When choice matters: Effects on interest and performance across mathematical problem types

Abstract

Background Given the decline in students’ interest in mathematics during secondary school, autonomy-supportive interventions such as choice may help counteract this trend. Aims This study investigates the effects of within-context choice on task-specific interest and performance in solving problems with and without real-world connections (termed real-world and intra-mathematical problems, respectively). Sample Participants were 132 ninth- and tenth-grade students who were randomly assigned to either a group with choice options ( n = 49) or one of two no-choice groups with a fixed option ( n = 42 and 41). Method Participants first reported their individual interest in mathematics. They then rated their anticipatory task-specific interest after reading each real-world and intra-mathematical problem and selecting (choice condition) or receiving (no-choice condition) a task option. These ratings were made before solving each problem. Results Task-specific interest was higher in the choice condition than in the no-choice conditions. These differences did not vary with students’ individual interest in mathematics but did depend on problem type, with larger differences observed for intra-mathematical than for real-world problems. No differences between conditions were observed for problem-solving performance. Conclusions Our findings suggest that within-context choice can support task-specific interest in secondary mathematics classrooms, particularly for intra-mathematical problems. They further indicate that choice effects may depend on problem type and available task options.