Real world and math

In chapter 7 there was a very interesting discovery regarding students at each school and how they viewed math in class and math in the real world. According to Boaler(2002), "The Amber Hill Students appeared to regard the worlds of the school mathematics classroom and the rest of their lives inherently different"(p120) They did not believe that what they did in the classroom related to their everyday lives. They did not think of math as something you encounter everyday but were only familiar with the math that they learned in the classroom. I think this is important for us as teachers to think about. We must try to make math a reality for our students. Teaching from the text and confining your lessons to the classroom will not cut it. We need to make the math matter to them, make them see how it could help us outside the classroom and discuss the math that we are surrounded with everyday.
If we engage students in their learning by allowing them to see how math is related to the real world then I believe this will increase their motivation. According to Conner and Gunstone (2004), "Willingness is closely linked to motivational constructs." I believe students would be more willing to learn if they feel there is a point and that what they are learning will help them in their lives.

Boaler, Jo.(2002) Experiencing School Mathematics.New York
Conner, Richard. Gunstone, Lindsey(2004). Conscious Knowledge of Learning. International Journal of Science Education. v.26 p1427-1443