Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness

Nagham M. Mohammad; Daniel Kraus; Geordie Richards; Erin McCubbin

doi:10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

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Nagham M. Mohammad ¹ ^* , Daniel Kraus ¹ , Geordie Richards ¹ , Erin McCubbin ¹

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¹ University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CANADA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This paper showcases the effectiveness of integrating deliberate acts of kindness (DAKs) into mathematics education at the university level. Kindness was incorporated into engaged labs, mid-class online quizzes, small-group collaboration, and final grade calculations. Instructors also learned students’ names, valued their input, and shared personal anecdotes. We analyse both qualitative and quantitative survey responses from 248 first-year students of an introductory calculus class at a large Canadian university. This study explores the interplay among student perceptions of school kindness, active and effective learning, classroom supportiveness, optimism, prosocial and social goals, life satisfaction, and academic self-efficacy. The results show that instructors’ caring behaviours were correlated with positive perceptions of instructor kindness. Furthermore, students of empathetic caring instructors had significantly higher school kindness scale scores. The insights from this study motivate educators to incorporate DAKs into their teaching to enhance student well-being. Additionally, these findings can inform future pedagogical studies and foster advancements in pedagogy research.

Keywords

university kindness
deliberate acts of kindness
teacher student relationships
caring
mathematics

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher, Volume 5, Issue 2, 2025, Article No: em077

https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

Publication date: 01 Apr 2025

Online publication date: 26 Feb 2025

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Article Downloads: 69

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APA

Mohammad, N. M., Kraus, D., Richards, G., & McCubbin, E. (2025). Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness. Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher, 5(2), em077. https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

Vancouver

Mohammad NM, Kraus D, Richards G, McCubbin E. Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness. Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher. 2025;5(2):em077. https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

AMA

Mohammad NM, Kraus D, Richards G, McCubbin E. Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness. Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher. 2025;5(2), em077. https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

Chicago

Mohammad, Nagham M., Daniel Kraus, Geordie Richards, and Erin McCubbin. "Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness". Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher 2025 5 no. 2 (2025): em077. https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

Harvard

Mohammad, N. M., Kraus, D., Richards, G., and McCubbin, E. (2025). Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness. Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher, 5(2), em077. https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057

MLA

Mohammad, Nagham M. et al. "Students’ perception on blending mathematics teaching with kindness". Journal of Mathematics and Science Teacher, vol. 5, no. 2, 2025, em077. https://doi.org/10.29333/mathsciteacher/16057