PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
RUME- and Non-RUME-track students’ motivations of enrolling in a RUME graduate course
Page: 548
The purpose of this ongoing study is to investigate students’ motivations in taking a graduate- level RUME course. Seven individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with graduate students enrolled in a RUME course at a large Midwestern university that has a RUME Ph.D. option in the mathematics department. Our analysis of those interviews utilized two theoretical frameworks: Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) and Hannula’s (2006) needs and goals structure. Preliminary analysis of the interviews indicates that non-RUME-track students are extrinsically, need-motivated, while RUME-track students are intrinsically, goal-motivated when taking a RUME course. The researchers conjecture that knowing what influences non- RUME-track students may aid in closing the gap between the mathematical and RUME communities.