Relationship between the Effects of Productive Failure on University Students and Learner Characteristics

Abstract

With the growing importance of statistics education at the university level, productive failure has been identified as an effective instructional strategy for fostering understanding of statistical concepts. However, some studies suggest that its effectiveness may vary depending on learner characteristics. This study focused on attitudes toward mathematics, failure beliefs, and belief in cooperation, and examined the effects of a productive failure-based class on students' problem-solving. The results revealed a significant negative correlation between instrumental motivation to learn mathematics and the quantity of problem-solving, while no significant correlations were found for the other variables. These results suggest that learner characteristics do not have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of productive failure in university-level statistics education, although scaffolding may still be necessary for students with high instrumental motivation to learn mathematics.