How do number talks contribute to 5th grade students’ feelings about mathematics and support their mathematical confidence?
I created a survey that I gave to the students. The questions were designed to gauge the students' confidence and feelings about math, particularly in the context of number talks, and to provide a clear view of how their confidence in math evolved over time.
The data I collected from the survey helped answer my research question by showing how students felt about math before and after participating in number talks. The survey grouped students based on their confidence levels—very confident, somewhat confident, and not confident—so I could see where each student started. This information allowed me to track changes in their confidence as they engaged in number talks, helping me determine whether this strategy made them feel better about math. The survey results also revealed overall patterns, giving me a good sense of how number talks impacted students with different confidence levels. This helped me understand whether number talks contributed to students feeling more confident in math.
After selecting my participants based on the survey results, I conducted interviews to learn more about their responses. The interview questions encouraged students to reflect on their experiences during number talks and to expand on the survey by exploring how specific aspects of number talks—such as peer interactions and the use of multiple strategies—impacted their confidence and feelings about math.
The data I gathered from the interviews provided a deeper understanding of how number talks affected 5th-grade students' feelings about math and their confidence in solving problems. By listening to students describe how they felt when sharing their ideas, making mistakes, and hearing others’ strategies, I was able to identify which parts of number talks helped them feel more comfortable with math. The interviews allowed me to learn whether talking through math problems with classmates made students feel more confident. This data added depth to the survey results, showing how different students, based on their initial confidence levels, responded to number talks. Overall, the interviews provided real examples of how number talks changed students’ confidence and helped answer my research question.