Adult%20innumeracy%20and%20the%20influence%20of%20negative%20mathematics%20attitudes,%20low%20self-efficacy%20beliefs,%20and%20mathematics%20anxiety%20in%20student%20primary%20teachers%20

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Adult innumeracy and the influence of negative
mathematics attitudes, low self-efficacy beliefs,
and mathematics anxiety in student primary
teachers an interventionist approach for better
practice

• Dr Chris KlingerUniversity of South Australia
• chris.klinger_at_unisa.edu.au

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Introduction

• Connection between adult innumeracy and
  mathematics anxiety
• roots of both found to lie in primary education
• role of teachers in middle to late primary years

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a study in 3 parts

• IMAES to identify student teachers perceptions
  of mathematics, including their own capabilities
• Skills test administered as a diagnostic
  intervention
• Reflection on attitudes towards perceptions of
  mathematics in the context of the intervention
• findings support a functional deficit
  hypothesis

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Recap primary teachers and the IMAES instrument
Facts from TIMMS 2003
Enjoy learning maths Enjoy learning maths Self-confidence in learning maths Self-confidence in learning maths
Agree a lot Disagree High Low
4th grade 46 (50) 16 (22) 55 11
8th grade 25 (29) 31 (35) 40 22
Difference -46 (-27) 94 (59) -27 100

• Over critical 4 yrs, 60-70 at risk (or worse) of
  being turned off maths
• Causal factors
• attributes of primary teachers
• attributes of pre-service primary teachers
• framework of educational systems, schools,
  curriculum practices

same cohort sampled (1995/99) different
cohorts (2003)
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the IMAES instrument

• IMAES questionnaire a multi-part instrument
  using (mostly) 5-point Likert scales with 95
  statements about
• math attitude
• affective, behavioural, cognitive domains
• math anxiety
• math self-efficacy belief
• past/early math learning experiences
• Demographic info collected, also
• Factor analysis reliability testing
• confirmed survey design i.e. that items
  correspond to respective domains

Inventory of Maths Anxiety, Attitude,
Experience, Self-awareness
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IMAES results in a nutshell
Pre-service student primary school teachers
tend to have pervasive mathematics anxiety,
negative attitudes low mathematics
self-efficacy beliefs that aremore extreme than
those found in any other undergraduate group
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Diagnosis, evaluation, intervention and
reflection a DT approach

• School of Education at UniSA
• proactive response to challenge of math-averse
  student primary teachers
• 3-part strategy
• Diagnostic Test (DT) in four sections (may be
  attempted 3 times)
• number place value, arithmetic operations,
  money, fractions, decimals, and percentage
• space and measurement
• data (including tables, graphs and diagrams)
  chance
• patterns (including simple algebraic relations),
  number theory (e.g. prime numbers) order of
  operations (BODMAS)
• Supplementary lectures, tutorials 11 support
• Reflective questionnaire

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Intervention

• Minimum 80 required per section for mastery
• All sections must be mastered
• 3 strikes and youre out
• Additional voluntary (extra-curricular) lectures,
  tutorials 11 support provided
• encouragement to reflect on diagnostic results
  seek tuition and support according to individual
  needs
• initial tutorial groups are quite large (30-50),
  reducing to small-group tutorials (12-20) and
  11 tuition
• staffed with casual tutors, drawn (increasingly)
  from schools and/or professional organisations
  recognized expertise
• tuition objectives to promote understanding
  rather than remediation

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Summary of Diagnostic Test (undergraduate, 2007)
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Summary of Diagnostic Test (graduate entry, 2007)

• 68.5 unable to demonstrate mastery, but
• proportion of successful students almost double
  that of undergraduate cohort

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Reflection affective assessment

• diagnostic tools procedures appear to be highly
  effective
• reflective questionnaire
• It was great to see from the beginning what we
  knew and needed help with.
• I think the remedial classes helped me
  immensely.
• I had completely forgotten these maths concepts
  and I now look at my own everyday activities in a
  very different light.
• almost 2/3 of students believed the DT identified
  areas for improvement of which they were
  previously unaware
• I had unrealistic ideas about my abilities in
  all areas.
• I thought I was doing the question correctly in
  the original DT however got them wrong.
• It took the DT for me to realize what areas
  needed revision and I probably would not
  otherwise have been aware of them.

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Conclusion

• IMAES profiles are robust in their ability to
  characterise affective, cognitive, and
  behavioural attributes
• DT cohorts are not atypical DT results confirm
  that the postulated behaviours are manifested in
  these groups
• if unchecked, theres a tangible substantial
  risk to generations of primary pupils
• a cohort of 130 student teachers might be
  expected to reach 50,000 individuals
• BUT positive interventions in teacher education
  programs are both possible and necessary

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