Disentangling the nexus: Attitudes to mathematics and technology in a computer learning environment

ABSTRACT. Gaining insights into students ’ attitudes and beliefs is a crucial step in under-standing how the learning environment for mathematics is affected by the introduction of computers and other technology. We review research into the impact of technology on the teaching and learning of mathematics, although systematic evaluations are sparse. We discuss the relationship between affective variables and performance and having construc-ted appropriate measures of attitude, we present results from an extensive initial study. The study disentangles affects relating to mathematics and to computing and in doing so identifies attributes which are important where mathematics and computing interact. We report on the application of six Galbraith–Haines scales to 156 students, we discuss the implications of confidence, motivation, engagement and interaction with the technology in the learning environment and we demonstrate that the computing and mathematics attitude scales capture distinctive properties of student behaviour in this respect. 1