Worked Examples Moderate the Effect of Math Learning Anxiety on Children's Math Learning and Engagement During the COVID-19 Pandemic

We investigated whether worked examples could be used to reduce cognitive load on mathematics learners who may have reduced available cognitive resources due to experiencing anxiety or excess stress. Across 2 days, 280 fifth-grade students learned from a difficult lesson on ratio, half of whom reviewed worked examples at key problem-solving opportunities during instruction. We also measured two sources of students' worry during learning: math anxiety and worries about learning during the pandemic. We explored the attentional and affective effects of worked examples and worries in addition to their effects on learning. Results suggest that math anxiety, but not pandemic learning worries, negatively predicted procedural and conceptual learning from the lesson. In line with previous research and cognitive load theory, math anxiety also predicted greater mind wandering during testing and lower situational interest during learning. Critically, reviewing worked examples during learning mitigated these effects on learning and engagement. Pandemic-related learning worries were unrelated to learning outcomes but did predict affective and motivational outcomes. Educational implications are discussed.

Does question order matter on online math assessments? A big data analysis of undergraduate mathematics final exams

Background: The sudden growth in online instruction due to COVID-19 restrictions has given renewed urgency to questions about remote learning that have remained unresolved. Web-based assessment software provides instructors an array of options for varying testing parameters, but the pedagogical impacts of some of these variations has yet to be examined. Objectives: The current study examines whether question order affects student performance on online college math assessments. Drawing on the literature of testing and math anxiety, we hypothesized that difficult questions near the beginning of an assessment would have a destructive effect on student confidence, which would in turn have a deleterious effect on their performance. Methods: We employed an observational ‘big data' methodology, analysing 23,468 final exams completed by students in 10 different courses over eight semesters at a Math Emporium in a large technical university in the eastern United States. Students were freshmen and sophomores enrolled in non-engineering math courses. We regressed the final score on the difficulty level of the first and second questions, controlling for several other factors. Results and Conclusions: We found that several factors—day of the week, amount of time before the deadline, number of minutes spent on the exam—have more of an impact on score than question order. This pattern was consistent across sexes. Takeaways: Our findings contradict some previous studies, which have found that difficult early questions degrade student performance, and that this affect is more pronounced in females. This work enriches our understanding of how students respond to online assessment. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Impact of COVID-19 Distance Learning on Students' Math Anxiety: An Exploratory Study

In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid shift to distance learning worldwide. Although recent research has focused on the impact that this transition had on students' education and well-being, little has been done in particular on math education and on math anxiety (MA). Since MA is believed to be linked to the teaching methods, it could be hypothesized that the new learning environment affected MA levels. Thus, this study investigated whether students' levels of MA evaluated before and during the first wave of the pandemic changed as a consequence of the distance learning implementation. Moreover, we were interested in investigating whether students' satisfaction with the teaching methods, their effort in math, and their academic achievement were correlated to MA before and during the COVID-19 distance learning. Participants were 117 Italian middle and high school students. No significant differences between pre- and mid-pandemic MA were found when considering the entire sample. Analyzing separately, results indicated that high-MA students reported significantly lower MA levels during distance learning, however no difference was observed for moderate- and low-MA individuals. Furthermore, satisfaction with the teaching methods, effort in math, and math achievement were negatively correlated with MA, both before and during distance education. © 2023 International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology. All rights reserved.

The Impact of COVID-19 Distance Learning on Students' Math Anxiety: An Exploratory Study

In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid shift to distance learning worldwide. Although recent research has focused on the impact that this transition had on students' education and well-being, little has been done in particular on math education and on math anxiety (MA). Since MA is believed to be linked to the teaching methods, it could be hypothesized that the new learning environment affected MA levels. Thus, this study investigated whether students' levels of MA evaluated before and during the first wave of the pandemic changed as a consequence of the distance learning implementation. Moreover, we were interested in investigating whether students' satisfaction with the teaching methods, their effort in math, and their academic achievement were correlated to MA before and during the COVID-19 distance learning. Participants were 117 Italian middle and high school students. No significant differences between pre -and mid-pandemic MA were found when considering the entire sample. Analyzing separately, results indicated that high-MA students reported significantly lower MA levels during distance learning, however no difference was observed for moderate-and low-MA individuals. Furthermore, satisfaction with the teaching methods, effort in math, and math achievement were negatively correlated with MA, both before and during distance education.

Perception of Elementary Geometry E-Test from the Perspective of Future Preservice Primary Teachers: A Qualitative Study

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the development and implementation of online education in Slovakia. Because the transition from in-person to remote teaching happened almost overnight, it remains unclear how it affected future preservice primary teachers. Thus, the present study aimed to explore perceptions of the future preservice primary teachers on the novel assessment tools, more specifically, an elementary geometry e-test. Preservice primary teachers who attended online geometry classes and completed an elementary geometry e-test were asked to complete an online survey regarding the online testing. We received responses from thirty- five students who answered the following question;how did you perceive online testing in Moodle? Due to the exploratory nature of this research, we employed a 6-step thematic analysis procedure. We identified the following themes: a) technical issues during e-testing, b) time limit set for the test, c) correlation between the test tasks and content of the subject, d) comprehensibility of the test tasks, e) difficulty level of the test tasks, f) preparation for the test, and g) e-test related stress. Overall, the themes that emerged from the data were related to validity, reliability, practicality, and difficulty level of the test. Additionally, our themes suggest that the relationship between the students and teaching staff, student's self-efficacy, and their relationship to the subject determine the level of stress the students' experiences pre and during e-testing.

Confidence in COVID problem solving: What factors predict adults' item-level metacognitive judgments on health-related math problems before and after an educational intervention?

The advent of COVID-19 highlighted widespread misconceptions regarding people's accuracy in interpreting quantitative health information. How do people judge whether they accurately answered health-related math problems? Which individual differences predict these item-by-item metacognitive monitoring judgments? How does a brief intervention targeting math skills-which increased problem-solving accuracy-affect people's monitoring judgments? We investigated these pre-registered questions in a secondary analysis of data from a large Qualtrics panel of adults (N = 1,297). Pretest performance accuracy, math self-efficacy, gender, and math anxiety were associated with pretest item-level monitoring judgments. Participants randomly assigned to the intervention condition, relative to the control condition, made higher monitoring judgments post intervention. That is, these participants believed they were more accurate when answering problems. Regardless of experimental condition, those who actually were correct on health-related math problems made higher monitoring judgments than those who answered incorrectly. Finally, consistent with prior research, math anxiety explained additional variance in monitoring judgments beyond trait anxiety. Together, findings indicated the importance of considering both objective (e.g., problem accuracy) and subjective factors (e.g., math self-efficacy, math anxiety) to better understand adults' metacognitive monitoring. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11409-022-09300-3.

A mini ethnography on virtual elementary student teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on the subject of mathematics

This mini-ethnographic study explored virtual elementary student teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on mathematics instruction. It was framed using Ecological Systems Theory and Critical Pedagogy. Data were collected from interviews, focus groups, observations, and site documents. Thematic analysis methods were used to analyze the data. The analysis section began with the state student teaching policy and went on to examine its implementation in one elementary teacher education program in Maryland. Power relations between student teachers were examined along with the elementary student teachers' mathematics teaching practices. The study found that power relationships between the student teachers and their mentors and faculty supervisors negatively affected their teaching practices, especially when it came to teaching mathematics. Though student teaching was shown to be a gradual confidence-building professional development experience for most of the student teachers, virtual student teaching was shown to be ineffective and impractical for all. This study suggested providing opportunities for student teachers to practice mathematics teaching to prepare effective math teachers. The teacher education department and the host schools should follow the state student teaching policy. The teacher education program should also have control in selecting mentors, and the faculty supervisors should be supportive and caregivers. Finally, elementary education programs should redesign math foundation and methods courses focusing on practice-based learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Unmotivated, Depressed, Anxious: Impact of the COVID-19 Emergency Transition to Remote Learning on Undergraduates' Math Anxiety

In summer 2020, we invited the 6761 undergraduate students who took a Spring 2020 math course at the University of Arizona to participate in a survey, with 13% responding. We asked about their experience with the emergency transition to remote learning and measured their math anxiety before and after the transition using the well-established Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS). "Unmotivated, depressed, anxious" are the words one undergraduate used to describe their emergency transition to remote learning. Our results indicate that limited access to quality technology and inadequate communication with an instructor were the two greatest predictors for an increase in math anxiety after the emergency transition to remote learning. These results may encourage instructors to foster community with their students, especially during emergency remote learning.