Education Commons^™

Which Modality Best Promotes Student Achievement In College Algebra, Stephen W. Selby, Jim Swick

Transformations

The exploration of three modalities (Face-to-Face instruction, Hybrid instruction, and Online Only instruction) of learning College Algebra was the purpose of this study. The classes for this study were from the same instructor, during the same semester, during restrictions due to the Covid-19 virus in 2020. The Face-to-Face instruction had 150 minutes of class instruction each week. The Hybrid class had 75 minutes of class instruction each week and the Online Only students had no classroom instruction each week. There were 21 students in the face-to-face class, 32 students in the hybrid section, and 66 students in the online section. …

Math Anxiety Research Paper, Daniella M. Tartaro

Transformations

Math anxiety can be characterized as feelings of apprehension or distress that individuals experience when faced with tasks or activities associated with mathematics. Due to its prevalence, math anxiety is a growing issue for teachers who seek to uplift and prioritize the comfort, well-being and success of their students. Failure to address math anxiety can significantly hinder a student’s learning, lower their academic performance, and negatively cloud their overall attitude towards mathematics. In gathering and sorting resources associated with prevailing positions regarding math apprehension, this paper aims to explore math anxiety’s impact on students' learning, and the benefit of collaborative …

Identity Transformation Through Transformative Learning: Nepali Mathematics Educators' Perspectives, Tara Paudel, Bal Chandra Luitel, Niroj Dahal

Transformations

This paper reflects the perspective of identity transformation of mathematics educators through the lens of transformative learning, foregrounded on Tara’s doctoral research journey. The process of identity transformation seeks to foster reformative skills at various levels by altering individuals and their identities. This is achieved by posing questions about the past that challenge deeply ingrained assumptions, beliefs, values, and perspectives. Therefore, this paper’s focus is on how transformative learning facilitates a shift in identity. This issue signifies a theoretical void that warrants further investigation. Consequently, this paper examines identity transformations through the theories and lens of transformative learning. In doing …

Breaking The Math Anxiety Code: Fostering Einstein Intelligence For The Ability To Change And Adapt, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Math anxiety impacts the future of people. It is critical that students in school before graduating, come to terms with such anxiety and gain confidence in mathematics. Einstein speaks of his own issues with math and talks about how important it is for us to be able to change and adapt and how this is a true measure of our intelligence. The author believes that as students feel less anxious about, and more confident in their abilities to do math their performance will improve. As math test scores are often a concern for principals, teachers, and society at large, success …

How Math Anxiety Affects Educational Trajectories, Whitney M. Perkins

Transformations

Abstract

Math anxiety is a significant problem, affecting numerous people of all ages worldwide. Through my research, I found what a debilitating issue it can become. Having math anxiety affects academic performance, class selections, college decisions and even career choices. The cause is still unknown, but many researchers believe that the dynamics between the students and teachers or students and their parents can have a great impact. Females are disproportionately more affected by math anxiety, partly because of past societal norms with gender stereotyping. There are steps educators can take to lessen the degree of math anxiety present in their …

Use Of Technology In Mathematics Lessons, Shabana Ahmad

Transformations

Abstract

The influence of new technology is one of the most powerful forces driving today's development and evolution of mathematics and math education. The use of technology in the classroom is believed to enhance students' academic performance and attitudes toward learning in today's environment. Technology-integrated math lessons encourage student participation in the learning process, making learning more enjoyable and appealing for the students. As Smaldino et al. (2005) noted, the use of technology in instruction enhances not only the learning capabilities of students but also their motivation, thus, students are more engaged in the learning process. Furthermore, it is thought …

Creating Mandalas For World Peace While Incorporating Mathematics, Art, Literature, Writing, And Technology, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Across the USA there are more and more students whose parents are from around the world. It is important teachers can effectively teach mathematics to reach all students, particularly those with limited English proficiency, while establishing interdisciplinary and cultural connections and even working toward world peace. The purpose of this paper is to share how a class of students from an elementary school in South Florida with their teacher created mandalas to teach mathematics, art, writing, and even world peace to their students. Math teachers should strive to bridge the cultural gap among all students by incorporating innovative ideas as …

Full Issue

Transformations

Full Issue

Effective Math Manipulatives To Use With The B.E.S.T. Standards In Grades K-6, Katharine E. Eby

Transformations

The focus for this research paper was to explore which math manipulatives are the most effective for each strand of the B.E.S.T. standards. The review of literature provided information about the history of math manipulatives, what are math manipulatives, B.E.S.T. standards, and the six strands. A review of the most commonly used math manipulatives was part of the literature viewed during the research process in order to see how those manipulatives can be connected to the B.E.S.T. standards, so that students can effectively understand more abstract concepts.

Using Cooperative Learning To Teach Mathematics To Help Promising Ell And All Students Develop Social Skills: A Case Study, Dr Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

This paper shares the story of Jung and how a gifted young student in mathematics learns social skills and shares knowledge and also helps to improve his own learning of the English language while sharing his understanding of mathematics with others. Students working together in math classrooms all benefit in many ways including language acquisition, problem solving, math achievement, social skills, cultural differences, and a shared sense of community in a classroom, when all working together for a goal in learning mathematics while also learning social skills so to fit in better within society. Cooperative learning plays a critical role …

Propensities By Grade Of Math Anxiety Levels K-12: Addressing Mathematics Dispositions And How Manipulatives May Help, Joseph M. Furner, Christine M. Higgins

Transformations

Math anxiety remains a critical issue affecting student performance and confidence across grade levels throughout the world today. This paper looks at the impact of math anxiety and how students’ dispositions toward math from a leadership perspective and the real hinderance for them as learners in life in a STEM world. The paper shares data from a K-12 school on math anxiety levels and offers insights from a school principal who has served K-12 levels where math anxiety and discomfort levels of math are seen across the spectrum. This paper provides much research and recommendations of best practices for teaching …

Full Issue

Transformations

Volume 8 Issue 1, December 2022

Don’T Count – Count On Visual Perception!, Klaus Rödler Dr.

Transformations

Verbal counting is the first step in the child‘s number building and this is why it seems natural to start arithmetic in school based on this competence. Under a cultural historical view, the development of number does not start with verbal counting but rather with ‚concrete counting‘. Number words and the number word sequence developed after experience with concrete numbers.

This article describes the roots, basics, and first practical steps of a didactics based on perception rather than on verbal counting.

This proposed change allows inclusive lessons that prevent all students from misunderstanding calculation as a quick or clever form …

Full Issue

Transformations

Full Issue for Volume 7 Issue 1

An Alternative Sudoku Puzzle With Letters While Addressing Math Anxiety, Joseph M. Furner Ph.D.

Transformations

Math anxiety remains a critical issue affecting student performance and confidence across grade levels throughout the world. This paper looks at the impact of math anxiety on students and also how using letters instead of numbers with Sudoku puzzles can perhaps alleviate math anxiety and number anxiety as an alternative to doing Sudoku puzzles and turning students on to the logic of magic squares and Sudoku puzzles. This paper shares data on math anxiety levels by grade level from a study, provides some examples of some Sudoku puzzles with Greek letters and our English alphabet along with much research, and …

Transformative Learning: An Approach To Understand Participatory Action Research, Roshani Rajbanshi, Bal Chandra Luitel

Transformations

Transformative learning is to observe one’s experience that makes one conscious of one’s knowledge and one’s changing view in the learning community. This paper presents reflection on transformation in learning both the theory and practice of participatory action research as experienced through field visits and interacting with the participants. Critical reflective journal entries and discussions on workshops provided source of data. The purpose of this paper is to provide understanding of participatory action research from traditional conventional research and how reflection helped unfold the ideologies of participatory action research. Following the cycle of participatory action research, authors explored the need …

Strategy To Estimate Size, Hui Fang Huang Su, Dylan Mandolini, Bhagi Phuel, Shawlyn Fleming, Chloe Johnson

Transformations

Have you ever wondered exactly how much land and space are included in a national park? In this paper, we will explore the vastness of a fictitious Park and calculate its total area.

We will:

1. Create a fictitious Park, determine a scale that can be used to perform

calculations using a practical unit of measurement.

2. Develop a strategy that students can use to find the area of the Park.

3. Demonstrate the use of the strategy by solving for the area of the fictitious park.

Using Geogebra, Photography, And Vocabulary To Teach Mathematics While Aiding Our Esol Populations, Joseph M. Furner, Noorchaya Yahya

Transformations

This paper shares many important examples of using real world photography and GeoGebra software in teaching math to all students including the ESOL population. ESOL learners can benefit immensely from the use of real-world photography imported into GeoGebra software because new vocabulary and math concepts are concretized. Students are often excited and motivated by photography and technology. Thus, this paper will demonstrate how mathematics teachers can insert photos into GeoGebra Software and then explore math concepts relevant in the photographs, i.e. shapes, symmetry, measurement, fractions, parabolas, etc. By using software and a visual approach to teaching math with photographs, many …

Solving Logic Problems With A Twist, Angie Su, Bhagi Phuel, Chloe Johnson, Dylan Mandolini, Shawlyn Fleming

Transformations

The crossroads of logic and mathematics breeds critically thinking students that have the confidence and independent working skills to tackle any problem they come across. In this artifact, several applications of logic to common problems have been applied in a way that would allow teachers to use the examples in their classrooms in a wide range of grade levels. More specifically Boolean Algebra and Truth Tables have been making their way into middle and high school mathematics classrooms with the nation's shift from just being able to compute to an understanding on a cognitive level why you solved the problem …

Creative Geometry Games, Hui Fang Huang Su, Dylan Mandolini, Bhagi Phuel

Transformations

The geometry game presented in this article was inspired by Bright and Harvey's (1988) Learning and fun with geometry games. In their article, Bright and Harvey (1988) propose three interactive games: Polyhedron Rummy, Polygon Rummy and That are Stretching it. Polygon Rummy is a game pertaining to plane geometry where the instructional objective is to construct a figure using lines and angles, whereas the goal of polyhedron rummy is to construct a solid using faces and angles. Although Bright and Harvey focused on constructing shapes, they also suggested presenting pre-constructed shapes to students, allowing them to classify and identify them …

Winter 2020

Transformations

No abstract provided.

The Power Of A Self-Paced, Challenging, Process-Based, Online Mathematics Curriculum For Talented Middle School Students, Shari Stupp, Keith Nabb, Danielle Goodwin

Transformations

Talented middle school students in most public schools and traditional private schools do not have access to a curriculum that allows them to go at their own pace, adequately challenges them, or presents mathematics in a process-based way so that students can become familiar with behaviors of mathematicians (Gentry, Gable, & Springer, 2000; Rogers, 2007). Many gifted students are subjected to materials written at levels that are inappropriate for them and teachers that are not adequately prepared to teach them (Rogers, 2007).

Winter 2019

Transformations

No abstract provided.

Using Number Properties To Inspire Teaching And Learning In The K-12 Classrooms, Hui Fang H. Su, Farrah Bell, Denise Gates, Janice Haramis, Kristin Hjerpe, Claude Manigat, Lourivaldo Da Silva

Transformations

Where would today’s world be without the number system? Indeed, civilization would not have come to as far as in modern times. In fact, the software this paper is being written on is run by a computer that is embedded in numerical codes and commands– something that would not be possible if it were not for the advancement of technology using the modern number system. In this paper, we study the historical development of the modern-day number system. We investigate the classification of numbers and number properties for mathematical use; including standard functions, rules, and examples. As a culmination of …

Empowering Teacher Leadership To Address Math Anxiety In Today’S Schools, Joseph M. Furner, Christine Higgins

Transformations

Math anxiety is an uneasiness or worry when dealing with doing mathematics, ranging from slight nervousness, nausea, to complete panic. It prevents students from learning math and makes them more likely to give up. Math anxiety is common in many math classrooms today. Teachers can work together and take a real leadership role in addressing this problem to build math confidence. Solutions range from undergoing therapy to changing teaching styles to being more inclusive of students with math anxiety. This paper looks at ways teachers as leaders can work together to address math anxiety in their schools. School leaders can …

Tackling Math Anxiety Through Photography While Using Geogebra, Joseph M. Furner

Transformations

Math teachers can insert photographs into GeoGebra software then explore various math objectives related to the Common Core Math Standards, the paper shows how to motivate students to learn math and minimize math anxiety while doing it. While covering the new Common Core State Standards, the topics will explore the math that surrounds us in the real world thus creating a connection between the abstract math and the life experiences. When math has a purpose, then students are willing to spend time in exploring and understanding new concepts. Real-life photographs that are inserted into GeoGebra will provide the basis to …

Winter 2018

Transformations

No abstract provided.

Stem Shift Action Plan, Nancy L. Ledbetter

Transformations

That there is an ever-growing need for students to enter STEM fields is no longer news. The need for people to fill STEM related jobs continues to expand (Bybee, 2013). Today’s students are global citizens who will need to collaborate and communicate with people around the world when they enter the workforce. Therefore, it is imperative that they are prepared with problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills before they enter secondary school (Myers & Berkowicz, 2015). Knowing that this must be done is the easy part, figuring out how to do it is the challenge. STEM must be incorporated into …

Connecting The Arcs Motivational Model To Game Design For Mathematics Learning, Mario J. Toussaint, Victoria Brown

Transformations

Students’ performance in mathematics at all levels of education have not markedly improved for the past few decades. Stakeholders at tertiary institutions have been attempting to remedy this situation by implementing various types of intervention programs designed to increase students’ success in mathematics courses. Technology has been the primary method adopted by many educators to foster student engagement in mathematics. This paper describes an intervention program that uses the ARCS model to develop a serious game intended to increase students’ motivation and engagement in a mathematics course.

Planning A Family Math Night-The How To's: A Checklist For Success, Joseph M. Furner Ph.D.

Transformations

This paper shares the “how to’s” of putting on a family math night at an elementary school in South Florida. The paper discusses the importance of parent involvement and knowing about the standards and how math, science, and literacy are taught in schools today. The paper provides concrete steps for setting up a family night with suggested activities and organizational ideas to involve teachers, students, and parents at the school. Several checklists are provided along with websites and ideas for activities for the family night booths. Today family nights at schools can provide a real powerful means for promoting parent …