During the intervention, linear algebra exam performance rose distinctly above overall first-year performance, a pattern the authors interpret as intervention impact beyond cohort differences¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · design r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Descriptive comparison of first-year course trends shows linear algebra exam performance increasing noticeably and remaining distinctly above overall performance during the intervention years, while analysis performance stayed close to overall performance. → Baumgartner 2025

Evidence¶

Baumgartner 2025¶

Baumgartner, V., Daguati, S., Trninic, D., Akveld, M., Caspar, A., Hungerbühler, N., Kapur, M. (2025). Problem-solving before instruction for learning linear algebra in university mathematics. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-025-09709-8

q2 · i? · design · r3

Descriptive analysis of aggregated exam data for all first-year courses (Table 6, Fig. 4), comparing baseline cohorts B1–B4 with intervention Years 1–4. The authors are cautious about direct grade comparisons because lecturers of other courses, including Analysis, changed over the years and bonus-point policies varied.

"During the intervention, exam performance in analysis lay close to overall performance, whereas exam performance in linear algebra increased noticeably and remained distinctly above overall exam performance."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The PS-I intervention significantly increased the percentage of students passing the linear algebra final exam in all four cohorts (Cohen's d = 0.21–0.42) — related
• PS-I over a year in a university linear algebra course was followed by significantly higher final exam performance versus baseline cohorts — related
• Students' participation in preparatory exercises positively predicted their final exam grade in every intervention year (β = 0.16–0.31; R² = 0.03–0.16) — related
• Participation in preparatory exercises predicted conceptual-understanding test performance in the first two iterations only, with no evidence in Years 3 and 4 — related