Data Analysis
Here are the data that we’ve gathered and below each given data is an analysis.
The participants were composed of 13.33% male and 86.67% female. So with this we can conclude that majority of our respondents are female.
1. Do you like math?
*If yes, what makes you like Math?
*If no, why don’t you like Math?
Based on the above data majority of the MA II students like Math and only 23.33% have little or no interest in the subject. Majority of the participants like the subject because the teacher is interesting and majority of those who said no don’t like the subject because they find Math difficult and their teacher is not interesting.
2. When did you start liking or hating Math?
Our research showed that 56.57% of the participants started to like or hate math during there elementary years, 30% during high school and 13.33% during college. At an early age, most of them already hated Math.
3. Have you experienced getting a failing grade in Math?
Based on the results, our research showed that 96.67% of MA II students haven’t experienced getting a failing grade in Math which leaves us with 3.33% who have experienced otherwise. With this data we can conclude that Math is not that difficult for most MAII students. MAII is not an easy course and it requires that the student under this course is capable enough to cope up with the difficulties in dealing with numbers.
4. The lowest and highest grade in Math since elementary.
7 5 8 9 9 9 = 9%
8 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 7 8 9 9 = 36%
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 = 53%
10 0 = 2%
Based on this data, the median of the respondents’ grades in Math is 90. The data is positively skewed or skewed to the right.
5. Regarding the question on how difficult Math is:
Based on the illustration above, majority stated that Mathematics is difficult. Nobody answered that it is very easy. One of the previous question concluded that at an early age most of them already hated math and therefore concluding that Math is difficult. We can’t deny the fact that math is difficult but there are some students who really think that Math is easy. These students have gifted abilities in Math. We are wondering why nobody answered that Math is very easy. It is very much acceptable if only 1% of the sample answered that Math is very easy.
6.
More than half of the respondents marked Algebra as the easiest field of Mathematics. While no one thinks that Calculus is the easiest math subject. Actually of all the choices, algebra is the most basic. It is the foundation of all the choices given.
Conclusion
Our last two questions made conclude that the major reason for hating math is the fact that Math requires analysis. Majority of them answered straightly that they do not like analysis. Many of them answered that they find it hard to deal with problems that need a lot of analysis and with that, they end up losing their interest in dealing with numbers. Moreover, the second major reason why they think math is difficult also concerns the teacher (teacher factor). They find some teachers boring and not interesting in discussing some lessons. They also see some teachers having lack of techniques to let the students enjoy the subject with the way they introduce and tackle the subject matter. Some answers also revealed that their laziness to study their lessons affects their capacity to cope up with the subject.
Their mental capacity to comprehend and understand some problems is also one of the reasons why they get low grades and find math as a difficult subject. Lastly, summing up all of their answers, they said that Math itself is not the one that is difficult, it is with the students themselves who make it even harder because they lack personal interest, love for the subject, and some external factors like peer pressure which lead them to find Math as one of the most difficult subjects in the course of their student life.
Recommendation
To cope up with the difficulties in Math, First is to develop the interest and learn to love Math as part of the curriculum. The students acknowledge that indeed they need to study more and have constant practice in solving problems in order for them to have an ease with the subject. More time to spend in scanning their notes and understanding it would greatly help them with the difficulties in analyzing the lessons tackled. The second solution they think in order for them to cope up with the difficulties with Math subject is learning to accept the teacher. Learning to be comfortable with each other would iron-out some problems that rise up with regards to the lessons.
Being open to one another may let each other express their feelings and opinions and can let them adjust with the difficult situations. Lastly, with the help of their friends or other people who know more or can understand better the lesson, the students believe they can cope up with the difficulty in the said subject. Majority of them stated that “I would ask for help from friends to help me understand more the lesson.”
