Correlates of Students&rsquo; Performance in Calculus

Najeb  Aloyod,

Correlates of Students’ Performance in Calculus

Abstract:

Both teacher and student factors contribute to the success or failure of an instructional process. This study explored the relationship between the students’ attitudes toward Mathematics and teachers’ immediacy behaviors in relation to the student’s performance in Calculus. The descriptive-correlational method of research was used with 134 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, and Bachelor of Secondary Education programs as the respondents. A questionnaire was used to gauge the attitudes of students in Mathematics and teachers’ immediacy behaviours while test was used to measure their level of performance in Calculus. Mean, standard deviation, t-test and F-test, Pearson Product Moment of Correlation, and regression analysis were used as statistical tools in treating the data. This study discloses that the attitude of students in Mathematics became an important indicator of their success in the subject. The students’ fair performance in Calculus signifies that they lack thorough knowledge about Algebra and Trigonometry as prerequisites to learning Calculus concepts. On the other hand, teachers’ immediate verbal responses to students’ behaviors in class influenced the performance of students in Calculus. It is recommended that prior to the teaching of Calculus; teachers handling the subject conduct a diagnostic examination in order to check prior knowledge of students in Algebra and Trigonometry. Moreover, teachers continue to provide immediate feedback of students’ behavior and performance as it is important for students to know how they progress in the subject they are enrolled in.

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