The purpose of the study is to recognize importance of motivation in math education and to increase interest in students’ motivation problem by comparing math motivation based on Keller's ARCS theory between mathematically gifted and non-gifted 5th ...
The purpose of the study is to recognize importance of motivation in math education and to increase interest in students’ motivation problem by comparing math motivation based on Keller's ARCS theory between mathematically gifted and non-gifted 5th graders. Additionally, this study will analyze whether there is any correlation between math motivation, mathematically affective characteristics and mathematical achievements.
For the purpose, study questions were as below:
1. Are there any differences among math motivation, mathematically affective characteristics and mathematical achievements between mathematically gifted and non-gifted students?
2. Is there any correlation among math motivation, mathematically affective characteristics and mathematical achievements?
For this study, 218 mathematically gifted students and 218 non-gifted students were taken out as subjects. Both groups are 5th grade elementary school students under Seoul district.
The instruments consisted of three tests. First, the math motivation test, which is based on Keller's ARCS theory, consists of 4 main categories: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction. Second, mathematically affective characteristics test consists of 5 main categories: Self-concept, attitude, interest, mathematical anxiety and learning habits. Third, the mathematical achievements test consists of 10 questions based on TIMSS 2011 math test.
The results are as follows:
1. There are definite differences among math motivation, mathematically affective characteristics, mathematical achievements between mathematically gifted and non-gifted students.
a. The mathematically gifted group had higher motivation in attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction in comparison to non-gifted students.
b. The mathematically gifted group had more positive mathematically affective characteristics in self-concept, attitude, interest, learning habits than non-gifted students. In contrast, the mathematically gifted group had lower mathematical anxiety than the non-gifted group.
c. The mathematically gifted group showed higher score than non-gifted students.
2. There is correlation among math motivation, mathematically affective characteristics and mathematical achievements.
a. For the mathematically gifted group, all four categories: attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction had a positive influence on mathematically affective characteristics. However, 3 categories: attention, confidence, satisfaction had a positive influence for the non-gifted group. For the mathematically gifted group, satisfaction is the variable that can predict mathematically affective characteristics most accurately. In contrast, confidence is the most predictable variable for non-gifted students.
b. There is correlation between math motivation and mathematical achievements. For the mathematically gifted group, only relevance had a positive influence on mathematically affective characteristics but both attention and confidence had a positive influence for the non-gifted group. For the mathematically gifted group, relevance is the variable that can predict mathematically affective characteristics most precisely. In contrast, attention is the most predictable variable for the non-gifted students.
c. There is a correlation between mathematically affective characteristics and mathematical achievements. All sub variables of mathematically affective characteristics except anxiety had a positive correlation. However, mathematical anxiety had a negative correlation with mathematical achievements. Interest had a positive influence on both groups and is the most predictable factor.
Through these results, motivation is proven to be a very important factor in education. Math motivation is correlated with mathematically affective characteristics and mathematical achievements. Also, mathematically affective characteristics correlate with mathematical achievements. Therefore, the 3 factors are strongly related to each other. In addition, students who are highly motivated showed positive mathematically affective characteristics and high mathematical achievements. Thus, teachers, parents and students themselves have to be interested in motivation. The results of this study can be a guideline for teachers in order to plan their motivation strategy and lessons effectively considering learners' characteristics.