This study investigated preservice elementary teachers' achievement goal orientations for learning mathematics and the relationship of those goals to their attitudes toward mathematics. Self‐report instruments were administered to assess three achievement goals—mastery, performance‐approach, and performance‐avoid, and three constructs of attitude—confidence in learning mathematics, usefulness of mathematics, and mathematics as a male domain. The preservice teachers were higher in mastery goals than in performance goals, and performance‐avoid goals were higher than performance‐approach goals. Mastery goals correlated positively to all three constructs of attitude. Since mathematics classes are traditionally performance‐oriented, these results suggest a mismatch between personal and classroom goals that could result in negative attitudes and the adoption of maladaptive performance‐avoid goals. These findings suggest that mathematics content courses for preservice elementary teachers should be taught in a classroom climate that supports and encourages mastery goals.
There is much (renewed) interest about the effects of salicylates on food intolerance, attention‐deficit disorders, and cardiovascular disease. Current evidence for the efficacy of salicylate‐elimination diets in the treatment of attention‐deficit disorders and hyperactivity is weak, and further investigation is required on the relationship between salicylates and cardiovascular disease.
At times, we must ask our students to accept certain content without giving them a full explanation, because understanding the underlying mathematics would require knowledge beyond their current level. One good example of such a concept is the irrational number pi.
Part 1: the Visual Method Pair students so that one person faces the front of the room (student A) and one person faces the back (student B). Edited by Barbara Zorin, drbzorin@ gmail.com, MATHBonesPro. Readers are encouraged to submit manuscripts through http://mtms.msubmit.net.
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