Abstract
The study of Economics at university heavily relies on quantitative (mathematical) skills.Often students differ substantially in their pre-existing knowledge of mathematical concepts used in economics, depending e.g. on their choice of A levels or whether their secondary education was in the UK or overseas. Differences in pre-existing knowledge are likely to impact students’ learning experience in their Economics degree programme. Moreover, students’ knowledge endowment from secondary education is likely to differ systematically with demographic characteristics (SES included) thus raising issues of ensuring equal opportunity for all our students.
Existing research indiates the presence of differences in academic outcomes by student background, which can partially be explained by individal preparedness and pre-existing knowledge of quantitative skills. This study will investigate whether targeted support in the form of adaptive learning help to close any gaps in academic performance.
To do so this study will use experimental methods to investigate whether the introduction of an adaptive learning method into the module Statistics for Economics has an effect on student outcomes, in the form of exam grades, and on behaviour, in the form of enagement.
The results can inform educational policy at the host institution and elsewhere, for instance if a positive effect is identified that is large enough to be economically relevant.