Education Commons^™

Determining The Difficulty And Discrimination Parameters Of A Mathematics Performance-Based Assessment, Abraham Gyamfi, Douglas G. Wren

Educational Foundations & Leadership Faculty Publications

Performance-based assessment (PBA) is different from traditional testing methods in that PBA presents real-life problems for students to solve by integrating critical thinking with their content knowledge and skills. Implementing PBA regularly in mathematics classes is associated with improved student achievement and motivation to learn; however, there are concerns about the general lack of psychometric data to support the use of performance assessments. To address such concerns, this study applied item response theory to estimate the difficulty and discrimination indices of items that comprised a newly developed mathematics PBA. Data were collected by administering the PBA to 750 senior high …

Mathematics Anxiety: Supplementary Materials, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

This publication contains two professional development activities for teachers which focus on mathematics anxiety. One is a team-based activity and the other is an activity for individuals. The activities encourage both mathematics teachers and non-mathematics teachers to reflect on their current practice, their attitudes towards mathematics, their ideas about teaching mathematics and the mathematical beliefs of students.

Mathematics Anxiety, Sarah Buckley

Student learning processes

This Mathematics Monograph is focussed on helping teachers and school leaders gain a better understanding of: How mathematics anxiety negatively impacts learning and teaching; the symptoms, causes and companions of mathematics anxiety; the difference between reducing mathematics anxiety directly and indirectly; and strategies that can identify and address mathematics anxiety in students and teachers. The Monograph is intended to present information for reflecting and planning how mathematics anxiety can be reduced and regulated in classrooms and in the school community.

Learning Context Matters In Maths Performance, Jeny Raphael

Teacher India

PISA collects background information to understand contextual factors that affect the performance of students. Building on the evidence, Jeny Raphael discusses the impact of the learning environment on the character strengths of students, and its connection to their maths performance.

The Impact Of Computer-Based Programs On Middle School Math Achievement, Kenyatta Gilmore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this correlation research study was to investigate the impact of computer-based learning on middle school math achievement of at-risk students. The participants for this study were drawn from a convenience sample of 83 middle school students located in southeastern Georgia. At-risk middle school students were achieving below their grade equivalent and failing to meet local and state proficiency standards. Computer-based instruction was implemented as an intervention to increase student achievement in mathematics. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design and used SPSS software to conduct the statistical analyses using an ANCOVA and t-test. The results indicated …

Experiencing Success: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology Of Successful Remedial Mathematics Students, Kyle Ireland

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to describe how students experience success in mathematics remediation at a four-year private institution in the central United States. Success in a remedial mathematics course was defined as one’s completion of a required remedial mathematics course having earned an overall grade of 90% or higher. The theories guiding this study were achievement goal theory and expectancy-value theory grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory. This theoretical framework provided a motivational framework for student success in a post-secondary, remedial mathematics course based on individual goals for completing the task, student self-efficacy beliefs, and the …

The Effects Of Desmos And Ti-83 Plus Graphing Calculators On The Problem-Solving Confidence Of Middle And High School Mathematics Students, Edwin Montijo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As technology in education continues to improve, research is necessary to assess the impact it is having on students’ confidence in the way students solve mathematics problems. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control-group comparison study is to examine the impact the Desmos graphing calculator has on the problem-solving confidence of middle school and high school students as compared to students who use a TI-83 Plus graphing calculator while controlling for students’ math achievement scores. The students (N = 146) participating in this study were learning their respective mathematics material for an equivalent period of 12 weeks in order to …

How Math Avoidance Influences Degree Completion For Bible College Students: A Case Study Of A Small, Private Institution In Upstate New York, Bonnie Novak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to describe math perception and avoidance for ministerial undergraduate students at a small, private Bible college in upstate New York. In the research, math avoidance was generally defined as the participants’ perception of math, their delay in completing a credit-bearing math course until their senior year or not at all, and their own learning or degree completion as a result. The theories guiding this study were Tinto’s Retention Theory/Model of Institutional Departure, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, and Estep’s Theory of Christian Formation. The central question was: How does math avoidance influence persistence …

Number Knowledge And Error Types Of Elementary Portuguese Students: Implications For Instruction, Silvana Watson, Sharon Judge, João Lopes, Célia Oliveira, Ana Catarina Jesus

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

In the present study, we examined number knowledge skills of 697 Portuguese elementary students from first to fourth grade. Students completed three number knowledge tasks: 1) translating numbers into words, 2) symbolic magnitude (i.e., number comparison), and 3) decomposing numbers. We evaluated students’ answers by means of error analysis using a three-category coding system adopted from specific error types were computed by grade level. Results showed that there were significant differences among grades and that the prerequisite linguistic error type (i.e., pre linguistic rules or principles of the cardinal number system), particularly in the magnitude tasks, significantly contributed to students’ …

The Impact Of Non-Band Music Participation On The Academic Achievement Of 6th Grade Mathematics Students, Sherica Denise Jones-Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is hypothesized that participation in non-band music has a positive impact on mathematics achievement. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the theory of self-determination, multiple intelligence theory, and brain research provide a theoretical foundation in support of this conjecture. This causal comparative study seeks to address three questions related to the hypothesis: a) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade mathematics students based on non-band music participation status; b) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade males based on non-band music participation; and c) is there a difference between the academic achievement of …

The Effects Of Problem-Based Learning On Mathematics Achievement Of Elementary Students Across Time, Brittany Marie Crowley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study specifically evaluated the long-term effects of problem-based learning (PBL) instruction on the mathematics achievement of students who demonstrated higher ability in the subject area than their comparable peers. Subjects included 65 students from six south-central Kentucky elementary schools who participated in Project Gifted Education in Math and Science (Project GEMS), a grant partially funded through the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program. The students were assigned to one of three conditions – PBL-Plus, PBL, or Control – based upon school of attendance. The participants were then administered baseline testing in the fall of the …

Comparison Of Linear Functions In Middle Grades Textbooks From Singapore And The United States, Linda D. Fowler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many U.S. students do not perform well on mathematics assessments with respect to algebra topics such as linear functions, a building-block for other functions. Poor achievement of U.S. middle school students in this topic is a problem.

U.S. eighth graders have had average mathematics scores on international comparison tests such as Third International Mathematics Science Study, later known as Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, (TIMSS)-1995, -99, -03, while Singapore students have had highest average scores. U.S. eighth grade average mathematics scores improved on TIMMS-2007 and held steady onTIMMS-2011. Results from national assessments, PISA 2009 and 2012 and National Assessment …

A Longitudinal Study Investigating The Effects Of The Pbl Approach In Secondary Mathematics Education, Yooyeun Hwang

Faculty Presentations

This longitudinal study investigated the effect of Project Based Learning (PBL) on secondary-mathematics students in order to determine both academic-skill development and motivational factors associated with learning. Results showed that secondary students not only benefited from PBL in learning mathematics content, but exhibited improved self-efficacy and self-regulation in learning mathematics.

Teacher-Student Relationships And Student Achievement In Grades Six And Seven Math, Julia Britt

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study analyzed the effect of teacher-student relationships on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) math scores for grades six and seven. Data were studied to determine if an increase in student achievement was related to the often-overlooked interpersonal human relationships between teachers and students. The researcher expected to find a correlation between positive teacher-student relationships and an increase in standardized test scores. The researcher analyzed the data of student scores in rural middle school mathematics' class and teacher characteristics to determine if a relation existed between student achievement and positive teacher-student relationships. The American version of the Questionnaire on …

The Effects Of The Use Of Technology In Mathematics Instruction On Student Achievement, Ron Y. Myers

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of technology on students’ mathematics achievement, particularly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics results. Eleven schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School System participated in a pilot program on the use of Geometers Sketchpad (GSP). Three of these schools were randomly selected for this study. Each school sent a teacher to a summer in-service training program on how to use GSP to teach geometry. In each school, the GSP class and a traditional geometry class taught by the same teacher were the study participants. Students’ mathematics …