The proposed research has three aims: 1) to describe the relations among children?s behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement in mathematics instruction; 2) to use observationally-based approaches to examine what occurs inside the classroom to describe the contribution of classroom processes to student engagement; 3) to examine the relation between students? engagement in learning and mathematics proficiency, considering the extent to which students? engagement serves explains the relation between classroom social processes and student mathematics achievement. Work is situated in the context of the presence or absence of two instructional approaches: inquiry-based mathematics instruction and the Responsive Classroom Approach.
Report for the Public Policy-makers, researchers and educators agree that students in the U.S. lag behind in math achievement compared to other nations. Most efforts to address this problem focus on improving the content of math instruction. However, learning math involves classroom experiences and student psychological processes that need to be better understood so that teachers can engage students in the process of learning. This is particularly important in light of new mathematics standards (Common Core) that heighten the demand for students to be actively engaged in learning. The main objective of this study was to use information gathered from various informants (teachers, students, observers) to improve our understanding of students’ engagement and learning in mathematics instruction. Specifically, we gathered data in fifth grade math classrooms to identify classroom social interactions and internal psychological states of students that we identified as important antecedents of student engagement. The data collection involved 387 fifth grade students and their 63 math teachers in 20 schools. Students’ engagement was assessed using three approaches: (1) student reports, (2) teacher reports, and (3) observations conducted by research assistants. Students reported on their feelings of efficacy and anxiety in math. The quality of classroom interactions was measured using the M-Scan measure of standards-based mathematics and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System of the quality of teacher-student interactions. Achievement measures were garnered from the school district. Results showed that teachers who were more responsive and created more emotionally supportive environments had children who felt more cognitively and emotionally engaged in learning. The children were more likely to want to work hard to learn difficult math concepts in classrooms where teachers provided emotionally supportive environments. However, just because children felt more cognitively and emotionally engaged in learning did not mean that students showed higher math achievement at the end of the year. In fact, teachers’ report of superficial signs of behavioral engagement (i.e., the student paid attention, the student participated) was a stronger predictor of achievement at the end of the year than students’ own report of their interest in the subject. Fifth grade is a unique time to examine engagement. By fifth grade, students themselves can report on their feelings about school, their engagement in learning, and their anxiety and efficacy toward their academic subjects. The fact that students’ report of curiosity and eagerness to learn more about math—deeper level indicators of engagement—were not related to achievement, but participation and attention—more superficial indicators of participation—did relate to achievement suggests a disjunction between conditions that contribute to students feelings of motivation and those that predict student performance. Additional results showed that using an instructional approach designed to create a warm, responsive and well-managed classroom (the Responsive Classroom approach) combined with use of standards-based mathematics practices predicted achievement. This synergistic, combined effect was stronger than simply creating a warm, responsive, and well-managed environment or using standards-based instruction in predicting achievement. Further, the presence of the Responsive Classroom practices appeared to help children feel efficacious about math, even in the presence of math anxiety and facilitated teachers’ report of positive, close relationships with their students. One of the major findings emanating from this work is that emotionally-supportive classroom environments are crucial in fifth grade math classrooms. These relational and social aspects of the classroom play an important role in predicting engagement and achievement. By fifth grade, many teachers feel the need to sideline efforts to support students emotionally, and instead, direct their efforts toward instructional efforts only. The current work states how important it is for teachers to meet students' social and emotional needs, as well as academic needs, in the classroom. The work has broader impacts in math education. The team has been sharing findings with educators and policy-makers who make decisions about students’ math instruction. Further, the work has been disseminated to professional development liaisons and district policy-makers within the collaborating district to inform future practices. In addition, the research work has been used as a platform for training pre- and post-doctoral fellows with interest in education science. Finally, the M-Scan measure developed as part of this research study has been used in pre-service education and math professional development efforts.
