Achievement Emotions may explain why some students struggle in math based courses (such as Finance)

Transcription

1 Achievement Emotions may explain why some students struggle in math based courses (such as Finance) RICHARD FENDLER DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY

2 Background I teach a very large section students per semester of the undergraduate core course in finance FI 3300: Corporation Finance As a 100% online course Several unique challenges to teaching a course like this

3 1. Lack of Online Class Experience Number of Online Classes Taken Prior to this class? Percentage* % 1 or % 3 or % 5 or 6 8.5% % Average of approximately 2 courses taken in an online format versus up to 180 face to face classes over prior academic career *Spring and fall semesters: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (1183 obs.)

4 2. Wide Variety of Interest Declared Major Percentage* Finance 12.3% Accounting 18.8% Computer Information Systems 18.1% Marketing 16.2% Managerial Science 15.2% Other 12.7% Hospitality 6.8% * Spring and fall semesters: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (1268 obs.)

5 3. Unique Gender Mix in Online Courses Gender ONLINE CLASS Percentage* FACE-TO-FACE CLASS Percentage* Female 61.8% 52.4% Male 38.2% 47.6% Though less pronounced, more online students are non-majors * Spring and fall semesters: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (1268 obs.)

6 4. Not Able to See Student Emotions How most online teachers mentally see their all the time!

7 5. Finance is a math based course Question Student Answer 10.8 X =

8 Summary Most students are not majors If students are allowed to choose between online and traditional, course composition may not be what faculty used to (e.g., gender, major, other) Cannot visually observe student struggles to make adjustments Math skills can vary tremendously What to do? Need to pre-identify the characteristics of students who are most likely to enroll and struggle in an online core course in finance

9 Fendler and Bredthauer, Predictors of Success in an Online Undergraduate Course in Finance, Journal of Economics and Finance Education, December, Correlation coefficient = 0.187

10 Highly significant

11 Very Interesting Findings Final Exam Score as dependent variable: Math perception score significant at 1% level Math pretest score significant at 1% level Course Grade as dependent variable: Math perception score significant at 1% level Math pretest score not significant at any level! Math ability important, but perception of ability to do math may be even more important!!!

12 Dealing with Math Struggles Traditional solution to math struggles is refresher course in math ALEKS An adaptive learning technology that assesses existing math knowledge and learning gaps. According to ALEKS website, highly effective But nearly all evidence offered is anecdotal I have found very little scholarly empirical support for forcing students to pay for and take a math refresher course Most importantly: math refresher courses do NOT address math perception

13 Achievement Emotions Literature Popular in Psychology and Education literature Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational psychology review, 18(4), Cited over 780 times Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2006). Achievement goals and discrete achievement emotions: A theoretical model and prospective test. Journal of educational Psychology, 98(3), 583. Cited over 500 times Usher, E. L., & Pajares, F. (2008). Sources of self-efficacy in school: Critical review of the literature and future directions. Review of educational research, 78(4), Cited over 450 times

14 Achievement Emotions Defined Achievement emotions are defined as emotions that relate to achievement activities (such as academic learning) and their outcomes (such as academic success and failure). Four broad categories of achievement emotions: Activating positive emotions (e.g., joy, hope, pride) Deactivating positive emotions (e.g., relief, relaxation) Activating negative emotions (e.g., anger, anxiety, shame) Deactivating negative emotions (e.g., hopelessness, boredom)

15 Poor Math Perception Made me think about the math we require in finance EXTREMELY BASIC!!! Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and raising something to a power And we allow students to use a calculator! These are college students Have most likely taken math courses for 8 years in grade school, 3-4 years in high school, and college algebra They can do this level of math! Poor math perception is just fear of calling it finance!

16 Why do they fear math?

17 How know they can do finance math? Can our students who work as servers in restaurants calculate the tip they should receive on a meal? Similar to simple time value of money: FV = PV(1+r) Traveling at 70 mph, do they know how long it will take to drive from Atlanta to Charlotte (280 miles)? Similar to ratio: Current ratio = current assets/current liab. Do our students understand how their GPA is computed? Similar to computing weighted average cost of capital

18 My Plan Create a simple online program for FI 3300 students designed to convince them that the math used in finance is no more complicated than: Calculating a tip or sales tax on a purchase Calculating college GPA Calculating commute time Plus other math calculations that they do every day And help them to see that with a calculator, this is very easy! Activate positive emotions Deactivate negative emotions

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