Background to the Math Learning Project

Introduction

Anxiety toward mathematics is a persistent barrier to successful completion of a college degree for women and minorities at New Mexico State University (NMSU), as it is at other universities and community colleges in the nation. NMSU requires all students to demonstrate proficiency in mathematics basic skills in addition to completing appropriate mathematics courses within a degree program. Negative feelings toward mathematics, as well as poor skills in mathematics and a lack of understanding of basic concepts, hinders or eliminates many women and minority students from participating in educational programs that lead to fulfilling and rewarding careers.
We felt that a comprehensive program, dealing with both the psychological and knowledge barriers associated with mathematics education, and providing instruction and counseling on both individual and group levels, was necessary for women and minority students to function at the educational levels required to meet the increasing demands of a technological society.

Women and Mathematics

According to the National Science Foundation (1982), wide differences persist in achievement and participation levels among students from different groups. Women have traditionally participated less than men in sciences, and members of minority groups have participated less and performed less well than whites on standardized science and mathematics achievement tests. Researchers cite a number of reasons for these differences, including unwillingness to study mathematics and science, social attitude, and perception of usefulness of the subject.

Unwillingness to Study Mathematics

Fennema (1976) concluded in a National Institute of Education report that "the problem with girls is not the ability to learn math but the willingness to study math" (87).
In support of this statement, Fox (1981) reported that "recent studies suggest that the small representation of women in quantitative fields may not be the result of innate differences in ability but may be caused by early decisions not to study mathematics" (9). Hackett (1985), in a path analysis, found evidence that mathematics anxiety influences choice of a mathematics related college major. By deciding not to pursue mathematics in school, many women are also choosing not to study for careers in quantitative fields and are thereby limiting their career options and advancement opportunities.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress's fourth mathematics assessment in 1986 found a consistent advantage for males in the area of higher level applications (Dossey et al. 1988). Campbell (1986) reported that girls take fewer math courses than boys. One more explanation for sex differences on test performance is that opportunities for learning and applying mathematics knowledge and skills outside of school may be greater for men.

Social Attitude

A great deal of attention has been paid to the influence of "significant others"-such as parents, teachers, counselors, and peers-on the continued study of mathematics. Students' attitudes toward the study of mathematics and their self confidence, career interests, and values have been shown to influence course taking decisions.
Although women make up about 44 percent of the labor force and hold 49 percent of the professional and related positions, they are markedly absent from the ranks of scientists and engineers. In 1986 women held about 28 percent of the positions in mathematics, physical science, and life science but only 4 percent of those in engineering (National Science Foundation 1988). While the employment of women in science and engineering fields has increased, women are still underrepresented. The situation, according to Fox (1981, 16), can be attributed to social attitudes that still inhibit the study of mathematics and discourage women from pursuing careers, rather than to basic sex differences in aptitude.

Perception of Usefulness

In the "Women and Mathematics National Survey" conducted in fall 1978, the perception of the usefulness of mathematics correlated with achievement test scores (Armstrong 1979). Furthermore, Tobias states: "Most people of both sexes stop taking mathematics before their education is complete. Girls who avoid mathematics and mathematics related subjects may simply be getting the message sooner than boys that mathematics is unrewarding and irrelevant" (1978, 74). Campbell (1986) suggested that counselors and math teachers actively recruit students (particularly girls and minorities) by emphasizing the importance of math in career preparation and success.

Needs of Women and Minority Students

New Mexico, a center for advanced scientific work in energy, computer research, and space technology, is a state with a growth potential for high technology industries. It is also the home of the oldest and most traditional cultures in the United States. Hispanics makeup more than 40 percent of the state's population; American Indians, 9 percent. These two groups are far behind the nonminority population in terms of mainstream social, economic, and educational conditions. For example, 30 percent of all Hispanic adults in rural areas have dropped out of school prior to high school graduation and the dropout rate for American Indian adults is 50 percent (Sher 1978).
Few minority students are acquainted with successful professionals in mathematics based careers, such as engineers, physicists, or mathematicians. Consequently, most are unaware of the career possibilities that proficiency in mathematics might open to them. In many cases, their families and teachers are similarly unaware of these possibilities and therefore do not encourage the students to concentrate on mathematics and science.
Many rural women in the Southwest face three difficulties in gaining appropriate educational and occupational opportunities: their rural residence, their gender, and their minority status (Amodeo et al. 1981). Rural women, like their urban counterparts, increasingly find themselves as heads of households working outside the home to survive. As a result, greater numbers of them continue to enter the labor force. They are largely confined to low paying, low status, unskilled jobs in clerical, service, or seasonal occupations (Chu 1980).
Growth and change in the Southwest are creating opportunities for women to break from the confines of occupational restrictions. Many new industries, especially in high technology and energyrelated fields, are locating in the region. Rural women in the Southwest need to learn how to benefit from and adapt to these changes.
An increasing number of mature women are seeking higher educational opportunities. More than 26 percent of the student population at NMSU are over twenty five years old, and the trend for an older, part time, increasingly female student body is expected to continue. These returning students come to the campus with a variety of learning experiences. They are highly motivated students but bring many problems with them. Lack of confidence, unsupportive family members, lack of basic skills, and guilt and anxiety feelings frequently hinder their educational progress (Brown 1982).
Scientifically and technically trained tribal members are vitally important to natural resource development on reservations. Tribes are increasingly reluctant to hire non Indians who do not share tribal values regarding land and natural resources. According to Lujan and Burr, "Until a corps of professional Indian people are trained for tribal leadership in engineering, science, business and agriculture, neither the Indian tribes not the nation will derive all the possible benefits of resource development on Indian reservations" (1985, 596). Most American Indian students who indicate an in that major. In a 1984 study of three major universities in New Mexico, there were 58 percent fewer American Indian engineering students in the junior and senior classes than in the freshmen and sophomore classes.
According to Moore (1982), an area of difficulty for American Indian students appears to be hypothetical thought and abstraction based on hypotheses. The mathematics teacher must attempt to close the gap between the abstract and the real world of the American Indian student. States Moore: "The utilization of laboratory techniques is consistent with the Navajo philosophy of education. The Navajo verb for 'to teach' means 'to show'" (24).
Many American Indian students enter NMSU declaring a major in engineering, computer science, or some technical area. However, their ACT Mathematics score and their performance on the NMSU Mathematics Placement Exam indicate they are ill prepared in mathematics, and so they begin to work their way through the mathematics curriculum required for their technical course of study at this basic skills level. For some, the remediation emphasis of the course does not identify their deficiencies or serve to overcome them, and so they are stymied in their chosen major before they actually begin.
Many of the students enrolled in the basic skills classes are women and minority students who express a great deal of anxiety toward mathematics. Often this anxiety prevents them from successfully completing the courses. Kogelman and Warren (1978) reported this condition as a panic in which normal functioning is impaired and the skills necessary for learning and performing become inaccessible. Comprehensive assistance for these students in dealing with math anxiety, developing mathematics study skills, and relearning mathematics concepts on a concrete basis will provide an adequate foundation for studying college level mathematics. In addition, these students need to be taught reasoning and problem solving skills.

Mathematics Program at New Mexico State University

The most common way for students at NMSU to meet the mathematics basic skills requirement is by successfully completing two non degree credit courses offered by the Department of Mathematics Learning Center (MLC). Students are placed in these courses based on their results on the Mathematics Placement Exam and diagnostic exams; they begin at different levels of mastery in arithmetic and basic algebra. Instruction in these courses is provided by professional mathematics educators and carefully selected student tutors following a structured, individually paced program. Emphasis is on mastery of computational skills. More than three thousand students a semester enroll in the MLC program. Unfortunately, the size of the MLC program and restricted funding prohibit the staff from focusing on students with special mathematical learning difficulties. Since the MLC is directed at the underprepared math student, its population includes a large number of returning adult and/or minority women.