HALMA

About half of all German college students are enrolled in a degree program that includes mathematics. Many encounter significant difficulties in these programs, and dropout rates are high. Although measures taken in recent decades have often been successful on a local level, they have done little to change the overall situation. Reasons for this may include a lack of individualization, mandatory requirements, and coherence in the programs offered, as well as insufficient integration into the respective degree programs.

The HALMA project aims to explicitly embed in the curriculum mandatory, individualized, and academically coherent pathways for students that are adapted to competency profiles and academic goals.

Related objectives include

1. the creation of a foundation of mandatory offerings to ensure study readiness relevant to professional fields,
2. revising mathematics curricula, building on expected high school knowledge and geared toward program-specific requirements,
3. strengthening career-related mathematics courses, and
4. the individualization of teaching. Achieving these goals requires a fundamental structural change to the instructional architecture of the participating degree programs.

HALMA envisions an agile and evidence-based process involving all individuals from the mathematics department and the participating academic departments who are involved in the teaching and learning process. The Center of Excellence for University Mathematics Education (khdm), as an institution with experience and an international network, will steer this process and provide guidance on the measures to be taken.

Project Coordinators:

Prof. Dr. Andreas Eichler
eichler[at]mathematik.uni-kassel[dot]de

Prof. Dr. Reinhard Hochmuth
hochmuth[at]idmp.uni-hannover[dot]de

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Rezat
srezat[at]math.upb[dot]de