Abstract:

Difficulties in learning mathematics skills are common to many school-age children. No doubt exists about the importance of mathematics skills for individuals’ everyday lives in the digital age and how these skills can be used to face and overcome increasing challenges and demands of the digital society in the upcoming decades of the 21st century. In this regard, it should not be underestimated that learning or not learning mathematics skills with understanding by students during the first grades, along with other factors, depends to a great extent on the instruction provided to them and whether instructional feedback as an integral component is tailored and adapted to the learners’ unique needs and capabilities. This research aimed to examine the strength of the relationship between instructional feedback clarity and math achievement and motivation of students with mathematical difficulties. More specifically, the research intended to determine to what extent the clarity level of instructional feedback is associated with students' performance in mathematics cognitive domains, such as math knowing, math applying, and math reasoning. A total of 4496 fourth-grade students (51% boys and 49% girls) from Kosovo participated in Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for the first time in 2019. From this sample, 2737 students identified with low achievement in the TIMSS 2019 mathematics assessment were in focus of the present study. The secondary data analyses performed with the linear regressions showed that there is a significant predictive relationship between the clarity level of instructional feedback, math motivation, and overall mathematics achievement (R²=.072, p<.001). Except for math applying, significant predictive relationships are also found between the instructional feedback clarity, math motivation, and mathematics cognitive domains (math knowing and math reasoning). This pattern remains even after taking into account socioeconomic status. Although most of the students declared that the instructional feedback they received was of high quality, their achievement score in mathematics was low. On average, students who reported instructional feedback to be of high clarity had an average score of 402 compared to an average score of 365 for students who reported moderate to low clarity of instructional feedback in mathematics lessons. The level of motivation for learning mathematics was the strongest predictor of students’ achievement (sr² =.05), which can be used as a powerful resource by teachers to improve the cognitive outcomes in mathematics. Along with the multi-tiered instructional support, evidence-based instructional technology can be used to target the cognitive outcomes and strengthen them in all students regardless of their achievement level in mathematics.

Keywords:

Instructional feedback, mathematical difficulties, mathematics learning, achievement, motivation.