AN INVESTIGATION ON WHETHER PROBLEM SOLVING APPROACH WOULD AFFECT STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE IN MATHEMATICS

Abstract

The study sought to investigate whether teaching mathematics through problem solving approach (PSA) would affect students attitudes towards learning and the subsequent examination of performance in mathematics at a secondary school in Central West Education Division (CWED) of Malawi. The study followed a mixed research method where both quantitative and qualitative data was generated. The target population was the Form three (Grade 11) students in a double shift secondary school. A total of 209 students participated in this study from six classrooms of this double shift secondary school. A quasi- experimental non- randomized, non equivalent, pre-test/post-test, control group design was employed for the study. The dependent variable was students‟ attitude towards mathematics while independent variables were the problem-solving teaching approach and achievement levels (high, medium and low). Data was generated through Attitude Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) (pre-test/post-test), administrative document analysis, lesson observation and post intervention interview. Findings from the study revealed that the experimental group significantly changed in attitudes towards mathematics as pre-test mean was 147.35, post-test mean was 167.25, and calculated mean difference (t value) was 14.2 with probability (p) of < 0.001 compared to the control group which had pre-test mean of 143.35, post-test mean of 145.34, and calculated mean difference (t-value) was 1.4 with probability (p) of > 0.5, indicating a no significant change in attitudes. In terms of performance the experimental, group pre-test mean was 31.25, post-test mean was 56.09, and the calculated mean difference (t-value) was 27.32, with the probability (p) of < .001, did better than the control group which had pre-test mean of 33.67, post-test mean of 34.92 and the calculated mean difference (t-value) was 2.54, with probability (p) of < .005 at the end of term test. This indicates a significant change in performance in the experimental group and a non-significant change in performance in the control group. It was concluded that problem-solving approach positively affected students attitude and performance in mathematics. Therefore, it is recommended that mathematics teachers at both primary and secondary level should teach mathematics through problem-solving approach.