Teaching mathematics to Business and Enterprise students in a module based around Excel

Abstract

Within this paper, a case study of a mathematics module Information Analysis for Business and Enterprise students will be presented. The assessment for the module consists of four coursework assignments that are all done within Excel. The content of the module, which includes financial mathematics and data analysis, was carefully selected to be relevant and useful to the students further on in their degree and beyond. The module is based around the development of skills such as IT and communication. The students are required to pay attention to how they use Excel, how they present their work and their explanations. Comments from students are generally positive about the opportunity to develop skills within the module and they recognise the benefits surrounding employability. In addition to lectures and computer tutorials, the students have access to a collection of short video tutorials which contain examples of the Excel techniques. In this case study, the challenges of teaching this module will be explored, including teaching students with different abilities, the limitations of the classroom environment and the problem of mathematics anxiety. Details of the content of the module will be provided along with descriptions of the assessment methods and the teaching methods.