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Being innovators paid off in a time of real need for the University of Canterbury, based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The University was one of the first institutions in New Zealand to adopt and utilize Maple T.A. to deliver their mathematics based course material and was quick to realize that they could use the software to avoid any disruption to their classes following a sizeable earthquake in Christchurch on February 22, 2011.

Maple T.A. is an easy-to-use web-based system for creating tests and assignments, and automatically assessing student responses and performance. It supports complex, free-form entry of mathematical equations and intelligent evaluation of responses, making it ideal for science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), or any course that requires mathematics.

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch on the second day of semester one. While there were no injuries on campus, the university was evacuated and time was needed to investigate and remediate damaged buildings.

Phillipa Williams, from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, used Maple T.A. to create weekly online modules to support student learning. The previous year, Maple T.A. had been used primarily for summative assessment, measuring the progress of student learning. Since the success of the weekly online modules, the faculty has used Maple T.A. as a core formative assessment tool.

Students used home computers/laptops for online sessions and assignments, working through each of the online modules. Maple T.A. proved to be a perfect tool to help both students and teachers because its web-based interface promotes learning anytime, anywhere.

Maple T.A. provided several key advantages to the University of Canterbury in meeting their mathematics based course learning objectives:

• Increased opportunity for students to interact with course content, providing instant feedback for better understanding of the concepts
• Provided a structured means for students to use their independent study time effectively, helping them achieve better results
• Students with a weak grasp of basic math skills used online practice and assessment to improve their mastery
• Reduced tutor marking loads considerably
• Addressed cheating issues compared to hand-written assignments

Maple T.A. is supported by Maple, which is the world's most powerful mathematical computation engine. Maple commands can be used in both question generation and in marking code, resulting in more searching and sophisticated questions that assess higher level thinking.

“The depth of questions possible with Maple T.A. and the Maple engine is what I consider its biggest strength,” said Phillipa. "Maple T.A. can randomize algorithmic variables, so that students can have multiple attempts at a quiz and see varying problems of the same type each time."

Students were allowed as many attempts as they wanted up to a specified cut-off time, and their best mark was taken. Phillipa said that "students were quick to start doing these learning modules, and were very positive about having something to work on soon after the earthquake. We received a lot of favorable comments about the modules when speaking to students, and through emails."

To obtain more formal student feedback, the university conducted surveys in the last week of lectures. Overall, more than 80% of students from three large first-year courses thought that Maple T.A. was a valuable aid to their learning. The most interesting initial finding is a significant improvement in results for weaker students. The pass rate for these students went up in 2011, compared to the previous two years. Students were also very positive about being able to do the quizzes as many times as they wanted to. The modules were left open for revision after the cut-off time, and many students used them to help prepare for their exam.

“The weekly learning modules have definitely contributed to the aim of increasing student engagement with the course content,” said Phillipa. “Also, we think that working on these modules gives structure, flexibility and focus to students’ independent study time, which has helped with the transition from school to university".

"With the help of Maple T.A., we delivered our full academic programme in 2011 and were able to achieve student learning outcomes," said Phillipa. "We are definitely going to continue using Maple T.A. as a core formative assessment tool.”