Actitud hacia la matemática de estudiantes en el curso Métodos Cuantitativos para Administración de Empresas

Uno de los posibles factores que explica el alto porcentaje de fracasos en los cursos de matemáticas es la actitud de los estudiantes hacia esta disciplina. La baja actitud hacia la matemática, a su vez, puede afectar el desempeño de los estudiantes en otros cursos cuantitativos de administración de empresas. En este estudio se tradujo y adaptó del inglés al español la versión corta del instrumento Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory. Se demostró que el instrumento traducido es válido y confiable para evaluar la actitud de los estudiantes hacia la matemática. Se encontró que existen diferencias entre géneros, los varones tienen mejor actitud hacia la matemática que las féminas, respecto a la autoconfianza, y que ambos géneros reconocen el valor de la matemática, pero muestran una baja actitud en términos de disfrute y motivación hacia esta disciplina.

Teaching Practices that Develop Positive Attitudes towards Mathematics among Joint First Year Students at the Saudi Electronic University

This study seeks to identify attitudes towards mathematics and teaching practices that develop positive attitudes towards mathematics among students of the joint first year at the Saudi Electronic University, from the students’ perspective. The validity and reliability of the instruments were confirmed. The scale of attitudes toward mathematics was applied to (489) In addition to that, (202) were interviewed to identify the teaching practices that develop positive attitudes towards mathematics. The study has found that the attitudes of joint first year students towards mathematics was neutral. It also found that all teaching practices included in the interview had a high approval rate by the students. The study recommendations highlighted the importance of professional development for teachers to master these teaching practices and encourage them to utilize them in their teaching.

Sociocultural Attitudes Regarding Gender Differences in Mathematics Education and Implications for Related Employment

For many years in several countries there has been gender inequality in mathematics achievement, and girls are less likely to study and specialize in precise sciences. A primary explanation for these gender differences is sociocultural. The attitudes and perceptions prevalent in a society’s culture regarding gen-der can affect students’ attitudes and performance in maths education and their choice to pursue pro-fessional careers in maths related areas. Studies have found that learning in single-sex classrooms can influence girls’ achievements and attitudes. The goal of the present study is to examine the attitudes of girls in mixed and single-sex classrooms towards mathematics and towards gender differences in mathematics. The study population included 281 students in the fifth to ninth grades, attending state-religious schools in Israel. The participants completed a multiple-choice questionnaire, which addressed their attitudes toward mathematics and possible differences between boys and girls. Most of the girls, in both types of classrooms, expressed positive attitudes towards learning mathematics and egalitarian views, although differences were found as girls learning in mixed-sex classes expressed views that were slightly more egalitarian. In addition, girls in single-sex classrooms expressed a moderately higher agreement in the “girls are better” category.

Flipped-OCN Method in Mathematics Learning to Analyze the Attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers

Due to the learning difficulties in mathematics education, a new teaching methodology have been proposed for its improvement. Difficulties in mathematics learning indicate that students are not able to properly deal with resolving calculations and/or problems. This research examines the evolution of the attitudes of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) toward mathematics learning when an open calculation based on numbers (OCN) method was followed in a flipped classroom. It was conducted in a general mathematics course, Primary Education bachelor’s degree during the course of 2019/2020. A total of 143 students participated in the study (230 students enrolled), with a pre- and post-test survey questionnaire. Based on the analysis of survey questionnaires, the obtained results demonstrated that the attitudes (own beliefs and conceptions (OB), positive (ATP), and negative (ATN) attitudes) of PSTs improved positively after completing the flipped-OCN method toward mathematics learning. Regarding the statistical analyses, all questions had a significant difference that showed the influence of the flipped-OCN method, improving the PSTs attitudes toward mathematics learning (p < 0.005). According to the structural equation modeling—partial least squares (SEM-PLS) analysis, it demonstrated that the components relation effects of OB, ATP, and ATN of PSTs toward mathematics learning, and the influence of their educational background. Finally, with the principal component analysis (PCA), it can be found out that the science and technology background were positively correlated after the flipped-OCN method comparing with the rest of PSTs. The influence of the proposed method indicated a significant improvement in these components. Therefore, the results concluded that this study allowed to draw a promising tendency about the PSTs’ attitudes toward mathematics learning with the OCN method in the flipped classroom. Additionally, these outcomes could advance our comprehension of how to help pre-service education for teachers’ enhancement and maturity of positive attitudes about themselves as future teachers. Then, it would be a fundamental piece in building logical and critical thinking and development for children.

The Case for Biocalculus: Improving Student Understanding of the Utility Value of Mathematics to Biology and Affect toward Mathematics

This study examines changes in life science students’ understanding of the utility of mathematics to biology, their interest in mathematics, and their overall attitudes toward mathematics after taking courses that integrate calculus into biological problems. Factors that contribute to improved attitudes toward mathematics are identified.

Authenticating Factor Analysis of Attitude towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) in Thailand

The study examine the psychometric properties of Attitudes towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) in the Thai context. To achieve the objective set by the authors, 259 students from 10 different primary schools in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand were selected. Furthermore, a forty items ATMI questionnaire having four scales that is, 15 items measuring self-confidence, 10 items measuring value, 10 items measuring enjoyment, and 5 items measuring motivation from the study of Khine and Afari (2014) was adapted. The questionnaire adapted was translated to Thai language by expert English Thai lecturer. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity were carried out to ascertain the factorability of the correlation matrix. That ATMI can be a viable scale to measure students’ attitudes toward mathematics in Thai context.