Education Commons^™

The Impact Of A K-8 Stem Program On Grades And Student Choice Of Stem And Advanced Mathematics And Science Coursework In High School, Astrid Rodrigues

Dissertations

The demands of today’s workforce call for schools to prepare their students to have problem-solving skills and be critical thinkers and collaborative colleagues. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning has been known to cultivate, excite, and promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students from an early age.

This study explored the high school course selection of students who had participated in a compulsory Kindergarten to 8^th grade (K-8) STEM program, called Project Lead the Way (PLTW), while in middle school. Specifically, the study compared the number of STEM and advanced mathematics and science courses that students who …

At The Top Of The Chart: A Composite Counterstory Of Black Students’ Mathematical Success, Joslyn N. Richardson

Dissertations

Mathematics as a discipline has ignored the experiences of African American students, making it difficult for them to develop strong mathematical identities and racial identities in relation to math. Black children and their academic achievements are often framed negatively, and underachievement and failure are often emphasized over their brilliance and resilience. This qualitative study adds to the limited body of knowledge by examining student perspectives and socialization factors that contribute to positive math identity and achievement in middle school students. Using a Critical Race Theory framework, data was collected through semi-structured interviews and math autobiographies that were structured around the …

An Exploratory Study Of Mathematics Anxiety In Caribbean Preservice Teachers, Franka Atwell-Chin Hong

Dissertations

The Problem

Correlational studies suggest that gender, attitudes to mathematics, mathematics performance, the number of college mathematics courses taken, and mathematics teacher efficacy beliefs may be related to mathematics anxiety among preservice teachers (Boyd et al., 2014; Gresham, 2018; Jaggernauth & Jameson-Charles, 2015). Exploratory studies of mathematics anxiety and teacher self-efficacy among elementary teachers exist in Trinidad and Tobago (Jaggernauth 2012; Jaggernauth & Jameson-Charles, 2015). However, the differences in samples, and weakness in methodology, may make it challenging to generalize the results to the preservice teacher population. In addition, no studies have found which variable or combination of variables is …