Page 47 - Children’s mathematical development and learning needs in perspective of teachers’ use of dynamic math interviews

Impact of child and teacher factors on mathematical development
per category and a total possible score of 200. The total score was used in the analyses. The reliability and validity of such testing has been found to be good (α = .88; De Vos, 2010), also in this study (α = .79).
Mathematical problem-solving. Children’s mathematics achievement was measured using the criterion-based mathematics tests (Cito; Janssen et al., 2005), which are standardized Dutch national test commonly administered at the middle and end of each school year to monitor children’s progress. The test consists of a mixture of mathematical problems in several domains presented in varied ways: only using mathematical notation or combinations of text, mathematical tasks related pictures, and mathematical notation as used in regular curricula (e.g., There are 24 boxes in a warehouse. Each box contains 8 cans of soup. How many cans of soup are there?). The following domains are covered: 1) numbers, number relations, and operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), 2) proportions and fractions, and 3) measurement and geometry. The reliability coefficients for the tests have been found to range from .91 to .97 (Janssen et al., 2010). In this study the internal consistency was found to be good (α = .82 start grade 4 and α = .84 end grade 4).
Child factors: emotions and beliefs
The math self-concept, math self-efficacy, and math anxiety of the children were measured using the Mathematics Motivation Questionnaire for Children (MMQC; Prast, et al., 2012). The questionnaire consists of five scales: math self-efficacy (6 items), math self-concept (6 items), mathematical task value (7 items), math lack of challenge (6 items), and math anxiety (5 items). Items are rated along a four-point scale: 1 = NO! (strongly disagree), 2 = no (disagree), 3 = yes (agree), 4 = YES! (strongly agree). A sample item from the math self-concept scale is “Are you good in mathematics?”. A sample item from the math self-efficacy scale is “When the teacher explains the first mathematical problem, are you capable of solving the next math problem by yourself?”. A sample item from the math anxiety scale is “Are you afraid to make mistakes during the mathematics lesson?”. These three scales were used in the present study and their internal consistency was found to be good (self-concept α = .91; self-efficacy α = .81; math anxiety α = .79).
2
45