Article
Using Digital Resources for Motivation and Engagement in Learning Mathematics: Reflections from Teachers and Students
Digital Experiences in Mathematics Education
(2016)
Abstract
Students’ motivation to learn mathematics often declines during the middle grades. How do we keep students engaged with learning mathematics as it gets more complex? One way is through the use of technology, such as computer games, interactive lessons, or on-line videos. Yet evidence from creating technology-based tasks and resources to motivate students to learn mathematics is mixed, partially because most interventions only loosely incorporate motivational constructs. This article is part of a larger research project examining the impact of three digital resources on students’ motivation and learning in mathematics. In it, we provided resources tightly aligned to motivational constructs from research: self-efficacy, implicit theories of ability, and interest and enjoyment. Students then engaged with these resources before and after a 2-day mathematical patterns lesson. We present results from inter- views and observations with eighty-eight fifth- to eighth-grade students and their ten teachers. Findings suggest that, even with a minimal encounter over 1 or 2 days, students were able to notice the motivational constructs present within these digital resources.
Keywords
- Implicit Theories of Ability,
- Middle School Mathematics,
- Motivation,
- Self-Efficacy,
- Technology,
- Games
Disciplines
Publication Date
2016
DOI
DOI 10.1007/s40751-016-0024-6
Citation Information
Theodore Chao, Jason A Chen, Jon R Star and Chris Dede. "Using Digital Resources for Motivation and Engagement in Learning Mathematics: Reflections from Teachers and Students" Digital Experiences in Mathematics Education (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jasonchen/23/