Connecting for confidence
Influencing maths confidence & anxiety in those less skilled at
maths
and “connectivity” in beginning international students
ENMHS Research Group Symposium February 11th 2015
Deryn Thompson RN, BN, MN
Emma Thompson BA, Grad Dip App Stat
Maria Chilvers MN, PGDip (Renal), PGCert (CritCare), BSc(Nurs)
• Educating Professionals • Creating and Applying Knowledge • Engaging our Communities
Literacy and numeracy skills of university students
are of concern nationwide (Aust Financial Rev 2014).
No pre-requisites = inadequate prior knowledge
Nursing Students
• patient safety is ultimately compromised
(Australian Commission on Safety & Quality in Health Care 2014)
Background:
• Limited basic maths skills
• Inability to apply maths to the context of
nursing
• No face-to-face maths support (nursing)
• Expected 100% maths end 1st year (no
calculators)
• Anxious students
**Problem needs early identification
(McMullen, Jones, & Lea, 2012).
Limited Basic Maths Skills
•
•
•
•
•
•
Decimals
Fractions
Percentages
Ratios
Multiplication Tables
Basic measurement
(e.g. volumes)
Inability to Apply Maths
Inability to apply maths to the context of
nursing (Hunter Reveil & McCurry, 2013)
• Volume
• Incorrect dosage calculations
No face-to-face maths support in nursing
Resources
• Online, Self-directed
• Rely on student engagement
• ? Online effective for anxious students
(Glaister 2007)
• Anxiety/ avoidance
• Some mentoring programs ? Most effective way for those
without basic concepts + anxiety) (Sprengel & Job 2004; List & Miller 2013)
International students new to Australia often
find difficulty in connecting & engaging
(Sawir et al. 2007; Ryan & Dogbey 2012).
Reasons:
1. Limited/lack confidence with language skills
2. lack of cultural awareness of Australians
3. Isolation from family & friends
(Humphries 2011; Zhang & Mi 2013)
However, these students are often very good at
maths.
Could we facilitate connectedness with beginning
students?
Aim
To determine if:
• New International students (good maths skills)
could improve their connectedness with peers by
helping with maths activities
• Face-to-face weekly maths instruction for students
with poor basic maths skills (SPBMS) reduces
maths anxiety (MA) & increases nurse self-efficacy
(NSE)
Participants
• Participants identified from foundation maths teaching activity
(FMA) given to internal nursing students in a beginning
nursing course.
• 75/348 gained less than ≤60% in FMA
– 41 SPBMS score ≤60% volunteered
• International Students who scored 20/20 were invited to
participate as ‘maths helpers’.
• 6/22 International Students who scored 20/20 chose to
participate
(Ethics approval UniSA HREC)
• Invited to attend 3 weekly maths tuition sessions
with math tutor.
• International students also had a session with
psychologist in first session (to provide skills in connecting with new
peer students and interacting in environment with new language)
• International students then helped the struggling
students with their practice activities after the
maths tutor provided tutoring
• Food and refreshments (all done as math
activities)
Method
• Quasi-experimental design
– compared outcomes after 3 maths tuition sessions
•
Tools:
•
•
•
Descriptive survey: demographic details
Maths Anxiety Scale-Revised [MAS-R] (Bai 2011)
Nurse-Self-Efficacy – Maths scale NSE [truncated version]
(Andrews, Salamonsen & Halcomb 2009)
• Telephone Q-10 weeks post- intervention.
Maths Anxiety Scale:
I get uptight during math tests.
A--------------------B--------------------C--------------------D--------------------E
Not true
Slightly true
Moderately true
Mostly true Very true
Math relates to my life.
A--------------------B--------------------C--------------------D--------------------E
Not true Slightly true
Moderately true
Mostly true Very true
Nurse-Self-Efficacy – Maths Scale
Findings: A word of caution
• Limitations:
Pilot study
Small sample size
Participants not fully completing
questionnaires.
Results have been interpreted with caution
and the pilot study was designed to see the
need for a larger more comprehensive study
Findings: demographic
• Mean age 30 years (78.7% aged 18-21years).
• Majority listed year 12 as last year of formal schooling
(78.7%).
• Five participants took foundations studies pathway to IBNU
entry
• one participant listed year 7 last year of formal schooling.
• Maths education level prior to commencing university:
23.4% reported doing maths to year 10,
38.3% year 11
36.2% to year 12.
Reasons for feeling International students they
had not ‘connected with peers:
• cultural: 18%
• shyness: 70%
• English Language anxiety: 18%
• age differences 0.06%.
But not all students responded to the question
Findings: A few descriptives
Mean
%
Max
FMA
11.5
57.5%
20
MAS-R
41.79
59.7%
70
NSE
24.3
34.71%
70
High MAS-R = HIGH
level of Anxiety
High NSE = HIGH
level of self-efficacy
Findings: A Few Descriptives
Maths Anxiety Scores
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
low 0-24%
mod 25-74%
high 75-100%
Grading bands based on information from
McMullen et al. (2012)
Findings: A Few Descriptives
Nursing Self Efficacy Scores
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Low
Findings: Just something interesting that came up
Mean Foundations Maths Activty
Score
16
14
F(1,18)= 14.64, p< .05
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Year 11 or Less
Year 12
• Homogeneity of variance assumption was violated
• ANOVA can be robust to violations of this assumption
• Small sample size strikes!
Findings: Did the intervention work?
Nursing Self Efficacy Scores Before and
After Intervention
70
60
50
40
NSE
30
34
20
24.33
10
0
Pre
Post
Nursing Self Efficacy found to be significantly improved
after the intervention
t(19)=4.78, p≤0.05
Findings: Did the intervention work?
Nursing Self Efficacy Scores
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Low
Findings NSE
Before
Intervention
After
Intervention
Findings: Did the intervention work?
Maths Anxiety Scale Scores Before and After
70
Intervention
60
50
50.43
40
30
MAS-R
41.79
20
10
0
1
2
Maths Anxiety levels were found to be significantly greater
after the intervention
t(29)=5.38, p≤0.05
Findings: A Comparison
Maths anxiety Score Before and After
Intervention
80
70
60
50
Before
40
After
30
20
10
0
low 0-24%
mod 25-74%
high 75-100%
Grading bands based on information from
McMullen et al. (2012) were graded
Telephone follow-up
100% of students believed sessions helped them
feel more confident in connecting with other students
• “met up with others who were struggling at
maths as well”
• “yes, the session was really good for this”
positives -International students
• “Learnt more doing one on one with
international student than with my lecturer”
• “more helpful working with the international
student- was good as she gave me some
good tips”
• “greater ability to connect with the local
students”
….Telephone follow-up
Maths ability + confidence: Confidence mentioned in most
responses
“gained new knowledge: decimals now more confident also
with volume conversions and litres”
“Students at the same stage and working with each other to
work out the questions was very helpful”
“Going over the basic maths was difficult”
“It (3 sessions) helped a bit but more sessions would be
good”
“Helped trigger memories of how to do things! Teaching
was brilliant”
“Overcoming confidence issues. Was able to overcome
this in the sessions”
Interesting aspect:
Time of sessions 6-8 Thursdays.
After long day- dedication to attend
Future
• Determine if math anxiety exists in first
year nursing students
• Incidence of language anxiety in beginning
international nursing students
• A more robust study to determine
effectiveness of regular face-to-face maths
support for SPBMS is needed.
• Can International student connectedness
with new nursing peers be facilitated by
helping SPBMS in a supported learning
project.
…Future
• Do students who do maths to year 11
need more support for maths at uni?
• ? Bridging course pre nursing study
• ? Math tutor service at uni
• In this study Post intervention anxiety
increase
– ? Realisation of expectations
– ? Over estimation of abilities
– Sessions continuing for whole study period
Thanks also to:
Murray Thompson
Catherine Sanders
Vicki Visvanathan
Remy Boyes
Morgan Smith
References
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Andrew, S, Salamonson, Y, Halcomb, E 2009 ‘Nursing students’ confidence in medication
calculations predicts math exam performance’ Nurse Education Today, vol. 29, pp.217-223.
Australian Financial Review 2014 Australia’s Maths Crisis,
http://www.afr.com/p/national/education/australia_maths_crisis_I3P1MZ7bcKJKqiyOSnGDVM
Australian Commission on Safety & Quality in Health Care 2014 Medication Administration viewed
http://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/medication-safety/medication-administration/
Bai, H., Wang, L, Pan, W & Frey, M 2009 ‘Measuring Mathematics Anxiety: Psychometric Analysis
of Bidimensional Affective Scale’ Journal of Instructional Psychology vol.36, no.3 pp.185-193.
Bai H. 2011 ‘Cross-Validating a Bidimensional mathematics Anxiety Scale’ Assessment vol.18,
no.1, pp.115-122.
Glaister k. 2007 Presence of mathematics and computer anxiety in nursing students and their
effects on medication dosage calculations Nurse Education Today, vol. 27, pp.341-347.
Humphries, R 2011 Language Anxiety in International Students: How can it be overcome? Griffith
Working Papers in Pragmatics and intercultural Communication, 4 (1/2), 65-77.
Hunter Revell, S. & McCurry, M 2013 ‘Effective pedagogies for teaching math to nursing students:
A literature review’ Nurse Education Today vol. 33 pp.1352–1356
List, S & Miller, J 2013 Students supporting Students: using undergraduate Communities of
Practice and Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), HERGA presentation.
McMullen, M., Jones, R & Lea, S. 2012 ‘Math anxiety, Self-Efficacy and Ability in British
Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Research in Nursing & Health vol.35, pp.178-186 DOI:
10.1002/nur.21460
Ryan, J & Dogbey, E 2012 ‘Seven strategies for international nursing student success: A review of
the literature’ Teaching and Learning in Nursing vol.7 pp. 103–107
Zhang, Y. & Mi, Y. (2013) Another Look at the Language Difficulties of international Students
Journal of Studies in International Education, 14 (4), 371-388.