The Effects of Requiring Study Group Participation Associated with Students' Attitudes and Achievements in Developmental Math

It is widely publicized that student attitudes and achievement in math in the United States require improvement. U.S. students have shown lackluster mathematics achievement scores compared to their international peers in other developed countries. As a former high school math instructor, this author observed that the attitude of many high school students and their parents was that the student should do as much math as possible in high school in hopes of "testing-out" of college math so as to "never have to take math again." One study found that math serves as a "critical filter" for many students in determining their educational, occupational, and professional opportunities. Both high school and college students are showing evidence of being math avoiders, and this closes numerous doors of opportunity for too many students. Many teachers and students have found success in combating math anxiety, doubts about personal ability, and math avoidance by facilitating and participating in student study groups inside and outside of the classroom. Study groups help address many of the deficiencies of traditional learning methods and provide advantages to both students and teachers. Despite research showing the benefits of study groups, research has not focused on the effects of "requiring" student participation in study groups outside of class. Because of the many suggested benefits, the author wished to determine if the positive results occurred when student participation in study groups was required in developmental math classes at Utah Valley University (UVU). The results of his study indicated no statistically significant difference in either attitude or performance between students required to participate in study groups versus those for whom participation was not required. (Contains 3 tables and 18 resources.)