Emotion and Learning: Implications for Mathematics Instruction

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Emotion and LearningImplications for
Mathematics Instruction

• Matt Roscoe
• The University of Montana

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Brain Based Education

• From a cognitive perspective, learning is
  explained as the building of neural connections
• A familiarity of basic neural connectivity and
  brain structure leads to greater understanding of
  how the brain thinks, comprehends and ultimately
  learns
• An understanding of how the brain functions
  points to brain based educational reforms

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MacLeans Triune Brain Model
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e-mo-tion, n.

1. A mental state that arises spontaneously rather
   than through conscious effort and is often
   accompanied by physiological changes a feeling
   the emotions of joy, sorrow, reverence, hate, and
   love
2. A state of mental agitation or disturbance
3. The part of the consciousness that involves
   feeling sensibility

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Cortex-Limbic Relationship

• Far more neural fibers project from the limbic
  system to the cerebral cortex than the reverse
• Emotion plays a role in focusing attention from
  competing sensory input
• Emotion and memory are closely linked

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Emotion and Education

• Emotion drives attention, which drives learning,
  memory and problem solving and almost everything
  else we doby not exploring the role that emotion
  plays in learning and memory, our profession has
  fallen decades behind in devising useful
  instructional procedures that incorporate and
  enhance emotion. (Sylwester, 1998)

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Mathematics Education Slope

• Standard 1 The student must be able to
  calculate the slope of a line that passes through
  any two points on the coordinate plane.
• Standard 2 The student must differentiate
  between positive/negative slope.
• Standard 3 The student must understand the
  meaning of slope in application problems.

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Mathematics EducationSlope Standard Approach

• Algebraically define slope
• Calculate slope for several pairs of points
• Describe positive and negative slope

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Mathematics EducationSlope Standard Approach
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Mathematics EducationSlope Emotional Approach
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Mathematics EducationSlope Emotional Approach
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Mathematics EducationSlope Emotional Approach
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Mathematics EducationSlope Emotional Approach
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Mathematics EducationSlope Emotional Approach

• Interpretation Depreciation of -1,923.57 per
  year
• Follow Up
• Which cars might have higher/lower rates of
  depreciation? Why?
• Do any cars have a positive appreciation? Why?
• Will depreciation always be linear? Why?

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Mathematics EducationLines Emotional Approach
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Mathematics EducationLines Emotional Approach

• The price of cable television has rapidly
  increased in the recent past. Mathematically
  model this trend and use your model to make
  several predictions regarding the future pricing
  of cable television.

Average Cable TV Prices Source Paul Kagan Associates, Inc Average Cable TV Prices Source Paul Kagan Associates, Inc
1994 21.62
1995 23.07
1996 24.41
1997 26.48
1998 27.81
1999 28.92
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Mathematics EducationLines Emotional Approach
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Mathematics EducationLines Emotional Approach

• Cable TV has steadily raised about 1.51 per
  year. A linear model was used because when a
  steady increase of something is used it is a
  viable way to predict the future. The linear
  model for this particular problem was y 1.508x
  15.581. The model tells us that the increase
  each year is about 1.51 and in 1990 the cost was
  about 15.58. If you plug in x you can
  predict the cost in the year 2010 the cost will
  be about 45.74.
• (Student Response)

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Mathematics EducationQuadratics World
Population

• World population has been increasing rapidly in
  the last century. Accurately predicting world
  population is important from an economic,
  political and social standpoint.

World Population (source www.xist.org) World Population (source www.xist.org)
Year Pop (Billions)
1950 2.555
1955 2.780
1960 3.039
1965 3.346
1970 3.708
1975 4.088
1980 4.457
1985 4.855
1990 5.284
1995 5.691
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Mathematics EducationQuadratics World
Population
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Mathematics EducationQuadratics World
Population
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Mathematics EducationQuadratics World
Population

• I think the quadratic (y ax2 bxc) better
  illustrates the world population. The past chart
  shows that the population rate rises nearly a
  full billion every 10 years. The quadratic form
  follows this pattern more closely. Notice that
  more of the points line up with the quadratics
  solution.
• (Student Response)

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Mathematics EducationQuadratics World
Population

• Having an accurate count of future population
  makes it possible to make predictions for what
  social needs must be met in the future. It tells
  us how many people will be living in a voting
  district or estimated population of a city. It
  can tell us how much money we will need for
  social program like welfare, or how big to build
  roads leading to growing rural areas. With a
  linear growth model we will not have accurate
  numbers for determining social, political and
  economic needs.
• (Student Response)

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References / Contact Info

• Sylwester, R. (1994, October) How Emotions Affect
  Learning. Educational Leadership, 52 (2), 60-65.
• Greenberg, J. (1978, November) Memory Research
  An Era of Good Feeling. Science News, 114
  (22), 364-365.
• Sylwester, R. (1998) Discover Your Brain Emotion
  and Attention. How Our Brain Determines Whats
  Important. Report, Retrieved February 10, 2005
  from the ERIC database.
• Slywester, R. (1995) A Celebration of Neurons An
  Educators Guide to the Human Brain. Alexandria,
  Virginia ASCD.
• Caine, R.M., Caine, G.C. (1997) Education on the
  Edge of Possibility. Alexandria, Virginia ASCD.

• Matt Roscoe
• University of Montana
• Missoula, MT 59812
• [phone]
• roscoem_at_mso.umt.edu