Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Exploring And Training Spatial Reasoning Via Eye Movements: Implications On Performance, Victoria A. Roach

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation sought to determine if eye movements could serve as an indicator of success in spatial reasoning, and if eye movements associated with successful completion could be applied to strategically improve spatial reasoning.

Using the line images of Shepard and Metzler, an electronic test of mental rotations ability (EMRT) was designed. Two versions of the test were created, allowing for both a timed (6 seconds per question) and untimed testing environment. Four experiments were designed and completed to relate mental rotation ability (MRA) scores from the EMRT, to patterns in chrononumeric and visual salience data. In each experiment, participants …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Moving College Students To A Better Understanding Of Substrate Specificity Of Enzymes Through Utilizing Multimedia Pre-Training And An Interactive Enzyme Model, Mounir R. Saleh

Dissertations

Scientists’ progress in understanding enzyme specificity uncovered a complex natural phenomenon. However, not all of the currently available biology textbooks seem to be up to date on this progress. Students’ understanding of how enzymes work is a core requirement in biochemistry and biology tertiary education. Nevertheless, current pre-college science education does not provide students with enough biochemical background to enable them to understand complex material such as this. To bridge this gap, a multimedia pre-training presentation was prepared to fuel the learner’s prior knowledge with discrete facts necessary to understand the presented concept. This treatment is also known to manage …

Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy: Examining The Relationship Of Teacher Efficacy And Student Achievement, Nouf Abdullah Alrefaei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate which teachers’ characteristics have an impact on teachers’ sense of efficacy. In addition, the relationship between mathematics and science fifth grade teachers’ sense of efficacy and student achievement was examined. Two characteristics related to teachers were examined: teachers’ years of teaching experience and teachers’ highest degree. Participants included 62 mathematics and science teachers from three school districts in Northwest Arkansas. When comparing fifth grade mathematics and science teachers’ efficacy beliefs based on their highest degree, a significant difference in teachers’ efficacy beliefs was found based on their degrees. Teachers with a Bachelor …

The Short Grit Scale: A Dimensionality Analysis, Caihong Li

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

This study aimed to examine the internal structure, score reliability, scoring, and interpretation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) using a sample of engineering students (N = 610) from one large southeastern university located in the United States. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare four competing theoretical models: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a two-factor model, (c) a second-order model, and (d) a bi-factor model. Given that researchers have used Grit-S as a single factor, a unidimensional model was examined. Two-factor and second-order models were considered based upon the work done by Duckworth, Peterson, …

The Effects Of A Varied Method Of Instruction On Student Achievement, Transfer, Situational Interest, And Course Retention Rates In Community College Developmental Mathematics, Kevin L. Mccandless

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effects of a varied method of instruction on student achievement, knowledge transfer, situational interest, and course retention rates, relative to a non-varied method of instruction, in community college developmental mathematics. The varied method of instruction consisted of active learning teaching practices with foundations in social constructivism, whereas the non-varied method of instruction was founded in Cognitive Load Theory and consisted primarily of explicit instruction and individual practice.

An initial sample of 139 students who enrolled in six sections of Beginning Algebra at an urban community college in Northern California participated …

Effects Of Successmakers Math As An Intervention For Students, Jennifer Lee Calcut

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schools throughout the United States use the IQ-achievement discrepancy method to

identify children with learning disabilities. This current method allows many students to fall behind in the regular education setting. In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was reauthorized to provide states with the option of using a response to intervention (RtI) model in lieu of or in conjunction with the IQ-achievement discrepancy model. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, single subject, pre/posttest design study was to determine the impact of a Tier II intervention using SuccesMakers Math, a learning system that adapts to the unique needs of the individual …