Mathematics Affect And Learning

This book examines the beliefs, attitudes, values and emotions of students in Years 5 to 8 (aged 10 to 14 years) about mathematics and mathematics education. Fundamentally, this book focuses on the development of affective views and responses towards mathematics and mathematics learning. Furthermore, it seems that students develop their more negative views of mathematics during the middle school years (Years 5 to 8), and so here we concentrate on students in this critical period. The book is based on a number of empirical studies, including an enquiry undertaken with 45 children in Years 5 and 6 in one school; a large-scale quantitative study undertaken with students from a range of schools across diverse communities in New Zealand; and two related small-scale studies with junior secondary students in Australia. This book brings substantial, empirically-based evidence to the widely held perception that many students have negative views of mathematics, and these affective responses develop during the middle years of school. The data for this book were collected with school students, and students who were actually engaged in learning mathematics in their crucial middle school years. The findings reported and discussed here are relevant for researchers and mathematics educators, policy makers and curriculum developers, and teachers and school principals engaged in the teaching of mathematics.

This open access book, inspired by the ICME 13 topic study group “Affect, beliefs and identity in mathematics education”, presents the latest trends in research in the area. Following an introduction and a survey chapter providing a concise overview of the state-of-art in the field of mathematics-related affect, the book is divided into three main sections: motivation and values, engagement, and identity in mathematics education. Each section comprises several independent chapters based on original research, as well as a reflective commentary by an expert in the area. Collectively, the chapters present a rich methodological spectrum, from narrative analysis to structural equation modelling. In the final chapter, the editors look ahead to future directions in the area of mathematics-education-related affect. It is a timely resource for all those interested in the interaction between affect and mathematics education.

This book connects seminal work in affect research and moves forward to provide a developing perspective on affect as the “decisive variable” of the mathematics classroom. In particular, the book contributes and investigates new conceptual frameworks and new methodological ‘tools’ in affect research and introduces the new field of ‘collectives’ to explore affect systems in diverse settings. Investigated by internationally renowned scholars, the book is build up in three dimensions. The first part of the book provides an overview of selected theoretical frames - theoretical lenses - to study the mosaic of relationships and interactions in the field of affect. In the second part the theory is enriched by empirical research studies and provides relevant findings in terms of developing deeper understandings of individuals’ and collectives’ affective systems in mathematics education. Here pupil and teacher beliefs and affect systems are examined more closely. The final part investigates the methodological tools used and needed in affect research. How can the different methodological designs contribute data which help us to develop better understandings of teachers’ and pupils’ affect systems for teaching and learning mathematics and in which ways are knowledge and affect related?

Research on cognitive aspects of mathematical problem solving has made great progress in recent years, but the relationship of affective factors to problem-solving performance has been a neglected research area. The purpose of Affect and Mathematical Problem Solving: A New Perspective is to show how the theories and methods of cognitive science can be extended to include the role of affect in mathematical problem solving. The book presents Mandler's theory of emotion and explores its implications for the learning and teaching of mathematical problem solving. Also, leading researchers from mathematics, education, and psychology report how they have integrated affect into their own cognitive research. The studies focus on metacognitive processes, aesthetic influences on expert problem solvers, teacher decision-making, technology and teaching problem solving, and beliefs about mathematics. The results suggest how emotional factors like anxiety, frustration, joy, and satisfaction can help or hinder performance in problem solving.

This book presents a literature review of and a state-of-the-art glimpse into current research on affect-related aspects of teaching and learning in and beyond mathematics classrooms. Then, research presented at the MAVI 25 Conference, which took place in Intra (Italy) in June 2019, is grouped in thematic strands that capture cutting-edge issues related to affective components of learning and teaching mathematics. The concluding chapter summarises the main messages and sketches future directions for research on affect in mathematics education. The book is intended for researchers in mathematics education and especially graduate students and PhD candidates who are interested in emotions, attitudes, motivations, beliefs, needs and values in mathematics education.

During the last decade there were significant advances in the study of students' learning and problem solving in mathematics, and in the study of classroom instruction. Because these two research programs usually have been conducted individually, it is generally agreed now that there is an increasing need for an integrated research program. This book represents initial discussions and development of a unified paradigm for studying teaching in mathematics that builds upon both cognitive as well as instructional research.

The book is made up of 21 chapters from 25 presentations at the 23rd MAVI conference in Essen, which featured Alan Schoenfeld as keynote speaker. Of major interest to MAVI participants is the relationship between teachers’ professed beliefs and classroom practice. The first section is dedicated to classroom practices and beliefs regarding those practices, taking a look at prospective or practicing teachers’ views of different practices such as decision-making, the roles of explanations, problem-solving, patterning, and the use of play. The focus of the second section in this book deals with teacher change, which is notoriously difficult, even when the teachers themselves are interested in changing their practice. The third section of this book centers on the undercurrents of teaching and learning mathematics, what rises in various situations, causing tensions and inconsistencies. The last section of this book takes a look at emerging themes in affect-related research. In this section, papers discuss attitudes towards assessment.

The book presents a selection of the most relevant talks given at the 21st MAVI conference, held at the Politecnico di Milano. The first section is dedicated to classroom practices and beliefs regarding those practices, taking a look at prospective or practicing teachers’ views of different practices such as decision-making, the roles of explanations, problem-solving, patterning, and the use of play. Of major interest to MAVI participants is the relationship between teachers’ professed beliefs and classroom practice, aspects that provide the focus of the second section. Three papers deal with teacher change, which is notoriously difficult, even when the teachers themselves are interested in changing their practice. In turn, the book’s third section centers on the undercurrents of teaching and learning mathematics, which can surface in various situations, causing tensions and inconsistencies. The last section of this book takes a look at emerging themes in affect-related research, with a particular focus on attitudes towards assessment. The book offers a valuable resource for all teachers and researchers working in this area.