Promoting interest in mathematics and science

Arthur Bakker

Freudenthal Institute

Universiteit Utrecht a.bakker4@uu.nl

Overview

1.Importance of math and science

2.What is interest?

3.Interest in math and science

4.How to promote interest? Including results from a meta-analysis

STEM: science, technology, engineering and mathematics

2

1. Importance of math and science (STEM)

• citizenship, democracy (cryptography/security, genetic testing, genetic modification…)

• Worldwide shortage of STEM graduates

• Aim of Dutch Masterplan on STEM: from 25% in 2011 to 40% in 2020

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Students’ first encounters?

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Bob the Builder

Pat and Mat (a je to!)

Barbapapas (30+ languages)

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Barbabenno (one out of seven)

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Who could also become interested in STEM?

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Case study of a Barbabee-type student

Penelope: animal friend

- Knew a lot about pets

- Her activities were inquiry-based

- No connection to school science

- Disliked science at school despite mother’s attempts to make connections

Zimmerman (2012, Journal for Research in Science Teaching)

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Groups of students

• Low or average in STEM still important for

scientific literacy and citizenship

• High interest and sufficient ability help them

develop interest and ability to have opportunities at labor market

Provide all with realistic image of future study and work, and how STEM plays a role in society

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2. Interest

• Positive effects on: learning processes and results, attention, focus, memory, persistence, effort… good for everything!

• Important factor in educational choices (next to job opportunities)

• Best predictor of study success (Maltese & Tai, 2011)

Boredom and lack of challenge problematic for talented and interested students

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What is interest?

Family similarities with: motivation, curiosity, attitude, engagement, enjoyment

but:

• Directed on content (ideas, objects…)

• More sustainable than curiosity

• Less dualistic than attitude: interest stems from Latin “inter esse” (being in between)

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Definition interest

Interest … refers to the psychological state of engaging or the predisposition to reengage with particular classes of objects, events, or ideas over time

Hidi & Renninger (2006, Educational Psychologist)

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How is interest promoted?

Sometimes one key event is reported as igniting it

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But mostly

Interest development is a gradual process requiring regular food, attention and an encouraging environment

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Four-phase model (Hidi and Renninger)

1. Triggered situational interest: externally supported

2. Maintained situational interest: sustained through meaningful tasks and supporting environment

3. Emerging individual interest: self-generated, requiring external support

4. Well-developed individual interest: self-generated, perseverence

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3. Interest in STEM

• Sparks mostly already in primary school

• Decline in adolescence

Boys more interested in computer science, mathematics, physics, technology

Girls in biology, biochemistry

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Interest in math

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Frenzel

et al

(2010)

Frenzel et al.

“downward trend … plateaued in later years, with high variability in mean levels, but little variability in the shape of the growth trajectories”

N = 3193 German students

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4. How to promote interest in STEM?

1.Context; RME example

2.U-Talent: students’ interests

3.Review study

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4.1 Realistic Mathematics Education

- Context meaningful to students, but also link to authentic, real-world situations and conventional mathematics

- Dierdorp used professional practices but with younger students other types of context are generally used

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Authentic professional practices

Based education on situations in professional practices in which STEM knowledge is used

1. Sport physiology

2. Dike monitoring

3. Laboratory measurement instruments

“I see the use of what I learn”: 75%

Dierdorp (2013); Dierdorp, Ba et al. (2011, MTL)

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Authentic practice: Dike height monitoring

Measurements by helicopter

EXPENSIVE

Sampling task on dike monitoring: could we do with a smaller sample?

4.2 pre-university college

Pre-university colleges for STEM interested students

- Community: with similar peers (e.g., Higgs)

- Challenge: finally addressed at their own level

- Differentiation: tailor-made to their interests

Junior College Utrecht: highly valued, interest sustained, realistic image of STEM at university, higher study success than similar peers

(Disselhorst, 2014; Tromp et al., 2014)

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Pre-university students (1-6 scale)

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Interest Mean Standard Deviation

Mathematics 4.19 1.37

Physics 4.65 1.04

Computer Science

3.25 1.49

Chemistry 4.59 1.01

Biology 4.85 1.10

1 = not interested; 6 = very interested

Female vs male (N = 181)

Interest Mean Female Mean male

Mathematics 3.79 4.64

Physics 4.28 5.08

Computer Science 2.66 3.93

Chemistry 4.43 4.78

Biology 5.13 4.54

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Components in STEM interests

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Interest

Component

1 2

Mathematics .770 -.168

Physics .738 .256

Computer Science .730 -.028

Chemistry .292 .827

Biology -.424 .716

App inTin

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Smartphone application

(project with Sanne Akkerman)

Every two hours students fill in

what they found interest in the

last two hours

One week, four times per year

Four students have completed

a full year plus three interviews

Casper

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Music

SoccerGaming

Gitar

Technology

BiotechnologyCelbiology

Computers

Youth fire brigade

Autosport

Judo

FamilyParents

Rita (sister) and Chris (brother)

SecondarySchool ‘AV’ friends

MelvinOletta, Kylian, Lara,

Peter

Junior College friends

Oletta, Annette, Susan, Peter

Judo friendsCor, Jonathan, Koen,

Tom, Thomas

Colleagues post office

John en Mark

Alone

Casper’s interests

At school interested in computers, technology, biotechnology, cell biology

At home interested in CSI (crime scene investigation)

Chose computer science

Chose additional work with social component; continued sports at high level

Became interested in legal hacking

Considers Police academy program digital forensics: combination of interests master’s in

Cyber security

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Some conclusions pre-university studies

a) These JCU students have multiple interests and engage in many activities

b) STEM interest among many other interests (sports, music, social activities…)

c) They have ideals: contribute to a better world, have a decent family life, work with people

d) Many did not like laboratory work decided to

study something else at university

Important to understand interest in STEM in

students’ wider interest pattern and social lives

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4.3 Review studies

Emphasis on context, relevance, inquiry, summer camps, trips contributes to positive attitude but not better learning results

(Bennett et al., 2006; Potvin & Hasni, 2014)

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Meta-analysis: Promoting student interest in math and science

Savelsbergh, E. R., Prins, G. T., Rietbergen, C., Fechner, S., Vaessen, B. E., Draijer, J. M., & Bakker, A. (2016). Effects of Innovative Science and Mathematics Teaching on Student Attitudes and Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Study. Educational Research Review.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X16300306

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Research question of our meta-analysis

What are the effects of innovative educational approaches on student attitudes and achievement in science and mathematics?

Approaches (independent variable)

1.Inquiry-based learning (IBL),

2.Context-based education (CON),

3.ICT-based (ICT),

4.Collaborative learning (COLL)

5.Excursions (EXT)

6.other

Attitudes (dependent variable)

Relevance Self-

efficacy Interest

Attitudes towards MS

Personal Societal School Leisure Career

Normality

Method: meta-analyses

- Math or science, grades 1-12

- 1989-2014

- Experiment with controle group, pre-posttests of attitudes

- Validated attitude instruments

- All necessary information for meta-analysis (means, SD, etc)

Meta-analysis

Quantitative systematic review

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SCOPUS

n = 4320

Web of Science

n =3408

ERIC

N = 1037

PsycINFO

N = 685 Query

N = 6066

Deduplicate

Accept: n =

533

Reject: n = 5533 Step 1: Surface level

screening

Step 2: Design

check

Step 3: Quality of

intervention and

measurement

Pretest and

controlgroup:

n = 152

Comparison, no pretest n = 70

Pretest, no comparison n = 65

Design otherw. not usable n = 242

No full text n = 4

Accept:

n = 56

Reject: n = 96

65 experiments

Kappas fine

Attitudes toward M&S

d = 0.54 0.35

outliers removed

Hattie (2009): effect size OK if

- d >= 0.40 for achievement

- d >= 0.20 for affect

• (d: difference of means divided by

pooled SDs)

Teaching approach

- No significant differences between approaches

- Larger effects for younger than older students

Achievement does not suffer!

d = 1.07

0.78

Zooming in - Relevance: n = 4, p = .39,

d = 0.15

- Interest: n = 20, p = .0096, d = 0.23

- Self-efficacy: n = 14, p > .05, d = 0.12

- Normality: n = 4, p = .51,

d = 0.16

Interest in M&S in general

d = 0.23

Further zooming in

- Only interest in career significant: n = 4, p < .05, d = 0.40, CI [0.04-0.76]

Conclusions

- Reform approaches positive influence

- Quality of implementation probably most important

- Start young enough

5) Overall take home messages

a) Interest develops slowly – requires regular support (perhaps also outside school)

b) If you measure interest/attitude use a validated questionnaire and report all relevant details

c) Whatever approach: implement it well

d) Students (grade 11) value STEM education based on authentic professional practices

e) Opportunities to link with students’ ideals? (contact with people, improve the world)

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Wish curve:

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STEM

interest

TIME

Thanks for your interest!

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Dierdorp, Adri, Bakker, Arthur, van Maanen, Jan & Eijkelhof, Harrie (2014). Meaningful statistics in professional practices as a bridge between mathematics and science: an evaluation of a design research project. International Journal of STEM Education, 1 (9)

Dierdorp, A., Bakker, A., Eijkelhof, H.M.C. & van Maanen, J.A. (2011). Authentic practices as contexts for learning to draw inferences beyond correlated data. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 13, (pp. 132-151

Savelsbergh, E. R., Prins, G. T., Rietbergen, C., Fechner, S., Vaessen, B. E., Draijer, J. M., & Bakker, A. (2016). Effects of Innovative Science and Mathematics Teaching on Student Attitudes and Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Study. Educational

Research Review.Open access:

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