Survey Assignment

Neeti Patel
Medaille College
ECI 510 – Research in Education
April 12, 2020
Purpose
By the time students reach high-school, it seems a lot of them have completely opposite attitudes

regarding subjects like Mathematics and Language. Their preference one subject usually means

they completely detest the other. The purpose of this survey is to explore these differing attitudes

in younger students who still have a few years before they reach high-school. Specifically, the

survey questions are designed to learn more about how students feel about subjects like Math

and English and whether they see them as two distinct subjects that cannot be understood and

appreciated equally. The survey includes statements for which students select their agreement

level and some open-ended questions as well. Information collected from this survey can offer

teachers an insight into how and when students develop such differing attitudes towards

important subjects such as Math and Language.

Target Population
The survey is designed for students in Grade 5 and Grade 6. At this age, students begin to learn

about their preferences and strengths within the classroom. The language used in the survey is

meant to be suitable for this target group. It is possible that students this age may not be familiar

with Likert scale thus extra explanation may be required to help these students feel more

comfortable with participating in the survey.

Introduction
As students go through the school system, it is important that they are not just being prepared for

the next grade but for the real world as well. Part of being prepared for the real world is having

all the tools and skills that can help one contribute to and gain from their community. A useful

tool kit is one that includes tools that you like using frequently, and those that you would usually

avoid unless absolutely necessary. Teaching and learning is guided by the same idea. Students
are taught content and skills from a variety of subjects starting from a very young age. As they

learn these things, it is likely they will prefer learning some over the other. It is important for

students to determine what their preferences are as they grow older. The difference between

‘liking’ something and ‘disliking’ something else is important and it helps them build their

personality and character. What is also important is that students do not completely detest and

ignore the things they do not like. In elementary classrooms, it is not uncommon to hear

statements like “I hate reading” or “Math sucks”. Statements like these shows how students

develop negative attitudes towards subjects that they find difficult, uninteresting or both. These

attitudes can then get in the way of these students putting in the necessary effort to build on these

skills. It is unrealistic, and unfair, to expect students to enjoy and excel in everything they learn.

However, it can be expected that they at least make real attempts to learn more about something

that they are struggling with. The ability to dislike something yet appreciate its use is a valuable

skill that can be useful in any profession.

In the elementary grades, differences between the subjects of Math and Language are the easiest

to identify for most students. Thus, this survey is designed to understand how well the students

see the differences between these two subjects, and how much these differences affect their

attitudes towards them. Finding out how early these attitudes develop can help teachers intervene

and adjust their instruction accordingly. If the responses show that students feel particularly

negative or unmotivated towards a subject, the next steps would be think about how we can help

students adjust this outlook so that they at least continue their attempts in understanding the

subject, instead of just giving up and letting this become a key aspect of their academic

personality. Additionally, understanding students’ attitudes towards these subjects can provide

some indication about student performance in these subjects in the current grade and the next.
 From this survey your teachers want to collect some information about how you feel about
the different subjects you are learning in school. Specifically, we want to know how you
feel about the things you have been learning in Math and Language class. This responses
from this survey will be completely anonymous, that is nobody will know what your
response was for any of the questions below. Before you begin please read the
instructions on how to answer the survey.
The survey includes 12 statements. Use the numerical scale below each statement to indicate
how much you agree, or disagree, with each statement. The scale numbers and their
meanings are given in the table below. Read the statements carefully and select your
agreement level by either circling the number or putting a check mark beside it

1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree No opinion Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree

1. I like that we learn different subjects in school (Ex. Language, Math, Science, Art,
PhysEd etc.)

1 2 3 4 5

2. I understand why we have to learn different subjects in school

1 2 3 4 5

3. I understand the differences between the subjects of Math and Language

1 2 3 4 5

4. I like the material we have covered in Math class so far

1 2 3 4 5
5. I have a good understanding of the Math material we have covered in class so far

1 2 3 4 5

6. I like the material we have covered in Language class so far

1 2 3 4 5

7. I have a good understanding of the Language material we have covered in class so far

1 2 3 4 5

8. I enjoy working with numbers, symbols and logic

1 2 3 4 5

9. I enjoy reading and writing about different types of stories and books

1 2 3 4 5

10. I don’t need to be good at every subject taught in school

1 2 3 4 5

11. Being good at Math and Language is very important for my success in school

1 2 3 4 5
 12. Math and Language have no similarities and cannot be taught together

1 2 3 4 5

What is your favourite subject? Why?

If you had to chose between only Language or Math classes for the rest of the year, what would
you choose?

Do you think its possible for a person to like Language and Math the same amount?

Do you think it is possible for someone to be good at both Language and Math?

If you have made it this far, you have completed the survey! Thank you very much for your
willingness to participate in this survey. Your responses will be very useful and will hopefully
benefit you, and all the other students after you.
Survey Results – Quantitative

Student Responses
Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Average
Response
1. I like that we learn different
subjects in school 4 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 5 4.7
2. I understand why we have to
learn different subjects in school 4 4 3 4 3 2 2 5 4 4 3.5
3. I understand the differences
between the subjects of Math 5 5 5 4 4 5 4 5 5 5 4.7
and Language
4. I like the material we have
covered in Math class so far 4 5 3 1 2 2 3 5 4 2 3.1
5. I have a good understanding
of the Math material we have 4 4 2 1 2 1 2 4 4 2 2.6
covered in class so far
6. I like the material we have
covered in Language class so far 2 4 4 4 2 2 5 4 2 5 3.4
7. I have a good understanding
of the Language material we 3 4 4 4 2 3 4 4 2 4 3.4
have covered in class so far
8. I enjoy working with
numbers, symbols and logic 4 5 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 3.1
9. I enjoy reading and writing
about different types of stories 2 4 5 4 3 2 4 4 4 4 3.6
and books
10. I don’t need to be good at
every subject taught in school 4 4 4 5 5 4 4 4 5 4 4.3
11. Being good at Math and
Language is very important for 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 3 4 2 2.7
my success in school
12. Math and Language have no
similarities and cannot be taught 4 4 3 5 4 3 5 4 4 4 4.0
together
Survey Results – Qualitative
Question Student Responses Summary
 Math; I like numbers Students had varied
 Language; I like reading responses for this question.
 Language; I like writing poems Despite being a small
 Science; Experiments are fun group, students chose a
 Gym; Everything else is boring variety of subjects as their
What is your favourite  Drama; I am a good actor favourites.
subject? Why?
 Social Studies; History is interesting
 I like all the subjects
 Math; I am good with numbers
 Science; I want to be a doctor
 Math Most students chose
 Language Language as their preferred
If you had to chose  Language subject. Some students
between only  Language were not entirely sure about
Language or Math  Neither their choice but still chose
classes for the rest of  Maybe language one.
the year, what would
 Language
you choose?
 Maybe Math
 Math
 Language
 No, I don’t think so Most students felt that a
 Probably not person cannot like
Do you think its  Maybe for some people Language and Math the
possible for a person  Not sure same amount. A few of the
to like Language and  Impossible students felt that that it may
Math the same  I don’t think so be possible.
amount?
 I think it is
 Yes, it is possible
 I don’t think it is possible
 No, it is not possible Almost all the students felt
 No that it was impossible for
 No someone to be good at
Do you think it is  No Math and Language. Those
possible for someone  Not really who did not say no, did not
to be good at both  I don’t think so say yes either as they were
Language and Math? not sure.
 Maybe for some people
 No
 Maybe
 No
Survey Results Analysis
Responses given using the Likert scale provide great insight into how students feel about

the subjects they are learning in class. A look at the responses to the first few questions in the

survey show that all the students like learning different subjects in class, but a much smaller

number of students understand why they have to learn different subjects. This tells us that

students who are nearing the end of their Elementary school journey don’t fully grasp the

importance of gaining skills and knowledge from diverse fields. Not understanding this

importance can also lead them to form negative attitudes towards certain subjects because they

may see it as useless or unnecessary.

Responses to statements that were specific to Math or Language material also showed an

important correlation. Students who agreed they liked the Math material they had learned in

class, also agreed that they had a good understanding of the same material. This was observed in

the case of liking Language material and understanding it as well. This relation shows that

students that understanding material and enjoying it are uniquely related, and an increase in one

can lead to an increase in the other. In the classroom, a teacher can use this relation to ensure that

the material being covered is as ‘likeable’ as possible so that understanding is maximized as

well.

Another important relation that is observed in the responses involves comparing the Math

and Language statements directly. Of the students that agreed they like and understand Math,

more than half disagreed that they like and understand Language material. As expected, students

who agreed they like and understand Language material showed more disagreeability with

statements related to Math material. From this observation, the conclusion can be drawn that a

positive attitude towards Math will likely mean a negative attitude towards Language, and vice-
versa. This conclusion is important because it shows that diversity in the subject matter can lead

to diversity attitudes towards those subjects as well. These differing attitudes should be

considered in the classroom, especially if they start to affect student motivation and participation.

Some of the most surprising, and crucial, responses came from questions about

similarities between Math and Language and whether a person can like and be good at the both

subjects. Over 80% of the students felt that the two subjects share no similarities and cannot be

enjoyed and understood at the same level. These responses are surprising because it shows that

students view these subjects as completely distinct identities. This distinction then affects their

attitude and enthusiasm towards the subjects as well. It can also lead students to make

assumptions about their attitudes towards certain subjects without actually learning them in-

depth.

Responses to the statements, and the open-ended questions offered valuable insight into

how students think and feel about the Language and Math content they are learning in the

classroom.

Action Plan…Next Steps

Conclusions drawn from the responses can help determine the course of action in tackling

this problem. It is natural for students to have different preferences regarding the material they

are learning in school. However, these preferences should not deter students away from putting

in effort to learn the material they do not like as much. Responses from this survey show even in

a small group of Grade 5 and 6 students, there can be very diverse attitudes regarding the

subjects of Math and Language. The responses also show that liking the material and

understanding it go together, to some extent. Thus, the next step in the process is to look at the
assignments and grades of the students that we part of the survey. A closer look at student work

can show the difference in proficiency between Math and Language for these students. If a

student’s grades show high proficiency in Math but lower level grades in Language, this will

further enforce the conclusion that disliking something can negatively affect student performance

and proficiency within it.

Another step in the plan is to modify classroom instruction to better suit the particular

group of students who were surveyed. In the case of this group, a greater number of students

showed affinity towards Language material rather than Math. Thus, modifications would include

incorporating Math concepts and ideas into Language lessons. This can include selecting

literature that involves using Mathematical knowledge or writing tasks that require the use of

logic or systematic processes. Another advantage of making such modifications is that it will

show students that Math and Language are subjects that can in fact be taught together. Cross-

curricular lessons, tasks, and activities can all help demonstrate the interconnectivity of the

various subjects taught in the classroom. Learning based on these connections can help students

expand their horizons and keep an open mind towards material that they did not like so much

before.

The larger goal is to help students become comfortable and open to learning more about

the things that do not exactly fit their preferences. As the students are being prepared for the real

world, they should be aware that sometimes they may need to make use of skills and knowledge

that they were not too excited to learn about. The survey and the steps described above are just

the initial steps in a much larger and essential action research project.