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The maths essay task
The maths essay task

Authors can create a maths essay task which lets learners type mathematical and/or scientific formula (to be marked by a facilitator).

Michele de Bes avatar
Written by Michele de Bes
Updated over a week ago

This article covers the maths essaytask type.

For a general overview of tasks and what they can do, see An introduction to tasks and for general instructions on how to add them to your course, see How to add a task to your course.

When to use the maths essay task type

This task type can be used by authors when:

  • You want learners to use a combination of text and maths in their response,
    or

  • you want to allow some flexibility in how learners input maths characters or equations, and

  • a facilitator or coach is able to manually mark the task.

In the example below, the maths essay task requires a written explanation that includes referencing some formulae:

Screenshot of a maths essay task requiring a written explanation.

The next example requires no written element but allows the learner to use the inbuilt maths editor to input maths characters, and to create equations:

Screenshot of a maths essay task showing the use of the inbuilt maths editor.

How to create a maths essay task

Watch the video below to see the process in action. If you need more, then follow our simple step by step written instructions.

Written instructions

All tasks load with an example task to give an idea of what each field is for. To add your own task details, you can type over the existing content in the fields or select Clear task content, to start completely fresh.

Clear task content button on right of task element below task type choice.

Standard fields

This task has the standard fields/options that all tasks have.

At the top:

  • Question - Where you set the main question/task which tells learners what to answer or do.

And at the bottom:

  • Hint - Add a hint to give pointers or clues to give learners extra guidance to complete the task. Learners can choose to See hint so it allows them to get this help “on demand”.

  • Feedback - Add feedback to give learners an automated response when they submit the task so that learners can compare their answer to the automatic feedback given (as opposed to having the answer auto-marked). Automatic feedback should be helpful so that learners can figure out whether or not they are on the right track, such as worked-steps or a quick list of alternative solutions. See Writing feedback for tasks for pointers and ideas.

In between the top and bottom standard fields we have the following areas and fields.

How to set the keyboard options for learners

This part of the task set up area lets you customise the keyboard shown to learners.

Screenshot of options for learners' keyboard showing things like: Type, Number pad, Symbols etc.

For most purposes, a floating keyboard with keypad hints enabled will suit. You can choose, add and remove symbols (groups that learners get to choose from).

Other options

  • Choose a word limit, and whether or not you want to show the word count.

How to set a marking template

Authors should then select a marking template that requires a facilitator to add feedback, such as complete/incomplete with feedback. This option allows the facilitator to mark and provide feedback in a text box. For more information see the article on marking templates.

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