifications. This led us to develop an online, visual, dynamic resource aimed to be inclusive of all students including those with a learning difference.