Running Head: CHANGING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATH Metz 1

Changing Student’s Attitude Towards Math One Problem at a Time

Nathalie Metz

Manhattan College: Education 206

CHANGING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATH Metz 2

Abstract

Students of all ages can have a hard time understanding the reason students are taught

math past basic algebra. I remember sitting in math classes throughout middle and high school

thinking, how is learning this going to help me in my life? When am I going to be in a situation

where I need to be able to calculate the area of a hexagon? This concern is a natural byproduct of

a math class that simply teaches formulas and route memorization. In such a situation, learning

higher leveled math can seem pointless. If new topics were introduced using examples that had

relevance to the students, students might be more interested in learning. For example, if I am

about to introduce the concept of fractions to my students I might tell the students to imagine

they had to order a pizza for a group of people. They were going to ask these people if they

wanted just cheese or pepperoni pizza. Using that data, they would have to decide which type of

pizza they would order to make the most amount of people in the group happy. So, they we

would discuss as a class the fractions of people that liked cheese and the fraction that wanted

pepperoni. Then the class could discuss what fraction of students voted for each type pizza and

what pizza should be ordered. Countless activities could be used to get students to understand the

applicability of what they are learning, as long as a connection is made to areal-life problem they

would be able to solve with this newly acquired skill.

CHANGING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATH Metz 3

Research

The reason why students do not understand the importance of math is the way it is being

taught in classrooms, in order to change students attitudes we need to change the dynamic of the

classroom. In his Ted Talk, Dan Meyers presents an idea that many students may not understand

the importance of math due to how teachers are presenting new topics in class to them. (Meyer,

2010) Oftentimes students are taught to memorize a formula and then “plug and chug” the

relevant inputs. A primary qualitative interview with a current ninth-grader in California

reinforces Meyers’ hypothesis/claim, “one of the reasons math is so easy is because it is all just

memorization” (DeVincenzi, 2018). One of the reasons I loved math so much in high school was

the ease in which I could quickly see a pattern and memorize it. This practice involved minimal

effort. This concept of basic memorization has become the norm in most American classrooms.

Most student today and in the future are taught math through memorization with little

understanding of the relevance of the concepts to outside of the classroom. Many teachers find it

baffling when students do not understand the practical importance/relevance of learning higher

level math, yet common strategies for teaching math do not connect mathematical concepts to

their potential for practical application. Research shows that a student does not the retain

information when they are simply told the correct answer, according to Finkle, “thinking only

happens when you are given time to struggle” (Finkel, 2016). Memorization should be moved to

the last step of a lesson. Though it may be frustrating in the beginning, students should learn that

it is okay to struggle with a concept. If a student cannot grasp a concept immediately after its

first introduction, this learning gap does not reflect the student’s ability for math overall (Meyer,

2010). This method of measuring worth and value of a subject should be reinforced through
CHANGING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATH Metz 4

allowing a time to learn. Just because you cannot get it in the first thirty seconds does not mean

you are bad at math, and students need to know that to be taught this concept. For example,

instead of giving a student the formula to find the volume of the cube, the teacher should let the

student think about what components they would need to find/calculate the volume (Meyer,

2010). Anyone can memorize a formula but facilitating an opportunity for the students to get a

deeper understanding for the process will increase learning for each student. The teacher cannot

always be the answer key, instead allow the students to debate what they need/find the answer

amongst themselves. The teacher cannot always be looked at as the answer key. (Finkel, 2016).

Having students come up with what they need to solve a question you ask will put all kids in the

discussion. All students learn at different speeds and in different ways, so discussions and group

activities will help level involve all the students. (Boaler, 1993). Some students will not

understand the concept in the way I explain it, so it will be really helpful for the students to

sometime work in groups. (Forman, 2013) Sometimes another classmate will be able to explain

the topic in a way that I had not thought of. So then instead of a student completely zoning out

because I have lost them they will be able to keep up the with rest of the class.

One thing I talked about with Catherine is that she is doing a flipped classroom for her

geometry class currently. The students watch a video at home and then in class they just do

problems by themselves or with a group and ask the teacher if they have any questions. She said

that she really enjoyed it because it was easy to just watch a video and then her teacher would be

right there to answer any questions she had during the day. (DeVincenzi, 2018) I think that a

flipped classroom goes against everything I want to do for my students, from what I understand

it completely supports student’s memorization with no analysis involved. In the future I will
CHANGING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATH Metz 5

push for this not being implemented in my classroom, because I believe it will hurt the students

learning in the long run.

Giving real-life examples enables students to see the importance of math. Using world

problems that describe Mary and her 109 apples is not effective, as that situation is unlikely to be

seen in reality. Matt Kitchen is a middle school math teacher who blogs about strategies to

incorporate real-life examples into the classroom to help students get excited about mat (Kitchen,

2016). Kitchen outlines effective strategies that are easily to employ in the classroom such as:

 Complex Ratios – How many bars of a pop song is the chorus? We can talk about

how much of the song is the chorus, so that is why that’s the part of a song that

get stuck in your head.

 Two- Step Equations – Decrypt messages using two-step equations, and then try

to crack other people’s messages.

 Probability – What is the chance that Spotify plays my favorite song next?

Second? Third?

These teaching strategies would allow students to have some fun in math class by using concepts

that will engage their interests. When I was in 9th grade I am sure I would have loved to get to

print out the bars to my favorite song, analyze them and then share with the class. Most people

love talking about things they enjoy, such as a favorite song. The only way to convince students

of the real-world practicality of math is to prove it to them.

Devising a Plan

When introducing a new topic, I will start the lesson with a relevant example, similar to

the ones mentioned above. Whether the topic be complex ratios, probability, or even multiplying

polynomials, I will find an exciting small project to engage the classes’ interests. The students
CHANGING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS MATH Metz 6

will be more willing to dive into a topic and learn more after understanding the practical use of

it. To support this teaching strategy, I will not begin a lesson by giving students a formula or

steps to find an answer. Rather, my students should be encouraged to think critically about the

concept. Such as what variables are needed to find the volume of a triangle or how they might

multiply two polynomials. Along with having a project for each topic, I want to make math class

more of a discussion then the students just quietly taking notes. I want to think of thoughtful

questions to ask like “What would happen if I did not foil the polynomials but instead just

randomly multiplied the variables?” Then I would let them talk to the people around them about

what they think and then we would have a class discussion. Hopefully concluding that using the

FOIL method helps you not forget any variables to multiply. My hope for my future classroom is

that I get my students engaged in their learning through understanding and not just

memorization.
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References

Boaler, J. (1993). The Role of Contexts in the Mathematics Classroom: Do They Make

Mathematics More “Real”? For the Learning of Mathematics, 13(2), 12–17.

DeVincenzi, C. (2018, November 10). Interview with my 9th grade cousin.

Finkel, D. (2016). Five Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytVneQUA5-c

Forman, E. A. (2013, April 3). Learning Mathematics as Participation in Classroom Practice:

Implications of Sociocultural Theory for Educational Reform.

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203053126-13

Kitchen, M. (2016). Show Students the Real Purpose of Math - National Council of Teachers of

Mathematics. Retrieved November 17, 2018, from

https://www.nctm.org/Publications/Mathematics-Teaching-in-Middle-

School/Blog/Show-Students-the-Real-Purpose-of-Math/

Meyer, D. (2010). Math class needs a makeover. Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover?language=en