Understanding Math 10 Students’ Experiences of Struggle to Learn Mathematics

Abstract

Students have much to tell educators about their experiences of learning mathematics. Their experiences include struggles that may either be productive as they persevere to understand or destructive as they feel that learning is frustrating and painful. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding and new insights into how students struggle to learn math, the different ways that students struggle, and how this experience shapes how they respond to future encounters of difficulty, as well, as their attitude towards math. Six Math 10 students were interviewed using semi-structured questions. Students’ lived experiences were explored using interpretive methodology. Students spoke about their experiences of confusion, disconnection, encountering hidden rules, not understanding why, freezing on a test, and having to learn concepts that they found were irrelevant to their lives. These experiences may provide new insights and understandings of how teachers may better teach students.