Education Commons^™

Math Anxiety And Avoidance Of Mathematics At The College Level: Undergraduate And Their Sense Of Not Belonging In Math Classrooms, Kay C. Lashley

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Negative experiences and perceptions of the subject often influence the avoidance of mathematics at the college level. This study explored this issue by investigating the relationship between math anxiety, belongingness in math classes, and help-seeking behaviors among STEM and non-STEM majors. The study involved 41 participants, including 24 STEM majors and 17 non-STEM majors, all undergraduate college students aged 18 to 54. The results revealed that most students (39 out of 41) felt a sense of belonging in their math classes. Correlation analyses showed a significant positive relation between math anxiety and self-reported math competency, “r(41)= .44, p < .01,” and that higher levels of math anxiety were linked to a greater likelihood of avoiding math classes, “r(41)= .35, p = .02”. Students with lower math anxiety were marginally more inclined to seek help from family or friends, “ X2 (12, N = 42) = 20.1, p = .065”. However, there were no significant differences in help-seeking behaviors between STEM and non-STEM majors. Overall, these findings are consistent with previous studies. Nevertheless, more research and interventions are needed to develop supportive math learning environments at the college level, especially for students with higher anxiety.

Autonomy Relation To Student's Motivation In Stem, Halle Patton

Honors Projects

The purpose of this research project is to investigate how giving students autonomy can affect the way they learn and participate in a STEM environment. Autonomy-Supportive Teaching occurs when students take ownership throughout the entire learning process, becoming more actively engaged and motivated due to the personal responsibility that they feel to learn. Our education system is primarily made up of teacher-centered environments. However, the change to student-centered learning could be revolutionary. By making educational environments geared towards student interest and choice, it could increase both motivation and internalization– two factors that make a successful student. Research was conducted in …

Help Or Hindrance: Latinx College Graduates’ From Stem Majors Perceptions Of University Culture Following Vincent Tinto’S Theoretical Framework Of Student Persistence, Carmen Gonzalez, Carmen Lucia Gonzalez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Latinx college graduates who have achieved STEM degrees perceive the culture of their university and the STEM program they were enrolled in as supporting or not supporting a Latinx college student’s persistence to graduation.

Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological approach was the methodology selected for this study. This phenomenological research captured and described the lived experiences of study participants through interviews and artifacts.

Findings: The findings of this research illustrate (a) Research participants all perceived that creating relationships with STEM program faculty was important in supporting them toward degree completion, …

Finding Your Mathematical Roots: Inclusion And Identity Development In Mathematics, Linda Mcguire

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This paper details a semester-long course project that has been successfully adapted for use in mathematics courses ranging from introductory level, general-education classes to advanced courses in the mathematics major. Through creating aspirational mathematical family trees and writing mathematical autobiographies, this assignment is designed to help battle belonging uncertainty, to challenge students to self-situate in relation to the history of mathematical and scientific knowledge, and to make visible a student’s developing identity in mathematics and, more broadly, in STEM.

The construction and scaffolding of the project, assignments, examples of student work, foundational readings, assessment and outcomes, and adaptation strategies for …

Co-Teaching In Steam With Dhh Learners, Stephanie Gardiner-Walsh

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This poster series is a supplement to the chapter "Science, Technology, Engineering, (Arts), and Math (STEAM) Education of Students who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing" and presents unique considerations for deaf and hard of hearing learners in a STEAM classroom.

Encouraging Students To “Think Like A Scientist” Through Picture Books Designed To Support Research-Based Science Education, Emily Mae Starr

Children's Literature (MA) Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a series of nonfiction picture books, Think Like a Scientist, to help children see themselves as scientists by stepping into the shoes of real-life scientists. Each book in the series focuses on a crosscutting concept (one of the three dimensions of the Next Generation Science Standards) and how three scientists used the concept when making revolutionary discoveries. Novel to the series are strategically spaced questions that encourage readers to interact with the text by engaging in the same thought processes as real scientists. The series is intended support research-based elementary science …