A vital factor in the accessibility of mathematics courses and in the quality of graduates produced is the nature of support given. In this paper we describe briefly aspects of the support offered to students at Sheffield Hallam University and particularly the part played in this by technology and mathematical diversity.
Personal support in the form of tutorials drop-in sessions and one to one meetings forms a key element in fostering student development. Peelo and Whitehead found that approximately 75% of students in a survey cited their lecturer or personal tutor as the first port of call when they encountered problems. An overall aim however is that students will become more self-sufficient as their course progresses. Towards the end of their course the best students require little detailed support and will interact with staff more in terms of general direction and discussion of points of interest. In our experience the development process is aided when students explore a variety of ways of tackling the same problem. This variety comes from the use of different technological tools and also by looking at a problem mathematically from alternative points of view. As noted by Cox interest can be sustained by carefully chosen examples building on fluency with basic principles.
