Workshop Reports

The findings from the workshops have been documented in four reports:

• Workshop Report – TU Graz
• Workshop Report – KTH Stockholm
• Workshop Report – Universidade de Lisboa
• Workshop Report – Wrocław University of Science and Technology

Together, these reports provide valuable insights into contemporary mathematics education practices across Europe and highlight approaches that can be transferred to other institutions.

Teaching Toolkit

One of the main outcomes of the project is a practical Teaching Toolkit for Mathematics Education, designed for educators who wish to create more engaging, supportive, and effective learning environments.

The toolkit presents three best-practise approaches identified during the project and a standardized protocol to make the reality-check of the own teaching:

Laskutupa – Scheduled Learning Rooms (Aalto University)

Laskutupa provides a dedicated learning space where students can work on mathematical problems and receive support from tutors and subject experts. A publicly available timetable indicates which expertise is available at any given time, e.g. experts for Python available Wednesday 16:00 – 18:00, Linear Algebra … Monday, 12:00 – 14:00, allowing students to seek targeted support for specific courses or topics. The model lowers barriers to asking for help and promotes continuous learning through readily accessible academic support.

The Central Examiner Model (KTH)

The Central Examiner Model is an organisational approach used in large mathematics courses to ensure consistency across multiple course groups and instructors. Clear responsibilities for examination, assessment standards, and course coordination help maintain quality while supporting collaboration among teaching staff and providing transparency for students. The main benefit of team teaching for lecturers is reduced workload using synergies and open educational resources.

Anxiety-Free Exercises (Universidade de Lisboa)

This exercise model encourages continuous participation through positive incentives rather than penalty-based assessment. Students are rewarded for active engagement and effort, helping to reduce mathematical anxiety while promoting regular practice and sustained motivation.

Introducing COPUS

The Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) is a practical framework for analysing teaching and learning activities in university classrooms. It helps educators identify active learning phases, measure student engagement, and support evidence-based course improvement.

Learn more about COPUS: https://cwsei.ubc.ca/resources/tools/copus.html

Interactive COPUS Analyzer Tool: https://www.copusprofiles.org/

Fit4Math MOOC

One of the project’s major outcomes is the enhancement of Fit4Math, an open online mathematics bridging course hosted on iMooX.

Based on the jointly identified onboarding competencies, the course was expanded and prepared for international use within the Unite! alliance. Existing materials were translated into English and the languages of the participating universities, and additional content was developed to better reflect the mathematical foundations required for first-year STEM studies.

The course aims to support prospective students before they enter university and is expected to reach thousands of learners annually through iMooX and the Unite! Metacampus.

Course link: https://imoox.at/course/fit4math

Key Findings

The project revealed that many challenges encountered by first-year students are shared across European universities.

While mathematical content knowledge remains important, discussions throughout the project highlighted that successful university onboarding depends equally on cognitive and organisational skills such as:

• self-directed learning,
• time management,
• sustained attention,
• communication and mathematical expression,
• active participation in learning environments.

The project therefore shifted its focus from purely measuring mathematical content knowledge towards identifying educational approaches that support students in developing these broader competencies.

Project Impact

The project established a sustainable network of mathematics educators across Europe and created opportunities for exchanging teaching practices that would not have emerged through local initiatives alone.

The workshop format proved particularly valuable, bringing together lecturers, students, educational developers, and e-learning specialists to discuss shared challenges and compare institutional approaches. Several best practices identified during the project have already been disseminated through staff training activities and departmental workshops.

Most importantly, the project produced practical resources that remain available beyond the project’s lifetime:

• four international workshop reports,
• a teaching toolkit containing transferable best practices,
• the multilingual Fit4Math MOOC,
• and an active network of educators interested in improving mathematics teaching and university onboarding.

These outcomes contribute to reducing barriers for future STEM students and strengthening educational collaboration across the Unite! alliance.

Funding: This project was supported through the Unite! Seed Fund programme.