IMPROVING STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION IN LEARNING MATHEMATICS BY

USING CONTEXTUAL TEACHING STRATEGIES

Ronal Rifandi, M.Sc

Introduction
What can teachers do to improve students’ motivation in learning especially in the
classroom of mathematics? Regarding that question, the connection between students’
motivation and their achievement in learning has become a common discussion. Almost all
education experts and education stakeholders agree on the role of motivation influence students’
behavior in learning process. In the literature states that to understand students’ behavior we
need to know their motives (Hannula, 2006). Whereas, as an educator, the author thinks that the
process is not only to know what aspect motivate students in learning but also try to help them in
developing their motivation and trigger it to become a positive circumstance in learning process.
This can be a key point that directs the students to a better conceptual change.
The conceptual change here refers to the enrichment and or revision of the prior
knowledge which students already have (Vosniadou, 1994). Limon (2001) has addressed in her
paper about cognitive conflict, the use of analogies and cooperative and shared learning as three
kinds of instructional strategies which can be used to encourage the conceptual changes.
Meanwhile, the author argues that motivation profiles also play a significant role on supporting
of conceptual change process. As an effect of the previous opinion, the questions in the
beginning of this essay should be an important issue to be discussed among the educational
practices.
The author believes that using an appropriate context engages student to be active in the
classroom of mathematics. The students’ activity is one basic behavior which can make the
learning process in the classroom become more meaningful not only as a one way direction from
the teachers. In this point, students seen not as an empty vessel that should be fill in with the
knowledge from the teachers but as the actor of the process, teacher only taking account in
giving support. However, students’ behavior in learning process is multi-determined. And the
various reasons can influence study behavior, for instance a spontaneous interest in the learning
material, get a higher score because of a desire to prove oneself, external expectations, or future

1
professional goals (Vansteenkiste, Sierens, Soenens, Luyckx, & Lens, 2009). In addition,
Osborne, Simon and Collins (2003) state that one of the factors which affect students’ attitude
towards science is the good quality of teaching process which stimulates interest and
engagement. Therefore, this essay will give explanation about motivation and the use of an
adequate context to improve students’ motivation in learning mathematics.

The Framework of Motivation

First and foremost, we have to know what motivation is. In a simple definition,
motivation is reasons individuals have for behaving in a given manner in a given situation
(Middleton & Spanias, 1999). In a more complex definition, “motivation is defined as a
potential to direct behavior that is built into the system that controls emotion. This potential may
be manifested in cognition, emotion and/ or behavior” (Hannula, 2006).
The manifestations relate with what will happen and what will students get after they
pursue in a learning process. Moreover, the author is in line with an opinion which states goals
and needs of a learning process will represent by the emotion, attitudes and values of the students
(Hannula, 2006). Because of that teachers should taking account in promoting and facilitating the
increasing of student’s attitudes and manners. And, a classroom of mathematics has to be a
supporting environment to this issue with providing autonomy, competence development and the
social belonging. Meanwhile, to make a limitation, in this essay the author will only explain on
how to build a support to the learning environment for students which lead to developing their
autonomy, competence and social belonging.
To begin with, many experts have argued their opinions and studies about motivation.
Deci and Ryan (2000a) say that “To be motivated means to be moved to do something”.
Middleton and Spanias (1999) indicate that success in mathematics is a powerful influence on
the motivation to achieve. The study suggests that the decline in positive attitudes toward
mathematics can be explained in part as functions of lack of teacher supportiveness and
classroom environment (Middleton & Spanias, 1999). To facilitate students’ motivation,
rationales need to produce two effects: students need to see the importance and personal utility
within the task, and students need to perceive high autonomy while working on that task (Jang,
2008). Besides, it is also stated in literature that students’ belief in mathematics can be affected
by their beliefs in the following aspects: the nature of mathematics, the way of teaching and

2
learning and their beliefs in teachers (Lazim, Abu Osman, & Wan Salihin, 2004). In addition,
students’ perception of success in learning mathematics is highly related to their motivational
attitudes. Teachers’ actions, attitudes and instructional design quality for mathematics lessons
have greatly influenced students’ motivation (Middleton & Spanias, 1999).
Discussing about motivation in education, we may also refer to a theory of self
determination which is commonly called self determination theory (SDT). This theory argues the
important of competence, relatedness and autonomy to understand the content and the process of
goal chasing (Deci & Ryan, 2000b). Moreover, SDT differentiates motivation regarding its
quality and quantity (Vansteenkiste et al., 2009).
Vansteenkiste et al. (2009) state in their paper that in SDT, the higher levels of
motivations do not directly mean a high outcome, since the quality of the motivation is poor. In
addition, they explain about two kinds of motivation those are autonomous which the motives
come up from the person itself internally and controlled motivation which the motives are
influenced and regulated by the external factors. They present a research consists of two studies
to address and to compare about four motivational profiles: a good quality motivation, a high
quantity motivation, a low quantity motivation and a poor quality motivation. These groupings
based on the existence the autonomous and the controlled motivations in each cluster. The result
of these study shows that “students in the good quality motivation group displayed the most
optimal pattern of educational outcomes relative to all other group of students in the
research”(Vansteenkiste et al., 2009). The good quality motivation means the high of
autonomous motivation and the low of controlled motivation.
The author’s opinion in the present paper is in line with the implication of the result from
the study that teachers should provide a good quality motivation in the classroom of
mathematics. And, the author proposes the use of constructivism theory as a base for teachers in
creating a learning environment that can facilitate the complacency of students’ need of
autonomy, competence and relatedness. Constructivist argues that “the view of learning is the
importance of connecting the new knowledge to be acquired with the existing knowledge that
students have, in order to promote meaningful learning” (Limon, 2001). From this view, we can
say that learners actively construct a new knowledge by using their prior knowledge. And if the
construction process is “interesting” then the students’ motivation will be increase. However, the

3
problems are what the “interesting” mean and how teachers can make the students move from
their prior knowledge into a new knowledge interestingly?

The Use of Context

Let student do the mathematics and allow them to feel as a mathematician and reinvent
the concept of mathematics in the classroom might be one of the interesting way to engage
students and increase their motivation toward the learning activity. To make it happen, teachers
can use a “context” as a starting point in the learning process. Meanwhile, it is well-known that
talking about context is not as simple as we think. As an overview, we can refer to statement of
Duranti and Goodwin (1992, as cited in Gilbert, 2006) about context in educational field. They
argue that an educational context has four attributes as follow:
a. A setting, a social, spatial, and temporal framework within which mental encounters
with focal events are situated;
b. A behavioral environment of the encounters, the way that the task(s), related to the
focal event, have been addressed, is used to frame the talk that then take places;
c. The use of specific language as the talk associated with the focal event that takes
place;
d. A relationship to extra-situational background knowledge (Duranti & Goodwin, 1993,
pp. 6/8)
The present paper will not explore about the detail of each attribute mention above, it is only to
make sense that context is not randomly taken. But, a context has several aspects that should be
considered by the teachers (more explanation in Gilbert, 2006).
Furthermore, there are two points of view to define what context exactly is. First, context
is seen as a learning environment where the learning takes place. Second, a characteristic of a
task presented to the students (Heuvel-Panhuizen, 2005). Regarding those two types of context,
the author point out that teachers have to create a teaching and learning environment by choosing
an appropriate context which can build students’ positives emotions toward the lessons.
Consequently, the positive emotion will increase students’ attention and effort to do their best in
the learning process (Ainley, 2004).
In addition, according to Fosnot and Dolk (2001) a good context is a context which can
engage students to problem solving and problem posing. They see teaching and learning not in a
separate way, they state that these teaching and learning are collaborated one another by the
teachers as a development process. And in the development process the teachers give chance to
students to be young mathematician and give trust to them that they can do it. In this view,

4
instead of just transferring the knowledge, teachers support the students for mathematizing. In
this view, mathematics is seen as human activity (Freudenthal, 1968). In mathematizing students
organize information into chart and tables, noticing and exploring pattern, putting forth and
conjectures, and trying to convince one another of their thinking (Fosnot & Dolk, 2001). And in
the mathematizing there are three main points that should be considered by the teachers, those
are big ideas, strategies and models (Fosnot & Dolk, 2001).
In the following, the author will give a brief explanation about big ideas, strategies,
models and their correlation one another based on the point of view from Fosnot and Dolk
(2001). First, big ideas related to the structure of mathematics. These ideas are big since they are
fundamental to mathematics, and these make a big leap to the development of students’ cognitive
(Fosnot & Dolk, 2001). Students need a hard effort to gain these big ideas in their mathematical
proficiency. In other words, the big ideas are important steps that lead to new knowledge and
students need them to understand the concept of mathematics and use it in the problem solving or
face with the mathematical problems.
Second, strategies are seen as the schemes that use by the students in their process to
reach the big ideas. Strategies represent the way of students thinking on solving a problem or
deal with the given activity in the learning mathematics. Then the third, models are the tools that
are used by the students to thought. To do mathematizing we need to see, organizes, and
interprets the world through and with the mathematical models (Fosnot & Dolk, 2001). We used
models to represents the informal solutions into a more formal generable solution. In other
words, we develop models of thinking into models for thinking.
However, the shift from models of thinking into models for thinking is not easy for
students. Gravemeijer (2004) argues about what teachers should do when students do not come
up with a model to solve a problem. First the teachers should give support to the students that
lead students to develop their mathematical thinking and represents the problem as model of and
moves to model for. Moreover, teachers need to see the world through the eyes of the students so
that she/he can predict or might follow the way of students’ thinking. In this case, teacher has to
stand in an actor’s point of view where the actor here is the students (Gravemeijer, 2004).
Furthermore, when the students still cannot come up to model their ideas, teacher might explores
what students already have and guide them for instance by using further questions and giving
hints until they recognize the idea.

5
 In a learning framework, models, strategies and big ideas are dynamic (Fosnot & Dolk,
2001). They are interplay each other in the students’ learning activity. By then, the context play
role as a base to support the emergence of models, strategies and big ideas. This is why teachers
should provide a context that real in students’ mind and can attract students to reveal their way of
thinking. From a context, students try to model it in a simple representation, then move on to
model for thinking and finally using the strategies to reach the big ideas. The author believes that
if the context used by teachers is interesting then the students’ motivation to join in the learning
activity will be increase.
Let me try to illustrate the use of context and its relation with models, strategies and big
ideas in the following example. If teachers want students understand about a concept of place
value then instead of just give the definition and concept directly to the students, teachers engage
students in a learning activity. Teachers use the context of inventory and counting the stuff in the
class. Ask students to work in a small group, then support them to model the situation, perhaps
some students will use quantity of tallys, model with symbols, model Group, or an open number
line. Some strategies will appear, such as counting one by one, grouping by 5 or 10, skip
counting etc. Then teachers facilitate a class discussion and lead the students to understand the
concept of place value together.
From the given example above, we can see that teachers give opportunity to the students
to act and feel the sense of doing mathematics. Since the activity based on something that real in
their mind and they can deal with it, the students will easy to give their attention to participate in
the activity. Teachers also provide chance for the various strategies that might appear. So the
strategies are not something given or transfer by the teachers but come up from students’ minds.

Contextual Teaching Strategies

In a more specific way, to teach mathematics in context, Crawford (2001) explains five
strategies which can be used by the teachers. They are relating, experiencing, applying,
cooperating, and transferring. Those strategies are known as contextual teaching strategies
(Crawford, 2001). The following explanations about the contextual teaching strategies are based
on Crawford’s opinion (2001). The first, relating is used by teachers if they want to introduce a
new concept which is completely familiar to students or connects to what students already know.
The second is experiencing, in this strategy, students do some exploration, discovery and

6
invention process to understand a new concept. The third is applying, in this strategy in
understanding a concept students are supported to apply it in the problem solving. Fourthly is
cooperating. In this strategy the main point is to share the idea, discuss it and communicate it
with the fellow students, facilitated by the teachers, in order to make them understand the notion
about the concept. The last is transferring which means using knowledge in a new context or
novel situation.
All those contextual teaching strategies need the creativity and awareness of the teachers
since they are ones who know better about their students. In choosing a context and the
contextual teaching strategy, teachers need to consider the classroom culture and the
development of students’ cognitive level. The consideration is used to assure that the learning
process is interesting and can reach the goal of teaching and learning mathematics properly.

Conclusion
To sum up, students’ motivation related to their behaviors in the learning process is
multi-determined. We might use the SDT point of view to get more insight about motivation in
education terminology. Within SDT motivation is classified regarding to its quality and quantity
and based on the study by Vansteenkiste et al. (2009) the good quality motivation- high
autonomous and low controlled motivation- give a significant influence in improvement of
students’ learning outcomes. Therefore, in the classroom of mathematics teachers need support
the emergence of the autonomy of the students.
In fact, in supporting students and improve their motivation towards science especially
mathematics, the author believes that there is a correlation between the roles of teacher and
students’ motivation. If the teacher designs an adequate teaching and learning activity for the
learning process, the students’ interest will increase. Thus, using a good context, which is
selected by contextual teaching strategies, can be a good starting point in that mathematics
classroom activities. The contextual teaching strategies which are proposed by Crawford (2001)
consist of relating, experiencing, applying, cooperating, and transferring. Furthermore, the high
motivation will lead to a more conducive situation for improving the students’ understanding to a
higher cognitive level. However, further studies are needed to flesh out this idea, for instance to
explore more the technical aspect of choosing a good context to be used in a classroom.

7
REFERENCES

Ainley, M. (2004). What do we know about student motivation and engagement? The Australian
Association for Research in Education. Melbourne.

Crawford, M. L. (2001). Teaching Contextually: Research, Rationale, and Techniques for

Improving Student Motivation and Achievement in Mathematics and Science. Texas: CCI
Publishing Inc.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000a). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: Claassic Definitions and
New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology , 54-67.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000b). The "what" and the "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs
and the self-determination of behaviour. Psychological Inquiry , 11 (4), 227-268.

Fosnot, C. T., & Dolk, M. (2001). Young Mathematicians at Work: Constructing Multiplication
and Division. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Freudenthal, H. (1968). Why to Teach Mathematics So As to Be Useful. Educational Studies in

Mathematics , 3-8.

Gilbert, J. K. (2006). On the Nature of "Context" in Chemical Education. International Journal

of Science Education , 957-976.

Gravemeijer, K. (2004). Creating Opportunities for Students to Reinvent Mathematics. ICME 10

(pp. 1-17). Copenhagen : IMFUFA, Department of Science, Systems and Models,
Roskilde University, Denmark.

Hannula, M. S. (2006). Motivation in Mathematics: Goals Reflected in Emotion. Educational

Studies in Mathematics , 165-178.

Heuvel-Panhuizen, M. V. (2005). The role of Contexts in Assessment Problems in Mathematics.

For the Learning of Mathematics , 25 (2), 2-9.

Jang, H. (2008). Supporting Students’ Motivation, Engagement, and Learning During an

Uninteresting Activity. Journal of Educational Psychology , 100 (4), 798–811.

Lazim, M., Abu Osman, M., & Wan Salihin, W. (2004). The Statistical Efidence in Describing
the Students' Beliefs about Mathematics. Int. J. Math. Teach. Learn .

Limon, M. (2001). On the Cognitive Conflict as an Instructional Strategy for conceptual change:
a critical appraisal. Learning and Instruction , 357-380.

8
Middleton, J. A., & Spanias, P. A. (1999). Motivation for Achievement in Mathematics:
Findings, Generalizations, and Criticisms of the Research. Journal for Research in
Mathematics Education , 30 (1), 65–88.

Osborne, J., Simon, S., & Collins, S. (2003). Attitudes Towards Science: a Review of The
Literature and its Implications. International Journal of Science Education , 1049-1079.

Vansteenkiste, M., Sierens, E., Soenens, B., Luyckx, K., & Lens, W. (2009). Motivational
Profiles From a Self- Determination Perspective: The Quality of Motivation Matters.
Journal of Educational Psychology , 101 (3), 671-688.

Vosniadou, S. (1994). Capturing and Modeling the Process of Conceptual Change. Learning and
Instruction , 45-69.