An Investigation of Students’ Attitudes Toward Mathematics Using School Math Bulletin Boards

Abstract

This study examines two school bulletin board practices designed to explore trends in seventh-grade middle school students’ positive attitudes toward mathematics, make their ability to connect mathematics with everyday life visible, and support their productive participation in the mathematics learning process. Within the scope of the study, the “My Math World” bulletin board, which was updated monthly in the school corridor, enabled students to represent the mathematical patterns, ratios, shapes, measurements, and relationships they observed in their surroundings through photographs or drawings. In addition, a bulletin board magazine entitled “Math Whiz” displayed poems, cartoons, riddles, puzzles, biographies of mathematicians, interviews, and interdisciplinary content. The study was conducted with 42 seventh-grade students attending a public school. Within an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, quantitative data were collected through a Likert-type student opinion questionnaire, while qualitative data were obtained from open-ended questions, student products, and visual documentation of the implementation process. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages, whereas qualitative data were examined through content analysis. The findings indicate that a substantial proportion of the students perceived the bulletin board activities as enjoyable and engaging and believed that they helped them recognize the relationship between mathematics and everyday life. Displaying student-generated work fostered awareness that mathematics is not limited to calculations and formulas and contributed to making its connections with art, technology, culture, and everyday life more visible. The results suggest that school bulletin boards can be designed not merely as decorative tools but as pedagogical spaces that promote student participation, mathematical communication, and a positive learning climate.