The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of a cohort of first year undergraduate students embarking on their undergraduate degree in Applied Education Studies in order to identify any strategies that might be seen to support them in learning mathematics. The research stemmed from an initial tracking of first year undergraduate students over a period of four years prior to the start of this research, whereby the mathematics education units were identified as the ones that they were most anxious about. As the majority of the students on the degree course worked with children as unqualified teachers or teaching assistants, and many planned to go on and train as teachers, I wanted to explore the possibility that there may be strategies to support them in becoming more confident in learning mathematics. Concerns linked to adults passing on their anxieties to children they work with was an issue that I was aware of (Hembree 1990; Haylock, 2010) and I wanted to support the students with the aim of avoiding this outcome. The study tracked a cohort of 75 first year undergraduate students through their first year of study and data was collected via audits, questionnaires and focus group discussions. Students identified that there were three key themes affecting them in learning mathematics: the role of the teacher, their personal perceptions and working with others. However, the overriding factors that were identified by the students in affecting their ability to learn mathematics were the effect of the teacher and the teaching strategies used. As a result of this, seven strategies for supporting adults in learning mathematics have been identified for further consideration.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:640938 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Wicks, Karen Jean |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/66419/ |
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