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Instructional practices related to prospective elementary school teachers’ motivation for fractions

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Abstract

This study was undertaken in order to better understand prospective elementary school teachers’ motivations for working with fractions before and after taking a course designed to deepen their understanding of mathematics, as well as what instructional practices might be related to any changes detected in their motivations. Eighty-five education students were given a motivation questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester, and observations were made of the 9 days when fractions were taught. Three levels of teacher data were collected to understand instructional practices. Students’ ratings of the importance and usefulness of fractions (value), self-concept of ability, and anxiety were near the center of the scale at pre-test, with only value in the desired direction. At posttest, value and self-concept of ability increased while anxiety decreased, but these changes differed somewhat by instructor. In particular, reform-oriented practices, such as engaging students in high-level discourse, seemed to be associated with lowered anxiety.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank James Byrnes, Jacqueline Leonard, Julianne Turner, and several anonymous reviewers for their very thoughtful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Technology in Education, College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA

    Kristie Jones Newton

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  1. Kristie Jones Newton
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Correspondence to Kristie Jones Newton.

Appendices

Appendix A

Motivation questionnaire

Appendix B

Attribution scales

Knowledge

    Promotes principled understanding in students

    Activates and builds on students’ knowledge and experiences

    Manifests a deep and accurate understanding of the lesson

    Illustrates the value or utility of the lesson content

Strategic processing

    Explicitly teaches general or domain-specific strategies

    Models general or domain-specific strategies

    Encourages students to be reflective and self-regulatory

    Provides opportunities for engagement in reasoning or non-routine problem-solving

Development and individual differences

    Demonstrates understanding of developmental levels in lesson content and delivery

    Maintains high, but reasonable, expectations for all students

    Is cognizant of students’ individual strengths and needs

    Plans for and adjusts to variations in students’ thinking, behavior, or background

Motivation

    Incorporates student interest or choice in the lesson

    Manifests an interest or excitement in the content

    Involves all students actively in the lesson

    Promotes positive attributional and self-competency beliefs among all students

Context and situation

    Creates a caring and affirming learning environment

    Makes effective use of available resources in planning and promotes their use

    Uses a variety of social interaction patterns during the lesson

    Welcomes and engages all students’ thoughts and reactions

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Newton, K.J. Instructional practices related to prospective elementary school teachers’ motivation for fractions. J Math Teacher Educ 12, 89–109 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9098-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9098-z

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