Lack of interest in mathematics Essay

This reputation explores the behaviour, military capabilitys and beliefs of primary domesticate pupils towards math in the sectionroom and the impact that this whitethorn have on their mathematical ability. The subscribe focused on year 3 pupils from a topical anesthetic school, near closely of whom took part in focus groups towards the end of the project. The children completed trivial browsesheets, which were used to stimulate a guided discussion on what aspects of math the children comparabled and disliked. The aim of this project was to isolate possible causes of ostracize attitudes towards maths and to discuss what their implications might be. Keywords Primary, Attitudes, Purpose, Anxiety, Confidence, Language, ReflectionIntroductionMathematicians have long held a high level of respect amongst their academic peers. Yet the subject of mathematics, although revered, cadaver a source of anxiety and trepidation for a large keep down of people. Widespread negativit y towards mathematics appears in m any(prenominal) forms, from misrepresentation in the media to the social stigma that substantiatems to surround those who ar mathematically gifted. Children often unsex mathematics aside as a cause for concern, despite their particular exposure to it (Hoyles 1982). It is a subject unlike most others, since it requires a colossal amount of perseverance from the individual in order to succeed.A negative attitude towards mathematics could considerably reduce a persons pull up stakesingness to persist with a problem. Without the ability to persevere, mathematical development is in all likelihood to be toil some(prenominal). The calculate of this project is to determine the possible root causes of these negative attitudes towards mathematics.The study focused on Year 3 pupils from a local school, some of whom took part in focus groups. Three focus groups were carried out, each consistingof tetrad children with similar abilities. Children were selected based on observations from previous visits. Subjects were chosen if they video displayed strong feelings for or against mathematics, or if they were at the extremes of the ability range. The focus groups lasted for approximately 30 minutes and were broken into two parts. Firstly, the children were given 10 minutes to attempt quad questions tailored to their ability range. The questions involved symmetry, arithmetic, a word problem and a problem resolving exercise.The last outing time was used to discuss what the children snarl about mathematics, using the worksheet as a focal point. It is hoped that this project will provide significant insights into why many children have a pessimistic outlook on mathematics and indicate where future research is contracted. maths and its apparent lack of objectChildren may find the nature of mathematics difficult to cope with as its wider reaching implications can be challenging to see. Experiments are carried out for the physic al sciences,From Informal minutes 29-1 (BSRLM) available at bsrlm.org.uk the author 7Joubert, M. (Ed.) Proceedings of the British Society for Research into skill Mathematics 29(1) troop 2009pictures are drawn in art class and language skills are used in everyday interactions with other people. However, mathematics has a very formal written sense about it, where activities remain intangible to the child. From the remarks I witnessed in the focus groups, it seems that children find it difficult to exploit a connection surrounded by the work they do on paper and its interoperable applications. The following transcript is taken from the high-ability focus group CharlieYou need to be well-grounded with numeracy, say when youre say, shopping for something You need to work out how untold youre paying. You dont have to be a genius at it, but you have to be instead good at it.f youre a shopkeeper, and someone gave you like about 20, and something was like 15 and they didnt know m uch how much to give them back. And if you didnt know, you should learn to a great extent in your maths.It was rather impress to see pupils across the entire ability range unable to nark connections between mathematics and its many practical uses. Counting money was the lonesome(prenominal) association that they were able to make, even though it had not been covered in recent work. It is interesting that the high achievers, although mathematically gifted, could not establish any more real(a) world applications than the low achievers. However, the low achievers present more of a concern, as motivation to improve their mathematical understanding cannot be aided by their innate ability. Certainly, the children cannot be expected to make these connections without care from a teacher.In fact, some believe that the most effective teachers are connectionists (Askew et al. 1997), although perhaps there is currently inadequate emphasis on the practical uses of mathematics in the curric ulum. Human nature does not favour self-conceited endeavours if a difficult task appears to have no purpose, then a few(prenominal) will continue to follow it through. If low achievers are unable to see the wider benefits of having strong mathematical skills, then they may lack motivation, which is vital in a difficult subject such as mathematics.Understanding the purpose of mathematics should not that economic aid to improve motivation, but could help in the actual formulation of concepts. In 1991, Harel and Tall discussed the importance of what they called the want principleFrom Informal Proceedings 29-1 (BSRLM) available at bsrlm.org.uk the author 8Joubert, M. (Ed.) Proceedings of the British Society for Research into information Mathematics 29(1) March 2009This principle states that the subject matter has to be presented in such a way that learners can see its extremity. For if students do not see the principle for an idea (e.g., a definition of an operation, or a symb olization for a concept), the idea would seem to them as being evoked arbitrarily it does not become a concept of the students. (Harel and Tall, 1991 41)They believed that a notion is more likely to be abstracted fortunately if the learner can acknowledge the necessity of the concept. In the context of this project, the learner needs to be aware of the purpose behind their work. For young learners, understanding the practical uses of mathematics could be sufficient to both motivate them and allow the necessity principle to be satisfied. foster research is required on this answer, as its stage setting may be greater than previously thought. As with all the findings in this project, the data was salt away from a small sample group, and so it may be difficult to generalise to a larger population. However, based on the remarkable similarities between responses in this particular classroom and the general attitude towards mathematics in our society, I would suggest that the apparent l ack of purpose in mathematics is a sentiment snarl by many.Self-belief and mathematical ability vigor was more evident during the focus groups than the lack of self-beliefshown by many of the children. outset and middle achievers quickly resigned themselves to failure, without truly attempting all of the questions on their worksheet. There was a consistent association of mathematics with cleverness, as many of the children felt not only that numeracy was harder than literacy, but that to be clever you had to be good at numeracy. In effect the children were implying that someone who excels in literacy will not be perceive as being clever unless they can display a similar exemplary ability in numeracy. As a result, children who perceived themselves to be weak felt that they would be incapable of solving harder mathematical problems. A girl from the middle-ability group remarked FayeIm just going to do a simple answer, which is probably wrong.While some would say that any answer is better than no answer, Fayes conclusiveness to give up and guess occurred before she had given any real consideration to the question. This example was typical of her low confidence in mathematics an attitude which I believe greatly misrepresents her ability.Many of the children showed signs of anxiety whilst attempting the worksheets, shuffling awkwardly in their seats, glancing at their peers with worried expressions and making negative comments about the difficulty of the current task. Previous research into anxiety and mathematics (Hoyles, 1982) indicates that a connection may lie between an individuals perceived ability and their level of success. The absolute nature of mathematics, where there is normally only one right answer, could add considerably to a negative attitude towards mathematics.Overall, girls expressed much lower confidence than boys, even among the high achievers. They often attributed success and failure to external factors, such as luck and the perceived d ifficulty of a question. In comparison, most boys recognised that success was ascribable to their own ability, and that failure was caused by either a lack of cause or understanding on their part. Whilst this distinction was not absolute it did take to to the vast majority of pupils that took part in the focus groups.The divergencyin attitudes towards mathematics between genders has been researched in depth by many, notably Stipek and Gralinski (1991). Although girls and boys are roughly equal in the league tables at GCSE level, there is a remarkable difference in A-level and University uptake. It is quite possible that primary school experiences are alienating girls from the subject, to the detriment of their long term mathematical development. The primer coat for this is currently unclear and warrants furtherFrom Informal Proceedings 29-1 (BSRLM) available at bsrlm.org.uk the author 9Joubert, M. (Ed.) Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics 29(1) March 2009Undoubtedly, the teacher faces an uphill struggle trying to respite a diverse range of abilities and attitudes, an ever changing curriculum and rigid time constraints. However, there are several outcomes of this project that should be considered by the education community. For example, it may be worth exploring how the children perceive mathematics and its uses remote of school. By improving the understanding of the uses of mathematics, pupils will hopefully see the benefits of exploitation strong mathematical skills for more than just academic purposes. Likewise, low self-belief is an issue that all teachers can attempt to address.We need to dispel the notion that mathematics is a subject limited to geniuses and that children of all abilities can be successful in the subject. The structure of the lesson and the time constraints of the school day should also be up for revision, asthe current lesson format may not be the most efficient. The school curriculum is o ften subject to repetition, some of which may be avoidable with a subtle shift in lesson structure. deathIt is clear that childrens attitudes towards mathematics can be influenced by a wide variety of factors. This project has gone some way to identifying what a few of these factors might be, but there is still plenty of scope for future research. In particular, childrens views on practical uses of mathematics and the difference in attitudes between genders require further study. Additionally, the importance of reflection in primary education needs to be discussed in much greater detail.ReferencesBeth, E. and J. Piaget. 1966. numeral Epistemology and Psychology, Dordrecht Riedel. Hoyles, C. 1982. The Pupils View of Mathematics Learning. educational Studies in Mathematics 13 (4) 349-372.Dubinsky, E. 1991 Reflective Abstraction in Advanced Mathematical Thinking. In Advanced Mathematical Thinking, ed. D. Tall, 95-102. Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Publishers. Harel, G., and D. Tall. 1991. The general, the abstract and the generic in advanced mathematical thinking. For the Learning of Mathematics 11 (1) 38-42. Stipek, D. and H. Gralinski. 1991. Gender Differences in Childrens Achievement-Related Beliefs and Emotional Responses to Success and Failure in Mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology 83 (3) 361-371.Askew, M., M. Brown, V. Rhodes, D. Johnson, and D. William. 1997. Effective Teachers of Numeracy Final Report. London Kings College.From Informal Proceedings 29-1 (BSRLM) available at bsrlm.org.uk the author 12