1. Outcomes for Mathematical Literacy: Do Attitudes About Math Change?
Martha B. Makowski & Erin Wilding-Martin
November 19, 2015
AMATYC 2015
Session S023

2. Mathematical Literacy at Parkland College
Erin Wilding-Martin

3. Algebra at Parkland
Approximately 67-75% of incoming freshmen place into developmental math
Success rates of about 50% in beginning, intermediate, and college algebra
Approximately 75% of developmental math students are on a non-STEM path!

4. Gen Ed Math or Intro to Stat College Algebra or Pre-Calculus
Old Course Sequence
Pre-Algebra
Beginning Algebra
Intermediate Algebra
Gen Ed Math or Intro to Stat
College Algebra or Pre-Calculus

5. Redesign Goals Create a new track for gen-ed bound students
Keep core algebra content, add data literacy
De-emphasize by-hand algebraic simplification
Add more applications, exploration, and writing
Use technology

6. Course Sequence – First Revision
Pre-Algebra
Math Literacy
Intro to Statistics or Gen Ed Math
Beginning Algebra
Intermediate
Algebra
College Algebra or Pre-Calculus

7. Course Sequence – Current Version
Pre-Algebra
Math Literacy
Intro to Statistics or Gen Ed Math
Intermediate
Algebra
College Algebra or Pre-Calculus

9. Math Literacy Design Alternate but still challenging path
Math in context, focus on numeracy, data analysis, and functions
Develop critical thinking and conceptual understanding

10. This Class is Different!
Little to no lecture
Group work, active participation required
Reading, writing, technology
Online skills work outside of class

11. Problem Solving Skills
Collaboration as a tool for problem solving and thinking.
Keep calm and carry on: Mathematicians don’t know how to solve every problem immediately. They just know how to start thinking about it.

12. Productive Struggle
Real problems don’t follow cookie-cutter patterns; they take work
Take responsibility
Persistence will pay off

13. Group Structure Assigning groups Full participation required
3-4 students per group
Mix of abilities
Full participation required
Students may not opt out of group work
Points given for quality participation
Assignments
Daily lessons
Unit projects

14. Outcomes: Do Attitudes ChanGe?
Martha Makowski University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

15. Question
Do Mathematical Literacy students change their attitudes towards math while taking the class?
Pause and ask the people in the audience what they expect might happen.

16. Survey Structure Surveyed twice: Asked about:
First week of the semester
Once during the last two weeks of the semester
Asked about:
Math attitudes (pre and post)
Preferred learning methods (pre and post)
Nature of mathematics (pre and post)
Demographics (pre)
A few other things…

17. Survey Sample 96 students took the pre-survey
67 took the post survey (69.8% retention)
Race
Male
Female
Total
White 23
(25.0) 29
(31.5) 52
(56.5)
Black 19
(20.7) 10
(10.9)
Hispanic
(0.0) 5
(5.4)
Asian
Other 1
(1.1) 43
(46.7) 49
(53.3) 92

18. Measured Attitudes Mathematical attitudes measured along 4 dimensions:
Motivation (9 items)
Value (8 items)
Confidence (15 items)
Enjoyment (8 items)
Attitudes were measured with 5 point Likert scale items
5 = Strongly Agree
4 = Agree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
2 = Disagree
1 = Strongly disagree

19. Math Attitudes
The above reflects the average difference in score (post-score minus pre-score). Scores for each test were created by adding up all the items related to that subscale on each test, for each student, and then scaling it back down to a 5 point scale. Tests were run only on those who took both the pre- and post-survey.

20. Those kind of look like small changes…
Attitude Scale N
Pre-survey mean
Post-survey mean
Average difference (s.e.)
p-value (diff ≠ 0)
Motivation 60
2.822
2.926
0.104 (0.063)
0.1068
Enjoyment 59
2.919
3.100
0.180 (0.071)
0.0143
Value 54
3.734
3.831
0.097 (0.059)
0.1063
Confidence 49
2.869
3.052
0.182 (0.085)
0.0366

21. Math Attitudes - details
Attitude Scale N
Pre-survey mean
Post-survey mean
Average difference (s.e.)
p-value (diff ≠ 0)
Motivation 60
2.822
2.926
0.104 (0.063)
0.1068
Enjoyment 59
2.919
3.100
0.180 (0.071)
0.0143
Value 54
3.734
3.831
0.097 (0.059)
0.1063
Confidence 49
2.869
3.052
0.182 (0.085)
0.0366
Attitude Scale N*
Pre-survey mean
Post-survey mean
Average difference (s.e.)
p-value (diff ≠ 0)
Motivation 60
2.822
2.926
0.104 (0.063)
0.1068
Enjoyment 59
2.919
3.100
0.180 (0.071)
0.0143
Value 54
3.734
3.831
0.097 (0.059)
0.1063
Confidence 49
2.869
3.052
0.182 (0.085)
0.0366
So, significant, POSITIVE attitude changes for enjoyment and confidence! Positive attitude shifts for motivation and value, although not significant.
The above reflects the average difference in score (post-score minus pre-score). Scores for each test were created by adding up all the items related to that subscale on each test, for each student, and then scaling it back down to a 5 point scale. Tests were run only on those who took both the pre- and post-survey.

22. Attitudes: Additional Results
Men had a significantly higher shift in motivation compared to their female counterparts.
There were no significant differences in attitudes on the pre-survey between the students who took both surveys (almost-completers) to those who only took the first one (non-completers).

23. Which attitudes changed?

24. Whose attitudes changed?
21 of the 67 students who took both surveys increased their attitude on three or four of the scales (31.3%)
6 students decreased their attitudes on three or four of the scales (9.0%)
Some students did not change their attitudes on some of the subscales.

25. Nature of Math/Learning
Pre-survey mean
Post-survey mean
Average diff (s.e.)
p-value
Learning mathematics is mostly memorizing facts 63
3.000
2.937
(0.128)
0.621
There is only one way to solve a mathematics problem 66
2.379
1.955
(0.143)
0.004
I enjoy working in small groups in math class 64
3.656
3.719
0.063 (0.126)
I learn mathematics best when I get to work in a group
3.515
3.455
(0.151)
0.689
I learn mathematics best when I work by myself.
2.833
2.894
0.061 (0.140)
0.666
The math I learn in school rarely helps me when I use math in my daily life.
3.125
2.891
(0.117)
0.050

26. Nature of Math/Learning
Pre-survey mean
Post-survey mean
Average diff (s.e.)
p-value
Learning mathematics is mostly memorizing facts 63
3.000
2.937
(0.128)
0.621
There is only one way to solve a mathematics problem 66
2.379
1.955
(0.143)
0.004
I enjoy working in small groups in math class 64
3.656
3.719
0.063 (0.126)
I learn mathematics best when I get to work in a group
3.515
3.455
(0.151)
0.689
I learn mathematics best when I work by myself.
2.833
2.894
0.061 (0.140)
0.666
The math I learn in school rarely helps me when I use math in my daily life.
3.125
2.891
(0.117)
0.050

27. Thank you! Come see our other talks!
Making Math Literacy Work: Managing Groups and Student Expectations
S139
Saturday, November :45 – 11:35
Erin Wilding-Martin & Brian Mercer
Student Experiences in a Problem-Centered Developmental Math Class Research Session Thursday, Nov 19 7:00-9:50 pm Martha Makowski

28. Gender Differences Attitude Scale N: Male N: Female Average difference
(s.e.)
p-value (diff≠0)
Motivation 22 38
0.283
(0.127)
0.030
Enjoyment 24 35
0.276
(0.142)
0.057
Value 21 33
0.211
(0.119)
0.082
Confidence 27
0.148
(0.171)
0.392

29. Completers vs. Non-completers

30. Course evaluation items
There were also a few evaluation items on both the pre-post surveys asking about previous math class experiences and about how they like the class. The first three questions were on the pre-survey; the rest were on the post-survey.
Here, low scores (1 or 2) correspond with “Agree” and high scores (4 or 5) correspond with “Disagree.”

31. Some Other Survey Demographics
The table below compares the demographics of those who took only the pre-survey (with the assumption that this group closely overlaps with the students in the class who did not complete it) and those who took both surveys (assuming this group closely matches those who did complete the class).
The differences between those who only took the pre-survey and who took both surveys is note-worthy in that the students who don’t make it to the end are more likely to be male or black.
I’m not sure if these are significant differences—trying to program the correctly into the stats program I am using is taking longer than some of the other tests I have done.