Effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach to teaching mathematics and economics in middle school mathematics classrooms

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an interdisciplinary instructional approach that requires teaching mathematics and economics together in mathematics classes would improve middle school students understanding of mathematics as well as their understanding of economics.;The data were analyzed using regression analysis. There were two research hypotheses in this study. The first was whether students who study economics and mathematics together in middle school mathematics classrooms will perform better in economics than students who study mathematics alone. The data were divided into two groups, sixth-grade students and seventh and eighth-grade students. Across models and subgroups, the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group in economics learning.;The second research hypothesis was that students who study economics and mathematics together in middle school mathematics classrooms will perform better in mathematics than students who study mathematics alone. The data were divided into two groups, sixth-grade students and seventh and eighth-grade students. The difference between the experimental and control group scores, although not always significant, was always positive suggesting that learning economics in the mathematics classroom complements learning mathematics and does not detract from learning mathematics.;While the differences in mathematics learning were not significant, the positive results suggest that further study and analysis of an integrated approach to teaching mathematics and economics on student learning are warranted.;Data were gathered from four middle schools of similar demographics in a suburban school district. Data included pre and posttests of mathematics and economics content, teacher education and experience, and student attitude about mathematics. There were 271 students in the control group and 226 in the experimental group. Students in the control group received a traditional approach to mathematics instruction. Students in the experimental group received instruction employing a set of lessons in which mathematics and economics were taught together.