Erica Spangenberg

Contrasting motivation and learning strategies of ex-mathematics and ex-mathematical literacy students

This inquiry contrasts motivation and learning strategies of ex-Mathematics (Maths) and ex-Mathematical Literacy (ML) students. ML ideally delivers candidates who can make sense of and actively participate in a world of numbers and numerical arguments, but ex-ML students are excluded from many undergraduate studies at most South African higher education institutions (HEIs). Institutions employ various strategies in enhancing student transition to higher education (HE), however, such options are rare for ex-ML students. A year-long foundation programme offered by a private HEI is one exception. This inquiry employed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and t-test, detecting significant differences in motivation and learning strategies between 111 ex-Maths and 81 ex-ML students. The intrinsic goal orientation, task value, self-efficacy, effort regulation and test anxiety-handling abilities of ex-Maths students were significantly superior. The article offers insights into strategies that might improve the motivation of ex-ML students in support of their academic development.

Mathematical Modelling for Engineering Diploma Students: Perspectives on Visualisation

This inquiry aims to determine the influence of mathematical modelling on engineering diploma students’ visualisation when solving differential equations (DE) with a computer algebra system (CAS). In CAS environments, students usually struggle to interpret numerical tables and computer graphs derived from symbolic DEs and often leave interpretative questions unanswered. Participants comprised 80 second year vocational engineering diploma students at a comprehensive university. Students’ abilities to make contextual connections between different representations through a model-eliciting task were assessed using content analysis. By reversing the curricular approach, most participants constructed a meaningful DE that deepened understandings of the world in which they modelled. The modelling environment stimulated development of adequate schema through experimentation with paper-and-pen and CAS technologies.

Comparing South African Female and Male Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs about the Nature of Mathematics

ABSTRACT Girls performing well in mathematics at school do not necessarily enrol for mathematics courses at South African universities. Teachers could be transferring beliefs about the nature of mathematics favouring boys. This paper compared male and female pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics. A quantitative, descriptive research approach was adopted. One hundred and twenty-six mathematics pre-service teachers, enrolled for an undergraduate teaching training programme at a South African university, completed a questionnaire. While both genders hold the same Platonist and instrumentalist beliefs, females embrace lower experimentalist beliefs than males. Research on differences between male and female pre-service teachers’ beliefs about the nature of mathematics could promote gender equity in mathematics teacher training and better facilitation of the subject, which might consequently encourage more girls to opt for mathematics-related careers.