Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How often and when teachers should teach with challenging tasks: the role of motivational beliefs

  • Published:
Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Prior research has revealed a variety of factors associated with teacher views around when to incorporate challenging mathematical tasks into instruction, such as teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and their prior assumptions about student ability. There has been less focus on how motivational beliefs (teacher anxiety, enjoyment, confidence) shape teachers’ views around teaching with challenging tasks. To address this gap, the current study administered questionnaires to Australian primary school teachers (n = 92) prior to them undertaking a professional learning programme focusing on teaching mathematics through sequences of challenging tasks. Employing logistic regression, we found that more teaching experience and lower levels of teacher anxiety teaching mathematics were associated with the view that challenging tasks should be introduced earlier in a student’s schooling. We also found that higher levels of teacher enjoyment substantially increased the likelihood that a teacher would endorse teaching with challenging tasks more than once a week; however, higher levels of teaching confidence somewhat reduced the likelihood. Implications for practice are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Note that prior to answering questions in relation to challenging tasks, teachers were provided with the following overview clarifying what was intended by the term.

    “Challenging tasks can be described as having the following characteristics: Students do not know how to immediately solve the task; Build on what students already know; Take time to complete; Are engaging for students in that they are interested in, and see value persisting with a task; Focus on important aspects of mathematics; Are simply posed using a relatable narrative; Foster connections within mathematics and across domains; and Can be undertaken when there is more than one correct answer and/or more than one solution pathway.

    In addition, when a mathematics lesson is launched with a challenging task, the lesson is structured such that: Tasks are posed without instructing students on solution methods; Students are allowed time to engage with tasks initially by themselves, perhaps later in small groups; Actions are taken by the teacher to differentiate tasks for students who might require additional support and those who finish quickly; and Responses to the tasks are observed and selected by the teacher during the lesson to orchestrate classroom dialogue between students, emphasising students’ explorations and mathematical thinking”.

  2. Multilevel logistic regression was explored with little effect and low “design effect” for both outcomes.

References

  • Alfieri, L., Brooks, P. J., Aldrich, N. J., & Tenenbaum, H. R. (2011). Does discovery-based instruction enhance learning? Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. (2003). Teachers’ choice of tasks: A window into beliefs about the role of problem solving in learning mathematics. In L. A. Bragg (Ed.), Mathematics education research: Innovation, networking, opportunity. Proceedings of the 26th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (pp. 72–79). MERGA.

  • Anderson, R. K., Boaler, J., & Dieckmann, J. A. (2018). Achieving elusive teacher change through challenging myths about learning: A blended approach. Education Sciences, 8(3), 98. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8030098

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, P., & Xenofontos, C. (2015). Analysing the relationship between the problem-solving-related beliefs, competence and teaching of three Cypriot primary teachers. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 18, 299–325. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-014-9287-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Askew, M., Rhodes, V., Brown, M., Wiliam, D., & Johnson, D. (1997). Effective teachers of numeracy: A report carried out for the teacher training agency. Kings College. http://musicmathsmagic.com/page4/files/EffectiveTeachersofNumeracy.pdf

  • Ball, D. L., Hill, H. C., & Bass, H. (2005). Knowing mathematics for teaching: Who knows mathematics well enough to teach third grade, and how can we decide? American Educator, 29(1), 14–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, D. L., Thames, M. H., & Phelps, G. (2008). Content knowledge for teaching: What makes it special? Journal of Teacher Education, 59(5), 389–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baragash, R. S., & Al-Samarraiel, H. (2018). Blended learning: Investigating the influence of engagement in multiple learning delivery modes on students’ performance. Telematics and Informatics, 35(7), 2082–2098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.07.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beilock, S. L., Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., & Levine, S. C. (2010). Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(5), 1860–1863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beswick, K. (2005). The beliefs/practice connection in broadly defined contexts. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 17(2), 39–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03217415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beswick, K. (2012). Teachers’ beliefs about school mathematics and mathematicians’ mathematics and their relationship to practice. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 79, 127–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9333-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beswick, K., Anderson, J., & Hurst, C. (2016). The education and development of practising teachers. In K. Makar, S. Dole, J. Visnovska, M. Goos, A. Bennison, & K. Fry (Eds.), Research in mathematics education in Australasia 2012–2015 (pp. 329–352). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bobis, J., Way, J., Anderson, J., & Martin, A. J. (2016). Challenging teacher beliefs about student engagement. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 19(1), 33–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-015-9300-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Böswald, V., & Schukajlow, S. (2023). I value the problem, but I don’t think my students will: Preservice teachers’ judgments of task value and self-efficacy for modelling, word, and intramathematical problems. ZDM - Mathematics Education, 55(2), 331–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-022-01412-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley, S., Reid, K., Lipp, O. V., Goos, M., Bethune, N., & Thomson, S. (2020). Addressing mathematics anxiety in primary teaching. In A. Carroll, R. Cunnington, & A. Nugent (Eds.), Learning under the lens: applying findings from the science of learning to the classroom (pp. 78–92). Taylor & Francis Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burić, I. (2019). The role of emotional labor in explaining teachers’ enthusiasm and students’ outcomes: A multileveled mediational analysis. Learning and Individual Differences, 70, 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2019.01.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carney, M. B., Brendefur, J. L., Thiede, K., Hughes, G., & Sutton, J. (2016). Statewide mathematics professional development: Teacher knowledge, self-efficacy, and beliefs. Educational Policy, 30(4), 539–572. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904814550075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, D., Cheeseman, J., Roche, A., & Van Der Schans, S. (2014). Teaching strategies for building student persistence on challenging tasks: Insights emerging from two approaches to teacher professional learning. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 16(2), 46–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cross, D. I. (2009). Alignment, cohesion and change: Examining mathematics teachers’ belief structures and their influence on instructional practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 12, 325–346. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-009-9120-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dack, H., O’Reilly, N., Youngs, P., & Hopper, E. (2019). Visions of differentiation: A longitudinal multicase study of preservice and beginning elementary teachers. The Elementary School Journal, 120(1), 132–175. https://doi.org/10.1086/704252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, C. T. (2020). Expectancy value theory as a tool to explore teacher beliefs and motivations in elementary mathematics instruction. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 13(2), 169–182. https://doi.org/10.26822/iejee.2021.182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Di Martino, P., & Zan, R. (2011). Attitude towards mathematics: A bridge between beliefs and emotions. ZDM: The international Journal of Mathematics Education, 43(4), 471–482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-011-0309-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drageset, O. G. (2010). The interplay between beliefs and the knowledge of mathematics teachers. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 12(1), 30–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J. L., & Midgley, C. (1983). Expectancies, values, and academic behaviors. In J. T. Spence (Ed.), Perspective on achievement and achievement motivation (pp. 75–146). W. H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2020). From expectancy-value theory to situated expectancy value theory: A developmental, social cognitive, and sociocultural perspective on motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101859

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eccles-Parsons, J. S., Adler, T. F., Futterman, R., Goff, S. B., Kaczala, C. M., Meece, J. L., & Midgley, C. (1983). Expectancies, values, and academic behaviors. In J. T. Spence (Ed.), Perspective on achievement and achievement motivation (pp. 75–146). W. H. Freeman and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ernest, P. (1989). The knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of the mathematics teacher: A model. Journal of Education for Teaching, 15(1), 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260747890150102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrella, S., Zakaryan, D., Olfos, R., & Espinoza, G. (2020). How teachers learn to maintain the cognitive demand of tasks through Lesson Study. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 23, 293–310. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-018-09423-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frenzel, A. C., Becker-Kurz, B., Pekrun, R., & Goetz, T. (2015). Teaching this class drives me nuts!—Examining the person and context specificity of teacher emotions. PLoS ONE, 10(6), e0129630–e0129630. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frenzel, A. C., Daniels, L., & Burić, I. (2021). Teacher emotions in the classroom and their implications for students. Educational Psychologist, 56(4), 250–264. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2021.1985501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, C., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2009). Using single-item measures for construct measurement in management research: Conceptual issues and application guidelines. Die Betriebswirtschaft, 69(2), 195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaspard, H., Dicke, A. L., Flunger, B., Schreier, B., Häfner, I., Trautwein, U., & Nagengast, B. (2015). More value through greater differentiation: Gender differences in value beliefs about math. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), 663. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldin, G., Rösken, B., & Törner, G. (2009). Beliefs: No longer a hidden variable in mathematics teaching and learning processes. In J. Maaß & W. Schlöglmann (Eds.), Beliefs and attitudes in mathematics education: New research results (pp. 1–18). Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gresalfi, M., Martin, T., Hand, V., & Greeno, J. (2009). Constructing competence: An analysis of student participation in the activity systems of mathematics classrooms. Education Studies in Mathematics, 70, 49–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-008-9141-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gresham, G. (2018). Preservice to inservice: does mathematics anxiety change with teaching experience? Journal of Teacher Education, 69(1), 90–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117702580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haase, V. G., Guimarães, A. P. L., & Wood, G. (2019). Mathematics and emotions: The case of math anxiety. In A. Fritz, V. G. Haase, & P. Räsänen (Eds.), International handbook of mathematics learning difficulties (pp. 469–503). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1993). Emotional contagion. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2(3), 96–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep10770953

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, D. M. (1980). Identification of outliers (Vol. 11). Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hubbard, J., & Livy, S. (2021). Self-study of a mathematics learning consultant: Supporting teachers to plan lessons for implementing differentiation in the classroom. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 23(3), 148–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubbard, J., Russo, J., & Sullivan, P. (2023). Spotlighting: Helping to scaffold the ‘explore phase’ when teaching with challenging tasks. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 28(1), 31–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, P., SwarsAuslander, S., Stinson, D. W., & Fortner, C. K. (2019). Elementary teachers’ mathematical beliefs and mathematics anxiety: How do they shape instructional practices? School Science and Mathematics, 119, 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingram, N., Holmes, M., Linsell, C., Livy, S., McCormick, M., & Sullivan, P. (2020). Exploring an innovative approach to teaching mathematics through the use of challenging tasks: A New Zealand perspective. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 32(3), 497–522. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-019-00266-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, K., Garrison, A., Wilson, J., Gibbons, L., & Shahan, E. (2013). Exploring relationships between setting up complex tasks and opportunities to learn in concluding whole-class discussions in middle-grades mathematics instruction. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(4), 646–682. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.44.4.0646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaworski, B. (2012). Mathematics teaching development as human practice: Identifying and drawing threads. ZDM, 40(5), 613–625. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-012-0437-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, S., & Leikin, R. (2020). Opening mathematical problems for posing open mathematical tasks: What do teachers do and feel? Educational Studies in Mathematics, 105, 349–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-020-09983-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunter, M., Tsai, Y. M., Klusmann, U., Brunner, M., Krauss, S., & Baumert, J. (2008). Students’ and mathematics teachers’ perceptions of enthusiasm and instruction. Learning and Instruction, 18, 468–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2008.06.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarides, R., Watt, H. M. G., & Richardson, P. W. (2023). Does school context moderate longitudinal relations between teacher-reported self-efficacy and value for student engagement and teacher-student relationships from early until midcareer? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 72, 102136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2022.102136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liljedahl, P. G. (2005). Mathematical discovery and affect: The effect of AHA! Experiences in undergraduate mathematics students. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 36(2–3), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207390412331316997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linnenbrink, E. A. (2006). Emotion research in education: Theoretical and methodological perspectives on the integration of affect, motivation, and cognition. Educational Psychology Review, 18(4), 307–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9028-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch, S. D., Hunt, J. H., & Lewis, K. E. (2018). Productive struggle for all: Differentiated instruction. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 23(4), 194–201. https://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.23.4.0194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marbán, J. M., Palacios, A., & Maroto, A. (2021). Enjoyment of teaching mathematics among pre-service teachers. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 33(3), 613–629. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00341-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. W., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Köller, O., & Baumert, J. (2005). Academic self-concept, interest, grades, and standardized test scores: Reciprocal effects models of causal ordering. Child Development, 76(2), 397–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00853.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mogens, N., & Werner, B. (2020). The learning and teaching of mathematical modelling. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315189314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerke, N. J. D. (1991). A note on a general definition of the coefficient of determination. Biometrika, 78(3), 691–692. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/78.3.691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18(4), 315–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Barchfeld, P., & Perry, R. P. (2011). Measuring emotions in students’ learning and performance: The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ). Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(1), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., & Perry, R. P. (2014). Control-value theory of achievement emotions. In R. Pekrun & E. A. Linnenbrink-Garcia (Eds.), International handbook of emotions in education (pp. 120–141). Taylor & Francis.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Prescott, A. (2011). Are we singing from the same songbook? In S. Schuck & P. Pereira (Eds.), What counts in teaching mathematics: Adding value to self and content (pp. 161–176). Netherlands: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., Rowan, B., & Cheong, Y. F. (1992). Contextual effects on the self-perceived efficacy of high school teachers. Sociology of Education, 65(2), 150–167. https://doi.org/10.2307/2112680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ren, L., & Smith, W. M. (2018). Teacher characteristics and contextual factors: Links to early primary teachers’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 21, 321–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9365-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubach, C., Dicke, A.-L., Safavian, N., & Eccles, J. S. (2023). Classroom transmission processes between teacher support, interest value and negative affect: An investigation guided by situated expectancy-value theory and control-value theory. Motivation and Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-023-10013-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, J., Bobis, J., Downton, A., Feng, M., Hughes, S., Livy, S., McCormick, M., & Sullivan, P. (2021). Characteristics of high enjoyment teachers of mathematics in primary schools. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 35, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-021-00372-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, J. A. (2019). Walking the line between order and chaos: A teacher-researcher’s reflection on teaching mathematics with challenging tasks in primary classrooms. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 27(3), 14–24. https://doi.org/10.30722/IJISME.27.03.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, J., Bobis, J., Sullivan, P., Downton, A., Livy, S., McCormick, M., & Hughes, S. (2020). Exploring the relationship between teacher enjoyment of mathematics, their attitudes towards student struggle and instructional time amongst early years primary teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 88, 102983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102983

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russo, J., & Hopkins, S. (2019). Teachers’ perceptions of students when observing lessons involving challenging tasks. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 17(4), 759–779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-018-9888-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Meca, J., Marín-Martínez, F., & Chacón-Moscoso, S. (2003). Effect-size indices for dichotomized outcomes in meta-analysis. Psychological Methods, 8(4), 448–467. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.8.4.448

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schillinger, T. (2021). Self-efficacy of Kindergarten Teachers’ Mathematical Instruction. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(4), 623–632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01101-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schweig, J. D., Kaufman, J. H., & Opfer, V. D. (2020). Day by day: Investigating variation in elementary mathematics instruction that supports the Common Core [Article]. Educational Researcher, 49(3), 176–187. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20909812

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simonton, K. L., & Garn, A. C. (2020). Control–value theory of achievement emotions: A closer look at student value appraisals and enjoyment. Learning and Individual Differences, 81, 101910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101910

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. S., & Stein, M. K. (1998). Selecting and creating mathematical tasks: From research to practice. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 3, 433–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. K., Engle, R. A., Smith, M. S., & Hughes, E. K. (2008). Orchestrating productive mathematical discussions: Five practices for helping teachers move beyond show and tell. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 10(4), 313–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/10986060802229675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. K., & Lane, S. (1996). Instructional tasks and the development of student capacity to think and reason: An analysis of the relationship between teaching and learning in a reform mathematics project. Educational Research and Evaluation, 2(1), 50–80. https://doi.org/10.1080/1380361960020103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stipek, D. J., Givvin, K. B., Salmon, J. M., & MacGyvers, V. L. (2001). Teachers’ beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 213–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(00)00052-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, P., Bobis, J., Downton, A., Hughes, S., Livy, S., McCormick, M., & Russo, J. (2020). Ways that relentless consistency and task variation contribute to teacher and student mathematics learning. In A. Coles (Ed.) For the Learning of Mathematics: Proceedings of a symposium on learning in honour of Laurinda Brown: Monograph 1 (pp. 32–37). FLM Publishing Association.

  • Sullivan, P., Askew, M., Cheeseman, J., Clarke, D., Mornane, A., Roche, A., & Walker, N. (2015). Supporting teachers in structuring mathematics lessons involving challenging tasks. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 18(2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-014-9279-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, P., Bobis, J., Downton, A., Feng, M., Hughes, S., Livy, S., McCormick, M., & Russo, J. (2021). An instructional model to support planning and teaching student centred structured inquiry lessons. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 26(1), 8–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, P., Mousley, J., & Jorgensen, R. (2009). Tasks and pedagogies that facilitate mathematical problem solving. In B. Kaur, Y. B. Har, & M. Kapur (Eds.), Mathematical problem solving (pp. 17–42). World Scientific Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Szczygieł, M. (2022). The psychometric properties of the Mathematics Attitude Scale for Adults (MASA). Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02980-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tekkumru- Kisa, M., Stein, M. K., & Doyle, W. (2020). Theory and research on tasks revisited: Task as a context for students’ thinking in the era of ambition reforms in mathematics and science. Educational Researcher, 49(8), 606–617. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20932480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warshauer, H. K. (2015). Productive struggle in middle school mathematics classrooms. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 18, 375–400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-014-9286-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Fredricks, J., Simpkins, S., Roeser, R. W., & Schiefele, U. (2015). Development of achievement motivation and engagement. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (pp. 1–44). Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigfield, A., Tonks, S., & Klauda, S. L. (2016). Expectancy-value theory. In K. R. Wentzel & D. B. Miele (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 55–74). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wigfield, A., Tonks, S., & Klauda, S. L. (2009). Expectancy-value theory. In K. R. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 55–75). Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilhelm, A. G. (2014). Mathematics teachers’ enactment of cognitively demanding tasks: Investigating links to teachers’ knowledge and conceptions. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 45(5), 636–674. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.45.5.0636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins, J. L. M. (2008). The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11, 139–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-007-9068-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    James Russo, Jane Hubbard & Sharyn Livy

  2. Data Futures Institute, Monash University, Wellington Rd, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Tim Powers

  3. Australian Council for Educational Research, ACER, 19 Prospect Hill Rd, Camberwell, VIC, 3124, Australia

    Sarah Buckley

Authors
  1. James Russo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tim Powers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jane Hubbard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sarah Buckley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sharyn Livy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Russo.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Appendices

Appendix

Outcome measures

Teachers’ views concerning the right time in a child’s schooling to begin launching a lesson through a challenging task are presented in Table 4. The question put to teachers was “How often do you think teachers should launch a mathematics lesson with a challenging task in the early years of primary school (Foundation to Year 2)?”.

Table 4 Teachers’ views on when to begin launching a mathematics lesson with a challenging task
Full size table

Teacher responses to the frequency with which they viewed challenging tasks should be incorporated in lessons for early years primary school (Foundation–Year 2) are presented in Table 5. The question asked was “When do you believe is the right time to begin launching mathematics lessons with challenging tasks at least some of the time?”.

Table 5 Teachers’ views on how frequently teachers should launch a lesson with a challenging task
Full size table

We were unable to detect a significant (nonparametric) correlation between these two raw measures, utilising a Spearman’s rho statistic (r = 0.11, ns).

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Russo, J., Powers, T., Hubbard, J. et al. How often and when teachers should teach with challenging tasks: the role of motivational beliefs. J Math Teacher Educ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-023-09612-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-023-09612-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation