Abstract Mathematics education currently emphasizes engaging students in mathematical modeling to understand problems of everyday life and society (Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), 2010; English & Sriraman, 2010; Lesh & Zawojewski, 2007). The Common Core State Standards for mathematics also stress that high school students should develop understanding of algebra, functions, statistics, and geometry in conjunction with modeling (CCSSO, 2010). A review of mathematical modeling literature indicated a lack of information regarding which contextual factors impact students success in solving modeling activities. The present study attempts to fill this gap by examining associations between self-efficacy beliefs,self-regulated learning strategies (e.g., cognitive and metacognitive strategy use), and students performance in modeling tasks. Self-efficacy beliefs were measured by developing a new instrument, Modeling Self-Efficacy scale. Data for participants self-reported use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies were gathered through their responses on the modified version of the Motivated Strategies forLearning Questionnaire (Kaya, 2007). Modeling outcomes were measured in terms of students success in solving six modeling problems. These problems were adapted from the PISA 2003 problem-solving assessment. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable fit of the data with the hypothesized measurement model. The structural model tested using Structural Equation Modeling techniques suggested that perceived modeling self-efficacy beliefs (β = .50, p < .001) directly and positively predicted students performance in solving modeling problems. However, organization strategy use (β = -.62, p < .05) had a significant negative direct effect on students modeling success. The direct effects of students use of critical thinking (β = -.59, p = .08), elaboration (β = .40, p = .41), and metacognitive strategies (β = .46, p = .16) on their performance in solving modeling tasks were non-significant. Also, indirect effects of students self-efficacy beliefs on modeling task success through their effect on their use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies were non-significant. The implications for future research along with limitations of this study are discussed. Indexing (details)
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 04:05:24 +0000
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