<b>From triggered situational interest to emerging individual interest: An exploratory quasi-experimental study of mathematical modelling among university students</b>

Source abstract

Purpose - This study examined interest development during a mathematical modelling intervention among first-year university students, focusing on changes in triggered situational interest within the modelling group and differences in emerging individual interest between modelling and conventional-instruction classes. Methodology - An exploratory quasi-experimental pretest-post-test design was used with two intact main-study classes (modelling, n = 34; conventional instruction, n = 33) and a third class used for instrument piloting (n = 33). Triggered situational interest was measured repeatedly only in the modelling class, whereas emerging individual interest was measured in both main-study classes before and after the intervention. Analyses included repeated-measures analysis within the modelling class, ANCOVA for emerging individual interest, and hierarchical regression. Findings - Triggered situational interest increased across the modelling sessions, and the modelling class recorded a higher adjusted post-test mean for emerging individual interest than the conventional-instruction class. Average triggered situational interest was also positively associated with post-intervention emerging individual interest after adjustment for baseline interest. Novelty - The study treats interest as a developmental process rather than as a single post-intervention outcome and connects repeated situational interest with emerging individual interest in university mathematics. Significance - The findings provide exploratory evidence relevant to modelling-based university mathematics instruction, while the use of one intact class per condition and the absence of a control-group measure of triggered situational interest require cautious interpretation of causal and between-group claims.