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Editor’s Note: When you have a diversity of cultures and different primary languages, levels of experience, and learning styles, you need additional options for learners and teachers to enhance the teaching - learning process. Tutoring, coupled with audiovisuals and/or interactive multimedia are possible options. This study uses videos to enhance student attitudes and improve learning in the experimental group.

 

Enhancing Mathematical Attitude through Video Programmes Among 10th Grade Standard NIOS Students – An Experiment

S. Rastogi and R. K. Arya
Africa and India

Introduction

The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), New Delhi has opened admissions and course selection without any genuine restriction. Any person who desires to join a Secondary level programme may select any course (including Mathematics) of his /her choice. Later on, they may face problems of low achievement, particularly in Mathematics. A negative attitude or a low positive attitude towards Mathematics may be a reason for low achievement. It is essential to improve attitude towards this subject if we want a higher level of achievement. An individual, who has associated himself with positive affect or feeling with some psychological object, is said to like that object, or in other words, has a favourable attitude towards that object. Similarly, an individual who has associated negative affect or feeling with that object is said to dislike that object or in other words, he has an unfavorable attitude towards that object. Thus, attitude can be expressed as a continuum from highly positive attitude to highly negative attitude, with various shades of positive negative attitudes in between including a neutral zone which indicate neither favourable nor unfavourable attitude. Thinking In terms of a continuum, it is possible to find out the degree or extent of ‘positiveness’ or ‘negativeness’ of an attitude. Thus, the attitudes of different individual can be compared. This definition appears to be more scientific and useful for operational and measurement purposes. The investigator has adopted this definition in the present study. Traditional assumption of most research on attitudes (Newcomb et. al. 1963) is that the introduction of new information, both positive and negative, will change the attitudes of people, especially those in the process of school education. A concept of attitude change, which equally integrates belief and behaviour and includes the value of conflict as a means of institutional reform (designed to realise human values), has profound educational implications.

Objectives

Following objectives were framed in order to examine the effect of Video Programmes on Attitude towards Mathematics among 10th grade NIOS students.

  1. To assess present Attitude level towards Mathematics among target group students.

  2. To examine change in Attitude level through Video Programmes in the target group.

  3. To compare changes in Experimental group and Control group regarding Mathematical Attitude.

  4. To analyse the significance of difference (if any), between ‘Rural & Urban’ area learners as well as between ‘Male & Female’ learners regarding change in Mathematical Attitude.

  5. To recommend the use of proposed Video Programmes, if found effective for a significant change in Mathematical Attitude among Target Group learners.

  6. To suggest some other strategy, if the proposed Video Programmes have no potential for a significant change in Mathematical Attitude among target group learners.

Methodology

While selecting a suitable Mathematical attitude scale, the investigator had given thought to the condition of NIOS learners and their previous background in the field of Mathematics. These NIOS learners belong to a heterogeneous group, having different levels of previous academic experiences. These learners have less experience in learning Mathematics compared to traditional  students having a continuous 10 year study experience. NIOS learners do not attend regular classes like their counterparts in a conventional system. They rarely meet their teacher / tutor for interaction on various issues. Under these circumstances, the investigator examined various available tests in the NCERT library but no test was found to be satisfactory because these tests were developed for traditional students. The investigator also examined a Mathematical attitude scale developed and standardized by Dr. S. Rastogi. The test had item related to attitude towards Mathematics for the beginners. This test has 24 items, having 12 positive and 12 negative items distributed over a five point scale. The learners were supposed to put a tick mark in one of the five columns of their choice. There was no time limit for completing this test and learners had full freedom to take their own time. However, it was observed that between 20 to 40 minutes, all learners completed the test.

Numerical weights were assigned as below.

Response

For + Statement

For – Statement

Strongly Agree

5

1

Agree

4

2

Neither Agree nor Disagree

3

3

Disagree

2

4

Strongly Disagree

1

5

Sum of the weights on all the 24 statements was the learners’ total score for that form. The scores obtained in + statement and – statements were added to derive a final score by a learner. These scores became raw data for calculation in both pretest and post test. The criteria for respondent classification was as below: 

S. No.

Points

Remarks

1

24 – 55

Low Attitude

2

56 – 87

Average Attitude

3

88 - 120

High Attitude

The selected Attitude Scale was given twice as ‘Pre-test’ (March 04) and ‘Post-test’(June 04). The Experimental Group studied some difficult concepts through Video Programmes and Tutor Support, while the Control Group had tutor support only. There were Six Videos on Profit and Loss, Area, Volume and Surface Area, Triangle, Pythagoras Theorem, and Circle.

Table 1
Sampling Structure for the Experiment

S. No.

Region

Total

Region wise Gender Representation

All

Remarks

 

M

F

1

South

200

R

50

50

200

An effort was made to have equal representation in each target group from all four areas.

U

50

50

2

West

200

R

50

50

200

U

50

50

3

North

200

R

50

50

200

U

50

50

4

East

200

R

50

50

200

U

50

50

 

Total

800

 

400

400

800

 

 The investigator made a wide survey of different AIs in all four areas of both zones of Delhi. He met the coordinators of different AIs and discussed this experiment. On the basis of suitability, availability and cooperation from learners and staff from various AIs, the investigator chose 50 learners from each of the following 16 AIs as the sample for this research. Table 2 indicates the number and name of AIs taken in the sample.

Limitations of this Study

 The study was limited to 10th grade NIOS learners in the Delhi Region.

  1. Various variables like intelligence, interest in Mathematics, motivational level, socio economic status of the family, previous knowledge level of the Learners, were not considered due to lack of time and the complexity of these variables.

  2. No age limit was considered because no age restriction is imposed for NIOS learners.

  3. Both genders were taken in approximately equal numbers to calculate gender differences.

  4. The effect of Rural and Urban background on learners’ achievement in Mathematics was part of this study.

Results of Inferential Analysis

The Mathematical Attitude Scale (adopted) was administered two times to examine the significance of change in attitude in the target group. Therefore, this analysis covered only two situations as Pre Test and Post Test, for all sub groups like Rural and Urban, Male and Female, and All learners. The detailed inferential analysis is shown in the Tables given below:

Table 2
Sample Distribution in Various Regions

Region

AIs

Name of School

Type

No. of Learners

South

 

4701

Delhi Jain Public Sr. Sec. School, Palam, N.D.-110045

Rural

50

4750

Hira Public School, Samalika,
N.D.-110037

Rural

50

7717

Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Lajpat Nagar, N.D.-110024

Urban

50

7788

Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Delhi Cant., N.D.-110010

Urban

50

West

 

4706

Govt. Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Matiala, N.D.-110059

Rural

50

47B3

Rajdhani Public School, Hastsal, N.D.-110059

Rural

50

47B4

Mamta Modern Sr. Sec. School, Vikas Puri, N.D.-110018

Urban

50

7793

New Delhi Public School, A-Block, Vikas Puri, N.D.-110018

Urban

50

North

 

2797

St. Jivan Public Secondary School, Mundaka, Delhi-110041

Rural

50

7769

Govt. Boys Sr. Sec. School, Sultanpuri, N.D.-110041

Rural

50

4711

Jain Bharti Model School, Sector-16, Rohini, Delhi-85

Urban

50

7790

Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi-52

Urban

50

East

4708

Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, Khajoori Khas, Delhi-94

Rural

50

4718

Govt. Boys Sr. Sec. School, Khichripur, Delhi-91

Rural

50

2793

Sanatan Dharam Sr. Sec. School, Shahdara, Delhi-32

Urban

50

7736

Govt Boys Sr. Sec. School (1),Yamuna Vihar, Delhi-53

Urban

50


Table 3
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of rural area learners (Pre Test).           N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

63.04

6.83

1.44

1.42

NS(.05)

2.

Experimental

64.00

6.53

1.15

M1-M2 =   0.96            not  significant

Table 4
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of Urban area learners (Pre Test).        N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

64.80

6.46

1.46

1.23

NS(.05)

2.

Experimental

66.86

6.06

1.12

M1-M2 =   2.08             not  significant

Table 5
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of Male learners (Pre Test).            N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

63.68

6.69

1.47

1.05

NS(.05)

2.

Experimental

64.48

6.61

1.77

M1-M2 = 0.8            not  significant

Table 6
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of Female learners (Pre Test).      N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

65.28

6.30

1.42

1.56

NS(.0 5)

2.

Experimental

66.56

6.07

1.73

M1-M2 =   1.28                not significant

Table 7
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of All learners (Pre Test).               N = 400

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

64.48

4.58

1.02

1.68

NS(.05)

2.

Experimental

65.52

4.46

1.24

M1-M2 =   1.04            not   significant

Table 8
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of rural area learners (Post Test).             N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

64.00

6.59

1.43

1.667

NS(.05)

2.

Experimental

83.20

8.26

1.43

M1-M2 =   19.20              not  significant

Table 9
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of Urban area learners (Post Test).           N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

66.24

6.19

1.48

6.06

S(.01)

 2.

Experimental

84.32

9.18

1.23

M1-M2 =  18.08                   SIGNIFICANT

Table 10
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of Male learners (Post Test).                      N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

64.96

6.38

1.45

11.42

S(.01)

2.

Experimental

82.88

7.95

1.76

M1-M2 =   17.92                    SIGNIFICANT

Table 11
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of Female learners (Post Test).                 N = 200

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

65.92

6.21

1.46

9.58

S(.01)

2.

Experimental

84.40

8.14

1.73

M1-M2 =   18.48                    SIGNIFICANT

Table 12
Mean, SD and t Values between Control Group and Experimental Group
for ATTITUDE TEST of All learners (Post Test).                         N = 400

S. No.

Group

Mean

SD

Std. Error   (Mean)

t value

Remark

1.

Control

65.44

4.45

1.03

13.03

S(.01)

2.

Experimental

82.64

5.78

1.23

M1-M2 =   17.20                    SIGNIFICANT

Table 13
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Control Group
of rural area learners - ATTITUDE TEST.             N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

63.04

6.83

.79

.220

NS(.05)

Post Test

64.00

6.59

M1-M2  =  0.96                         not significant

Table 14
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Experimental Group
of rural area learners - ATTITUDE TEST.                         N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

64.00

6.53

.86

4.51

S(.01)

Post Test

83.20

8.26

M1-M2  =  19.20                             SIGNIFICANT

Table 15
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Control Group
of Urban area learners - ATTITUDE TEST.          N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

64.80

6.46

.81

.369

NS(.05)

Post Test

66.24

6.19

M1-M2  =  1.44                    not   significant 

Table 16
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Experimental Group
of Urban area learners – ATTITUDE TEST.          N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

66.88

6.06

.82

3.20

S(.01)

Post Test

84.32

9.18

M1-M2  = 17.44                           SIGNIFICANT 

Table 17
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Control Group
of Male learners - ATTITUDE TEST.                      N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

63.68

6.69

.79

.301

NS(. 0 5)

Post Test

64.96

6.38

M1-M2  = 1.28                    not  significant

Table 18
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Experimental Group
of Male learners - ATTITUDE TEST.                      N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

64.48

6.61

.87

4.68

S(.01)

Post Test

82.88

7.95

M1-M2  = 18.40                          SIGNIFICANT

Table 19
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Control Group
of Female learners - ATTITUDE TEST.             N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

65.28

6.30

.76

.147

NS(.05)

Post Test

65.92

6.21

M1-M2  = .64                   not  significant

Table 20
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Experimental Group
of Female learners - ATTITUDE TEST.                 N = 200

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

66.56

6.07

.86

3.72

S(.01)

Post Test

82.40

8.14

M1-M2  = 15.84                           SIGNIFICANT

Table 21
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Control Group
of ALL learners - ATTITUDE TEST.         N = 400

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

64.48

4.58

.77

.30

NS(.05)

Post Test

65.44

4.45

M1-M2  = .96                   not   significant

Table No 22
Mean, SD and t Values between Pre Test and Post Test for Experimental Group
 of ALL learners - ATTITUDE TEST.     N = 400

Test

Mean

SD

r

t value

Remark

Pre Test

65.52

4.46

0.89

6.29

S(.01)

Post Test

82.64

5.78

M1-M2  = 17.12                           SIGNIFICANT

It was found from inferential analysis of Pre Test results for the Attitude Test, that Rural and Urban, Male and Female, as well as ALL learners were almost similar for Control Groups and Experimental Groups. This indicated that Control Group and Experimental Group, everywhere for attitude scale were similar. This was verified from Tables 3 to 7. After experimentation, it was observed that in rural areas, the Experimental Group and Control Group had no significant difference. But, in Urban Areas, this difference was significant in favour of Experimental Group. Similarly, Male and Female groups had significant differences in favour of Experimental Group. Similar results were obtained for whole group also. It can be seen from tables 8 to 12. In the case of Attitude change towards Mathematics, the results indicated that Control Group (for Rural, Urban, Male, Female and All learners) had no significant difference (Tables 13, 15, 17, 19, 21). On the other hand, all sub groups of the Experimental Group had a significant change in their Attitude towards Mathematics (Tables 14, 16, 18, 20, 22). The video programme and tutor support combination was effective in changing the Attitude of Experimental Group learners. Tutor support had no effect upon the learners of Control Group. Thus, it was found that Video Programmes along with tutor support have a potential for changing Mathematical attitude among Tenth Grade NIOS learners so it was recommended for use among the target group. There was no need to recommend any other strategy based on the findings of this study this study.

Bibliography

1)   Anne, Anastasi, ‘Psychological Testing’, Early interest in the classification and training of the mentally retarded, Macmillan & Co., New York, 1961.

2)   Bhimasam Karam, C.V., ‘Mathematics Education’, NCERT, New Delhi, 1978.

3)   Billing,  A.L., ‘Student attitude as a factor in the mastery of commercial arithmetic’, Math. Teacher, Macmillan, London, 1944.

4)   Buswell, ‘Individual difficulties in fundamental process in Arithmetic’, University of London Press, London, 1964

5)   Chave,  F.J. and Thurstone, L.L., The Measurement of Attitude, Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1929.

6)   Clough,  M.F., ‘The Slow Learner, Some Educational Principles and Policies’, Metheun & Co. Ltd., London, 1968.

7)   Flemming, A.S., ‘Educational Research Problems in Mathematics Education,’ U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Washington, 1966.

8)   Fourth Survey (1983-1988)of Research in Education, NCERT, New Delhi, 1991.

9)   Likert, R., ‘A technique for the measurement of Attitude’, Arch. Psychol., Oxford University Press, London, 1932.

10) NOS Six Books of Secondary Course of Mathematics, NOS, New Delhi, 1998.

11) Sarma, B.K., ‘Methods of Teaching Mathematics’ Lawyer’s Book Stall, 1964.

12) Schonell,  F.J., Diagnostic and Attainment Testing; tests and their remedial uses, Oliver & Boyd Co., Edinburgh,  London, 1975.

13) Semrau, Boyer, Using Interactive Video in Education,  Allyn & Bacon, Oxford Press, 1994.

14) Sussan Issacs, ‘The Children We Teach’ Backwardness in Arithmetic, London University Press, 1932 .

15) Third Survey (1978-1983) of  Research in Education,  NCERT,  New Delhi, 1987.

16) Thorndike,  R.L. and Hagan P. Elizabeth, Measurement and Evaluation in Psychology and Education,  John Willey & Sons, London, 1979.

About the Authors

S. Rastogi ,Professor, College of Education.; Eritrea Institute of Technology, Mai Nefhi, Eritrea (Africa) : satishrastogi11@gmail.com

R. K. Arya, Jt. Director (Media) National Institute of Open Schooling, Noida, India : aryark52@hotmail.com

 
 
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