Mathematics Self Efficacy Paper

Building Math Confidence Building Math Confidence is a tool of the Center for Mathematics Excellence to help students get more confident in their mathematical abilities and skills.

Everything that I thought I knew about mathematics was questioned when I saw an algebra question like 7a*2a=18. My first reaction was, ‘What are letters doing in math? Letters don’t belong in math, those are two different subjects!’ Yes, this question is simple to answer now but back then it was new territory for me. It didn’t matter if I got around to understanding it; the next algebra lesson would always leave me clueless again. There was also geometry which, like algebra, was difficult for me. I understood the basics, but problems such as the finding the area of a circle left me running in, well, circles. ‘Easy’ tips for solving geometry problems like A2+B2=C2 weren’t very helpful either. I was close to giving up, then my teacher recommended Khan Academy; a free online tutoring program that specializes in mathematics. It was a lifesaver, and though I never excelled at math like my teacher wanted, it kept me from having a D

The definition of the metacognitive processes are such that improvements can always be made. “Thinking about thinking” or understanding one’s own cognitive strengths and limitations, including the factors (both internal and external) that may interact to affect cognition (Flavell, 1979; Lai, 2011). It is an adaptive capacity and skill that can be acquired to meet the changing demands and abilities of the individual through continued developing knowledge about the person, the task and the strategies required (Flavell, 1979). Intervention towards improving daily functioning and working within limitations towards a place of self-efficacy provides possibilities.

Through defining self-efficacy it involve a person’s judgment about being able to complete particular task on their own and informs the belief of a student’s idea in saying “I can” or “I cannot” (net). There is always a confusion in between the two terms of self-esteem and self-efficacy, the differences between these two is when self-esteem is how an individual feel about their worth or value and self-efficacy is the confidence of an individual’s performance within specific class activities (net). In order to understand if a student has a low sense of self-efficacy towards class activities is determined through their avoidance of their interaction towards an assigned task, whereas with high self-efficacy students they are more likely to engage

Adams & Elliot (2012) conclude that many students express a fear of mathematics. Given that many students potentially share a common fear of mathematics, reducing this and increasing confidence is a vital part of teaching mathematics. Muijs & Reynolds (2011) as cited in Adams & Elliot (2012) suggest that teachers can and should begin lessons or topics with realistic examples of real-world situations

I write my personal philosophy from the perspective of a maths tutor, as I am yet to engage as a maths teacher. Ideally, I would love to impart on my students the same love of mathematics as I have. However, the world is rarely an ideal place. My ethos in

How often do you thinking “I hate math! I wish I never had to do it!” Well that may not just be yourself talking. In recent studies it has been found that students who are told that math is difficult by parents or other adults themselves believe that math is difficult. Instead of encouraging the fear of math in children, adults should encourage them and try to help with math not complain with the children or to not help them making the excuse that the parent or adult is bad at math. While the adult does not have to make math seem like the best thing in the world, they need to avoid stating the common association that they do not like math, or that they are not good at it.

Self-efficacy convictions are an authoritative part of human inspiration and conduct and moreover impact the activities that can influence one's life.

Education is viewed as highly important in almost all countries. However, the educational systems, subjects of focus, and teaching styles in each country vary greatly. One subject that has been highlighted in various countries is mathematics. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) consisted of a video study (1999)

     For this particular study, a survey including 39 closed questions (developed by Alan Schoenfeld in 1989) was used. All items on the survey were in the form of a seven point rating scale, with 1 being “strongly agree” and 7 being “strongly disagree”. The questionnaire was determined to be extremely consistent with an alpha of 0.8468. The survey contained questions associated to student’s perception of what mathematics is and how to do well in it, what mathematics solutions should be, how math problems can be solved, how mathematics is learned, and student motivation. For the first 33 questions, the students were asked to rate them on the seven point scale described above. The last six questions on the survey dealt with grades, gender, and perception of the children’s parent’s attitudes towards mathematics. The researcher also used a two-tail t-test to compare the mathematical perceptions of Chinese and American students. The average of each cateogry in the survey was also compared. As stated above, there were six main categories being compared: what

Examining the other questions on self-efficacy, the lowest question scored that was asked in a positive format was “I can usually solve any number problem” with a score of 3.64. This speaks that the students are being challenged and feel that the computation questions being presented during number talks requires students to become engaged to solve the problem.

Developing fluency requires a balance and connection between conceptual understanding and computation proficiency. Computational methods that are over-practiced without understanding are forgotten or remembered incorrectly. Understanding without fluency can inhibit the problem solving process. (NCTM, Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, 2000). Adding It Up (National Research Council, 2001), and influential research review on how children learn mathematics, identifies the following five strands of mathematical proficiency as indicators that someone understands (an can do) mathematics (Van de Walle, Lovin, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2014, p. 2). The five strands the National Research Council (2001) identified are: Conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and productive disposition. These five strands are interdependent and interwoven, as the development of one strand aids the development of the other strands.

The article “Mathematics Achievement: The Role of Homework and Self-Efficacy Beliefs”, explores the use of the U.S. portion of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). It examines how homework support resources, including books and having a good study environment, impact students in terms of self-efficacy and their achievement in mathematics grouped by race and gender. The article identifies two research questions: 1) To what extent do beliefs of mathematics self-efficacy, such as spending time on mathematic homework and homework support resources affect student mathematics achievement? 2) To what degree does the role of race and gender make a difference in the relationship between mathematics self-efficacy beliefs and student math achievements? (Kitsantas, Cheema, & Ware, 2011, p. 315). The author used PISA student questionnaires to do the study, which measured reading literacy, mathematics literacy and science literacy skills of 15 years old students in the U.S. The sample consisted of 5,200 students, 2,603 boys and 2,597 girls, and the ethnic breakdown was 3,097 Caucasian, 799 African American, 883 Hispanic, 169 Asian, and 252 of mixed or other ethnicity. 274 of the students were chosen from schools through a multi-age stratified random sampling. This study involved an analysis of mathematics achievement that was based on 85 test items reported as a scale of five plausible values for each student. This value was helpful in capturing the measurement

Mathematics, like every creation of man, have evolved without really knowing how far you can get with them: the scope of the computer, physics, chemistry, algebra, all are evidence of this. Every aspect of our culture is based in some way or another in Mathematics: language, music, dance, art, sculpture, architecture, biology, daily life. All these areas of measurements and calculations are accurate. Even in nature, everything follows a precise pattern and a precise order: a flower, a shell, a butterfly, day and night, the seasons. All this makes mathematics essential for human life and they can not be limited only to a matter within the school curriculum; here lies the importance of teaching math in a pleasure, enjoyable and understandable way. Mathematics is an aid to the development of the child and should be seen as an aid to life and not as an obstacle in their lifes.

Maths is ubiquitous in our lives, but depending on the learning received as a child it could inspire or frighten. If a child has a negative experience in mathematics, that experience has the ability to affect his/her attitude toward mathematics as an adult. Solso (2009) explains that math has the ability to confuse, frighten, and frustrate learners of all ages; Math also has the ability to inspire, encourage and achieve. Almost all daily activities include some form of mathematical procedure, whether people are aware of it or not. Possessing a solid learning foundation for math is vital to ensure a lifelong understanding of math. This essay will discuss why it is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence (Anghileri, 2006, p. 2) and why mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri).