Observable learning outcomes among tertiary mathematics students in a newly implemented blended learning environment

The study compared learning outcomes for two cohorts of mathematics students in an Australian university, studying in adjacent years, in two sequential core mathematics subjects. The only change in delivery of teaching was the replacement of one of two face-to-face tutorials with an online tutorial. The online tutorial tasks were designed to lead the student through each topic using steps of increasing difficulty as scaffolding. Learning outcomes were assessed by a method based on the SOLO taxonomy, which provided a common scale for scoring learning outcomes observable in examination answers. In the students’ first mathematics subject, scores were significantly higher for the group doing online tutorials, but differences were not significant in the second. The conclusion was that the online tutorials helped students beginning university study but was less important later.