Using e-learning to engage Mathematics and Statistics Students in a Kenyan University

Abstract

Two introductory courses to statistics were taught to first year mathematics and statistics students as part of an initiative to introduce them to computers. The courses were offered using a blended approach which included both an eLearning and a face-to-face component. To introduce the students to the learning platform, they first had an “Orientation to Moodle” course. The statistics content of the courses used problem based learning as the instructional approach and the materials were prepared using existing resources. This paper describes the experience of introducing computers to statistics teaching in this manner and the results of the survey on students’ feedback. It also describes the impact of this experience on two other courses taken by the same group after their first year of study.