Differences in the attitudes of mathematics teachers and of students towards online mathematics instruction

Abstract

The aim of the research presented in this paper was to examine the potential differences (and similarities) between the attitudes of mathematics teachers and of students towards several aspects of online instruction. Our convenience sample comprised a total of 532 students in grades 5-8 of primary school and high school students as well as 110 mathematics teachers, who rated their attitudes and views on these questions on a Likert scale, using a Google Forms questionnaire. The results of the survey suggest that there is no significant difference between the attitudes of students and teachers regarding teachers' skills in online teaching, while teachers tend to believe that students are less well prepared for the effective implementation of online mathematics instruction than students themselves think. Also, a far greater percentage of students than mathematics teachers believe that online mathematics instruction is effective, and that they can successfully acquire the appropriate mathematical knowledge and skills through online instruction. The results also indicate that students tend to rate different types of mathematics classes much more highly (teaching, practice, revision and assessment) than teachers do.

Keywords

• online instruction
• mathematics instruction
• mathematics teachers' attitudes
• student attitudes
• effectiveness of online instruction