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Effects of Anxiety-Reducing Strategies in an Online Math Lesson for Primary School Children

Leeuw, Elisa de (2020) Effects of Anxiety-Reducing Strategies in an Online Math Lesson for Primary School Children.

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Abstract:This study explored the use of anxiety-reducing strategies within the context of an online math lesson for Dutch primary school children of grade 5 (age 10-11). The primary goal was to investigate the effects on state anxiety, self-efficacy, student engagement, and task performance. A secondary goal was to investigate if these constructs, including math anxiety, were related. A total of 80 children were randomly and equally divided over three groups (two experimental and one control group) based on their math anxiety levels. All groups had to make the same online math lesson about the metric system. For the experimental groups, this lesson was enhanced with problem-focused coping messages (problem group) or emotion-focused coping messages (emotion group) provided by an animated pedagogical agent. Overall, no effects for the anxiety-reducing strategies were found. However, the present study demonstrated intertwined and reciprocal relationships among the variables math anxiety, state anxiety, self-efficacy, and task performance. Moreover, math anxiety and self-efficacy were found to be sequential mediators of the relationship between state anxiety and task performance. The results underscore the importance of reducing math anxiety and enhancing self-efficacy to increase math performance of students.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:31 mathematics, 80 pedagogy, 81 education, teaching
Programme:Educational Science and Technology MSc (60023)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/85245
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