Effect of a Computer Mediated Systems Teaching Approach on Attitude Towards Mathematics of Engineering Students

Abstract

This paper reports a study which investigated the effect of a Computer Mediated Systems Teaching Approach (CMSTA), used to teach mathematics to engineering students in a Nigerian Polytechnic, on the students’ attitude towards the subject. Specifically, the study determined (a) the Attitude Towards Mathematics (ATM) disposition of the students taught mathematics using the CMSTA and those not taught with the same approach and (b) which gender’s ATM dispositions is more favourable amongst the students taught mathematics using the CMSTA. From a sample of 485 subjects (with 274 in the experimental and 211 in control groups) initially targeted to be used, 470 subjects (with 267 in the experimental and 203 in control groups) and 445 subjects (with 256 in the experimental and 189 in control groups) were eventually used for the pretest and posttest respectively. A four stage procedure was adopted for the experiment where treatment administration lasted for 12 weeks.  Pretest and posttest administration of the Attitude Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) on the subjects yielded the data used. While significant difference was found between the ATM disposition of the experimental and control groups, none was found between the male and female students taught mathematics using the CMSTA. It was concluded that the CMSTA was able to foster the subjects’ ATM positively. It was therefore recommended that mathematics teacher/lectures in Nigerian Polytechnics in particular and other tertiary institutions in general should (a) adopt/adapt the CMSTA to teach and (b) endeavor to understand how Information and Communication Technologies help the goals of teaching mathematics in their institutions so as to enable them take advantage of it.

Keywords: Computer Mediated Systems Teaching Approach, Attitude Towards Mathematics.