Students’ positive attitude towards mathematics leads to better performance and may influence their overall achievement and application of mathematics in real-life. In this article, we present the findings of an investigation on students’ attitude towards linear programming (LP) mathematics word problems (LPMWPs). An explanatory sequential quasi-experimental design involving a pre-intervention-intervention-post-intervention non-equivalent control group was adopted. A sample of 851 grade 11 Ugandan students (359 male and 492 female) from eight secondary schools (public and private) participated. Cluster random sampling was applied to select respondents from eight schools; four from central Uganda and four from eastern Uganda. The attitude towards mathematics inventory-short form (ATMI-SF) was adapted (with α = 0.75) as a multidimensional measurement tool for measuring students’ attitude towards LPMWPs. The results revealed that students’ attitude towards LPMWPs was generally negative. Enjoyment, motivation, and confidence were weekly negatively correlated while usefulness was positively correlated. Additionally, the results found no significant statistical relationship between students’ attitudes towards LPMWPs and their age, gender, school location, school status, and school ownership. The discrepancy is perhaps explained by both theoretical and/or psychometric limitations, and related factors, for instance, students’ academic background, school characteristics, and transitional beliefs from primary to secondary education. This study acknowledges the influence of and supplements other empirical findings on students’ attitude towards learning mathematics word problems. The present study provides insight to different educational stakeholders in assessing students’ attitude towards LPMWPs and may provide remediation and interventional strategies aimed at creating students’ conceptual change. The study recommends that teachers should cultivate students’ interests in mathematics as early as possible. Varying classroom instructional practices could be a remedy to enhance students’ understanding, achievement, and, motivation in learning mathematics word problems. The teachers’ continuous professional development courses should be enacted to improve instruction, assessment, and students’ attitude. Overall, the study findings support the theoretical framework for enhancing the learning of mathematics word problems in general and LP in particular.
This study explored the influence of project-based learning (PBL) on students’ critical thinking skills. The participants were fifty 10th-grade students from a purposively selected school in Mbale District, Eastern Uganda. Participants were randomly distributed to the experimental and control groups using cluster sampling. A mixed-method research approach was adopted. The pretest-posttest non-equivalent quasi-experimental design was used. The experimental group used the PBL approach while the control group followed the conventional approach. A kinematics survey test with eight essay questions and focus group interview prompts were data collection tools. The questions were open-ended to adequately measure students' critical thinking skills in kinematics. The survey test was validated by experts and piloted (α=0.88). Data was analyzed using independent samples t-tests and effect size. Though both groups' mean scores increased, the independent sample t-test (t(50)=12.22, df.=48, p=0.00) revealed that students from the treatment group exhibited proficiency in critical thinking skills relative to their counterparts from the control group. Therefore, this study recommends that science educators should adopt PBL to improve students’ life and career skills.
The study explored the direct and indirect relationship between students' attitude towards, and performance in mathematics word problems (MWTs), mediated by active learning heuristic problem-solving (ALHPS) approach. Specifically, this study investigated the correlation between students' performance and their attitude towards linear programming (LP) linear programming word tasks (ATLPWTs). Tools for data collection were: the adapted Attitude towards Mathematics Inventory-Short Form (ATMI-SF), (α=.75) as a multidimensional measurement tool, and linear programming achievement tests (pre-test and post-test). A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group study design was adopted. A sample of 608 11th grade Ugandan students (291 male and 317 female) from eight secondary schools (both public and private) participated. Data were analyzed using PROCESS macro (v.4) for SPSS version 26. The results revealed a direct significant positive relationship between students' performance and their ATLPWTs. Thus, it is likely that students' attitude positively and directly impacted their performance. The present study contributes to the literature on performance and attitude towards learning mathematics. Overall, the findings carry useful practical implications that can support the theoretical framework for enhancing students' performance and attitude towards mathematics word problems.
The study explored the direct relationship between active learning heuristic problem-solving approach and students’ attitude towards mathematics, using linear programming (LP) word tasks. Two instruments were used for data collection: the Attitude towards Mathematics Inventory-Short Form was adapted (with α = .75) as a multidimensional measurement tool, and a validated standardized active learning heuristic problem-solving tool. A quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, and non-equivalent control group study design was adopted. A sample of 608 grade 11 Ugandan students (291 male and 317 female) from eight secondary schools (public and private), four from central Uganda, and the remaining four from eastern Uganda participated. Data were analyzed using PROCESS macro for SPSS (v.4). The results revealed a direct significant positive relationship between active learning heuristic problem solving approach (ALHPSA) and students’ attitude towards solving LP word tasks (ATLPWTs). Thus, the ALHPSA positively and directly impacted on students’ ATLPWTs. The findings can be explained by theoretical, conceptual, and/or psychometric factors. Overall, the results indicate beneficial practical implications that support the theoretical framework for enhancing the learning of mathematics using word problems in Ugandan secondary schools and beyond.
The present study explored the impact of Stein et al.’s levels of cognitive demand (LCD) on evaluation and instructional methods in applying the knowledge of equations and inequalities to learn the topic of linear programming (LP). The framework provided by Stein et al. was used to map students’ LP cognitive demands. Students’ specific proficiency levels in solving LP tasks using Stein et al.’s LCD hierarchical framework were investigated. A mixed-method approach with a pre-test and post-test pre-intervention pilot study involving a non-equivalent control group design was applied. The participants were 175 grade 11 students from Mbale district, eastern Uganda. Two pre-interventional LP tests (pre-test and post-test) were administered to the students to examine their cognitive demands. This was followed by an intervention involving application of Stein et al.’s LCD in learning LP. The results showed that before pre-intervention, the performance of urban school’s average post-test scores was higher than that of the rural school. Students from the rural secondary school improved greatly relative to their peers from the urban school. Moreover, only 25.1% of students performed at the highest level of Stein et al.’s LCD (doing mathematics). The post-test scores were better relative to the pre-test (M = 56.51 ± 20.88 vs. 42.23 ± 22.49; p < 0.05). Overall, there was a statistically significant difference between students’ average grades in the pre-interventional pre-test and the post-test (Cohen’s d = 0.81 > 0.5), 95% CI [−18.00, −10.56]). Holding other factors constant, the significant differences in students’ scores were mainly due to the application of suitable tasks which were later mediated by the application of Stein et al.’s LCD instructional approach. This study, therefore, recommends that mathematics educators should effectively apply Stein et al.’s LCD to vary mathematics tasks given to students. This approach enhances students’ cognitive levels, supports students’ heuristic problem-solving abilities, critical thinking skills, and application of mathematics in real-life.
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