Graphics calculators have become an integral part of many introductory college mathematics courses. There has been little research to show the effects of introducing technology, along with an emphasis on the interrelationships of the numeric, symbolic, graphical, and verbal forms of functions, for courses that are traditionally considered pre-college mathematics. The major purpose of this study was to determine if changes in mathematics anxiety and attitudes occurred in Intermediate Algebra classes and to determine whether these changes were dependent on age, gender of student, and experience of instructor. The relationship between beginning levels of math anxiety and successful completion of the class were also examined.All sections of Intermediate Algebra taught at Grand Valley State University during the Winter semester of 1995 participated in the study. The first week of class, 479 students completed the initial survey. The final week of class, 264 of those students completed the survey again. In addition to gender and age of student, the survey instrumentcontained questions from seven of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. Each scale contained 12 questions, answered on a five point Likert type scale. High scores on the questionnaire indicated a positive attitude. Students in four sections were asked open ended questions every other week. At the end of the semester, instructors were given a questionnaire to determine their perceptions of how student's attitudes and anxieties changed.MANOVA for repeated measures using SPSS was used to perform the analyses with respect to age, gender, and teacher experience, over time. Faculty responses indicated they thought attitudes and levels of math anxiety improved over the semester. Although most groups did show some improvement, no significant change occurred. The only statistically significant differences detected were in math anxiety by gender and a combination of math anxiety and attitude by age. Females had higher levels of math anxiety (N = 166, initial M = 29.96, final M = 30.80) than males (N =.98, initial M = 33.87, final M = 34.79)and while older students appeared more math anxious, they also reflected a more positive attitude about mathematics. / Department of Educational Leadership
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/176323 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Gardner, Mary Catherine |
| Contributors | Murk, Peter J. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | ix, 100 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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