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Dr Poh Wah Hillock

Senior Lecturer

Mathematics
Faculty of Science
p.hillock@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 53337

Overview

I am a teaching focused academic in the School of Mathematics and Physics (SMP). I obtained my PhD in Pure Mathematics from the University of Adelaide in 1996. My thesis was in the area of Convex Sets with Lattice Point Constraints. After my PhD, I worked as a mathematics lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, for a period of 3 years.

I have extensive teaching and administrative experience at the secondary-tertiary interface. Prior to my PhD, I taught senior high school mathematics in Singapore. As head of the mathematics department, I led a team of 20 teachers and oversaw the delivery of the senior high school mathematics curriculum for over 2000 students. In my current role as lecturer and coordinator of large first year mathematics courses, I have led and implemented course improvements. These include the development of a comprehensive range of graded learning resources for key first year mathematics courses and specific initiatives to address the secondary-tertiary mathematics transition. One such initiative that has been especially rewarding is the Support Learning Tutorial (SLT), an intervention program that I designed and implemented to support at-risk first year students. To date, more than 600 students have attended the SLT. These students have consistently outperformed the general cohort in pass rates and quality of results. My SLT work has been recognised with two UQ teaching excellence awards and one national teaching award. Another significant initiative which I have led is the MATH1051 (Calculus and Linear Algebra I) Blended Learning Project. This project introduced changes to the delivery of MATH1051 in 2019, through the integration of online and high-value on-campus activities. A key innovation is the creation of a complete set of videos for MATH1051 and the implementation of collaborative workshops.

Research Interests

  • Special topics in first year mathematics
    Teaching and learning of special topics in first year mathematics, e.g. series, power series, vector spaces.
  • Blended learning in first year mathematics
    Effectiveness of hybrid models in the delivery of first year mathematics.
  • Remote learning in first year mathematics
    What works, what doesn't and strategies for improving student outcomes.
  • Building Community in First Year Mathematics
  • Assessment in first year mathematics
  • First year mathematics support
    Effective programs to support vulnerable students in first year mathematics

Qualifications

  • Diploma in Education, National University of Singapore
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Adelaide

Publications

View all Publications

Available Projects

  • Special topics in first year mathematics

    Teaching and learning of special topics in first year mathematics, e.g. series, power series, vector spaces.

  • First year mathematics support

    Effective programs to support vulnerable students in first year mathematics.

  • Blended learning in first year mathematics

    Effectiveness of hybrid models in the delivery of first year mathematics.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

  • A mathematics support program for first year engineering students

    Hillock, Poh Wah, Roberts, Anthony, Grotowski, Joseph, Jennings, Michael, Kavanagh, Lydia and Scharschkin, Victor (2013). A mathematics support program for first year engineering students. Brisbane, QLD Australia: School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland.

  • Developing a profile of student performance in large classes

    Hillock, Poh Wah, Roberts, Anthony, Grotowski, Joseph, Jennings, Michael and Scharaschkin, Victor (2012). Developing a profile of student performance in large classes. Brisbane, QLD Australia: School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland.

  • Convex sets with lattice point constraints

    Awyong, Poh Wah (1996). Convex sets with lattice point constraints. PhD Thesis, Department of Pure Mathematics, The University of Adelaide.

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Special topics in first year mathematics

    Teaching and learning of special topics in first year mathematics, e.g. series, power series, vector spaces.

  • First year mathematics support

    Effective programs to support vulnerable students in first year mathematics.

  • Blended learning in first year mathematics

    Effectiveness of hybrid models in the delivery of first year mathematics.

  • Building community in first year mathematics

    There is a large body of research which tells us that belonging enhances achievement & motivation. First year at university is challenging for many students: there are new ways of learning, new physical and social environments, high expectations and the list goes on. How can we promote community/sense of belonging in first year mathematics?

  • Assessment in first year mathematics

    • Design of assessment tasks which provide students with frequent and meaningful feedback, facilitating reflection, self-assessment and independent learning.
    • Peer-assessment in first year mathematics.

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ORCID: 0000-0002-3416-1895

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