RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

FACTORS AFFECTING MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE OF LABORATORY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT

LAGUNA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC YEAR 2009-2010
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INTEREST
Norma Presmeg (2002) Educational Studies in Mathematics presents new ideas and
developments of major importance to practitioners working in the field of mathematical education. It
reflects both the variety of research concerns within the field and the range of methods used to study
them. Articles deal with didactical, methodological and pedagogical subjects, rather than with specific
programs for teaching mathematics. The journal emphasizes high-level articles that go beyond local or
national interest.
Fulk (2002) stated that students with sequencing difficulties need help to maximize their
engagement and improve their retention of learning use humor, unexpected introduction and various
other attention grabbers to stimulate students interest in the lesson.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/08272762649018lx/. In this article, present results of an
empirical study with 500 German students of grades 7 and 8. The study focused on students'
mathematics achievement and their interest in mathematics as well as on the relation between these
two constructs. In particular, the results show that the development of an individual student's
achievement between grade 7 and grade 8 depends on the achievement level of the specific classroom
and therefore on the specific mathematics instruction Interest in mathematics could be regarded a
predictor for mathematics achievement Moreover, our findings suggest that the students show hardly
any fear of mathematics independent of their achievement level. Hanson, Katherine (2008) stated that
an exploration of girls learning styles, attitudes, and behaviors in math classes that also shows the
importance of analyzing the curriculum and attitudes of teachers when attempting to understand girls
relation to math. It attempts to discover ways to increase girls interest and achievement in math. It
concludes with 15 practical recommendations for the improvement of math education for girls. >Davis-
Kean (2000) analyzed how parents' values and attitudes affect children's math performance and later
interest, and how these attitudes vary by the child's gender. They used data from a longitudinal study of
more than 800 children and a large group of their parents that began in 1987 and continued through.
STUDY HABITS
Steinberger & Wagner (2005) distinguishes more simply among three intelligences; the
academic-problem solving; the practical intelligence; and creative intelligence; all these three have
peculiar influence to performance. Success in study does not depend on ability and hard work but also
on effective methods of study. Individualized method of studying is adopted by every individual student,
thus, a good study habit will mean the ability to learn and make use of what one is reading or studying.
Study skills when properly embedded will help students understand their own potentials for intellectual
growth and self-direction. It is for this reason that the strategies of proper study habits among students
should be given emphasis. Simmons (2002) note that " good writing spawns from a close understanding
of text and great writing result from an interactive analysis and fluency with our reading." He adds that
inadequate writing is a direct result of inadequate reading and studying. Postgraduate students are
scholars in training and have the responsibility of becoming prolific and critical writers in their disciplines
and careers. The spirit of responsibility and integrity are vital to the study habits of postgraduate
students. Richardson et al (2000) compared college students who are deaf and hard of hearing in
mainstreamed classes with hearing peers. In both studies, the students who are deaf had comparable
study behaviors to those of their hearing peers. Similarly, both studies employed a survey design that
precluded the researchers from obtaining in-depth knowledge of participants' skills, and in particular,
their use of notes as a study text. These studies are similar to several others that attempt to survey the
study habits of normal hearing students. Aquino (2003) pointed out that study skills can be taught
effectively only after identifying students areas of weakness and levels of achievement is appropriate to
their grade level can be provided with development (or enrichment) exercises, which will enable them
to become more proficient in the skills they have already acquired or which will help them learn new
ideas. Fielden (2004) states that good study habits help the student in critical reflection in skills
outcomes such as selecting, analyzing, critiquing, and synthesizing.
PERSONALITY TRAITS
Rohwes W. Jr. et al. as cited by Sainz (2000) further discussed the teachers need to find ways of
determining whether or not her instruction have been successful. The procedure and method of
determining such success can take the form of test of various kinds to determine whether the students
have reached the objectives they have set for them. Myers and Briggs (2003) developed a personality
test based on Jung's temperaments called the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, or MBTI. It has gone on the
become the most famous personality test of all time. The traits are seen as opposites, and the first set is
introversion and extraversion. Introversion refers to a tendency to prefer the world inside oneself. The
more obvious aspects of introversion are shyness, distaste for social functions, and a love of privacy.
Extraversion is the tendency to look to the outside world, especially people, for one's pleasures.
Woolfolk (2001) describes intrinsic motivation as involving internal, personal factors such as needs,
interest, curiosity, and enjoyment. A student who is intrinsically motivated undertakes an activity for its
own sake, because the activity itself is rewarding. In contrast is intrinsic motivation, in which the
student engages in an activity in order to obtain a reward, or to avoid a punishment. Gordon Allport
(1998) extensively investigated the ways in which traits combine to form normal personalities,
cataloguing over 18,000 separate traits over a period of 30 years. He proposed that each person has
about seven central traits that dominate his or her behavior. Hans Eysenck (1998) claimed that
personality could be described based on three fundamental factors: psychoticism (such antisocial traits
as cruelty and rejection of social customs), introversion-extroversion, and emotionality-stability (also
called neuroticism).
TEACHING SKILLS
Tomlinson (1999) stated that teachers can differentiate content, process, and/or product for
students. Differentiation of content refers to a change in the material being learned by a student. For
example, if the classroom objective is for all students to subtract using renaming, some of the students
may learn to subtract two-digit numbers, while others may learn to subtract larger numbers in the
context of word problems. Differentiation of process refers to the way in which a student accesses
material. One student may explore a learning center, while another student collects information from
the web. Differentiation of product refers to the way in which a student shows what he or she has
learned. For example, to demonstrate understanding of a geometric concept, one student may solve a
problem set, while another builds a model. http://www.teachervision.fen.com Authentic assessment,
cooperative learning, inclusion discover a vast range of current articles about teaching methodologies,
ideal for all grades. Diversify your teaching strategies by implementing service-learning projects and
integrating technology in your classroom. These resources will help you gain the experience and
expertise you need to become a successful teacher, whether you're a new teacher or have been
teaching for many years. According to Blooms Taxonomy, teachers frequently spend a great deal of
classroom time testing students through questions. In fact, observations of teachers at all levels of
education reveal that most spend more than 90 percent of their instructional time testing students
(through questioning). And most of the questions teachers ask are typically factual questions that rely
on short-term memory. Rhodes and Bellamy (1999) stated that a teacher tells, a facilitator asks; a
teacher lectures from the front, a facilitator supports from the back; a teacher gives answers according
to a set curriculum, a facilitator provides guidelines and creates the environment for the learner to
arrive at his or her own conclusions; a teacher mostly gives a monologue, a facilitator is in continuous
dialogue with the learners Holt and Willard-Holt (2000) emphasize the concept of dynamic assessment,
which is a way of assessing the true potential of learners that differs significantly from conventional
tests. Here the essentially interactive nature of learning is extended to the process of assessment.
Rather than viewing assessment as a process carried out by one person, such as an instructor, it is seen
as a two-way process involving interaction between both instructor and learner. The role of the assessor
becomes one of entering into dialogue with the persons being assessed to find out their current level of
performance on any task and sharing with them possible ways in which that performance might be
improved on a subsequent occasion.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Siemens (2002) stated that instructional design can be defined as the systematic process of
translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials and activities.
However, there are many different definitions for instructional design and all of them are an expression
of underlying philosophies and viewpoints of what is involved in the learning process Heinze, Aiso (2008)
stated that the development of an individual student's achievement depends on the achievement level
of the specific classroom and therefore on the specific mathematics instruction. Interest in mathematics
could be regarded a predictor for mathematics achievement. Moreover, he suggests that the students
show hardly any fear of mathematics independent of their achievement level. Burgess (2000) stated
that changes in society and workplace have exerted pressure on the educational system. For instance,
with increased internationalization, growing knowledge-intensive work, and increasing use of
information technology, schools are required to produce graduates who do not only possess relevant
knowledge but also interpersonal relations and communication skills, ability to work in various contexts,
and information literacy skills. Wang & Woo (2007) to facilitate student-centered learning, many authors
suggest the use of media and technology. Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson (1999) stated that learning
technologies should shift their role from being conveyors of information to a means for engaging
students in thinking. More specifically, technologies should be used to pose problems to students,
provide related cases and information resources, a social medium to support learning through
collaboration and interaction, and intellectual partners to support learning by reflecting.
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
http://www.slideshare.net/junarieramirez/algebra-difficulties-among-second-year-bachelor-of-
secondary?related=1
Applying the entire process of mathematics can be shown in the following diagram: (Bernkopf, 1975)
Real problem- Translation into mathematics- Mathematical manipulation -Mathematical answer
Translation from mathematics -Solution of real problem. Algebra is thinking logically about numbers
rather than computing with numbers. In algebra you are a second step of abstraction removed from
everyday to the world: those xs and ys usually denote numbers in general, not particular numbers. In
algebra you use analytic, quantitative reasoning with numbers. When students start to learn algebra,
they inevitably try to solve problems by arithmetical thinking. Thats a natural thing to do, given all the
effort they have put into mastering arithmetic, and at first, when the algebra problems they meet are
particularly simple.
In fact, the stronger a student is at arithmetic, the further they can progress in Algebra using
arithmetical thinking. (Many students can sole the quadratic equation x
2
=2x + 15 using basic arithmetic,
using no algebra at all.) Paradoxically, or so it may seem, however, those better students may find it
harder to learn algebra. Because to do algebra, for all but the most basic example, you have to stop
thinking arithmetically and learn to think algebraically.
Anna Sierpinska of Concordia has an overview on difficulties in learning. First, evidence of students
difficulties with algebra. Second, theories about the sources of difficulties. And, third, attempts to
improve the teaching of algebra. According to her, the evidence of students difficulties starts with the
feature of Algebra. That is, the use of symbols or letters to represent numbers (such as x, y, z, or a) and
expressions such as (y=3x+15, z= x
2
-3y). In learning Algebra it is the first difficulty for students to
understand the symbols which represents the number and giving them a hard time to understand it.