Supporting quantitative skills in biomedical science with smart worksheets: intentions, impact and barriers to engagement.

INTRODUCTION: The growing diversity of university student populations highlights the critical need for inclusive support strategies. Student outcomes often remain linked to socio-economic factors and Level 3 qualifications, challenging universities to create equitable learning environments, particularly for foundational skills like quantitative analysis. This study investigated the impact of widening participation (WP) characteristics on student engagement with, and perceptions of, novel asynchronous digital Smart Worksheets developed by LearnSci in collaboration with the Institute of Biomedical Science.

METHODS: Students (N = 779) enrolled on Biomedical Science modules in Level 3 to 6 at Northumbria University UK, were surveyed to gauge perceived calculation confidence, extracurricular commitments and intent to use the Smart Worksheets. Following deployment of the Smart Worksheets, students were surveyed again to correlate intention versus actual usage, explore the influence of WP characteristics and elucidate other factors that affected engagement.

RESULTS: Surprisingly, perceived course engagement and initial calculation confidence was generally high. Students with multiple WP characteristics, however, reported significantly lower calculation confidence (p = 0.002). While 93.9% of students expressed strong intent to use the resources, only 20% engaged. Further exploration revealed the primary barriers were resource awareness and time availability, with extracurricular commitments increasing from Level 3 to 6, culminating in 86.1% of Level 6 students having work or caring responsibilities. Regardless of initial confidence, students consistently rated the Smart Worksheet content as appropriate and their content as highly valuable.

DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that students' extracurricular commitments are escalating throughout their university careers, challenging traditional assumptions about final year students being more autonomous and needing less support. Flexible, high-value resources are crucial for time-poor students, addressing engagement barriers that are primarily time and capacity-related. This study underscores the increasing need for comprehensive and clearly communicated support mechanisms for all students navigating an increasingly complex academic, financial and personal landscape.