Increasing Student Choice to Engage in Math by Altering the Frequency of Interspersed Math Problems

Researchers have posited that the completion of problems on worksheets serves as a reinforcing event as outlined by the discrete task completion hypothesis. This hypothesis has been demonstrated through the additive interspersal procedure, in which educators can add brief problems to a worksheet to increase student preferences compared to a worksheet that contains no added problems. Previous research has supported these findings across participants; however, much of the previous research has been done with a single added brief problem for every third target problem on a worksheet. This study evaluates student preferences and rates of problem completion when the number of brief target problems added to a worksheet is increased. Specifically, this study compares problem completion rates, participant preference, accuracy, target problem completion rates, and participant perceptions across worksheets that contain no added brief problems, one brief problem for every three target problems, one brief problem for every target problem, and three brief problems for every target problem.

Results of this study provide additional evidence to support the discrete task completion hypothesis through the additive interspersal procedure. Although three brief problems for every target problem worksheet required students to complete 45 additional brief problems, it also yielded that greatest problem completion rates and significantly more students preferred this worksheet. In addition, participant perception of time and effort to complete worksheets decreased as the number of interspersed problems increased. Accuracy and the rate of target problem completion were not influenced by increases in interspersed brief problems. Discussion focuses on theoretical and applied implication of this study. Study limitations and considerations for future researchers are also discussed.