Broadening Participation Research Project: Effects of Innovative Mathematics Instruction Methods on Student Attitude, Self-efficacy, Effort and Performance

北卡罗莱纳州a&t州立大学的研究人员正在研究数学商场和SCALE-UP模式对学生在门卫数学课程中的学习和表现的相互影响。该项目采用动机、自我效能和归因理论，以研究文件为基础，证明引人入胜的课堂环境和积极的学习可以提高学生的表现。研究人员特别感兴趣的是探索接触数学教学模式如何改变学生在看门人数学课程中的现有心理社会过程。该项目将通过提供干预措施的经验证据，为当前的知识做出贡献，这些干预措施可以减轻代表性不足的少数民族学生坚持STEM的反复出现的障碍，即掌握守门员数学课程。研究人员将检验两个假设：在微积分和三角学预科课程中实施数学商场和SCALE-UP模型会对学生的态度、自我效能和学习成绩产生积极影响，并且这些变量之间存在因果关系。该项目将采用混合方法研究设计和顺序方法来回答研究问题，包括大约120名治疗受试者和120名对照受试者。该项目的定性阶段旨在揭示影响认知和情感过程的潜在因素，并扩展已被证明可以改善STEM教育和持久性的理论和当前实践知识。一个前-后测试设计将用于确定学生的态度和信念，并在相关的看门人数学课程中，随着时间的推移，这些变化的程度。研究人员将使用一个比较组来记录干预对学生态度、自我效能、努力和课程结果的影响程度，并使用描述性统计来表征分类和数值变量。焦点小组会议将被转录和编码为重要的陈述和紧急主题，文本和分类数据分析将使用文本挖掘工具进行。研究结果不仅有望提高学生在守门员数学课程中的成绩，还有望广泛提高STEM中代表性不足的学生的保留率。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Researchers at North Carolina A&T State University are examining the mutual effects of the Math Emporium and SCALE-UP models on student learning and performance in gate-keeper mathematics courses. Framed using theories of motivation, self-efficacy, and attribution, the project is grounded by research documenting that an engaging classroom environment and active learning improve student performance. The researchers are interested particularly in exploring how exposure to mathematics instruction models can modify existing psychosocial processes among students in the gate-keeper math courses. The project will contribute to the current knowledge by producing empirical evidence of an intervention that can mitigate a recurring barrier to underrepresented minority student persistence in STEM, i.e., mastery of gatekeeper mathematics courses. The researchers will test two hypotheses: implementing the Math Emporium and SCALE-UP models in pre-calculus and trigonometry courses will positively impact students' attitudes, self-efficacy, and academic performance, and there is a causal relationship among these variables. The project will employ a mixed-method research design and sequential approach to answer the research questions and include approximately 120 treatment subjects and 120 control subjects. The qualitative phase of the project aims to reveal underlying factors that influence cognitive and affective processes and expand theory and current knowledge of practices that have been demonstrated to improve STEM education and persistence. A pre-post-test design will be used to determine students' incoming attitudes and beliefs and the extent to which these change over time in related gate-keeper mathematics courses. The researchers will use a comparison group to document the magnitude of the effect of the intervention on student attitudes, self-efficacy, effort and course outcomes and employ descriptive statistics to characterize categorical and numerical variables. Focus group sessions will be transcribed and coded for significant statements and emergent themes, and textual and categorical data analysis will be conducted using text mining tools. The research results are expected to not only improve student success in gatekeeper mathematics courses but also to increase underrepresented student retention in STEM broadly.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.