Mathematics For Thought

Documenting an educator's love for all that teaching mathematics involves

Motivation: Predictor of Student Success in Math

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Niños de Tilcara saliendo del cole
Photo Credit: (M) via Compfight

 

In December 2012 I have encountered an article published on the Time’s website (as well as published in the Scientific American) and many education sites that added a new direction to my learning. “Motivation, Not IQ, Matters Most for Learning New Math Skills.” It proved what we all probably knew for years. And this is the proof.

Post-doctoral researcher from UCLA, Kou Murayama, published this study in the journal Child Development. His study was conducted in Germany on 3,500 schools over a five year period. The findings: it is not how smart you are, it is how motivated you are to learn, your attitude toward learning is what matters most. He noticed that motivation is a greater predictor of success in mathematics than IQ. His study looked at how intellectually engaged students are in math, attitudes, making connections between concepts studied and use of strategies.

Do all of these ring a bell?

Let’s add Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset theory into the mix. What motivates students is knowing and believing that the more they work the smarter and more capable they become to understand and do math. Cultivating this more into the classroom will increase students’ motivation.

So, how do we ensure that we create enough opportunities for students to see and monitor their successes and celebrate those as the result of their effort, their interest and perseverance?

Do we provide enough opportunities for the students to place themselves on a learning continuum and see themselves as progressing while learning? Do we give the students opportunities to equate this with the result of their hard work to progress?

Here are some of the things I do:

METACOGNITION IN MATH CLASS: IDEAS

1. Individualized Learning Logs used by students to record and track success, set goals and control their learning in general.

2. Goal setting activities: “Today’s Lesson Personal Goal: I begin each lesson giving the students time to write a personal learning goal which they will revisit at the end of the lesson to tell me whether they have achieved it, approaching it or still working on it. They also give me a good measurement tool of how accurately they can assess their own progress.

3. Critical reflections: End of the unit reflections

4. Ongoing opportunities to compare and contrast solutions and ideas.

5. Ongoing opportunities to provide peer descriptive feedback.

 

TOOLS THAT SUPPORT COMMUNICATION AND BUILD THE MATH COMMUNITY

I heard about building a relationship and a safe learning community very often.  I must say that I intuitively had taken care of this aspect in my classes. However, the more I read studies and research about factors that foster success and motivation, the more convinced I am of the importance of cultivating and fostering a learning environment that is conducive to success.

So, if the students’ voices are not heard or valued, do students feel like a sense of belonging? We all know that certain circles of people can intimidate and make us feel less worthy. Conversely, the ones that are supportive make us look bright, inspire us, raise us. This is in short what happens to students. Where do they feel like they can shine? Do they all have the chance to own the floor, not because we want everyone to have it, so we provide it for them, but because we actually discovered something they shared, the seed of a great idea and we use it in the consolidation of a new concept. Or maybe because they were attempting a unique way to solve the problem that might have been the most efficient one.

And so, do we listen to the student voice long enough? Attentively enough? Beyond what we would like them to say? Do we make them listen to each other patiently? To build on each others’ ideas? To acknowledge and clarify each other’s ideas? Do we give them a chance to analyze the process and not only the solution?

A few things I have tried so far: 

a. Students observing students solve problems ( with reflection, comparing and contrasting solutions)

b. Students listening to students’ pencasts ( using Livescribe pens) ( followed by providing peer descriptive feedback about problem-solving skills)

c. Students sharing their solutions during Bansho ( used in the consolidation part of the lesson)

d. Using kidblog.org to foster more opportunities to communicate, reflect and provide peer support

e. Student -student conferences about the pencasts

f. Student- student conferences about the problem-solving process they observed

One of the things anyone notices when they visit my class is how engaged all my students are. I still have a hard time naming what I do. It works and it does for years now. In fact, is a recipe with more ingredients than the ones I mentioned above. I strongly believe though that it takes a lot of hard work and persistence.

I see the ingredients mentioned above as the “Musts”. In my opinion, motivation in math cannot exist without having students set goals, “see”, “track”, monitor and celebrate their success. They should see that their hard work pays off.

To conclude with, it is my focus on researching metacognition in the math class that brought me close to realizing the important role of motivation and having a supportive community. I am happy with this encounter.

Mirela

The link below will take you to the article about Kou Murayama’s study:

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/12/26/motivation-not-iq-matters-most-for-learning-new-math-skills/#ixzz2PeHIO2Ls

And for the Scientific American link:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=like-math-thank-your-moti

HOW CAN PARENTS SUPPORT DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET

The partnership teacher-parents is build on the premise of trust. Usually parents want to know one thing, “What can I do to support my child’s learning”?

I created this tip sheet that can be shared with parents at the beginning of the school year during Meet The Teacher Night or Curriculum Night. If we want to send messages about growth mindset we need them to be reinforced at home and in the community. I think a good start is to talk to parents about what type of praise should be given to their children in order to support learning as a continuous process, perseverance and motivation.

Praising children

 

 

Author: Mirela Ciobanu

Mirela Ciobanu is an elementary school teacher in Toronto. She has been teaching with Toronto District School Board since 2004. Mirela has developed a keen interest in teacher inquiry in mathematics, particularly in the area of formative assessment. She has conducted two action researches as part of the Teacher Learning and Leadership Program for Experienced Teachers initiated and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ontario Teachers Federation. Mirela's latest educational focus is in the area of teaching using an integrated approach, with the ultimate goal of preparing students who are well-informed, critical thinkers and active citizens.

4 Comments

  1. Mirela,
    I am taking the Stanford class and was your peer evaluator on one question. I was sent to your blog by your link. Your poster/chart for the Thinking Processes was awesome. I wanted to tell you, as I was unable to get back to the post from your link. You captured the elements and thanks for making it handy for students to refer to throughout the year.

  2. Hi Mirela,

    Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to learn more about students observing students from you!

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