By
James A. Middleton and Amanda Jansen
Motivation
is an issue for every teacher, but it is particularly critical to math teachers
who face daunting obstacles to engaging students in challenging math and
helping them realize their potential. NCTM’s new book Motivation Matters and Interest Counts: Fostering Engagement in Mathematics gives
an account of the entire body of research on motivation in mathematical
education, written in an approachable language so that teachers can apply it in
their classrooms. This timely book provides an answer to what the authors
describe as a motivational epidemic in
the United States, one that keeps students from engaging in mathematics and
pursuing it toward a degree or an occupation. The book discusses why motivation
is a core issue and how to cultivate it in a wide variety of classroom
settings. The authors show how to maintain interest as mathematics becomes less
obvious to the beginning learner; how to recognize and overcome task-specific
resistance, and how to handle math anxiety. As the authors point out, the goal
for every mathematics classroom teacher goes beyond cultivating “mastery” in
their students to motivating students to “develop mathematics as a personal
long-term interest.”
View the authors' blog!
