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Evaluation Of The Effects Of A Curriculum-Based Math Intervention Package With Elementary School-Age Students In A Summer Academic Clinic, Nicholas E. Hoda

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate the effects of the Math to Mastery intervention package versus the effects of immediate corrective feedback with elementary school students who were performing at least one year below grade level in mathematics. Students were participants in a one-month summer academic clinic for remediation of reading, writing, and mathematics deficits held at a university in the southeastern United States. A combined-series multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of both interventions for gains in fluency as measured by digits correct per minute on one minute curriculum-based measurement probes. …

Spectrally Arbitrary Tree Sign Pattern Matrices, Krishna Kaphle

Mathematics Theses

A sign pattern (matrix) is a matrix whose entries are from the set {+,–, 0}. A sign pattern matrix A is a spectrally arbitrary pattern if for every monic real polynomial p(x) of degree n there exists a real matrix B whose entries agree in sign with A such that the characteristic polynomial of B is p(x). All 3 × 3 SAP's, as well as tree sign patterns with star graphs that are SAP's, have already been characterized. We investigate tridiagonal sign patterns of order 4. All irreducible tridiagonal SAP's are identified. Necessary and sufficient conditions for an irreducible tridiagonal …

Dynamics Of Random Boolean Networks Governed By A Generalization Of Rule 22 Of Elementary Cellular Automata., Gary L. Beck

Student Work

This study considers a simple Boolean network with N nodes, each node's state at time t being determined by a certain number of k parent nodes. The network is analyzed when the connectivity k is fixed or variable. This is an extension of a model studied by Andrecut [4) who considered the dynamics of two stochastic coupled maps. Making use of the Boolean rule that is a generalization of Rule 22 of elementary cellular automata, a generalization of the formula for providing the probability of finding a node in state 1 at a time t is determined and used to …

Social Influences On Academic Motivation In Early Elementary School Students, Jenli Waters

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The goal of this research is to identify correlations between academic intrinsic motivation and exposures to academic activities within the home acknowledged by young children (5 to 8 years old). This study hopes to clarify relationship between academic intrinsic motivation and exposure to positive role modeling of academic activities in young children. Much of the data was collected by interview-style surveys conducted with a sample of 18 boys and girls of ages between 5 and 8 years. The Child-Reported Home Reading and Math Exposure Questionnaire (HEQ) was developed by the author for this study to assess the extent to which …

Multiattribute Acceptance Sampling Plans., Anup Majumdar Dr.

Doctoral Theses

Irrespective of the type of product, evaluation of conformity to specified requirements of its quality characteristics is an integral part of quality assurance. Although they form a set of necessary verification activities almost at all stages of production, these activities, known as inspection do not add value to the product on their own and are to be kept at their minimum. The sampling inspection where a portion of a collection of product units is inspected on a set of characteristics with a view to making decision about acceptance or otherwise becomes relevant in this context.The number of elements of the …

Essays On Individual And Collective Powers In A Voting Body., Sonali Roy Dr.

Doctoral Theses

MotivationThe issue of measurement of voting power is a very important topic of discussion in social science these days. The concept of voting power concerns any collective decision making body (or, equivalently, a collectivity) which makes ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decisions on any issue, by the process of voting. Examples of such bodies abound in today’s world. The United Nations Security Council, The Council of Ministers in the European Union, the Parliament of the republic of India, the board room of any corporate house etc., are all examples of such decision making bodies.The voting process of each of these bodies is …

Creating Communities Of Mathematical Thinkers In The Pre-Kindergarten Classroom., Robin Penley Herndon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a standards-based pre-kindergarten mathematics curriculum. The purpose of this thesis was to create a series of original lesson plans for the pre-kindergarten classroom that would address defined standards with instructional and other materials appropriate for teaching and assessing student understanding of the concepts. The curriculum is based on standards set forth by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Virginia Department of Education's Foundation Blocks for Early Learning. The body of the work introduces the foundation for the thesis with theoretical underpinning, defines the content strands and learning objectives, establishes a pacing schedule for meeting …

Uncertainty Principles On Nilpotent Lie Groups., Sanjay Parui Dr.

Doctoral Theses

No abstract provided.

Second Graders' Solution Strategies And Understanding Of A Combination Problem, Tiffany Marie Hessing

Theses and Dissertations

I inquire about second graders' capabilities of developing solution strategies and the original variety of strategies they bring forth while solving a combination problem. Based on analysis of the data presented in this paper, students developed five different general strategies. After analyzing what the second grade students were capable of developing, we can conclude that young children are capable of developing powerful systematic strategies grounded in their personal experiences. This research shows that even when the teacher does not foster personal agency, children will still exercise agency. The social interactions in the classroom helped students learn to propose mathematical ideas, …

On The Combinatorics Of Certain Garside Semigroups, Christopher R. Cornwell

Theses and Dissertations

In his dissertation, F.A. Garside provided a solution to the word and conjugacy problems in the braid group on n-strands, using a particular element that he called the fundamental word. Others have since defined fundamental words in the generalized setting of Artin groups, and even more recently in Garside groups. We consider the problem of finding the number of representations of a power of the fundamental word in these settings. In the process, we find a Pascal-like identity that is satisfied in a certain class of Garside groups.

The Experiences Of A Rural Mississippi Mathematics Teacher: A Case Study, John Hamilton Lamb

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates my experiences as a rural Mississippi secondary mathematics teacher. The culture surrounding accountability testing and rural education as well as student perceptions of my mathematics instruction and classroom management were investigated. With recent educational legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, teachers and students are experiencing education differently than teachers and students of the past. Through this basic interpretive case study, I sought to increase the limited research surrounding student perceptions of rural mathematics instruction and accountability testing and to provide a descriptive image of teaching in this rural school. The students, administrators, …

What Does It Mean To Preservice Mathematics Teachers To Anticipate Student Responses?, Matthew M. Webb

Theses and Dissertations

Lesson study is a form of professional development for teachers adopted in recent years from Japan. Introducing lesson study to U.S. teachers and researchers has been the focus of most of the literature on this subject. Much of the literature outlines how lesson study works and describes its essential features. One of the features of lesson study is anticipating student responses, also known as anticipating student thinking. Anticipating student responses is passingly described in lesson study literature. This research was conducted to understand what it means to anticipate student responses for preservice mathematics teachers in a lesson study group. Lesson …

Studies On Pairing-Based And Constant Round Dynamic Group Key Agreement., Ratna Dutta Dr.

Doctoral Theses

This thesis describes research that I conducted during the course of my Ph.D. study at Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata. I hope that this work is of use and will be carried on.I would like to begin by thanking my supervisor, Prof. Rana Barua for his support and endless patience. He has provided me background in Cryptography, Combinatorics and Theory of Automata during the period 2000-2002 of my course work of M.Tech in Computer Science at Indian Statistical Institute. I really appreciate his extraordinary patience in reading my numerous inferior drafts, for listening and analyzing all my ideas, forcing me …

Quantum Stochastic Dilation Of A Class Of Quantum Dynamical Semigroups And Quantum Random Walks., Lingaraj Sahu Dr.

Doctoral Theses

No abstract provided.

When Am I Ever Going To Use This? A Mathematics Investigation Involving Animals, Nicole Lynn Drake

All Graduate Projects

This project is a format for developing investigations that includes a sample set of investigations that teachers can use as a resource. This project develops an investigation that assists teachers in presenting math concepts within the context of his or her students' everyday life. Investigations use real live experiences as background and context for student learning. By developing a problem that the students can relate to, the student's attitudes and depth of knowledge will improve. This project looks into, the history of reform in mathematics education, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards, current curricula addressing reform, math workshops, …

Planar Algebras: A Category Theoretic Point Of View, Shamindra Kumar Ghosh

Doctoral Dissertations

We define Jones's planar algebra as a map of multicategories and construct a planar algebra starting from a 1-cell in a pivotal strict 2-category. We introduce the concept of affine representations of a planar algebra and prove some finiteness results for the affine representations of finite depth planar algebras. We also show that the radius of convergence of the dimension of an affine representation of the planar algebra associated to a finite depth subfactor is at least as big as the inverse-square of the modulus.

An Investigation Of Pre-Service Teachers' And Professional Mathematicians' Perceptions Of Mathematical Proof At The Secondary School Level, David M. Gray

Doctoral Dissertations

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] states that by the time students graduate high school, they should learn to present "arguments consisting of logically rigorous deductions of conclusions from hypotheses" (NCTM, 2000, p. 56) in "written forms that would be acceptable to professional mathematicians" (NCTM, 2000, p. 58). Research studies indicate, however, that students and teachers have difficulty with many aspects of mathematical proof, including its nature and meaning. In addition, there appears to be a disconnect between school teachers' and university mathematicians' expectations for their respective students regarding mathematical proof. This study examined the perceptions of thirteen …

Cupolets: Chaotic Unstable Periodic Orbits Theory And Applications, Kourosh Zarringhalam

Doctoral Dissertations

Recent theoretical work suggests that periodic orbits of chaotic systems are a rich source of qualitative information about the dynamical system. The presence of unstable periodic orbits located densely on the attractor is a typical characteristic of chaotic systems. This abundance of unstable periodic orbits can be utilized in a wide variety of theoretical and practical applications [19]. In particular, chaotic communication techniques and methods of controlling chaos depend on this property of chaotic attractors [12, 13].

In the first part of this thesis, a control scheme for stabilizing the unstable periodic orbits of chaotic systems is presented and the …

Exploring Lesson Study As A Form Of Professional Development For Enriching Teacher Knowledge And Classroom Practices, Melissa K. Mitcheltree

Doctoral Dissertations

This study tracked the development of teacher knowledge through a professional development experience called lesson study. Lesson study is a Japanese professional development process in which a group of teachers develop a series of lessons using the following stages: planning lessons, teaching/observing the lessons, reflecting on lessons taught as well as sharing and discussing the lessons with their colleagues (Lewis, 2002). The aim of this study was to explore how the lesson study process influenced teacher knowledge of mathematics content and pedagogical content.

Study participants were four secondary mathematics teachers from a rural high school in the Northeast. All participants …

Listening To Student Voices: Fifth Graders' Perceptions Of Their Mathematics Learning Within The Context Of A Mathematics Reform, Elizabeth Hoffman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored fifth graders' perceptions of their mathematics learning within the context of a reform effort. Students' voices are the focus of this study due to the paucity of literature on student learning from the students' perspective (Erickson & Shultz, 1992), particularly the elementary student (Gentilucci, 2004). The participants of this study, who in the past have been given a variety of labels including "disadvantaged" or "at-risk," clearly articulated, even in nonstandard English, their perceptions of their mathematics learning. They passionately explained what helped them learn mathematics as well as what impeded their mathematics learning and were often …

What Teachers Want To Know: A Systematic Review Of Action Research Theses Related To K-8 Mathematics And Science, Bridget Steele

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research conducted was a systemic review of 88 action research masters theses from a teacher enhancement program for K-8 mathematics and science at the University of Central Florida and the teachers that performed the studies. The purpose of this study is to synthesize existing research results of a collection of master's theses from a teacher enhancement program for K-8 mathematics and science teachers in order to arrive at meaningful conclusions regarding teachers' research interests and classroom practices. Also, the study will help teacher educators who deliver the teacher enhancement program to improve the effectiveness of the program. A summary …

The Paths To Becoming A Mathematics Teacher, Kimberly Lowry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing numbers of mathematics teachers must be recruited in coming years, because of a growing student population, teacher attrition, calls for smaller class size, and the need to replace out-of-subject teachers. Recruitment can be made more effective and efficient, if better information on career paths is provided to decision makers. This study attempts to analyze the academic decisions which lead to the outcome "becoming a mathematics teacher". Four groups were compared and contrasted: mathematics teachers, science teachers, other teachers, and non-teachers. Science teachers were removed from the "other teachers" category because of their many similarities to mathematics teachers on the …

Exploring The Relationship Between Teachers' Beliefs In Mathematics And Their Instructional Practice, Michelle Vander Veldt

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between teachers' beliefs about mathematics and their instructional practices. The personal epistemology of the case study elementary mathematics teachers was documented and analyzed to provide evidence of the connection between teachers' beliefs and practice in an elementary school setting; This study was grounded in a theoretical framework of epistemological world views, particularly the comparison of belief across three epistemological world views: (1) the realist, (2) the contextualist, and (3) the relativist. Three areas of beliefs are addressed in this study: (1) beliefs about curriculum, (2) beliefs about pedagogy, and (3) beliefs about assessment. Through analysis …

Middle School Mathematics Teacher Certification, Degree Level, And Experience, And The Effects On Teacher Attrition And Student Mathematics Achievement In A Large Urban District, Bonnie Swan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the backgrounds and experiences of middle school mathematics teachers that often distinguish "quality" teachers, including certification, experience, degree type, and degree level and how those demographics and others vary for different types of schools. The emphasis was on profiling teachers in a large urban district by describing their basic features and distributions, as well as how middle school mathematics teachers, according to those differences, relate to student mathematics achievement, teacher attrition and teacher mobility. Student achievement was measured by test results from the Norm Reference Test-Normal Curve Equivalent (NRT-NCE) mathematics portion of …

Integration Of Conceptual Mathematical Relationships Into Constant Time Delay Instruction, Bethany Ann Porter

LSU Master's Theses

There is constant debate over mathematics education in the United States. One central controversy is whether or not the current methods used to teach students mathematics are effective. Some scholars believe that students are not getting enough practice and that they are not getting a good conceptual understanding of mathematics. It has been shown that mathematics equations are rich in patterns and inter-relationships and when children understand these relationships they have higher mathematic skill levels than their peers who do not. This study examined the effectiveness of using an empirically supported, fast paced mastery oriented teaching procedure that promotes automaticity …

The Effects Of Hands-On Instructional Strategies On Fourth Grade Students' Attitudes And Performance In Mathematics, Lindsey Hosack

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study summarizes research conducted in a fourth grade classroom in a suburban elementary school in the fall of 2005. This study investigated the practice of using hands-on instructional strategies, enhanced with technology, to improve students' attitudes and performance in mathematics. The classroom teacher supplemented conventional mathematics instruction with hands-on activities. Attitudinal data were collected using a pre- and post anxiety survey as well as journal writing assignments and student interviews. Performance data was collected using evaluative assessments. Results of this study showed a positive change in students' attitude towards mathematics. Student performance gains were recorded and analyzed throughout the …

Asymptotic Solutions Of Almost Diagonal Differential And Difference Systems, Fei Xue

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

New methods for both asymptotic integration of the linear differential systems Y'(t) = [D( t) + R(t)]Y( t) and asymptotic summation of the linear difference systems Y(t + 1) = [D(t)+ R(t)]Y(t) are derived. The fundamental solution Y(t) = phi( t)[I+P(t)] for differential and difference systems is constructed in terms of a product. The first matrix function phi(t) is decided by the diagonal matrix D(t) and the second matrix I + P(t) is a perturbation of the identity matrix I. Another fundamental solution Y( t) = [I + Q(t)]phi( t) is also constructed for difference systems. Conditions are given on …

Jesuit Education And Mathematics: Review Of The Literature On Jesuit Education And Mathematics, Ernesto A. Diaz

Education | Print Theses

The purpose of the thesis is to review recent literature on diverse aspects of Jesuit cation including its historiography, pedagogy, teaching, philosophy, and its contributions to Id of Mathematics. The time frame studied has been divided in four main periods. Origins; encompassing the founding of the Society of Jesus in 1540 to the publication of the Ratio Studiorum in 1599. Expansion; covering from the publication of the Ratio to the suppression of Society in 1773. Restoration: covers the period between the 1814 Restoration, until the ginning of the Vatican II Council. Renewal; the Society in the post-Vatican area to the …

Some New Methods For Image Compression, Muhammad Aslam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The vanishing moment of wavelets and associated multi-resolution framework yield an efficient representation of smooth functions with wavelet approximation. However as pointed out in many papers, the similar result cannot be expected for the piecewise smooth functions with large jumps. In other words, wavelet approximation cannot achieve the same approximation order in the vicinity of jumps as in the smooth regions. Large wavelet coefficients associated with jumps are generated and consequently produce oscillations near discontinuities in the reconstructed signal. This is the so-called Gibbs phenomenon or a Ringing effect. In this thesis, we develop a technique which reduces the Gibbs …

The Kronecker Product, Bobbi Jo Broxson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a detailed discussion of the Kronecker product of matrices. It begins with the definition and some basic properties of the Kronecker product. Statements will be proven that reveal information concerning the eigenvalues, singular values, rank, trace, and determinant of the Kronecker product of two matrices. The Kronecker product will then be employed to solve linear matrix equations. An investigation of the commutativity of the Kronecker product will be carried out using permutation matrices. The Jordan - Canonical form of a Kronecker product will be examined. Variations such as the Kronecker sum and generalized Kronecker product will be …