A comparative analysis of traditional classroom and future classroom lab in mathematics education: exploring pre-service teachers’ emotions and self-efficacy beliefs

This study addresses the lack of empirical research regarding how Traditional Classroom (TC) versus innovative Future Classroom Lab (FCL) learning environment influence students’ emotional responses and self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics education. A quasi-experimental design using intact classroom groups was employed to accommodate scheduling constraints and ensure equitable access to the newly pedagogical approaches. Therefore, the sample was selected by the occasional sampling method by convenience. A total of 105 Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) participated in the study. The instrument was administered online before and after the intervention. The questionnaire comprised 23 items: 14 assessing achievement emotions and 9 assessing self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics learning. The instruments demonstrated robust internal consistency, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients exceeded 0.70. The ANOVA indicated significant effects on emotions and self-efficacy beliefs, with larger effects when the course intervention was implemented in the FCL setting. When gender and educational background were assessed as covariates, no significant effects of these variables were observed. Post-intervention correlations between emotions and self-efficacy beliefs were higher in the FCL (76.2%) than in the TC (23.8%). The main objective of this study was to examine how transitioning from a TC setting to a FCL impacts PSTs’ emotions and self-efficacy beliefs. Finally, the results point at that the integration of FCL in this mathematics proposal significantly reduces the emotional aversion and low self-efficacy in mathematics that PSTs typically exhibit toward this subject. Therefore, this study can positively potentially impact PSTs’ learning and their future teaching practices as a direct consequence of utilizing the FCL in mathematics education.