Intervening in Student Identity in Mathematics Education: An Attempt to Increase Motivation to Learn Mathematics
Kayla Heffernan 1 * , Steven Peterson 2, Avi Kaplan 3, Kristie J. Newton 4
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1 Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, 150 Finoli Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601, USA2 Haverford High School, 200 Mill Road, Havertown, PA 19083, USA3 Department of Psychological Studies in Education, Temple University, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA4 Department of Teaching and Learning, Temple University, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Students’ relationships with mathematics continuously remain problematic, and researchers have begun to look at this issue through the lens of identity. In this article, the researchers discuss identity in education research, specifically in mathematics classrooms, and break down the various perspective on identity. A review of recent literature that explicitly invokes identity as a construct in intervention studies is presented, with a devoted attention to research on identity interventions in mathematics classrooms categorized based on the various perspectives of identity. Across perspectives, the review demonstrates that mathematics identities motivate action and that mathematics educators can influence students’ mathematical identities. The purpose of this paper is to help readers, researchers, and educators understand the various perspectives on identity, understand that identity can be influenced, and learn how researchers and educators have thus far, and continue to study identity interventions in mathematics classrooms.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 15, Issue 3, October 2020, Article No: em0597

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/8326

Publication date: 07 Jun 2020

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Article Downloads: 2298

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