Beliefs and beyond: affect and the teaching and learning of mathematics (original) (raw)

The Relationship Between Teacher and Student Beliefs About Mathematics

School Science and Mathematics, 1997

In this study the relationship between teacher (n = 7) beliefs about mathematics, the learning and teaching of mathematics and their respective students' beliefs about mathematics (n = 158) are examined. The data were collected by means of two instruments specifically designed to measure belief systems about mathematics. Teacher scores were adjusted so that a higher score reflected beliefs in aligntnent with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards. Results indicated that the students of teachers whose beliefs were in alignment with the NCTM Standards had significantly different beliefs about factors that lead to success in mathematics than did other students. Specifically these students felt that working hard to solve problems and striving for understanding would lead to success. No student differences were found for subscales of ego orientation, competitiveness, interest and extrinsic factors such as neatness and cooperation. These findings suggest that this group of teachers practiced what they believed and that these practices affected what their students believed about mathematics. We suggest that using these two assessments in tandem give a clearer picture of the mathematical environment within a classroom and can be used in professional development workshops to initiate teacher reflection about classroom practices.

An attempt to identify the issues underlying the lack of consistent conceptualisations in the field of student mathematics-related beliefs

PLOS ONE, 2019

This paper aims to clarify the inconsistencies present in the field of student mathematicsrelated beliefs. Despite the general agreement about the important role that beliefs play in the learning of mathematics, the study of student mathematics-related beliefs has resulted in a body of uncoordinated research. The lack of consensus on defining and classifying beliefs has generated much confusing terminology, preventing a consistent conceptualization of the phenomenon. To identify the problem underlying existing inconsistencies, we have undertaken a systematic review of the literature to analyse the belief conceptualisations proposed by the most cited authors in this field of research. Our analysis suggests that authors often fail to conceptualise beliefs in four important ways: existing theories related to the phenomenon under research are normally not considered; definitions are often too broad and do not clearly confine the construct under evaluation; and existing beliefs subconstructs are rarely defined and thus not explicitly distinguished. Our study has also revealed that some of the scales developed to measure the belief constructs lack of content and internal validity. We believe that these findings open new lines of research that may help to clarify the field of student mathematics-related beliefs.

Students’ mathematics-related belief systems and their strategies for solving non-routine mathematical problems

Waikato Journal of Education

This study explored students’ mathematics-related beliefs and the relationship between the beliefs and their strategies for solving non-routine mathematical problems. The study was guided by Daskalogianni and Simpson’s 2001 belief systems categories and strategies for non-routine mathematical problems. The participants were 625 grade 11 students from five high schools in Tshwane North District, Gauteng province of South Africa. Data were collected using a mathematics beliefs questionnaire, a mathematics problem-solving test and interview. Quantitative and qualitative research techniques were used for data analysis. It was found that the students held all the three belief systems (utilitarian, systematic and exploratory) at different degrees of intensity and the belief systems and strategies for problem-solving had a weak positive linear relationship, and there were no statistically significant differences among mean scores of the students holding systematic, exploratory and utilitar...

Beliefs and attitudes in mathematics teaching and learning

Vurdering i matematikk-Hvorfor …, 2005

Beliefs play great role in mathematics learning and teaching. The learning outcomes of students are strongly related to their beliefs and attitudes about mathematics (Furinghetti & Pehkonen, 2000). Thus assessing or evaluating of students' mathematical knowledge ...

Mathematical Beliefs for Achievement in Mathematics at Elementary School Level

Pedagogay of Learning, International Journal of Education, 2022

At elementary level most of the students feel difficulty to solve problems and tasks related to mathematics and they feel mathematics is a very difficult subject in comparison to other school subjects. Reports of ASER-2018 by PRATHAM and NAS-2017 by NCERT show the decline in performance of students in mathematics in terms of learning outcomes at elementary level. There could be various reasons behind this. Many of them have been addressed in NEP-2020. That is why new education policy suggested to change the structure, curriculum and instruction methods at elementary level. But out of all these factors one factor which is less emphasized and less talked about in the educational community is mathematical beliefs at elementary level. These days' western countries are doing significant work on mathematical beliefs at elementary level. Because whatever we think or do is to some extent governed by our beliefs. That's why mathematical beliefs become one important factor out of all possible factors for good achievement in mathematics. Through this review-based research paper, the researcher has tried to throw light on the role of mathematical beliefs at the elementary level. Also, have tried to explain what are mathematical beliefs? How does it affect the mathematical behavior of students and affect their mathematical achievement?