Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

The Effect Of Stem And Non-Stem Education On Student Mathematics Ability In Third Grade, Elke Hyacinth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although early mathematics instruction is predictive of future mathematics achievement, the effects of STEM-based mathematics instruction on mathematics gains in elementary school have been largely unexplored. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether mathematics scores from third grade student state-mandated standardized mathematics test differ between students who were enrolled in STEM schools and students who were enrolled in non-STEM schools in the largest school district located in a Southwestern state in the United States. Polya's problem-solving heuristics formed the theoretical framework because of their relevance to concepts on the third grade mathematics test. Two research questions focused …