Jansen, Amanda M.Perseverance is a key process through which mathematics can be learned with understanding. However, withstanding such uncertainty can be difficult for students to endure and necessitates support. In this study, I investigated ways in which embedded scaffolds encouraged 10 ninth-grade students’ perseverance for solving a series of analogous challenging mathematics tasks. I designed a Three-Phase Perseverance Framework to capture the student perspective of how they persevered, both before and after reaching a perceived impasse. I conducted think-aloud interviews, video-reflection interviews, and an exit interview with each student as he or she engaged with one task per week for five weeks. Three tasks were embedded with conceptualization scaffolds prompting students to record their initial conceptual thinking prior to engagement; two tasks had no scaffolds. Results showed that students persevered significantly more on scaffolded tasks than on non-scaffolded tasks, with the most notable difference occurring after students encountered an impasse. Also, the quality of students’ perseverance improved over time, more so when working on scaffolded tasks than on non-scaffolded tasks. Students attributed much of their perseverance success to their preliminary conceptualization work prompted by the scaffolds. The findings suggest these scaffolds supported perseverance in problem solving in a cyclical manner, as students were encouraged to revisit their initial conceptual thinking upon impasse and re-initiate and re-sustain their productive struggle by exploring a different set of mathematical ideas. Furthermore, the data show malleability of perseverance, suggesting students can improve their perseverance in problem solving over time through carefully designed deliberate practice.University of Delaware, School of EducationPh.D
