ERIC Number: EJ1073038
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Oct
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-1954
EISSN: N/A
Effects of Using History as a Tool to Teach Mathematics on Students' Attitudes, Anxiety, Motivation and Achievement in Grade 11 Classrooms
Lim, Siew Yee; Chapman, Elaine
Educational Studies in Mathematics, v90 n2 p189-212 Oct 2015
For decades, educators have advocated using history of mathematics in mathematics classrooms. Empirical research on the efficacy of this practice, however, is scarce. A quasi-experiment was used to investigate the effects of using history as a tool to teach mathematics on grade 11 students' mathematics achievement. Effects in three affective domains (attitudes, anxiety, and motivation) were also measured. Four classes from a school in Singapore participated in this quasi-experiment. The experimental group (n?=?51) and control group (n?=?52) were each made up of two classes. Results indicated that using history as a tool to teach mathematics had a significant positive effect on students' mathematics achievement, in an initial posttest and in two retention tests taken 4 months and 1 year, respectively, after the last intervention session. Significant positive effects were also found on two subscales within the affective domain variables (perceived value of mathematics and introjection, a type of extrinsic motivation), but only at a posttest administered midway through the study. These results suggest that using history in mathematics classrooms have both immediate short- and long-term effects on students' achievement, but only short-term positive effects in the affective domains. These results were discussed using qualitative feedback obtained from the participants of this study.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Mathematics Instruction, History, Teaching Methods, Student Attitudes, Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematics Achievement, Student Motivation, Secondary School Mathematics, High School Students, Grade 11, Quasiexperimental Design, Experimental Groups, Control Groups, Pretests Posttests, Retention (Psychology), Outcomes of Education, Instructional Effectiveness, Feedback (Response), Qualitative Research
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools; Grade 11
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A