Mathematical tools for understanding a complex world: designing adult courses for critical thinking development
Jessica Jessica Zhao
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Source: Crossref
Published: Oct 21, 2026
DOI: 10.54254/3049-7248/2026.37861
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Adult learners often stop engaging in mathematics after formal school education, but existing literature on adult education contains limited work on mathematic courses centered on critical thinking rather than career or examination-based goals. This study tested the specific teaching methods of gamification and emotional triggering context and their relationship with the motivation to join in with online mathematical courses for adults. A questionnaire survey was conducted, and 89 participants aged 20 and above were recruited through convenient sampling. The survey tool adopts a funnel shaped layout. Quantitative analysis indicates that the perceived value of adult mathematics thinking courses by participants does not directly translate to their willingness to participate. Based on these empirical models, two illustrative adult course cases were constructed with the core principles of real-world relevance and moderate gamification. This study provides actionable design insights for online adult mathematics education.
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