Interactive Tutorials in Undergraduate Mathematics: What Are They Good For?

Full-paper in Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, Omaha, NE, USA

Citation: Kim, S. H., & Evans, T. (2023). Interactive Tutorials in Undergraduate Mathematics: What Are They Good For? In S. Cook, B. Katz, & M.-R. D. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 25th Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (pp. 306-314). Mathematical Association of America.

Abstract: In-person tutorials present a prime opportunity for students to work with others to engage their

problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. We investigate the use of interactive tutorials in a

large, second-year service mathematics course as part of a quasi-experiment whereby students

could either attend in-person tutorials (for a participation mark) or complete the tutorials

individually without attending the live sessions and submit solutions for credit. Our analyses of

student data and self-efficacy measures suggest that consistent attendance at in-person tutorials

may maintain and improve students’ self-efficacy. Median changes to self-efficacy measures for

students who attended in-person tutorials were higher than those who completed tutorials

individually without attending the live sessions. The difference between the changes to the

Emotional Regulation aspect of tutorial self-efficacy was statistically significant (p = .031),

highlighting the role in-person tutorials play in supporting students’ mathematical learning

beyond academic outcomes.