The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of fourth-grade learners in a math classroom, how fourth graders express their interest and desire to learn math, and how different instructional strategies influence that interest and desire. The participants for this study were all fourth graders enrolled at a rural school district in Maine that serves approximately 1,200 learners in grades pre-kindergarten through Grade 6. Fifteen fourth graders provided the data to determine student perceptions on how they engage in math instruction. The findings of this study indicate strong relationships between instructional strategies and the self-determination theory of motivation. Specifically, students prefer learning that is problem solving oriented, purposeful, future focused, voice in choice in how they learn and that students require relatedness, autonomy and competence when learning math.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of fourth-grade learners in a math classroom, how fourth graders express their interest and desire to learn math, and how different instructional strategies influence that interest and desire. The participants for this study were all fourth graders enrolled at a rural school district in Maine that serves approximately 1,200 learners in grades pre-kindergarten through Grade 6. Fifteen fourth graders provided the data to determine student perceptions on how they engage in math instruction. The findings of this study indicate strong relationships between instructional strategies and the self-determination theory of motivation. Specifically, students prefer learning that is problem solving oriented, purposeful, future focused, voice in choice in how they learn and that students require relatedness, autonomy and competence when learning math.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Patrie, Ryan Wallace"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Brianna Parsons","Michelle Collay","Suzan Nelson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:05Z","subjects":["Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Methods","Elementary Education and Teaching","Science and Mathematics Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dune.une.edu/theses/29","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Brianna Parsons","Michelle Collay","Suzan Nelson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Patrie, Ryan Wallace"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-08-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Methods","Elementary Education and Teaching","Science and Mathematics Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/29"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of fourth-grade learners in a math classroom, how fourth graders express their interest and desire to learn math, and how different instructional strategies influence that interest and desire. The participants for this study were all fourth graders enrolled at a rural school district in Maine that serves approximately 1,200 learners in grades pre-kindergarten through Grade 6. Fifteen fourth graders provided the data to determine student perceptions on how they engage in math instruction. The findings of this study indicate strong relationships between instructional strategies and the self-determination theory of motivation. Specifically, students prefer learning that is problem solving oriented, purposeful, future focused, voice in choice in how they learn and that students require relatedness, autonomy and competence when learning math.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["How Instructional Strategies Engaged Fourth Graders In Math Learning"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Brianna Parsons","Michelle Collay","Suzan Nelson"],"dc:creator":["Patrie, Ryan Wallace"],"dc:date.available":["2015-08-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of fourth-grade learners in a math classroom, how fourth graders express their interest and desire to learn math, and how different instructional strategies influence that interest and desire. The participants for this study were all fourth graders enrolled at a rural school district in Maine that serves approximately 1,200 learners in grades pre-kindergarten through Grade 6. Fifteen fourth graders provided the data to determine student perceptions on how they engage in math instruction. The findings of this study indicate strong relationships between instructional strategies and the self-determination theory of motivation. Specifically, students prefer learning that is problem solving oriented, purposeful, future focused, voice in choice in how they learn and that students require relatedness, autonomy and competence when learning math.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dune.une.edu/theses/29"],"dc:subject":["Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Methods","Elementary Education and Teaching","Science and Mathematics Education"],"dc:title":["How Instructional Strategies Engaged Fourth Graders In Math Learning"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:21:05Z"}