RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Exploring Factors Impacting Students’ Engagement in a College Precalculus Course
Page: 816
This study aimed to gain insight into students’ experiences of engagement in undergraduate Precalculus. A series of interviews were conducted with a group of 12 college students to solicit their lived experiences of engagement, using methods of hermeneutic phenomenology. The analysis uncovers that some of the key factors influencing engagement include the physical layout of the classroom, the nature of student-instructor and student-peer relationships, students' comfort level with the course material, and their interpretation of grades as formative feedback. Insights gained from these findings can provide us with important information about how students engage in college Precalculus and suggest ways to improve the teaching of the course.