STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MATHEMATICS

SALLY S. CALALANG

Attitude plays an important role to achieve the target in many things, and has a direct correlation to a student’s learning. Teachers often state that students’failure in subjects is related to negative attitudes, including laziness.

According to a study, the students’performance in certain subjects, especially Math, depends on their attitude towards the subject. Positive attitude towards the subjects will encourage a person to learn the subject much better.

A lot of students are not able to apply mathematical concepts and skills, and this makes it difficult for them to understand the basic concepts. This will affect mathematical learning.

There have been studies examining the level of students’attitude and interest in Mathematics, students’perception on their Mathematics lecturer and the subject itself, determining the relationship between students’perception on Mathematics and their Mathematics performance.

Studies have also shown that students’attitudes need to be fostered throughout the process of teaching and learning in order to have a good achievement.

A positive attitude has been proven to motivate students’critical thinking and their being active in the classroom.

Interest has also been found to have a positive influence on student achievement in Mathematics, which can be seen from the dedication and efforts in learning the su bj ect .

The high interest in a particular subject also influences the level of student achievement and will encourage students to study in depth.

Also, the teaching style has a significant impact on students’interest and understanding of a subject, with lectures one of the factors determining students’achievement in a subject.

A survey, meanwhile, states the appearance and presentation styles of teaching and learning play an important role in efforts to enhance students’understanding. The lower the perception of their teachers, the lower the attitude is towards Mathematics, which tends to be negative.

Teachers and students should cooperate with each other in the teaching and learning process. Teachers should try their best to educate the students and encourage them to practice their preferred learning approach, and create conducive environment.

Teachers also should put in effort to increase the use of materials and teaching aids to make the process of learning easy.

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The author is Teacher III at Diosdado Macapagal High School, Mexico, Pampanga