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Student Interview, Focus Group: Precalculus

Interest Based Projects, Action Research


Student Interview, Focus Group: Precalculus
Interviewer: Theresa Montenarello

Comments/Coding

Student Interview, Focus Group: Precalculus


I: Recording with Precalculus. So, the first question is
how long have you been a student at ISA?
G: This is going to be my 4th year

4th year

D: 14 years
M: This is gunna be my 4th year
B: 4th year.
I: OK, what is your favorite subject in school and
why?
Historyfind it interesting
G: History because Ive always bee fascinated by
history and always find it interesting
R: Human Geography which I took in my junior year
and I took it because it revolved around
contemporary issues which fascinated me.
D: Same thing.
M: Same thing as G
B: I like languages because I have the ability of
learning languages pretty quick and by learning
languages it opens doors for the future.
I: On a scale from 1-10, with 1 being the least and
10 being the most, how much do you like math in
general?
6
G: 6
R: Its sort of ambiguous- its important to us. Im not
very good at arithmetic so Id say 5
D: 6
M: 8
B: 7
I: And on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least

Student Interview, Focus Group: Precalculus


Categories
Motivation
Most interesting

Relevance

Youre more
motivated

Interest me a bit
more

Enjoy working on it

Not very useful

When youre
motivated you just do
it

business math
I could Identify with it

Historyfind it
interesting

Both [IBP] I can relate


to myself

If the projects interest


me I do them
immediately

I had fun doing it


because its what I want
to go in to

Based on my interest
Ill do it

Teaching Practices
something different
If you have a good
teacher the math class
could be more fun
Important
motivated teacher
Figure it out on our
own
Different ways
Open approach to
math

Research Question: What are student perspectives of the impact of Interest Based Projects on their
attitude toward mathematics learning?
Analytic Memo
February 18th, 2016
EMERGENT CATEGORIES: RELEVANCE & GOOD TEACHERS MOTIVATE MATH
STUDENTS
Sometimes I have a difficult time relating to students who just do not enjoy
mathematics. When I was a student, I always looked forward to my algebra or
calculus course since it was typically the highlight of my day. My Precalculus class
has been a struggle to engage. Most of the students are interested in journalism or
political science rather than a mathematical field. Interviewing my students, I was
very curious how Interest Based Projects have impacted their attitude towards
mathematics learning.
An overall commonality between the students responses was motivation. As
students stated, if its based on my interest, Ill do it and they enjoy working on
it. Additionally, relevance seemed to be crucial for the students to be motivated
and interested. One student stated they had fun doing it because its what [he
wants] to go in to. When the students could make meaning of what they are
learning, then it seems to be more important to them. The Interest Based Projects
seem to give them the opportunity to identify with the material.
Comparing Bruners Discovery Learning Theory and the results of the focus
interview, student exploration based on their interests and prior knowledge do
indeed lead to more motivated students. Other studies researching the Discovery
Learning Theory have found that this teaching technique can encourage active

engagement, increase motivation and promote independence and creativity. I


believe that the results of my focus group are similar to these findings.
In addition to a relevant and interesting curriculum, the students agreed that
the teacher has a major role in developing a students attitude towards a subject.
This is a finding that was not expected while conducting the research. Nonetheless,
I can understand how the teachers enthusiasm and teaching techniques could
impact a students opinion. Many of the students mentioned the importance of
variety in the classroom and doing something different from lecture when learning
a concept. It seems that Interest Based Projects give them the opportunity to learn
something new in a different way, however, it does not solidify their understanding
of a math topic in their curriculum.

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