PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
The Effect of Self-Efficacy on Student Performance in Calculus
Page: 761
Self-efficacy is an important variable that has been used to study students’ performance at all educational levels and in many content areas. In the report, we discuss the results of a quantitative study considering self-efficacy in college Calculus and its correlation to other variables available in a large scale study. Ultimately, our findings contradict existing findings regarding the effect of self-efficacy on class performance. We add to these results an interesting finding regarding the effect of self-efficacy on student's study habits: while time spent on course homework does not mediate the effect of self-efficacy, more time spent on course preparation by students with high self-efficacy tends to decrease their expected final course grade. Results contribute to math instructors’ understanding of their teaching and may help with the construction of more effective instruction.