Joanna Lewis¹, Caterina Azzarello¹, Gulden Karakok¹, Katherine Morrison¹, Molly Jameson¹; ¹University of Northern Colorado

This study investigates the mathematical dispositions of pre-service elementary teachers (PSET), focusing on their attitudes toward mathematics and the impact of visual attention. Mathematical dispositions, encompassing attitudes, behaviors, and thoughts about math, significantly influence teaching effectiveness and student learning outcomes. Productive dispositions, characterized by curiosity and persistence, contribute to improved performance, whereas unproductive dispositions, marked by anxiety and avoidance, hinder both teaching and learning (Boaler, 2016; Dweck, 2006). PSET often exhibit unproductive math dispositions, leading to avoidance behaviors and a lack of confidence in teaching mathematics (Alkhateeb, 2014). These negative beliefs can result in reduced classroom time devoted to math and the modeling of unproductive dispositions to students, particularly impacting female students (Beilock et al., 2010; Phillip, 2007). The study involved 41 PSET enrolled in an introductory math for elementary teachers course. Participants completed surveys assessing math anxiety and math self-efficacy. Participants engaged in an arithmetic task while undergoing eye tracking using the Eyelink 1000+ system, which recorded their eye movements as they calculated and assessed responses to basic arithmetic questions of correct or incorrect calculations. The eye-tracking data provides insights into how PSET visually engages with math tasks, potentially revealing patterns linked to their dispositions. We found that individuals with higher math anxiety tended to have lower fixation rates and durations after a math course. This suggests that PSET with high math anxiety may avoid visually engaging with arithmetic. Given this knowledge, interventions to reduce PSET math anxiety may be useful tools to address their avoidance.

Acknowledgements: NSF Award #2235588