Think about the so-called "story problems" you studied in algebra and other math classes. How many of them dealt with, say, two trains which, no matter how far they traveled, could never catch your attention? Were you the kid that asked (or silently wondered) "When am I ever going to use this stuff in real life?" Did you ever get the answer to that question, or were you left pondering it while trying to solve confusing, seemingly irrelevant problems?
Recently, researchers delved into students' attitudes about math. One study shows that 46% of students ages 13 to 18 like or love math and 68% said they would like math more if they could see a clear connection between their learning and their future. But with crowded classrooms and overworked teachers, delivering personalized instruction based on each student's future plans sounds like a lofty -- or even impossible -- goal. Yet it might prove possible, with a little help from technology.
Candace Walkington is a math education researcher at Southern Methodist University. She was recently awarded a three year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the impact of interest-focused algebra problems on student success and connectedness with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers, a news release notes.
During the study, Walkington and her collaborators will expand a free tool called ASSISTments, which was developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in collaboration with Carnegie Melon University. It enables students to create and solve algebra problems related to their interests. Walkington and her collaborators (Matthew Bernacki at University of North Carolina, Neil Heffernan at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Harsha Perera at University of Nevada and Elizabeth Howell at North Central Texas College) will add videos of STEM professionals describing how they use algebra in their jobs, the news release notes.
"Specifically, the project will examine how different scaffolding approaches to STEM career problem-posing (e.g., expert video vs. examples) affect the problems posed by students and the interest and knowledge that they gain," the award abstract states, adding "The study seeks to confirm ... three features necessary for successful personalized learning: content should be personalized so that it aligns to student interests, problems must be sufficiently granular to more precisely align to student interests, and students must perceive ownership in the process."
