A Naturalistic Inquiry Into the Attitudes Toward Mathematics and Mathematics Self-efficacy Beliefs of Middle School Students

A Naturalistic Inquiry Into the Attitudes Toward Mathematics and Mathematics Self-efficacy Beliefs of Middle School Students

Author: Janet K. Stramel

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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While there has been much quantitative research done in the area of attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs, this study sought hear the voices of the middle school child. Therefore, this qualitative study investigated the attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs of middle school students in one middle school in western Kansas. The conceptual framework for this study is supported by the research of Albert Bandura on Social Cognitive Theory. This study used a naturalistic inquiry approach and data were collected from multiple sources, including short-answer questionnaires, classroom observations, and one-on-one interviews. Coded data were examined for patterns, themes, and relationships. Middle school students in this study exhibited positive, negative, and variable attitudes toward mathematics, and both positive and negative mathematics self-efficacy beliefs. Students attribute their high mathematics self-efficacy beliefs to the teacher or the high grades they receive on daily assignments, as well as the scores they receive on state and local assessments. Conversely, middle school students have low mathematics self-efficacy beliefs when they feel unsuccessful or distressed, and they attribute those beliefs to the low grades they receive on daily assignments and assessments, as well as the distress of not understanding the mathematics. Middle school students told their mathematical stories of the change in attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs, and attributed positive changes to the mathematics teacher. Negative changes in attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs were attributed to the amount of homework expected at the middle school level, as well as the lack of hands-on activities. The influence of the teacher, grades, and hands-on activities impact middle school students' attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs. There is a relationship between attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics self-efficacy beliefs. Low mathematics self-efficacy beliefs and poor attitudes toward mathematics are related since low mathematics self-efficacy beliefs and poor attitudes toward mathematics are highly connected. Conversely, high mathematics self-efficacy beliefs and good attitudes toward mathematics are highly related. Middle school students' experiences impact both mathematics self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes toward mathematics. Students' mathematics self-efficacy beliefs impact their attitudes toward mathematics.


Attitudes, Beliefs, Motivation and Identity in Mathematics Education

Attitudes, Beliefs, Motivation and Identity in Mathematics Education

Author: Markku S. Hannula

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-06-14

Total Pages: 42

ISBN-13: 3319328115

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This book records the state of the art in research on mathematics-related affect. It discusses the concepts and theories of mathematics-related affect along the lines of three dimensions. The first dimension identifies three broad categories of affect: motivation, emotions, and beliefs. The book contains one chapter on motivation, including discussions on how emotions and beliefs relate to motivation. There are two chapters that focus on beliefs and a chapter on attitude which cross-cuts through all these categories. The second dimension covers a rapidly fluctuating state to a more stable trait. All chapters in the book focus on trait-type affect and the chapter on motivation discusses both these dimensions. The third dimension regards the three main levels of theorizing: physiological (embodied), psychological (individual) and social. All chapters reflect that mathematics-related affect has mainly been studied using psychological theories.


Fundamentals of Educational Research

Fundamentals of Educational Research

Author: Garry Anderson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2005-06-22

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1135708215

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Cuts through the complexities of educational research to give the novice reader a sound basis to define, develop, and conduct study, while providing insights for even the accomplished reader.


Mathematics, Affect and Learning

Mathematics, Affect and Learning

Author: Peter Grootenboer

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-10-17

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 9812876790

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This book examines the beliefs, attitudes, values and emotions of students in Years 5 to 8 (aged 10 to 14 years) about mathematics and mathematics education. Fundamentally, this book focuses on the development of affective views and responses towards mathematics and mathematics learning. Furthermore, it seems that students develop their more negative views of mathematics during the middle school years (Years 5 to 8), and so here we concentrate on students in this critical period. The book is based on a number of empirical studies, including an enquiry undertaken with 45 children in Years 5 and 6 in one school; a large-scale quantitative study undertaken with students from a range of schools across diverse communities in New Zealand; and two related small-scale studies with junior secondary students in Australia. This book brings substantial, empirically-based evidence to the widely held perception that many students have negative views of mathematics, and these affective responses develop during the middle years of school. The data for this book were collected with school students, and students who were actually engaged in learning mathematics in their crucial middle school years. The findings reported and discussed here are relevant for researchers and mathematics educators, policy makers and curriculum developers, and teachers and school principals engaged in the teaching of mathematics.


Views and Beliefs in Mathematics Education

Views and Beliefs in Mathematics Education

Author: Benjamin Rott

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-12-14

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 3030012735

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The book is made up of 21 chapters from 25 presentations at the 23rd MAVI conference in Essen, which featured Alan Schoenfeld as keynote speaker. Of major interest to MAVI participants is the relationship between teachers’ professed beliefs and classroom practice. The first section is dedicated to classroom practices and beliefs regarding those practices, taking a look at prospective or practicing teachers’ views of different practices such as decision-making, the roles of explanations, problem-solving, patterning, and the use of play. The focus of the second section in this book deals with teacher change, which is notoriously difficult, even when the teachers themselves are interested in changing their practice. The third section of this book centers on the undercurrents of teaching and learning mathematics, what rises in various situations, causing tensions and inconsistencies. The last section of this book takes a look at emerging themes in affect-related research. In this section, papers discuss attitudes towards assessment.


From beliefs to dynamic affect systems in mathematics education

From beliefs to dynamic affect systems in mathematics education

Author: Birgit Pepin

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-10-21

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 3319068083

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This book connects seminal work in affect research and moves forward to provide a developing perspective on affect as the “decisive variable” of the mathematics classroom. In particular, the book contributes and investigates new conceptual frameworks and new methodological ‘tools’ in affect research and introduces the new field of ‘collectives’ to explore affect systems in diverse settings. Investigated by internationally renowned scholars, the book is build up in three dimensions. The first part of the book provides an overview of selected theoretical frames - theoretical lenses - to study the mosaic of relationships and interactions in the field of affect. In the second part the theory is enriched by empirical research studies and provides relevant findings in terms of developing deeper understandings of individuals’ and collectives’ affective systems in mathematics education. Here pupil and teacher beliefs and affect systems are examined more closely. The final part investigates the methodological tools used and needed in affect research. How can the different methodological designs contribute data which help us to develop better understandings of teachers’ and pupils’ affect systems for teaching and learning mathematics and in which ways are knowledge and affect related?


Affect and Mathematical Problem Solving

Affect and Mathematical Problem Solving

Author: Douglas B. McLeod

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 1461236142

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Research on cognitive aspects of mathematical problem solving has made great progress in recent years, but the relationship of affective factors to problem-solving performance has been a neglected research area. The purpose of Affect and Mathematical Problem Solving: A New Perspective is to show how the theories and methods of cognitive science can be extended to include the role of affect in mathematical problem solving. The book presents Mandler's theory of emotion and explores its implications for the learning and teaching of mathematical problem solving. Also, leading researchers from mathematics, education, and psychology report how they have integrated affect into their own cognitive research. The studies focus on metacognitive processes, aesthetic influences on expert problem solvers, teacher decision-making, technology and teaching problem solving, and beliefs about mathematics. The results suggest how emotional factors like anxiety, frustration, joy, and satisfaction can help or hinder performance in problem solving.