Assessing the Relation Between Seventh-Grade Students' Engagement and Mathematical Problem Solving Performance

• Published in: Preventing school failure Vol. 60; no. 2; pp. 117 - 123
• Main Authors: Lein, Amy E., Jitendra, Asha K., Starosta, Kristin M., Dupuis, Danielle N., Hughes-Reid, Cheyenne L., Star, Jon R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Routledge 01.01.2016; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Achievement Tests; Elementary Secondary Education; engagement; Foreign Countries; Grade 7; International Assessment; Learner Engagement; Mathematical Concepts; Mathematical Logic; Mathematical problems; Mathematics Achievement; Mathematics Skills; Mathematics Tests; middle school; Middle School Students; Multiple Regression Analysis; on-task behavior; Predictor Variables; Problem Solving; Science Achievement; Science Tests; Standardized Tests; Time on Task
• ISSN: 1045-988X; 1940-4387
• DOI: 10.1080/1045988X.2015.1036392

In this study, the authors assessed the contribution of engagement (on-task behavior) to the mathematics problem-solving performance of seventh-grade students after accounting for prior mathematics achievement. A subsample of seventh-grade students in four mathematics classrooms (one high-, two average-, and one low-achieving) from a larger intervention study assessing improvement in middle school students' proportional reasoning was assessed on initial mathematics achievement, on-task behavior, and mathematics problem-solving performance. Results suggested that engagement uniquely predicted mathematics problem-solving performance after controlling for prior mathematics achievement. Furthermore, the authors found differential rates of engagement for the three achievement groups. Based on an analysis of engagement by instructional lesson, the authors offer suggestions for addressing engagement when designing instruction.