Student reports during MapleTA electronic homework Christopher S Hlas UW-Eau Claire, Mathematics Education hlascs@uwec.edu Robert G Cypher UW-Eau Claire, student researcher

Overview MapleTA Flow theory Calculus I, Fall 2009 (Math 114) Results / Conclusions Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

What is MapleTA? Maplesoft: Maple engine for homework problems Pros Problem types instead of specific problems Immediate feedback Cons Computer issues (version 5) Correct / incorrect feedback Maple syntax & student frustration Demo Examples of syntax frustrations: 2x versus 2*x 0.5 versus 1/2 Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

What is flow? To be in the "flow" means: Focus Interest Control Goals/feedback MihalyiCsikszentmihalyi Senior artists who intensely created paintings with no (visible) reward. Experience Sampling Method (ESM). Time budget: types of activities and time on task Research in everyday situations Flow = “In the zone” (sports metaphor) Focus Intense focus on task, time appears to "fly" by. Some seniors forgot to eat. Interest Task is interesting, curiosity is invoked. “Curious, passionate people can learn anything.” -- Jason Fried, of 37 Signals In problem solving research, this is similar to “accepting” the problem. Control Sense of control regarding the task. Intrinsic motivation when locus of control is closer to one’s self. Shift is starting towards more project-based learning (guide on side vs. sage on stage) Feedback Clear goals. Immediate feedback (metacognition) Our goal is to have students provide their own feedback. Summary Perception is important Challenge and skill best predictors of “flow state”. Video games are good example of flow, example WoW Gamers report intense focus. In fact there are documentaries on this fact. Fantasy realm / avatar in unknown setting Avatar controlled by player. Health/Experience/Gold Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Flow theory (aka. optimal experience) High challenges and high skills best indicators of flow state. Perception is important. What is challenging for me may not be challenging for you. Examples: LC-LS, making bed does not require advanced skills, not is challenging LC-HS, revisiting the first level of a video game HC-LS, test frustration (avoid!) HC-HS, FLOW! (e.g., rock climbers, surgeons, chess players, etc.) -- Csikszentmihalyi, 1997 Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

... “Some people climb mountains whereas others make up tunes at a piano or push chess pieces across a board is in a sense incidental to the fact that they are all exploring the limits of their abilities and trying to expand on them.” -- Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, p. 30 Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Flow &MapleTA Maple T.A. should lead students to Flow more easily than traditional methods. Immediate external feedback Consistent level of challenge Ability to retake assignments Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Study design College students in Calculus I course Volunteer, students could opt-out Student complete survey randomly inserted into MapleTA homework 6 weeks, 2 assignments per week May retake assignments up to 5 times Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Sample survey: Flow On the scale of 1-10, how challenging is this problem? On the scale of 1-10, how skilled are you with this type of problem? Did you enjoy this problem? Which of the following words best describes your feeling toward this problem? (bored, focused, frustrated, relaxed) Was it difficult to keep your mind on this problem? Do you feel that you have given yourself sufficient time to complete this problem? Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Sample survey: Demographics On what day of the week are you completing this assignment? At what time are you completing this assignment? Where are you working on this assignment? On a scale of 1-10 how distracting is the surrounding environment? How many times have you taken this particular assignment? Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Results Participants completed an average of 22.8 surveys each (σ = 11.33). 619 surveys were attempted out of 767 (80.7%) assignments. 549 surveys (88.6%) were complete. Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

What time is HW first attempted? Student values represent at least one “first” assignment was completed during the indicated time slot. There were 27 students with 12 potential assignments. When Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

What day is HW “first” attempted? Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Day of “first” attempt (combined) Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Students rely on instructor’s schedule for time management instead of themselves. Takeaway #1

Enjoyment Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Feeling Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Chal/Skill by Feeling (95% Confidence interval) Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Student perceptions of challenge and skill continue to be good predictors of “flow”. Takeaway #2 Important because this means these are variables worth considering in our classrooms.

Student Averages for Skill/ Challenge Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Challenge and Skill Averages Based On Student Rating of Feeling (95% Confidence interval) * Significantly different at p<0.05 (ANOVA w/ Tukey Post-Hoc Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Correlation Results Skills with Enjoyment (.224*) with Correct Responses (.176*) with Assignment Scores (.226*) with Challenge (-.277*) Enjoyment with Challenge (-.411*) * Significant at 0.99 level Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Correlation Results Skills with Enjoyment (.224*) with Correct Responses (.176*) with Assignment Scores (.226*) with Challenge (-.277*) Enjoyment with Challenge (-.411*) Challenges are growing too fast for most students Students feel a lack of control regarding the challenge level * Significant at 0.99 level Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Significance 45% of the time students were either frustrated or bored Frustration implies content being too difficult Boredom implies content being too easy Enjoyment and challenge relationship is opposite of expected This challenges the one size fits all notion of education Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Challenges and skills are unbalanced. Takeaway #3

Recap Students need guidance for how to study mathematics Students need better balance of challenges and skill development (perception) More choice in difficulty? Targeted skill development? HW and quiz structure Challenge and skill need further investigation Solutions Ungraded, unlimited homework. Quizzes based on homework (only 3 times) See board for ideas. Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

Limitations Instructor was researcher MapleTA 5 installed days before classes began Assignment extensions Student frustration Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)

QA / Resources Csikszentmihalyi, M (1997). Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. New York, NY: Basic Books. Csikszentmihalyi, M (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York, NY: Harper Perennial. “Maple T.A. 5" Maplesoft. http://www.maplesoft.com/products/mapleta/ Flow & MapleTA (WMC, 2010)