A Mixed Methods Investigation Of The Impact Of Trade Books On Fifth Grade Students Mathematical Achievement And Attitudes PDF Download

The purpose of this study was to examine fifth graders' attitudes toward mathematics and achievements in mathematics when taught in real-world situations in the outdoor setting of a national refuge. Does authentic math instruction in an outdoor environment affect students' attitudes toward math when compared to students in a traditional classroom setting? Does authentic math instruction in an outdoor environment affect students' math achievement when compared to students in a traditional classroom setting? Fifth grade students who did not participate in the program at the national refuge setting but instead were taught in a traditional classroom setting acted as the control group. The researcher reviewed achievement data and gave pre- and post-surveys on attitudes toward math to measure academic achievement and gain student's perspectives on attitudes toward math, confidence in math, usefulness of math, and usefulness of math in the outdoors. Academically, math achievement scores grew at a similar rate for both the treatment group and the control group. More questions had significant differences of the mean from the treatment group's attitude surveys than from the control group's attitude surveys. The findings from this study suggest continuing to integrate instruction in this outdoor setting to improve attitudes toward math. A recommendation is made to do a follow up survey when these same students are more developmentally mature to understand the possible longitudinal effects of the program.