ERIC Number: ED339607
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1990
Reference Count: N/A
The SQUARE ONE TV Interview: Children's Reactions to the Series--Volume IV. Children's Problem-Solving Behavior and Their Attitudes toward Mathematics: A Study of the Effects of SQUARE ONE TV.
Hall, Eve R.; And Others
The current period in mathematics education can be characterized as one of reform. Many feel that children in the United States are not learning enough appropriate mathematics; these critics are concerned with the specific areas of problem solving and children's conceptions of the nature and uses of mathematics. A pretest/posttest experimental design study examined the effects of SQUARE ONE TV (SQ1TV), a television series about mathematics aimed at 8- to 12-year-old children, on the problem-solving behavior and attitudes toward mathematics of 240 fifth graders from 4 public schools in Corpus Christi, Texas. Performance and attitude data were collected from a subgroup of 24 students exposed to 30 SQ1TV programs and from 24 students in a control group having no SQ1TV contact. Reported here is the SQ1TV interview regarding children's reactions to the series, presented in the fourth of a five volume report. Administered as the last measure in the study, the SQ1TV Interview was conducted individually with students for 1 half-hour session 1 or 2 days after viewers completed the posttest. Chapters 1 and 2 focused on methodology and students' initial responses to SQ1TV. Chapters 3-8 reported childrens' opinions and reactions to SQ1TV with respect to: (1) Fun; (2) Education; (3) Problem Solving; (4) Mathematics; (5) Participation; and (6) Applications of Mathematics and Problem Solving. Results indicated that over half the children came to see that learning mathematics and having fun were not incompatible activities. These findings suggest that SQ1TV provides a context that can encourage not only positive perceptions of mathematics but also the active doing of mathematics. (MDH)
Descriptors: Attitude Change, Attitude Measures, Childrens Television, Educational Television, Elementary Education, Elementary School Mathematics, Enrichment Activities, Mathematical Applications, Mathematical Enrichment, Mathematics Education, Mathematics Instruction, Problem Solving, Student Attitudes, Television Curriculum
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Washington, DC.; Department of Education, Washington, DC.; National Science Foundation, Washington, DC.; Carnegie Corp. of New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: Children's Television Workshop, New York, NY.
Identifiers: Square One TV
Note: For other volumes in this set, see SE 052 595-598. For related documents, see SE 052 599-604.