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Abstract
Persistence in STEM majors largely depends on persistence in mathematics, which in turn is predicted by a number of student characteristics including mathematics self-efficacy. While previous research has established that mathematics self-efficacy is an important predictor of undergraduate STEM persistence, little is known about what interventions may support student gains in mathematics self-efficacy at this level. To address this gap, we first propose a research-based theory of action arguing that modelling-based interventions have the potential to support gains in self-efficacy, proficiency, and interest in mathematics. We then present a study of an intervention, a mathematical modelling competition, aligned with our theory of action. Our findings suggest that such an intervention can promote gains in students’ mathematics self-efficacy.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 Throughout we will use the acronym ‘HLM’ to stand in for ‘model’ when explicitly referring to our techniques of statistical analyses in order to avoid overloading the term ‘model,’ which has a precise mathematics education meaning in this manuscript.
2 See Appendix A for this model.