1. A M Y E D M O N D S
P R O J E C T P R O P O S A L
E D U C 5 5 0 9 I N T E R V E N T I O N S F O R L E A R N I N G
Year 7 self-efficacy when using age-appropriate
ICT to address conceptual understanding of
fractions.

2. ResearchQuestion How effective is the use of age-
appropriate ICT to improve Year 7
self-efficacy with regards to their
conceptual understanding of
fractions?

3. Literature Review
 Self-efficacy
 Self-efficacy refers to a belief about one’s own competence to
“perform a specific task” (Pajares, 1997)
 Successes improve self-efficacy and failures lower self-efficacy
(Woolfolk & Margetts, 2010)
 Student interviews allow quiet students to express their confusions
or demonstrate understanding (Clarke, Roche & Mitchell, 2008)
 Generally, studies of self-efficacy and attitudes towards mathematics
have focused on themes of excitement, engagement and interest.
Others have introduced the concept of anxiety and tests such as the
Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitude Scale have combined all of
the above (Chamberlin, 2010)

4. Statement of the issue:
This project aims to analyse the influence of age-
appropriate ICT on Year 7 students’ self-efficacy with
regards to mathematics.
This study will investigate how ICT can influence students’
feelings of success, independence and capability within
structured mathematics sessions that focus on fractions.
Additionally, it will use self-reporting measures to explore
whether ICT based activities are engaging, exciting and
age-appropriate for the Year 7 students who are covering
remedial numeracy concepts.

5. Literature Review cont.
 Fractions
 One of the most difficult mathematical concepts to learn
(Lamon, 2007)
 Current curriculum does not adequately support student learning of
fractions (Bobis, 2011)
 Children encounter problems with fractions when they cannot
connect various representations (Clarke, Roche & Mitchell, 2008) –
My study aims to see if ICT can provide multiple representations and
allow the students to draw conclusions between them.
 Use of ICT
 Many studies have investigated self-efficacy and ICT but rarely in
terms of how ICT can improve subject-specific self-efficacy.
 Effective teaching sessions allow for reflection on experiences
(Simon, 2006).

6. Six Year 7 students from an Independent Primary
School.
 Three male students.
 Two with diagnosed
dyslexia.
 Use humour to deflect
insecurities.
 The third male student
has missed a significant
portion of Upper Primary
education due to a death
in the family.
 All interested in ICT.
 Three female students.
 Quiet, low risk taking
abilities and unlikely to
offer their opinions in
class.
 Apprehensive when
presented with new
challenges in literacy and
numeracy areas.
 Experience anxiety.
Participants

7. Intervention
 10 day intervention at the school.
 Regular, small group sessions:
 Interactive online games.
 Explicit teaching.
 Laptops, SmartBoard, iPads.
 Some independent (boys)
 Some group work (girls)
 Overarching project: Blog.
 Mathematics focus:
 Fraction equivalence
 Fractions as a quantity
 Four basic operations: +, -, x, ÷

8. Students Teachers/Other
 Self-efficacy levels:
Interviews, online
questionnaires
(conducted pre and post
intervention).
 Effectiveness of ICT:
Interviews.
 General mathematical
knowledge: Test
completed pre and post
intervention.
 Teacher interviews on
student attitudes.
 Anecdotal observations
of student engagement
with the ICT activities.
 Blog work samples.
Data Collection

9. Data Analysis
 Draw conclusions from student interviews.
 Will show any self-reported change in attitudes towards
mathematics.
 Reflection on anecdotal notes taken during the
intervention.
 Comparison of the questionnaires.
 Will show any changes in self-efficacy levels.
 Comparison of the pre and post test results.
 Will show any changes in mathematical
knowledge/understanding of fractions.

10. Ethical Considerations
 General:
 Pseudonyms used for all identifying details.
 Data collected will remain strictly confidential.
 Classroom teacher/Principal:
 Sighted all forms sent home.
 Have been given a copy of all information.
 Parents:
 Information and consent forms.
 Encouraged to voice any concerns/queries.
 Students:
 Information and consent forms.
 Briefed by classroom teacher.
 Free to withdraw at any time.
 Permission will be asked if any interviews are to be recorded or work
samples copied.

11. References
 Bobis, J. (2011). Fractions: Best evidence and its implications for
practice. In J. Way, & J. Bobis (Eds.), Fractions: Teaching for
understanding. Adelaide, Australia: The Australian Association of
Mathematics Teachers Inc.
 Chamberlin, S. (2010). A review of instruments created to assess
affect in mathematics. Journal of mathematics
education, 3(1), 167-182.
 Clarke, D., Mitchell, A., & Roche. A. (2008). Student one-to-one
assessment interviews in mathematics: A powerful tool for
teachers. Mathematics: Celebrating achievement, 66-80.
 Lamon, S. (2007). Rational numbers and proportional reasoning:
Towards a theoretical framework for research. In
J. Way & J. Bobis. (Eds.), Fractions: Teaching for
understanding. Adelaide, Australia: The Australian Association of
Mathematics Teachers Inc.
 Pajares, F. (1997). Current directions in self-efficacy research.
Advances in motivation and achievement, 10(149).
 Simon, M. (2006). Key developmental understandings in
mathematics: A direction for investigating and establishing
learning goals. Mathematical thinking and learning, 8(4), 359-
371.
 Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2010). Educational psychology (2nd
ed.) Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.