Open AccessObserving the effects of hands-on activities on mathematics teacher confidence in geometry and statistics: A case study
Author(s) -
Zachariah Benton Hurdle
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
teachers and curriculum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2382-0349
pISSN - 1174-2208
DOI - 10.15663/tandc.v20i1.344
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , mathematics education , psychology , geometry , mathematics , statistics
Middle school mathematics teachers often do not emphasise statistics and geometry in their lesson plans for a variety of reasons. However, these are integral topics in mathematics, and using direct lecture or hands-on activities may have different effects on teacher confidence when approaching these subjects. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, anxiety was found to improve with lecture-based workshops, while confidence and effectance was found to improve with manipulatives-based workshops. The results showed some surprising and unsurprising reasons for these conclusions.
Key words: teacher education; math anxiety; manipulatives; geometry; statistics