Mathematics Support Unit

The service offered by the Mathematics support unit is available to all students in the University. Most courses in the University of Paisley contain Mathematical concepts, and the reasons for some students lacking confidence in working with Mathematical notation and ideas are varied. In some cases, students have had little previous exposure to the subject; in others a particular topic has not been understood, or a particular skill has not been mastered, making understanding of subsequent work impossible.

Staff in the Mathematical support unit can help a student to identify the source of their problem, and will prescribe a programme of work to guide the student to greater competence in mathematics.

A variety of learning aids are available in the unit, including a set of six personal computers with appropriate software, a collection of booklets on a variety of topics in mathematics, and a small collection of textbooks on basic mathematics. For students who wish to brush up on relevant school mathematics there is a set of computerised tutorials; some help is given on-screen, but if further help is required the student can be directed to appropriate booklets for private study.

It is important for students to be able to monitor their learning in a subject; starting with the Mathematical Sciences 1 course in the Science Faculty, a set of on-screen tutorials has been produced. Students are asked to key in the answers to questions, and where a wrong answer is given, a hint is offered with the oppurtunity to answer again. Succesful completion of these examples should be clear indication of satisfactory progress in the course!

Help is Available

The Mathematics Support Unit in H326 is open from 08:45 to 16:45 each day during term time. A member of staff is present at the following times: 
Maths Support Unit times
Day
Time
 Tutor
Tutor's room
Special Interests
Monday
12:30 - 13:30
 Tony Laing
H236
 Mathematics
Tuesday
16:30 - 17:30
 Elizabeth West
H210
 Mathematics
Wednesday
12:30 - 13:30
 Allan MacLeod
H234
 Mathematics
Thursday
16:30 - 17:30
 Jeremy Garnett
H232
 Statistics / Business
Friday
12:30 - 13:30
 Ewan MacArthur
H212
 Statistics / Engineering

For students entering the University and requiring guided preparatory study and students taking examinations at the August/September diet the Mathematics Support Unit is staffed between 10:00 and 12:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays in August.

For further information or advice on a particular problem contact the Director of the Mathematics Support Unit Elizabeth West, Room H210, Tel. Ext. 3513.

Return to: Maths & Stats

Last revised: 25 April, 2002
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