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FINNUT-Program for forskning og innovasjon i utdanningssektoren

SEMPER: Self-Efficacy in Mathematics, Pathways in Education and Research

Alternative title: SEMPER: Mestringsforventninger i Matematikk, Prosesser i Undervisning og Forskning

Awarded: NOK 10.0 mill.

When students come to believe they are no good at learning mathematics, it is difficult for teachers to teach them otherwise. As such, we need to learn more both about how students come to believe they are no good at learning mathematics and how teachers can provide differentiated instruction for students with different beliefs. SEMPER will develop much needed knowledge regarding students’ individual learning processes in mathematics, and teachers’ differentiated teaching to support these processes. Imagine Andrea, who completes her multiplication tables in record time. Kamil, next to her, works at a slower pace, but thinks he is an adequate mathematician. Sophie however, who also works at a slower pace than Andrea, feels inadequate in comparison, and gets distressed. How can teachers deal with the different student reactions? What kind of feedback can be given to different students to enhance their beliefs? This demonstrates that it is important to develop knowledge about how teachers can support the learning processes of different groups of students and differentiate instruction to the need of the student. A "one size fits all" approach to teaching appears antithetical to this project. Through active collaboration between international research experts, teacher educators, and the field of practice SEMPER will implement an ambitious research design combining research on students’ processes with a teacher professional development intervention, connecting the dots between the often-separate research themes of teaching and learning. The knowledge developed through this project is important as it can enhance teachers’ knowledge and skills to identify and support students with different mathematics beliefs and skills, and thus reduce the prevalence of maladaptive mathematics self-beliefs of lower secondary students and the subsequent personal and societal implications. The SEMPER project started September 2023. After a year of preparations, we are, at the start of autumn 2024, ready to start collecting data from five different schools and in 13 classrooms. We have developed and tweaked our design and analytical approaches, we have piloted data collection in four classrooms, and tested out alternative technical solutions to collect and treat video data. Not the least, we have developed our communication channels and strengthened national and international relationships between researchers at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, the University of Stavanger, and the University of Oxford, and other international partners. We have built and strenghtened the relationships between the researchers at the academic institutions and the representatives from the field of practice in Sunnfjord, most importantly the teachers in the project. All this leaves us well prepared to carry out an ambitious and interesting data collection for "phase 1" of the project.

When students come to believe they are no good at learning mathematics, it is difficult for teachers to teach them otherwise. As such, we need to learn more both about how students come to believe they are no good at learning mathematics and how teachers can provide differentiated instruction for students with different beliefs. SEMPER will develop much needed knowledge regarding students’ individual learning processes in mathematics, and teachers’ differentiated teaching to support these processes. Imagine Andrea, who completes her multiplication tables in record time. Kamil, next to her, works at a slower pace, but thinks he is an adequate mathematician. Sophie however, who also works at a slower pace than Andrea, feels inadequate in comparison, and gets distressed. How can teachers deal with the different student reactions? What kind of feedback can be given to different students to enhance their beliefs? This demonstrates that it is important to develop knowledge about how teachers can support the learning processes of different groups of students and differentiate instruction to the need of the student. A "one size fits all" approach to teaching appears antithetical to this project. Through active collaboration between international research experts, teacher educators, and the field of practice SEMPER will implement an ambitious research design combining research on students’ processes with a teacher professional development intervention, connecting the dots between the often-separate research themes of teaching and learning. The knowledge developed through this project is important as it can enhance teachers’ knowledge and skills to identify and support students with different mathematics beliefs and skills, and thus reduce the prevalence of maladaptive mathematics self-beliefs of lower secondary students and the subsequent personal and societal implications.

Funding scheme:

FINNUT-Program for forskning og innovasjon i utdanningssektoren