EXAMINING THE MOTIVATION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO PROBLEM SOLVING

SKILLS IN MATHEMATICS OF THE COLLEGE STUDENTS IN CENTRAL MINDANAO

COLLEGES

A Thesis

Presented to the

Faculty of College of Education of

Central Mindanao Colleges

Kidapawan City

_____________________________________

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of

BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION

_____________________________________

By

GILVIE LOU S. ATIENZA

RABAYA T. MADIE

ROLAND H. GAJES

ALMA S. ESPINAL

October 2017
 Acknowledgment

The success of this study is dedicated to the individuals who inspired and

motivated the researchers to come up with this research. Thus, the researchers would

like to extend gratitude to the following individuals.

First, we would like to thank our Almighty God for the endowed wisdom, strength

and patience which sustained us to conduct and finished this study.

Second, to our parents who supported our financial needs and concern, we are

grateful for their unconditional love and care.

Third, to the adviser of this research, Dr. Fidel B. Ladra, we are grateful in his

invaluable support and patience in mentoring us.

To Dr. Sylvia M. Ybaňez, the DEAN of the college of education, for her kind

approval during our survey and her support in this study,

And lastly to the critiques, who scholastically check the appropriateness and

accuracy of this research.

 ABSTRACT

This was conducted to determine the relationship between motivation and

problem solving skills of Mathematics Major Students in Central Mindanao Colleges. It

used descriptive and correlation method. The descriptive method was used to describe

the level of intrinsic motivation in terms of mastery of goals and need for achievement

and extrinsic motivation of the college students in terms of authority expectation and

peer acceptance. Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were

drawn:

The respondent’s academic motivation both intrinsic and extrinsic is in high level.

They are capable of aforementioned as a manner of reaching the satisfactory

performance. Learners are aware that the study habit really affect and contributes to the

great source of academic motivation. Academic motivation is significantly related with

the problem solving skills of the respondents, which means that students are

academically motivated, showing results by study habits.

Based on the conclusions drawn from the findings of the study, the researcher

recommends the following: Conduct Seminar / Academic Development Seminar on

Mathematics for teachers on how to motivate learners to have more interest in the field

of Math; Conduct real life situation activities that will strengthen the students’ motivation

in learning Mathematics which will improve their critical and creative thinking skills ; and

the students must be given proper motivation and varied activities about problem

solving so that they will be interested and learn to love Mathematics.

Keywords: Education, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic, academic motivation, study habits,

Philippines.

CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Learners struggling their academic performance in the field of mathematics now

a days. There are a lot of factors why they don’t engage their selves in mathematical

problems. Solving mathematical problems requires a motivation to a learner to ensure

the speed and accuracy in solving it through understanding it and using mathematical

knowledge. It is carefully designed sequenced for the learners to develop proficiency

with numbers and operations, skills in problem solving and the ability to understand

(Sumatra, 2015).

Problems are part of life so it’s important to teach learners how to solve and/ or

cope with them. Life brings challenges that learners must learn to overcome. Likewise,

mathematical problems demand learners to learn how to make decisions independently.

Problem solving skills help to develop creativity, persistency, proactive mindset and

prepares learners to use their critical thinking in dealing such things in their life (Levine,

2009).
 In this study the independent variable and dependent variable are involve to see

the connection to each other. The independent variable is motivation; it is define as

literally the desire to do things (Piero, 2012). Maehr and Meyer cited that motivation is a

word that is part of the popular culture as few other psychological concepts are.

Furthermore, Wikipedia defined motivation as the reason for people’s actions, desires,

and needs. Motivation is also one’s direction to behavior, or what causes a person to

want to repeat a behavior. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way,

or at least develop an inclination fo0r specific behavior. The independent variable is

indicated in terms of: interest to adventure, gain experiences and new learning as a

learner. On other hand, the dependent variable is problem solving skills. D’Zurilla

(1988) defined “cognitive-affective-behavioral as a process through which an individual

attempts to identify, discover, or invent effective means of coping with problems

encountered in everyday living”. Problem solving skills are evaluated in terms of

mastery of goals, need for achievement, authority expectations, peer acceptance,

power motivation, and fear of failure.

It has already been pointed out that mathematics is an essential discipline

because of its practical role to the individual and society. Through a problem – solving

approach, the aspect of mathematics can be developed. Presenting problem and

developing the skills needed to solve that problem is motivational than teaching the

skills without a context. Such motivation gives problem solving special value as a

vehicle for learning new concepts and skills or the reinforcement of skills already

acquired (Stanic and Kilpatrick, 2009, NCTM, 2009). It has been a long discussion

about motivation and problem solving skills. Few studies related to the topic have been
conducted but the researchers would like to examine the motivation and its relationship

to problem solving skills in mathematics of college students in Central Mindanao

Colleges.

1.2 Statement of the problem

This study was conducted to examine the level of motivation and its relationship

to problem solving skills in mathematics of the college students in Central Mindanao

Colleges.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following sub – problems:

1. What is the profile of students in Central Mindanao Colleges in terms of:

1.1 age;

1.2 sex?

2. What is the level of the motivation of the students in terms of:

2.1 Intrinsic motivation;

2.2 Extrinsic motivation?

3. What is the level of student’ s problem solving skills in terms of:

3.1 gathering and organizing information;

3.2 analyzing and discovering patterns;

3.3 applying skills to real life situations?

 4. Is there any significant relationship between motivation and problem solving

skills in mathematics of the college students of Central Mindanao Colleges?

1.3 Hypothesis of the Study

This hypothesis is formulated and tested

Ho: There is no significant relationship between motivation and problem solving

skills in mathematics of the college students of Central Mindanao Colleges.

Ha: There is significant relationship between motivation and problem solving

skills in mathematics of the college students of Central Mindanao Colleges.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The data will be gathered in this study will provide valuable information to the following:

To the teachers. This study will serve as basis for them on what technique or

strategy must be applied to develop the students’ motivation to engage mathematical

thinking.

To the parents. This study will give challenge to them to give more support and

guidance for their children.

To the college students. This study will be a great help for them to have

knowledge and skills in solving problem in mathematics.

 To the future researchers. This will benefit and provide additional information to

them who will undergo research related to this study.

1.5 Definition of Terms

Motivation - internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to

be continually interested and committed to a job, role are subject, or to make an effort to

attain a goal.

Problem Solving - is defined as a “cognitive –affective-behavioral process through

which an individual (or group) attempts to identify, discover, or invent effective means of

coping with problems encountered in everyday living”.

Mathematics - (from Greek word mathema, “ knowledge, study, learning”, often

shortened to maths or math) is the study of topic such as quantity (numbers), structure,

space, and change.

1.6 Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Piaget’s cognitive development theory which asserts

the developmental stages of children’s cognition. His work on children’s quantitative

development has provided mathematics educators with crucial insights into how

children learn mathematical concepts and ideas. As described Berk (2010) by stages of
cognitive development with an emphasis on their importance to mathematical

development.

Piaget believed that the development of a child occurs through a continuous

transformation of thought processes. A developmental stage consists of a period of

months or years when certain development takes place. Although students are usually

grouped by chronological age, their development levels may differ significantly ( Weinert

& Helmke, 2009), as well as the rate at which individual children pass through each

stage. This difference may depend on maturity, experience, culture, and the ability of

the child ( Papila & Olds, 2009 ). According to Berk (2010), Piaget believed that children

develop steadily and gradually throughout the varying stages and that the experiences

in one stage form the foundations for movement to the next. All people pass through

each stage before starting the next one; no one skip any stage. This implies older

children, and even adults, who have not passed through later stages process

information in ways that are characteristics of young children at the same

developmental stage ( Eggen & Kauchak, 2009).

1.7 Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 shows that motivation greatly affect college students’ problem solving

skills. The independent variable is the motivation of the learners which include the

intrinsic motivation (mastery of goals and need for achievement) and extrinsic

motivation (authority expectations, peer acceptance, power motivation, and fear of

failure). The dependent variable is composed of college students’ problem solving skills
in mathematics which includes gathering and organizing information, analyzing and

discovering pattern, and applying skills to real life situation.

It is conceptualized in this study that the independent variable affects the

dependent variable in the study.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Problem solving skills 

Level of motivation of

college students in • Gathering and organizing

Central Mindanao information

Colleges • Analyzing and discovering

pattern
• Intrinsic motivation
• Applying skills to real life
• Extrinsic motivation
situation

 
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the study showing the relationship of the variables.

1.8 Ethical Consideration

Ethical considerations can be specified as one of the most critical parts of the

investigation. Dissertations may even be bound to disappointment if this part is missing.

In this study, the researchers led discussion with the respondents that they were chosen

as possible respondents in the study in light of the goal of the study identified with the
issues on the Motivation and problem Solving Skills. Thus, the researchers were enticed

to conduct study on the perspective of the Mathematics Major students in Central

Mindanao Colleges. The motivation behind of the study was clarified and educated the

respondents that ultimately the study will be published and presented as paper in

research forums. There was no sensible predictable (or expected) risk encountered

during the conduct of the study. The advantages of being in the study were clarified that

it will provide personal insights relative to respondent’s manifestation in their academic

motivation in relation to Problem Solving Skills in Mathematics. The investigation was

anonymous which implies that there was no accumulation or maintenance of any data

about the personality of the respondents. The record of this investigation was kept

entirely secret. Research records were kept in a locked file, and all electronic data were

coded and secured utilizing a password protected file. Any information was not

incorporated into any report the researcher may publish that would make it possible to

identify respondents.

In addition, the choice to participate in this investigation was entirely up to the

respondents. Respondents may decline to partake in this study whenever without

affecting the association with the researcher of this study. The choice won’t bring about

any loss or benefits to which the respondents were generally entitled. Respondents

were given the privilege not to answer any single inquiry, as well as to pull back anytime

during the process. Furthermore, the respondents were given the privilege to make

inquiries about the research study and to have those inquiries answered by the

researcher before, during and after the research. Respondents who have any further

questions regarding the study, some other concerns about their rights as research
respondents that have not been answered by the researcher, at any time, they were

allowed to contact the researcher.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This section presents the review of related studies of the components of the

motivation and problem solving skills. This section starts with the concept and definition

of the different variables of the study followed by the findings of researchers showing

relationship between the variables.

Motivation

Motivation is derived from motive that means anything that encourages person to

act to do something (Purwanto, 2011). Besides, Pintrich and Schunk (2008) stated that

the term motivation is derived from Latin word “Movere” (to move) the process whereby

goal director activity is instigated and sustained. Harmer (2001) stated that motivation is

some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve

something. Moreover, Ryan and Edward (2000) describe motivation as, the “orientation
of motivation concerns the underlying attitudes and goals that give rise to action. Brown

(2007) added, motivation is the extent to which you make choices about (a) goals to

pursue and (b) the effort you will devote to that pursuit.

Motivation is divided into two types; intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

Below is further explanation related to both of these types of motivation.

1. Intrinsic Motivation

Santrock (2004) stated that intrinsic motivation involves the internal motivation to do

something because of encouragement of desire or feeling from inside. While Penny

(2001) defined that global intrinsic motivation is the generalized desire to invest effort in

the learning for its own sake is largely rooted in the previous attitudes of the learners:

whether they see the learning as worthwhile, whether they like the language and it’s

cultural, political and ethic association. According to Harmer (2007) thus a person might

be motivated by the enjoyment of the learning process itself or by desire to make

themselves feel better. People do certain activities because it gives them pleasure and

develops a particular skill based on their internal desire. Intrinsically motivated students

are bound to do much better in classroom activities, because they are willing and eager

to learn new material. Their learning experience is more meaningful, and they go

deeper into the subject to fully understand it. In addition, Gage and Berliner (1984) said

that intrinsic motivation can be found such as in learner’s interest, need, hobby and

goal.
2. Extrinsic Motivation

According to Dornyei (2000) Extrinsic Motivation refers to motivation that comes

from outside of an individual, its factors are external or outside rewards such as money

or grades and these rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may

not provide. A person who is motivated extrinsically works on a task that there is little or

no interest in it, there is no good satisfaction from learning. The rewards can be

something as minor as a smiley face to something major like fame or fortune. While

Harmer (2007) states that extrinsic motivation is the result of any number of outside

factors, for example the need to pass an exam, the hope of financial reward or the

possibility of future travel. Furthermore, this type of motivation appears from outside and

gives some influences to a person like give incentives, social pressure and punishment.

According to Gage and Berliner (1984) this type of motivation comes from teacher,

parents, and environment. While Deci and Ryan (2000) states that even when a school

environment supports autonomy and competence, if a person is simply not interested in

a particular learning activity, he will not be intrinsically motivated for engagement.

Rather, he will be motivated by external factors like grades. Despite his lack of interest,

a person can still be self-determined if he can integrate the activity into his sense of self.

Through this process, the student can now approach the activity with a sense of will

rather than pressure. They add that teachers must also explain the reasons behind the

activity’s importance, demonstrate how the activity relates to the students’ lives, and

ensure that pupils have the necessary skills to succeed.

Motivation is considered as important aspect to do certain activities in order to be

success. Almost all works done requires motivation as activator and encouragement in
doing the best effort, one of them is to improve the problem solving skills. When a

student is motivated in solving a problem, he/she will make the best effort to solve it.

He/she will try to solve in any ways. On the contrary, if a student is not motivated in

solving a problem, the students have difficulty answering and less his/her problem

solving skills. Therefore, motivation is considered as essential element to improve their

skills in problem solving.

Problem Solving Skills

According to Cai (2005) problem solving in Mathematics can be explained as critically

and a cognitive process. Creative thinking and problem solving are frequently seen as a

task for an individual but an individual can only build these skills from what he/she

experience or learned. In addition to that, Problem solving combined experimental and

correlations method to investigate the effects of problem solving effectiveness. Behare

(2009) in his study of problem solving skills in mathematics learning investigated

cognitive skills in solving mathematical problems of learner at the terminal stage of

elementary education. It revealed that those who can verbalize the process of solution

are better at solving problems. Mohanty (2009) studied the effect of cognitive and meta-

cognitive strategy instruction on the Review of related Literature 46 mathematical

problem solving of elementary school students with learning disabilities. The

intervention programme has been found to have a significant positive effect on the

mathematical problem solving of students with learning disabilities.

The National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics states that problem solving is the

process of applying previously acquired knowledge to new and unfamiliar situations

(NCSM, 2001). They said that learning to solve problems is the principal reason for

studying mathematics. Similarly, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

(2000) said that Problem Solving must be the focus of school mathematics in the

2000's. Huggins (2000) believed that problem solving is a disposition toward inquiry

which has as its goals the development of new ideas based upon older ones. While

George Polya stated that problem solving is finding the unknown means to a distinctly

conceived end (In Krulik, 1980). In “How to Solve It” Polya (2002) define four steps in

problem solving. His four steps include: 1. Understanding the problem 2. Devising a

plan for solving the problem 3. Carrying out the plan 4. Looking back or evaluating the

solution. While Dewey, in “How We Think” (2001) postulated five steps in the problem

solving process: 1. A felt difficulty 2. Its location and definition 3. Suggestion of possible

solutions 4.Development by reasoning of the bearings of the suggestion 5. Further

observation and experiment leading to its acceptance or rejection, that is, the

conclusion of belief or disbelief.

In addition Schoenfeld (2004) stated that there’s a different factors that affect students'

problem-solving abilities as four components: (1) resources are formal and informal

knowledge about facts and routines; (2) heuristics are rules of thumb for making

progress on unfamiliar problems; (3) control is metacognitive knowledge of how to

select resources and heuristics; and (4) belief systems are students' world-views,

including their self-perception.

Motivation and Problem-solving skills

Studies have shown that pupils’ interest in Mathematics is important for a successful

problem solving. Pupils, who like Mathematics usually, are intrinsically motivated for

learning. Intrinsically motivated pupils focus on understanding mathematical concepts,

applying mathematical rules and algorithms, solving interesting problem (Duda &

Nicholls, 2004). These pupils allocate more time and effort for learning even in the

absence of an extrinsic reward (Lepper, 2005).

Motivational theory helps us to further understand why some children fail at

problem-solving activities. According to Middleton and Spanais (2000) children who are

intrinsically motivated exhibit a range of behaviours, such as risk-taking and

persistence, which are considered to be characteristics of efficient problem solvers.

When Muir et al (2008) reported that the child, having worked out one answer, gave up

even though they believe there to be other possible answers. This child also showed

signs of limited confidence and engagement which indicate poor intrinsic motivation.

Dweck and Repucci (2001) found that after only a few failures children could rapidly

lose the persistence that they normally displayed. Over time this led to 'learned

helplessness' and a tendency to dwell excessively upon failure rather than trying

alternative strategies.

The development of intrinsic motivation is vital as complex knowledge and skills

'require significant and prolonged effort on the part of the learner' (Lambert & McCombs.

2001) In order for a learner to build this intrinsic motivation they need to experience

appropriately difficult tasks in which they believe success is achievable. There needs to

be a balance between challenge and perceived skill (Schweinle 2006). Yet Rogers

(2004) argues that teachers are ill-prepared and inadequately trained in the
development of suitable problem-solving tasks. Furthermore in order to develop intrinsic

motivation, learning needs to be meaningful and personally relevant (Lambert &

McCombs. 1998). If, however, Willoughby's (2003) concerns are to be believed,

students are predominantly presented with problems that lack authenticity thereby

undermining intrinsic motivation and the development of characteristics so vital to

successful problem solving.

Further, students’ interest in mathematics, their beliefs in the utility of the

mathematical knowledge in their future career or in their everyday life determine in a

fundamental way their problem-solving behavior. „Belief systems are one’s

mathematical world view, the perspective with which one approaches mathematics and

mathematical task. One’s beliefs about mathematics can determine how one chooses to

approach a problem, which techniques will be used or avoided, how long and how hard

one will work on it, and so on.

For a successful problem solving, pupils need to be motivated, as there is a

correlation between pupils’ attitude towards Mathematics and their mathematical results

(eg. Nicolaidou & Philippou, 2003). Pupils’ motivation is strongly related with their

beliefs about the utility of mathematics in their future life (Marchis 2011), and with the

interest level of solving the concrete problem.

 CHAPTER III

METHOD

This chapter contains the research design, research design, research

respondents, research instrument, data gathering procedure and treatment of data.

3.1 Research Design

In order to satisfy the objectives of dissertation, the descriptive-correlational

method was held by the researchers. According to Burns & Grove (2003) descriptive

research is designed to provide a picture of a situation as it naturally happens. It may be

used to justify the current practice and make judgement. A correlation is simply defined

as a relationship between two variables. In other words, this study sought to figure out

the motivation and its relationship to problem solving skills in mathematics.

This study is conducted in Central Mindanao Colleges, Osmeña Drive,

Kidapawan City. The plot of this study were the department of Mathematics college

students.

3.2 Sampling Plan

The respondents were identified through satisfied random sampling by ratio and

portion using the Solvin’s formula.

3.3 Research Repondents

The respondents of this study were 47 education students major in Mathematics

college students of Central Mindanao Colleges. The said participants were randomly

selected on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, the participants signed a letter of consent

indicating their willingness and consideration answering the provided survey

questionnaire. Moreover, the substance of this survey is used for data collection

purposes only and to complete this study.

3.4 Research Instruments

This study utilized 2 sets of survey questionnaire adopted from different authors.

Primarily, the Academic Motivation was adopted from Shia (2012) of Wheeting Jesuit

University which is evaluated of in terms of Intrinsic Academic Motivation and

Extrinsic Academic motivation. The set of questionnaire in Problem Solving Skills

was adopted from Marites C. Sumatra (2015) which is measured in terms of Gathering

and organizing information, Analyzing and discovering pattern and Applying skill

to real life situation. With the given instrument, the students gave their opinions about

each of the questions by marking down one of the five responses. The scale responses

range from “very low" (1) to "very high" (5), with "moderate" (3) representing the mid-

point between these low and high extremes. They were free to choose any of the five

possible since each represents a degree on the continuum. The results indicate the

students’ level of motivation and level of problem solving skills in different results from

different set of questionnaire with the higher scores indicating a positive motivation level

and problem solving skills.

3.5 Data Gathering Procedure

To obtain the data needed for this study, first, the researchers secured a letter

addressed to the office of the School President to properly request the permission to

conduct the study in Central Mindanao Colleges. Likewise to the office of the DEAN of

college of education and to the subject teachers.

For ethical considerations, the participants were asked to affix their names and

signatures below the given forms to denote their voluntary participation in the

administration of this study.

 The respondents were given few time to answer the survey questionnaires. After

a while, the raw data were collected and were subject for tally and statistical treatment

and to arrive to proper interpretation of the results.

3.6 Statistical Treatment of Data

In order to analyze the data gathered, the researchers used the Percent and

Frequency Distribution, Weight Mean, and Correlation to compute and interpret the

collected data. Further, these statistical tools are helpful to examine whether the

motivation has a relationship to the problem solving skills among the Mathematics

college students.

1. Percentage and Frequency Distribution – This was used to compute the

frequency and percentage distribution of the respondents.

f
%= x 100 Where: % = percentage; f= frequency; N= no. of students
n

2. Weighted Mean – This was used to determine the level of study habits of the

pupil-respondents based from the indicators.

X = n1 + n2 + n3 + . . . .

f1 + f2 + f3 + . . . .
3. Pearson Product Moment- Correlation Coefficient (r) – is a linear

correlation necessary to find the degree of the association of two sets of

variables, x and y. This is the most commonly used measure of correlation to

determine the relationship of two sets of variables quantitatively. To obtain the

value of r from an ungrouped data, the formula (Guilford, 1973).

rxy= N(∑xy) – (∑x) (∑x)

√ [N (∑x²) − (∑x²)] [N(∑y²)−(∑y²)]

Where: rxy = correlation between x and y

∑xy = the sum of the products of two variables

∑x= the sum of x variables

∑y= the sum of y variables

r= Persons r

Interpretation of the r- value

from 0. 00 to ± 0.20 - negligible correlation

± 0. 21 to ± 0. 40 - low or slight correlation

± 0.41 to ± 0. 70 - moderate or marked correlation

± 0. 71 to ± 0. 90 - high correlation

±0. 91 to ± 0. 99 - very high correlation

 ± 1. 00 - perfect correlation

Chapter IV

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Profile of the Respondents

4.2 Level of Motivation

 INDICATORS MEAN STANDARD DESCRIPTIVE
DEVIATION LEVEL

MASTERY OF 4.65 .198 High

GOALS_Mean
NEED FOR 4.43 .108 High
ACHIEVEMENT_Mean

AUTHORITY 4.24 .678 High

EXPECTATIONS_Mean

PEER 4.31 .155 High

ACCEPTANCE_Mean

POWER 4.30 .253 High

MOTIVATION_Mean
FEAR OF 4.16 .217 High
FAILURE_Mean
OVERALL MEAN 4.32 .105 High
SCORE
Table 1 shows the data of the respondents’ level of motivation of Mathematics major

students of Central Mindanao Colleges namely; mastery of goals, need for

achievement, authority expectation, peer acceptance, power motivation and fear of

failure.

Table 1 Level of Motivation of Mathematics Major students in Central Mindanao

Colleges

The findings brought the implication that the students are very high self-

motivated intrinsically in terms of mastery of goals but has low motivation extrinsically

specifically on fear of failure.

 This conforms to the study of Girod (2012) which concluded that learners with

high mastery of goals develop competence over time through practice and effort. They

are more likely to be enthusiastic about school and become actively involved in

academic activities.

4.3 Level of Problem Solving Skills

Table 2 shows the data on problem solving skills of Mathematics major students

of Central Mindanao Colleges based on the following: gathering and organizing

information, analysing and discovering pattern, applying skill to real life situation.

INDICATORS MEAN STANDARD DESCRIPTIVE

DEVIATION LEVEL
GATHERING AND 2.55 .471 High
ORGANIZING
INFORMATION_Mea
n
ANALYZING AND 2.57 .487 High
DISCOVERING
PATTERN_Mean
APPLYING SKILLL 2.76 .521 High
TO REAL LIFE
SITUATION_Mean

OVERALL MEAN 2.63 .493 High

SCORE

The findings brought the implication that the students are interested when it is

based on real life situations. On the other hand, the findings shows that the students

have low interest in gathering and organizing information.

 Polya’s (2009) supports this finding and said that engaging with real problems;

guessing discovering, and making sense of Mathematics. It is a much more challenging

in the interpretation of the problem but it is much more effective that in developing

young mathematicians, they should have an understanding of the world, the ability to

reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics and a

sense of enjoyment and curiosity of the subject.

4.4 Relation between Motivation and Problem Solving Skills

PROBLE Pearson r Amount of Direction Significanc P-value Directions

M Relationshi e

SOLVING p

Reject

.471 Positive * .000

Table 3 reveals the significant relationship between motivation and problem

solving skills of Mathematics Major Students in Central Mindanao Colleges

The data imply the high level of relationship between the level of Motivation and

Problem Solving Skills of Mathematics Major students in Central Mindanao Colleges.

 Bada (2014) supports the findings of the study. Accordingly, the role of teachers

are to revise, select, develop tasks that are likely to foster the development of

understanding and mastery of procedures in a way that also promotes the development

of abilities to solve problems and communicate mathematically. This are basically

facilitating skills in a classroom situation.

Furthermore, Sweller et al, (2011) hold that teaching problem solving skills is

highly desirable, and of major importance in teaching mathematics, by clever and well

thought out instructional design, through the use of worked examples, can allow more

efficient processing and formation of new schema.

4.5 Hypothesis Testing

Ha: There is Significant Relationship between the Motivation and Problem Solving

Chapter V
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the Summary, Summary of Findings, Conclusion and

Recommendation of the study.

Summary

The level of motivation of the respondents is measured through mastery of goals,

need for achievement, authority expectation, peer acceptance, power motivation and

fear of failure.

The level of Problem Solving Skills of the Mathematics Major students of Central

Mindanao Colleges is measured through gathering and organizing information,

analysing and discovering pattern, applying skill to real life situation.

This study shows the relationship between Motivation and Problem Solving Skills of

the Mathematics Major students of Central Mindanao Colleges.

Conclusions

Based on the findings, the researchers concluded the following:

1. Majority of the levels of the Motivation of Mathematics Major students of Central

Mindanao Colleges were found to agree, they have the mastery of goals, need

for achievement, authority expectation, peer acceptance, power motivation and

fear of failure.
 2. Majority of the levels of the Problem Solving Skills of Mathematics Major students

of Central Mindanao Colleges were found to agree, they have the gathering and

organizing information, analysing and discovering pattern, applying skill to real

life situation.

3. Motivation has a direct relationship to Problem Solving Skills of Mathematics

Major students of Central Mindanao Colleges.

Recommendations

Guided by the findings and conclusions of the study, the researchers recommended

the following:

Conduct Seminar / Academic Development Seminar on Mathematics for teachers on

how to motivate learners to have more interest in the field of Math.

Conduct real life situation activities that will strengthen the students’ motivation in

learning Mathematics which will improve their critical and creative thinking skills.

The students must be given proper motivation and varied activities about problem

solving so that they will be interested and learn to love Mathematics.

REFERENCES

Brown, H. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Fifth edition.

 Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. A Pearson Education Company.

Cai, J., Mamona-Downs, J., & Weber K. (2005). Mathematical problem solving:

What we know and where we are going. Journal of Mathematical

Behavior , 24, 217-220

Ryan, R.M., Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of

intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American

Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.

Dornyei,z. (2000).motivation.in M.byram(ed).Routledge encycolopedia of language

teaching and learning(pp.425-4320).new yourk:Routledge.

Dweck, C. & Reppucci, N. (1973) Learned helplessness and reinforcement

responsibility in children. Journal of personality and social

psychology. 25, 109-116

Gage, N. L., & David, C. Berliner.(1988). Educational Psychology 4th edition.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Harmer, J (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching.Third edition.

Longman Pearson Education Limited.

Lambert, N. & McCombs, B. (Eds.) (1998) How Students Learn: Reforming

Schools

through Learner-Centered Instruction, Washington: American

Psychological Association.

Malone, T.W. & Lepper, M.R. 1988, " Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic

motivations for learning" in Aptitude, learning, and instruction:

Cognitive and affective process analyses, eds.

Middleton, J. A., & Spanais, P. A. (1999) Motivation for achievement in

mathematics:

Findings, generalisation and criticisms of the research. Journal for

Research in Mathematics Education, 30(1), 65–68.

Muir, T., Beswick, K. & Williamson, J. “I’m not very good at solving problems”: An

exploration of students’ problem solving behaviours. The Journal of

Mathematical Behavior, Volume 27, Number 3 (January 2008), pp.

228-241.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1980). Problem solving in school

mathematics: 1980 yearbook (S. Krulik and R. E. Reys, Eds.).

Reston, VA: Author

Pintrich, P. R., &Date. H. Schunk., (2008). Motivation in Education Theory,

Research

and Application, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Polya, G. (1957). How to solve it (2nd ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University

Press.

Purwanto, N. (2011). PsikologiPendidikan. Bandung: PT Remaja Rosda Karya

Offset

Rogers, J. (2004). 'Autonomy and mathematical problem-solving: The early

years',Education 3-13, 32:3, 24-31.

Ryan, R., and Edward L. Deci. "Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic

Definitions

and New Directions." Contemporary Educational Psychology 25.1

(2000): 54-67. Http://www.idealibrary.com. University of Rochester.

Web. 17 Jan. 2012

Santrock, J.W. (2004). Psychology by Santrock. McGrow-Hill (537 pp.)

Schoenfeld, A. H. (1985). Mathematical problem solving. Orlando, FL: Academic

Press, Inc.

Schweinle, A., Meyer, D. & Turner, J. (2006) Striking the right balance: Students'

motivation and affect in elementary mathematics. The journal of

 educational research. Vol.99 (No.5) p271-289.

Willoughby, S. (1985, April) How to Teach Mathematical Problem Solving.

Educational Leadership, 42(7), 90.