Subject: Foundation of Education

Professor: Dr. Alfredo M. Dimaano

I. Synopsis
AN INTERRELATIONSHIP ANAYSIS OF THE SELF-EFFICACY, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PERCEIVED
USEFULNESS OF PATTERNS OF THINKING SKILLS AND OTHER LOCI OF MATHEMATICS AMONG CAS-SJQC
STUDENTS

This study presented some of the continuing issues in the realm of teaching and learning of
mathematics. Significantly, it tries to integrate the school psychology into the field of mathematics in
order to create a unified school of thought which bridges the gap between knowledge and behavior, in
the different theories and practices in teaching and learning. It predominates and influences the
different views and disciplines in education. Research done in mathematics and its related fields on
teaching and learning generally took into account in the process of education which could best be
understood by looking at input variable like intelligence, motivation, social background, attitude and
personality, then comparing or relating them with output variable. The study also revolved within the
following tenets such as student’s self-efficacy, students’ perception on the usefulness of mathematics,
varying established patterns of thinking skills among students when dealing mathematical dimensions
and lastly the other loci which contribute to the variances observed in mathematical undertakings, The
article gives us the information that nowadays our learners are quite poor in manipulating numbers and
solving mathematical problems within a variety of everyday life and academic situations. The basis is
that Philippines was ranks 23rd among 25 countries for Grade 4 and 42nd for the Grade 8 among 45
countries that participated in TIMSS 2003(NCS-IES, US Department of Education. Based on research,
anxiety on mathematics has become more intensive. It could be the reason why our learners are not
that good enough in dealing with mathematical ability and computation. The researcher study about
relevance of self-efficacy of the child and the level of academic in achievement in mathematics. And
granted that it is really true that the relevance of self-efficacy in the performance of the child in the field
of mathematic, and the paper encourage the reader especially teacher to vary their teaching because
nowadays the minority is being used by the drug lords

II.Critical Points
Many have commented that aptitude in mathematics is inborn. Mathematics is indeed inborn in all of
us. (P10)
A post-doctoral, Melissa Libertus fellow in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the study -- published online in a recent issue of Developmental
Science -- indicates that math ability in preschool children is strongly linked to their inborn and primitive
"number sense," called an "Approximate Number System" or ANS.

Research reveals that "number sense" is basic to all animals, not just human beings. Beginning in the
1970s, a new group of social scientists began to question the reigning blank slate orthodoxy. Twin
studies, for instance, pointed to a very strong correlation between numerous personality traits and
genetics. For example, upon reaching adulthood adoptive siblings are no more similar in IQ than
strangers, while the IQ scores of full siblings show a correlation of 60%, and those of monozygotic
(identical) twins raised separately are correlated 74%. Further, correlations in personality appear to
increase with age — you do become more like your parents as you get older.
In my own point of view, I agree that there is a very strong correlation between numerous personality
traits and genetics with regards to child’s math ability. Innate qualities of individual and experiences are
part of human condition. We have different interest and we cannot deny the fact that some are good in
mathematics and others excel in other areas with that we need to encourage our students see the
beauty and the essence of Mathematics.

Paradoxically, the need for sharper analytical thinking occurs alongside a decreased need for routine
arithmetic calculation. (22)
I agree, we encourage our students to go deeper of what we learned in the concept of mathematics to
the extent that we want the application part to see the importance and the essence of the lesson.
Nowadays, we have different instruments and devices in mathematics like Geogebra, Desmos and the
like in which we prefer to search for deeper meaning of the topics we learns rather than doing the
routinary way of arithmetic calculation. At the same time in teaching we can maximize our discussion
with the help of the technology in the class related devices in mathematics.

Some have claimed that men are better than women when it comes to mathematical reasoning. (P11)
According to the 1994 report "Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns" by the American Psychological
Association, "Most standard tests of intelligence have been constructed so that there are no overall
score differences between females and males." However, differential item functioning does not mean
that researchers get rid of group differences due to ability differences, but certain questions are
removed due to item bias when participants from different groups perform differently even though they
have the same latent ability. Differences have been found, however, in specific areas such as
mathematics and verbal measures.
The average IQ scores between men and women have little variation. However, the variability of male
scores is greater than that of females, resulting in more males than females in the top and bottom of the
IQ distribution.

In my own point of view gender doesn’t matter what matters most is the ability of a person on how to
he/she thinks of the world of mathematics. According to the research average IQ scores between men
and women have little variation. Meaning to say it doesn’t give a high regard of the gender when we talk
about the claimed who is which has a claimed to mathematical reasoning ability.

There exists a significant relationship between the self-efficacy and the level of academic achievement
in mathematics of the students. Children’s academic self-efficacy supports the link between self-
efficacy and academic performance. (P8)

Bandura hypothesized that self-efficacy affects an individual’s choice of activities, effort, and
persistence. People who have low self-efficacy for accomplishing a specific task may avoid it, while those
who believe they are capable are more likely to participate. Moreover, individuals who feel efficacious
are hypothesized to expend more effort and persist longer in the face of difficulties than those who are
unsure of their capabilities .The tendency for efficacious people to ‘expend more effort and persist
longer’ is of particular importance because most personal success requires persistent effort.
III.Learnings/Insights
1. I learned that we need to consider the availability of concrete evidence in introducing
mathematical concepts especially problem solving for our students because study shows that
our students really lack of this mathematical concepts, the reason that they tend to get away
from the subject. The context must be also in line with the significance and interest of the
students to develop the sense of belongingness and usefulness of the learnings they get from
the teacher.
2. I learned that attitude and other affective manifestation of the students in the classroom affects
the study especially in acquiring knowledge and their disposition to learn and putting into action
the knowledge they acquired.
3. I learned that Mathematics must be appreciated and respected for its best face meaning in
teaching manner teacher must present the topic well because every topic in mathematics is
meaningful.
4. I learned that identifying student’s strengths and weaknesses is the key in constructing effective
devices in teaching and learning process. Self-efficacy plays a vital role in learning in
mathematics. As a teacher we need to encourage our students, motivate them and develop high
level of self-efficacy.

References

[Bhanoo2011] Sindya N. Bhanoo, “In Future Math Whizzes, Signs of ‘Number Sense’,” New York Times,
11 Aug 2011, available at Online article.

[Brown1991] Donald E. Brown, Human Universals, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1991.

[Pinker2002] Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, Viking Press, New
York, 2002.

[SN2011a] [no author] “Research Reveals Genetic Link to Human Intelligence,” Science Daily, 12 Aug
2011, available at Online article.

[SN2011b] [no author] “You Can Count On This: Math Ability Is Inborn, New Research Suggests,” Science
Daily, 8 Aug 2011, available at Online article.

[Wiki2011] [no author] “Nature versus nurture,” Wikipedia article, not dated but viewed 14 Aug 2011,
available at Online article.

Bandura A. Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychol Rev. 1977;84:191–215.
doi: 10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191. [PubMed] [Cross Ref]

2. Pajares F. Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Rev Educ Res. 1996;66:543–578.

3. Pajares F (2004) Albert Bandura: Biographical sketch. Retrieved March 13, 2006 from
http://des.emory.edu/mfp/bandurabio.html.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110808152428.htm