Education Commons^™

Preparing Secondary Mathematics Teachers: A Review Of Research, Gregory Hine

Gregory S.C. Hine

The international literature base concerning the preparation of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers has grown steadily over the past two decades, yet there appears to be no consensus on a best practice approach. A review of three research projects (2 American; 1 Australian) that focus on different aspects of secondary mathematics teacher preparation provides consideration for universitieswishing to strengthen existing programs.

Formative Assessment Of Academic Writing With English Learners In An Algebra Class, Robert J. Anderson

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

A case study of five English learners examined students’ writing in a co-taught high school math class. The goal of the study was to investigate how two different types of writing activities impacted students’ understanding of mathematical concepts. A writing rubric was used to measure student writing, and the researcher complied in-class tests. The scores on the writing samples were compared to students’ test results to look for trends in the data. Results of the case study were limited in their ability to identify a direct connection with the writing strategies and students’ test results, but the case study revealed …

An Explanation For The Use Of Arrays To Promote The Understanding Of Mental Strategies For Multiplication, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Derek Hurrell

This article provides a convincing argument for using arrays to promote students’ understandings of mental computation strategies for multiplication. Also a range of different examples that illustrate the benefits of arrays in the primary classroom are provided.

From Arrays To Algebra, Lorraine Day

Lorraine Day

By identifying the learning experiences that need to be developed in the primary school, and how secondary teachers can build on these experiences, ensures solid algebraic understanding and a smooth transition between primary and secondary mathematics. Using concrete materials, within a concrete-representational-abstract pedagogical approach, may be seen as one among many methods that contribute to the overall process of developing algebraic skills. Linking an area-based model to previous understandings involving numbers should assist the conceptual understanding of algebraic expansion and factorisation to ensure that students are not just fluent in algebraic manipulation but also understand how the processes work.

Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons: Reasoning In Number And Algebra, Lorraine Day

Lorraine Day

In the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics "Number and Algebra are developed together as each enriches the study of the other". The content strands indicate what students should be learning and the proficiency strands indicate the types of learning experiences students should be exposed to in order to learn the content. Most of the content descriptors in Years F-6 algebra refer to a progression of patterning and finding unknowns in number sentences. We could see from this that there are two major themes running through the curriculum; that of patterns and relationships, and that of equations and expressions. These two aspects of …

An Explanation For The Use Of Arrays To Promote The Understanding Of Mental Strategies For Multiplication, Lorraine Day, Derek Hurrell

Lorraine Day

This article provides a convincing argument for using arrays to promote students’ understandings of mental computation strategies for multiplication. Also a range of different examples that illustrate the benefits of arrays in the primary classroom are provided.

Guiding Sixth Grade Language Development In Mathematical Content Acquisition Through Student Centered Siop Instruction, Leah Callister

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Mathematics is considered a universal language for students. However, now common core standards require students to explain their conceptual understanding through words, numbers, and verbal explanations. Student proficiency in the universal language is impeded when they do not speak the primary language. It is difficult for the teacher to teach both the academic language and mathematical concepts, when the vocabulary is not accessible to all students. Conversely it is difficult for students to follow the pacing of the class while having to translate and gain a conceptual understanding of the subject. The purpose of this study is to increase student …

Eighth Grade Mathematics Intervention: Improving Student Self-Esteem And Content Knowledge Of Targeted Mathematic Skills, Stephanie Hart

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

By eighth grade some students believe they are “not good” and never will be successful at mathematics. Discouraged by poor grades, negative feedback from teachers or demoralized by repeated academic failure, these students disengage from their mathematics classwork. In some cases, mathematics intervention classes are a last chance to get them back on track to qualify for Algebra I in 9^th grade. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies to reengage students by increasing their academic content knowledge in mathematics and boosting their self-esteem and sense of belonging in the school setting. The review of the literature …

Preservice Teacher Self-Efficacy For Teaching Mathematics, Jade Mcguire

Honors College

Self-efficacy for teaching mathematics has an effect on students’ math achievement (Bandura, 1997; Stipek, Givvin, Salmon, & MacGyvers, 2001). It is therefore important that teachers have high self-efficacy for teaching mathematics. The purpose of this study was to discover if the University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development’s teacher education program is doing enough to help elementary education majors feel confident in their ability to teach mathematics at the kindergarten through eighth grade levels. A modified version of the “Self-Efficacy for Teaching Mathematics Instrument”, or SETMI (McGee &Wang) was administered to one hundred and eleven elementary education majors …

Structural-Symbolic Translation Fluency: Reliability, Validity, And Usability, Matt C. Hoskins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Standardized formative mathematics assessments typically fail to capture the depth of current standards and curricula. Consequently, these assessments demonstrate limited utility for informing the instructional implementation choices of teachers. This problem is particularly salient as it relates to the mathematical problem solving process. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric characteristics of Structural-Symbolic Translation Fluency, a curriculum-based measure (CBM) of mathematical problem solving. The development of the assessment was based on previous research describing the cognitive process of translation (Mayer, 2002) as well as mathematical concept development at the quantitative, structural, and symbolic levels (Dehaene, …

Comparing The Effects Of Elementary Music And Visual Arts Lessons On Standardized Mathematics Test Scores, Molly King

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to compare the effect elementary music and visual arts lessons had on third through sixth grade standardized mathematics test scores. Inferential statistics were used to compare the differences between test scores of students who took in-school, elementary, music instruction during the same semester state standardized mathematics tests were administered and those who took in-school, elementary visual arts instruction during the same semester standardized mathematics tests were administered. The students attended seven elementary schools in the same North Alabama school district. The research questions were: (a) Does participation in elementary school music lessons …

The Effects Of Dynamic Graphing Utilities On Student Attitudes And Conceptual Understanding In College Algebra, Ryan Vail Thomas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to explore and characterize the effects of using a dynamic graphing utility (DGU) on conceptual understanding and attitudes toward mathematics, measured by the responses of college algebra students to an attitude survey and concepts assessment. Two sections of college algebra taught by the primary researcher are included in the study, with one group using the dynamic graphing utility Desmos (www.desmos.com), and the other using the TI-84 (or equivalent) graphing calculator as a control. The Precalculus Concept Assessment (Carlson, Oehrtman, & Engelke, 2010) was used to measure aspects of students’ conceptual understanding of course material, …

Let's Nurture Science, Math Talent, Darren B. Glass

Math Faculty Publications

I recently saw the film The Man Who Knew Infinity, which was released in many American cities this weekend, and was struck by the beautiful telling of an inspirational story. The film, which stars Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel, is a biography of the mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who was born in India at the end of the 19th century. [excerpt]

Undergraduate Motivations For Choosing A Science, Technology, Engineering, Or Mathematics (Stem) Major, Preston Taylor Mitchell

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Emotional And Instrumental Support On Students’ Mathematical Attitudes, Victoria M. Calabrese

Honors College

This study tests to see if a correlation exists between students’ attitudes towards mathematics and teacher pedagogy through emotional and instrumental support. Emotional support is defined as an individual’s perception of a mathematics teacher as being warm, friendly, caring, and empathic (Katz & Gueta, 2010). Instrumental support is defined by an individual’s perception of a mathematics teacher’s instruction, whether the teacher is considered to be helpful, and if the teacher provides guidance when needed (Spielberger, 1979). Two surveys were administered and three interviews were conducted to investigate this hypothesis. The first survey consisted of 12 Likert scale items, 5 open-ended …

Preservice Teacher Development Through Math Camp Involvement, Kelly Largent

Honors Projects

This research study investigated the role that involvement in Math Camp had on the development of preservice math teachers at Bowling Green State University. The research question was, In what ways do preservice teachers perceive their development through math camp involvement and how do they plan to use this development in their future classrooms? Since 2013, there have been 134 BGSU preservice teachers that have participated in Math Camp. All of these individuals were solicited to participate in the research study. Fifteen responded to the solicitation and participated in the study. Each participant completed a brief survey as well as …

Eighth-Grade Students' Use And Justification Of Multiple Represenations, Maria Nielsen

Honors Projects

The purpose of this study is to explore students’ use of multiple representations in the classroom and their reasoning for representation choice. The participants of this study were 22 eighth-grade students. All students took a short pretest consisting of three items. The items addressed mathematics content covered during regular instruction. Students were asked to answer each question using different representations. Usual instruction included frequent probing and encouragement of students' representation use while problem solving. Students were asked to explain their reasoning when problem solving and share their representations with others. Following the unit of instruction, students completed a posttest composed …

Program Review Self-Study Mathematics 2016, Uno Department Of Mathematics

Student Learning

The contents of this self-study are:

• Overview and Objectives of the Department
• Overview of the Academic Program
• Responses to Recommendations of Previous Evaluation Team
• Self-Assessment
• Summary/Conclusions
• Appendices

Does Academic Performance Predict Workplace Productivity?, Jodie-Gaye Hunter

Honors Projects in Economics

This research examines if college GPA affects productivity and compensation in the workplace. It uses data collected from a survey of approximately 23,000 Bryant University graduates in different stages of their career. About 10 percent of the alumni surveyed completed the survey. The econometric model used in this study allows estimating the effect of GPA on income after controlling for various demographic and socioeconomic variables, including education, major, occupation, gender, among others. The empirical work provides evidence that GPA has a positive and statistically significant impact on workplace productivity for females, but GPA seems to be a weaker predictor of …

The Evaluation Of Rhode Island Public High School Teachers: The Impact On Students, Stephen Lamontagne

Honors Projects in Mathematics

In 2012, the state of Rhode Island began the full implementation of a high-stakes teacher evaluation system. Its purpose is to increase teacher accountability and to improve student performance. However, a significant amount of literature casts doubt about the effectiveness and validity of teacher evaluation. This paper utilizes statistical methods including regression and decision trees in order to determine whether or not there is a relationship between teacher evaluation in Rhode Island and student performance, using RI Department of Education Data for each school from 2008-2015. Furthermore, this presentation investigates other factors that affect schools, to see if changes in …

Cooperative Groups And Student Engagement: Exploring Cooperative Learning Groups In Mathematics, Trisha Reszel

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project explores using cooperative learning strategies, specifically five of the structures designed by Dr. Spencer Kagan within a third grade mathematics classroom for six weeks. There were twenty-three participants in the third grade classroom, ages 8 to 9 years old. Students were given a survey of their opinion of math before the unit started, as well as after for comparison. During the unit, students participated in five different structures (or strategies based on KAGAN’s research) multiple times within each mathematics lesson. To determine if the action research was successful or not, unit scores from the current unit …

Improving Elementary Mathematics And Science Teaching And Learning: Lessons From A School-University Partnership, Patricia J. Norman, J. Nordine

Education Faculty Research

The challenges of teaching elementary mathematics and science, particularly in urban settings, have been well documented. While evidence exists that sustained professional development in mathematics and science can promote inquiry-oriented instruction and bolster student achievement, little has been written about the particular challenges associated with offering differentiated professional development through school-university partnerships. This paper examines the impact on student achievement and teacher practice when university teacher educators launched a 3-year science and mathematics professional development initiative in grades 3-5 at one of the university's elementary partner school campuses. Our intention was to create a ''constructivist'' professional learning initiative where the …

Exploring The Relationship Between High School Diploma Requirements In Mathematics And College Remediation Rates, Derek J. Brown

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study examined the relationship between the essential skill of math and college remediation rates using a dataset of 1,858 recent high school graduates attending public, 4-year Oregon universities. Using a logistic regression methodology, this study explored (a) the extent to which the essential skill of math improved college remediation rates, (b) the association between allowable essential skill of math sources of evidence and college remediation rates, and (c) the impact of the essential skill of math on students from various demographic backgrounds. Results from this study suggest the essential skill of math graduation requirement significantly predicts the likelihood of …

Collaboration And Creativity In Southern Califonia: An Offering, Gizem Karaali, Ami Radunskaya

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

WiMSoCal (Women in Math in Southern California) is a regional conference in its ninth incarnation. The conference is the result of the efforts of Professor Cymra Haskell (USC) to create a supportive local community for women mathematicians. At our first meeting in 2007, a confluence of Ami’s EDGE regional cluster and Cymra’s WISE group at USC, we socialized, got to know each other and brainstormed about what we, as a group, would like to see happen. It was clear that our younger colleagues wanted to meet as mathematicians, sharing intellectual ideas as well as anecdotes from the trenches.

A Little Change Can Make A Big Difference, Kelley E. Buchheister

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The opportunity to teach mathematics through service learning projects provides a relevant and connected experience that encourages concept development and problem solving proficiency while also developing students’ feelings of generosity and altruism. In this article I describe a prior project that helped my students, many of whom struggled with mathematics, become engaged in mathematical thinking and reasoning. Additional specific connections are made toward extended projects surrounding current events, as well as state and national standards.

Rigor Demystified, Now What?: Applying & Aligning Webb’S Depth Of Knowledge To Literacy & Math Instruction., Barbara Serianni, Kelly Brooksher

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

After exploring the four levels of cognitive rigor in Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and the alignment to the Common Core. Participants will further engage in hands-on activities designed to model the application of DOK in the content areas of literacy and mathematics to improve instructional alignment, increase student engagement, and ensure appropriate rigor in classroom activities and assessment.

Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics: Audit Of Curricula, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Assessment and Reporting

An early step in developing an assessment framework for the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) was determining how to design and construct a single assessment program across all ASEAN member countries. This step needed to take account of the similarities and differences in the curriculum frameworks in each country for the four domains to be assessed through SEA-PLM: Mathematics, Reading, Writing and Global Citizenship. This account was achieved through an audit of the curriculum materials from 11 ASEAN countries, comprising those countries already participating in the SEA-PLM field trial, and others likely to join SEAPLM in the future. The …

Infographic: Declining Maths Participation, Danielle Meloney

Teacher infographics

The Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute has highlighted a slide in Year 12 high-level mathematics participation over the past 20 years.

Mindset Training For Undergraduates In Developmental Mathematics, Valorie L. Zonnefeld, Kate Van Weelden

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This poster highlights the work of an individual study that student Kate Van Weelden did in Dr. Zonnefeld's Math 100 class. Kate was a teacher assistant who led a lab session for 6 of the students in the Math 100 course. Throughout the semester Kate implemented incremental mindset training for her 6 students. The results showed a promising avenue for improved achievement, especially among males.

The Role Of Black Colleges In The Development Of Mathematicians, Viveka Borum, Adriel Adon Hilton, Erica Walker

Journal of Research Initiatives

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are home to almost 400,000 of the nation’s college and university population and account for nearly 25% of degrees conferred to African Americans, according to Hale (2006). They have been the launching pads for three-fourths of African Americans who hold doctorate degrees, three-fourths of Black officers in the military, and four-fifths of African American federal judges (Hale, 2006). In addition, fifty percent of African American faculty in predominantly White research universities received their bachelor’s degrees at an HBCU (Hale, 2006). These are significant percentages given the relatively small number of Black colleges and universities …