Adult innumeracy and the influence of negative mathematics attitudes, low self-efficacy beliefs, and mathematics anxiety in student primary teachers – an interventionist approach for better practice Dr Chris Klinger University of South Australia

Connection between adult innumeracy and mathematics anxiety roots of both found to lie in primary education role of teachers in middle to late primary years Introduction

a study in 3 parts… 1.IMAES to identify student teachers’ perceptions of mathematics, including their own capabilities 2.Skills test – administered as a diagnostic intervention 3.Reflection on attitudes towards & perceptions of mathematics in the context of the intervention …findings support a ‘functional deficit’ hypothesis

Recap – primary teachers and the IMAES instrument Over critical 4 yrs, 60-70% at risk (or worse) of being ‘turned off’ maths Causal factors: –attributes of primary teachers –attributes of pre-service primary teachers –framework of educational systems, schools, curriculum practices Enjoy learning maths * Self-confidence in learning maths ** Agree a lotDisagreeHighLow 4 th grade46% (50%)16% (22%)55%11% 8 th grade25% (29%)31% (35%)40%22% Difference-46% (-27%)94% (59%)-27%100% * same cohort sampled (1995/99) * * different cohorts (2003) Facts from TIMMS 2003:

the IMAES instrument… IMAES * questionnaire – a multi-part instrument using (mostly) 5-point Likert scales with 95 statements about: –math attitude affective, behavioural, cognitive domains –math anxiety –math self-efficacy belief –past/early math learning experiences Demographic info collected, also Factor analysis & reliability testing –confirmed survey design i.e. that items correspond to respective domains * Inventory of Maths Anxiety, Attitude, Experience, & Self-awareness

IMAES results in a nutshell Pre-service [student] primary school teachers tend to have pervasive mathematics anxiety, negative attitudes & low mathematics self-efficacy beliefs that are more extreme than those found in any other undergraduate group

Diagnosis, evaluation, intervention and reflection – a ‘DT’ approach School of Education at UniSA: o proactive response to challenge of math-averse student primary teachers o 3-part strategy 1.Diagnostic Test (DT) in four sections (may be attempted 3 times) a)number: place value, arithmetic operations, money, fractions, decimals, and percentage b)space and measurement c)data (including tables, graphs and diagrams) & chance d)patterns (including simple algebraic relations), number theory (e.g. prime numbers) & order of operations (‘BODMAS’) 2.Supplementary lectures, tutorials & 1:1 support 3.Reflective questionnaire

Intervention Minimum 80% required per section for ‘mastery’ All sections must be mastered ‘3 strikes and you’re out’ Additional voluntary (extra-curricular) lectures, tutorials & 1:1 support provided… encouragement to reflect on diagnostic results & seek tuition and support according to individual needs initial tutorial groups are quite large (30-50), reducing to small-group tutorials (12-20) and 1:1 tuition staffed with casual tutors, drawn (increasingly) from schools and/or professional organisations; recognized expertise o tuition objectives to promote understanding rather than remediation

Summary of Diagnostic Test (undergraduate, 2007)

Summary of Diagnostic Test (graduate entry, 2007) 68.5% unable to demonstrate mastery, but proportion of successful students almost double that of undergraduate cohort

Reflection… affective assessment diagnostic tools & procedures appear to be highly effective reflective questionnaire: o “It was great to see from the beginning what we knew and needed help with.” o “I think the remedial classes helped me immensely.” o “I had completely forgotten these maths concepts and I now look at my own everyday activities in a very different light.” almost 2/3 of students believed the DT identified areas for improvement of which they were previously unaware: o “I had unrealistic ideas about my abilities in all areas.” o “I thought I was doing the question correctly in the original DT however got them wrong.” o “It took the DT for me to realize what areas needed revision and I probably would not otherwise have been aware of them.”

Conclusion IMAES profiles are robust in their ability to characterise affective, cognitive, and behavioural attributes DT cohorts are not atypical & DT results confirm that the postulated behaviours are manifested in these groups if unchecked, there’s a tangible & substantial risk to generations of primary pupils a cohort of ~130 student teachers might be expected to reach 50,000 individuals BUT positive interventions in teacher education programs are both possible and necessary