This study investigates: (a) direction and strength of relationships in motivation, anxiety levels, and achievement among males and females enrolled in intermediate algebra utilizing computer-mediated learning model (CMLM) and traditional lecture model (TLM); and (b) interaction observed between motivation, anxiety levels, and achievement when mean final-exam scores for males and females are compared.
One hundred community college students who enrolled in four sections of intermediate algebra were selected at a community college in central Florida. Thirty-six males and 53 females participated in approximately 14 weeks of the community college's summer term. Two instructors with similar teaching experiences participated in the study, and each using two learning models for teaching algebra: traditional lecture model (TLM) and instructor-directed mediated model (IDMM).
Data analysis for 89 participants with completed data revealed no statistically significant differences in the effects of the two methods of instruction on students' anxiety. Statistically significant gender main effects did exist for the effects of the two methods of instruction on students' level of intrinsic motivation, and at the study's completion, females, on average, were more intrinsically motivated than males for the TLM and IDMM groups. ANCOVA showed a statistically significant three-way interaction between instructor, method of instruction, and gender. Results of Fisher's Z transformations showed no significant difference in the correlation between student achievement scores and intrinsic motivation for the two groups. The results also showed no significant difference in the correlation between students' scores on the final exam and math anxiety levels. Overall, non-significant findings indicated that the effects of the two methods of instruction on achievement are dependent on who is teaching and students' gender; academic performances of students using the IDMM are no more highly correlated with their levels of math anxiety and intrinsic motivation than students using the TLM.