Can we motivate adult students to learn and refine their mathematics skills through group studies and participation, technological resources and an everyday living type of strategy and approach to teaching? - interim project report, March, 2001

Inquiry Project Proposal

Dawne Pezzuco, RI College Outreach Programs


I have been researching the above questions for a few months now and have made many interesting discoveries. It is amazing how many things you notice when you actually pay attention. My students’ level of participation and interest has easily doubled. The attendance rate is about 80% as opposed to 50 or 60% when we first began the project two years ago. This is fantastic especially with our adult learners who have endless personal problems and dilemmas. The students enjoy attending my classes instead of feeling like it is a requirement they need to fulfill.

I have kept a weekly journal of the students’ attitudes, participation levels and progress through the duration of the program. Most of them complete their weekly homework as well as send me emails with questions periodically. I definitely have certain students within the class who participate and want to learn more than others. There is not much I can do about helping those adult learners who do not want to help themselves, I have explained to them that the students I recommend for internships or employment will be the ones that put the effort into the program.

The first class I gave a pre-test to see what educational levels I was dealing with. Next we discussed a series of topics which the students were interested in. I found this worked well as the students knew upfront what they would be learning and actually decided on the subjects themselves. Some of these topics include: buying food and shopping for clothes, buying and maintaining a vehicle or home, budgets, banking and investing and preparing for careers.

The computer has been a great learning tool for the students. The students are eager to improve their computer and internet skills. They are expected to search and find helpful tips on the topic of the week. All students receive copies of the articles researched. The students keep an organized portfolio with all of their work from week to week.  They have informed me that they will keep the portfolio handy even after the class has ended to help them with upcoming problems and concerns they may have on a daily basis.

I have set up a math group in my email. I send the students assignments and answer questions on a continuous basis. This keeps the students on their toes and also gives them things to search for when they are using computers in their free time during the week. Students will email me questions, concerns, assignments and attendance problems regularly.

Exams have been given from time to time, and the ones who attend class regularly do well. I have regular group discussions with the class about the topic of the week and how it affects their daily life. This sometimes gets more involved and time-consuming than I like, but I feel it is an important part of building confidence and understanding the individual needs of the students.

I will be finished with this class by the end of March and am eager to have them evaluate the last few months of their Every Day Living Math Skills Class. I will evaluate the students and their portfolios as a whole and individually after the completion of a final exam. I feel this will benefit myself as well as the students. I believe, if I am successful in motivating my students and understanding their math skills needs than I am better prepared to teach them accordingly.

I have acquired valuable information over the last few months and am quite enthusiastic about using this knowledge to enhance my curriculum. I will continue to keep a journal and evaluate students in the future. I know that my curriculum will improve with each new group of students, and it is quite possible that, I may be able to get participation to 100% or at least close to that by allowing students to discuss their math needs and have input into their curriculm.


Educational Criteria:

AGS: American Guidance Service, Inc.
Circle Pines, MN 55014- 1796, 1- 800- 328- 2560
Consumer Mathematics Life Skills Mathematic

Coming Together:  Integrating Math and Language

Julie Rumi Iwamoto
Prentice Hall Regents
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632


Educational Internet Sites:

Adult Numeracy Homepage: http://www2.wgbh.org/MBCWEIS/LTC/CLC/numintro.htm

AGS: http://www.agsnet.com/templates/productview.asp?group=a90268

Math in Daily Life: http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/index.html

Math Courses online: http://www.mathprep.com/test_prep.html

Welcome to ALM: http://www.alm-online.org/

QuickMath: http://www.quickmath.com/

Solutions for math: http://www.math.com/everyone/solutions.html


About.com is used weekly to find different articles on budgeting, household management, employment, etc. We also use several seach engines such as:

Google, Dogpile and Mysimon. Most of my handouts are from various internet sites similar to the ones list above.


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