Date of Award/Publication

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education

Abstract

Throughout my years teaching at the middle school level I have found for many students, getting them to complete homework is a difficult task. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has st:L up goals that students should meet in each grade level. One area that middle school students should be able to attain is to communicate mathematically. According to NCTM Standards students need the ability to read, write, listen, think creatively and communicate about problems they encounter in our society (NCTM, 1998). To do this students must be able to communicate mathematically by discussing mathematical ideas and make convincing arguments. One way students can achieve this is through practice and homework. Students need to be able to communicate how they arrived at an answer and why they are confident of their answer. As a teacher, I am not the sole influence on my students. Parents have a great deal of influence in their child' s life. Parent involvement in their child's education is related to the parent's own efficacy, or belief in one's own ability. According to Grusec, parents with a positive sense of self spend more time with their children and take more interest in what their children are doing {1994). Parents who spend more time with their children have more opportunities to help their children with school related tasks such as projects and homework. For the past two years I have worked at a small rural school teaching mathematics on the seventh grade team. During this time I have begun to understand the community and become involved in more activities both within the school and those that reach out to the community. I have become acquainted with many of the families in the area and continue to get to know families as I have their children in my classroom. I have also experiences first hand the struggle that the students have with completing their homework. As a result of my experiences, I am looking to answer the question "Can implementing 5 different intervention strategies affect students motivation to complete homework?".

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