麻豆淫院

Students' perceptions of their mathematical identity can provide insight into why some lose motivation or underperform in math. "The background of the research project MATHMot is that we know less about how motivation for math develops than about the development of math skills," says researcher Jelena Radi拧i膰.

A common belief in mathematical research is that students become less motivated for the subject as they get older. "This is correct, but the decline is not the same in all areas. Additionally, this trend varies between different countries and school systems," says Radi拧i膰.

Radi拧i膰 and colleagues recently completed the : Co-constructing mathematics motivation in primary education鈥擜 longitudinal study in six European countries.

Research shows that fourth graders are less motivated for math than third graders, even though they have learned more.

"We know that students' perception of their own competence and beliefs related to the subject greatly affect their willingness to learn more. Therefore, we wanted to find out if some students have what we call a mathematical identity," explains Radi拧i膰.

"Can I become good at math?"

"This question reveals a great deal about how students perceive themselves and how others perceive them. Mathematical identity can help us understand why some lose motivation or do not perform at their best," explains Radi拧i膰.

MATHMot was conducted between 2020 and 2024 with students from Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, and Serbia participating in the study. The target group included students in third, fourth and fifth grade, from 50 schools in each country. Researchers used both quantitative and qualitative data in the project.

Radi拧i膰 says, "When we observe students in Norway, their sense of being a 'math person' is more closely linked to how genuinely interested they are in mathematics and how useful they find it, rather than to their math scores."

Radi拧i膰 further explains that in countries where grades are introduced earlier in the school system, the connection between motivation and math scores is stronger.

The culture we live in affects our mathematical identity

Having a mathematical identity is not just about the individual student. It is also influenced by the surrounding society. The school system, what teachers think, and societal expectations for the subject all play a part.

"For Norwegian students, we found that there was low correlation between their math results and whether they saw themselves as a math person," Radi拧i膰 says.

Students who see themselves as math people are more genuinely interested in math, enjoy tackling math problems, and engage with math in everyday life. "We see that boys are more likely to see themselves as math people than girls."

What can math teachers do to motivate students?

In the project, researchers also looked at what teachers can do to help more students see themselves as capable in math.

"We created a for teachers, combining our data with the experiences of the educators from the project," says Radi拧i膰. "We also see that encouraging students to use their own experiences in the subject is helpful. This can make students more involved and encourage them to see themselves as math people."

It is essential for schools to foster an environment where all students receive support and are encouraged to engage with and explore the mathematical world. At the same time, it is equally important for these topics to be recognized within schools and for teachers to develop the competence to motivate students.

"Working on student motivation is an area where teachers can learn from their colleagues and share their own experiences to help others," says Radi拧i膰.

What can guardians do?

"When guardians show that math is interesting, fun, and enjoyable, children also become more motivated for the subject." However, if guardians say that learning math is difficult, it negatively affects children.

They perform worse in the subject and lose the desire to learn. Children who were very motivated to learn math also achieved better results in the subject. "Motivation is like an engine that helps us to increase learning on a long-term basis," concludes Radi拧i膰.