Self-regulated Learning with Open and Distance Learning for Foundation of Applied Mathematics Course

Abstract

Foundation of Applied Mathematics is one of the mathematics servicing courses for Diploma of Applied Science programme in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. This course was previously taught in a physical classroom using direct confrontation. A few negative factors were found to contribute to the course’s failure rate: i) inadequate exercises, ii) poor study habit and iii) reluctance to consult the lecturer or opting to study with peers only. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the students are forced to do independent learning at home. Ascribable to this issue, the lecturers were inspired to investigate their students’ motivation and participation in this course, which associate to their self-regulated learning (SRL). This paper presents the implementation of open and distance learning (ODL) in teaching the subject of Foundation of Applied Mathematics. The ODL was intended to promote SRL for student, thereby increasing their motivation and participation in learning activities. At present, no literature has been found study on SRL in current ODL method, mainly for this course. Online questionnaires were collected at the end of March - July 2020 academic semester to investigate students’ perceptions on ODL and its effects to Self-Regulated Learning (SRL).  Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that the level of agreement for ODL has positive contributions to the students’ SRL.