LŽŪU pirmo kurso studentų matematinio pasirengimo analizė
Analysis of the first-year students' mathematical preparedness at the Lithuanian university of agriculture

Summary/Abstract: Economical rationalism and mass character accompany the reform of higher education. Young people of different experience, knowledge and possibilities come to the University. Factual results of mathematical preparedness in secondary school and expectations at the university level differ in many countries. Although a necessary instrument in one‘s career, mathematics is just an auxiliary subject for students of the University of Agriculture. Nowadays in many fields specialists find the right activity development complicated unless the sufficient level of mathematical literacy is possessed. Traditionally, the Lithuanian University of Agriculture is more attractive to students from rural schools, who have lower academic achievements than those applying to other higher schools. Quite a high percentage of students lack elements of mathematics. Mathematical preparedness has been determined with 15-question test, developed by lecturers from Swedish and Latvian Universities of Agriculture. Dispersion analysis shows constantly weakening intelligence of the LUA entrants. The Kruskal-Wallis test has determined that, in the year of investigation, the first-year students are equally successful in solving problems of the same type: they are best at arithmetic operations and Pythagorean Theorem, and the weakest at solving trigonometric problems and tasks with square roots. At higher mathematics exams students usually show mediocre results. This is determined not only by insufficient capability and skills of learners but also by changes in living and educational environment, poor skills of individual work. Grouping talented first-year students with weak, unmotivated ones, those who lack fundamentals of mathematical literacy results in negative situation. When most of the audience fined it difficult to understand some concepts, order and aim of the transformed phenomena, and the results obtained, the course of teaching and learning is impeded. In this case either gifted students do not receive sufficient attention, or the weaker ones are acquainted with the course material superficially. Motivated students even if they have gaps in basic knowledge having put some additional efforts master fundamentals of university mathematics course successfully. Authors of the work consider differentiation of the first-year students for teaching mathematics based on the level of their preparedness expedient. Weak students find the pace of learning mathematics too high. Therefore, it is purposeful to arrange the course of higher mathematics at the university throughout academic year but not one semester. Organization of expanded course of higher mathematics as help in doing individual tasks and preparation for the exam is desired by students and is also purposive.

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