The effects of Mystery Motivators on Homework Completion and Accuracy of a 10th grade Mathematics class.

Abstract

Homework is a teaching strategy used in mathematics to promote student mastery of new material through practice. Unfortunately, many students fail to complete homework regularly, accurately, or independently. This study examined the effects of an intervention package consisting sting of dependent and independent group contingencies and mystery motivators on a 10th grade class' homework completion and accuracy rates. Using an A-B-A-B research design, the investigator found that the intervention package produced immediate and noticeable increases in all students’ homework performance. These experimental effects were documented across subsequent experimental phases and anecdotal evidence suggested that the teacher and pupils found the intervention to be fun and helpful in completing math homework. These findings are highly consistent with previous results from the group contingency and mystery motivator literatures. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.