Education Commons^™

Differentiating Instruction Through Math Stations And Literacy Centers, Olivia Bates

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Differentiating instruction based on students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles is essential for creating effective and meaningful learning activities. Identifying these characteristics allows teachers to meet students’ needs and engage them in learning. By differentiating instruction, educators target specific students’ strengths and challenges in developing lessons to support their understanding of content. Two useful strategies for differentiating math and literacy instruction include stations and centers. In stations and centers, students work on specific skills catered to their educational needs while rotating activities in flexible groups. This guide supports teachers in identifying strategies and understanding the benefits of differentiating math and …

20-Year Slide In Maths And Science Learning, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

With the release of results from the four-yearly Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Geoff Masters discusses what it will take to lift levels of mathematics and science learning in Australian schools.

‘When I Am Being Rushed It Slows Down My Brain’: Constructing Self-Understandings As A Mathematics Learner, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding learning disabilities (LDs) as constructed through multiple cultural practices including discourse, this paper focuses on a Latino middle school student with a LD named Elijah. This study documents both the discourses and practices used to position Elijah as a mathematics learner, as well as his use of similar discourses as he constructs a complex set of self-understandings as a mathematics learner. Elijah is positioned by discourses that prioritise speed as an indicator of mathematical ability, as well as discourses that construct students with LD as having both intelligence and differences such as processing speed. An analysis of interview and …

Using A Repeated Measures Anova Design To Analyze The Effect Writing In Mathematics Has On The Mathematics Achievement Of Third Grade English Language Learners And English Speakers, Zoe A. Morales

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The gap that exists between English language learners and English speaking students’ achievement in mathematics continues to grow. Moreover, students are now required to show evidence of their mathematics knowledge through writing in standardized assessments and class assignments.

The purpose of this study was to analyze students’ writing in mathematics and the metacognitive behaviors they portrayed through their writing as they solved mathematics problems. The instruments included a pretest, two biweekly tests, and a posttest. The writing instruction encompassed students learning to solve problems by using Polya’s four phases of problem solving which was completed in 12 sessions over a …

The Effects Of Professional Development On Elementary Students’ Mathematics Achievement, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Keith W. Thiede, Sam Strother, Dan Jesse, John Sutton

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper describes the effects of a professional development (PD) program – Developing Mathematical Thinking – on student achievement. Six Title I elementary schools with similar demographics, within one school district, were chosen to participate as either a treatment or comparison school. Three schools were chosen to participate in professional development that incorporates effective PD recommendations. All the teachers had to participate in all aspects of the PD, thereby eliminating potential self-selection bias. Using the state standardized achievement test as the before and after measure, results suggest improved student performance after professional development was implemented over a two year period.

Lefschetz Contact Manifolds And Odd Dimensional Symplectic Geometry, Yi Lin

Department of Mathematical Sciences Faculty Publications

In the literature, there are two different versions of Hard Lefschetz theorems for a compact Sasakian manifold. The first version, due to Kacimi-Alaoui, asserts that the basic cohomology groups of a compact Sasakian manifold satisfies the transverse Lefschetz property. The second version, established far more recently by Cappelletti-Montano, De Nicola, and Yudin, holds for the De Rham cohomology groups of a compact Sasakian manifold. In the current paper, using the formalism of odd dimensional symplectic geometry, we prove a Hard Lefschetz theorem for compact K-contact manifolds, which implies immediately that the two existing versions of Hard Lefschetz theorems are mathematically …

How Math Avoidance Influences Degree Completion For Bible College Students: A Case Study Of A Small, Private Institution In Upstate New York, Bonnie Novak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to describe math perception and avoidance for ministerial undergraduate students at a small, private Bible college in upstate New York. In the research, math avoidance was generally defined as the participants’ perception of math, their delay in completing a credit-bearing math course until their senior year or not at all, and their own learning or degree completion as a result. The theories guiding this study were Tinto’s Retention Theory/Model of Institutional Departure, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, and Estep’s Theory of Christian Formation. The central question was: How does math avoidance influence persistence …

Visual Representation In Mathematics: Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge And Emphasis For Instruction, Delinda Van Garderen, Amy Scheuermann, Apryl L. Poch, Mary M. Murray

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

The use of visual representations (VRs) in mathematics is a strongly recommended practice in special education. Although recommended, little is known about special educators’ knowledge of and instructional emphasis about VRs. Therefore, in this study, the authors examined special educators’ own knowledge of and their instructional emphasis with VRs in mathematics for students with disabilities (SWDs) in Grades K-12. A total of 146 teachers (pre- and in-service) responded to an online survey. A mixed methods triangulation research design was utilized. Findings include the following: (a) teachers hold conceptions about VRs and the roles they serve in problem solving; their ideas, …

Should Students Assessed As Needing Remedial Mathematics Take College-Level Quantitative Courses Instead? A Randomized Controlled Trial, Alexandra W. Logue, Mari Watanabe, Daniel Douglas

Publications and Research

Many college students never take, or do not pass, required remedial mathematics courses theorized to increase college-level performance. Some colleges and states are therefore instituting policies allowing students to take college-level courses without first taking remedial courses. However, no experiments have compared the effectiveness of these approaches, and other data are mixed. We randomly assigned 907 students to (a) remedial elementary algebra, (b) that course with workshops, or (c) college-level statistics with workshops (corequisite remediation). Students assigned to statistics passed at a rate 16 percentage points higher than those assigned to algebra (p

The Relationship Between High-School Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs And Their Practices In Regards To Intellectual Quality, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Michelle B. Carney

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study examines the relationship between mathematics teachers’ beliefs and instructional practices related to learning, pedagogy, and mathematics in regards to components of intellectual quality for eight high-school mathematics teachers. Research has demonstrated that the higher the degree of intellectual quality for instruction is rated the higher student achievement is on standardized assessments. The findings in this study demonstrate a consistent pattern between teachers espoused beliefs and their instructional practices. Even though teachers’ practices changed as they wrote curricular units to be more in line with intellectual quality characteristics, their beliefs stayed consistent over an 18 month period and were …

Teaching Critical And Creative Thinking Skills Through Problem-Solving In High School Mathematics Classes, Daniel L. Albert

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

I am a high school mathematics teacher who wants students to develop the thought process that allows them to uncover and use the patterns that are the heart of mathematics. Misconceptions belittle the subject, however, and disrupt the progress of my high school students because it disguises the purpose of studying math. My purpose in joining the Critical and Creative Thinking program at the University of Massachusetts Boston was to learn about the skills and methodologies that assist in the teaching and learning of thinking critically and creatively. This paper shows the progress and evolution of my capstone project—a set …

Office Of Stem Education Annual Report 2015-2016, Uno Office Of Stem Education

Student Learning

During 2015-2016 the Office of STEM (OSTEM) Education at UNO has continued to move aggressively forward in undertaking and leading STEM Learning projects, many of which collaborate closely with several other UNO colleges and other formal and informal educational institutions. Also continuing into 2016, OSTEM is steadily transitioning to becoming more of a focused departmental organization, while the UNO STEM Leadership Team takes over more of the campus-wide STEM Priority efforts.

This report describes the TED STEM successes, ongoing efforts and challenges this last year with a direct focus on the TED and COE context, and only lightly touches on …

Stem Community Chairs Progress Updates Spring 2016, Uno Stem Leadership Team

Student Learning

The following is a brief update of the activities and efforts being undertaken by UNO’s Dr. George and Sally Haddix Community Chair of STEM Education as being held by Dr. Neal Grandgenett. The goal of this position is:

Position Goal: To organize, lead and inspire collaborative STEM initiatives at UNO, that cross colleges and disciplines, and that aggressively position UNO to be a true national leader in interdisciplinary STEM programs. (Curriculum, Capacity, Collaboration)

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 …

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 …

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]

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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.

Uno Website-Gened Committee-Mathematics, Uno General Education Assessment Committee

Student Learning

Algebra is a foundational branch of mathematics that involves operations and relations, and which emphasizes the process of formulating, solving, interpreting, and applying equations of many different types to solve many different real-world problems, using systems of abstract symbols. It is a branch of mathematics with significant applications across a wide variety of disciplines.

Fundamental academic skills, consisting of Mathematics, English & Writing, and Public Speaking coursework, comprise 15 hours of the general education requirements. Students must complete three credit hours of Mathematics coursework.

A Teacher's Journey Through Multiplicative Thinking With Early Secondary Students, J O'Neill, L Day

Education Conference Papers

As part of the Reframing Mathematical Futures national project four WA secondary schools embarked on a journey to help students to become more able multiplicative thinkers, so that many areas of secondary mathematics would become more accessible to them. This involved targeted teaching within the regular mathematics classes. This paper is about the journey of one of these teachers.

Captain Zero . . . Hero Or Villain?, C Hurst, D Hurrell

Education Conference Papers

Our current research into children's multiplicative thinking has shown that children have the capacity to think multiplicatively and that some aspects of multiplicative thinking are more thoroughly understood than others. We look at a data set obtained over three classes in the same year level and explore the considerable variation in responses to several key questions on a multiplicative thinking quiz. The questions relate to the 'times bigger' notion in comparing numbers, the ability to use standard place value partitioning when operating, the ability to articulate what happens when numbers are multiplied and divided by powers of ten, and the …

Accessing Mathematical Content Through The Proficiency Strands, L Day

Education Conference Papers

The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics differs from previous state versions of curricula by the inclusion of four Proficiency Strands alongside the three Content Strands. The Proficiency Strands are the power behind the curriculum as they shape the way in which the content should be accessed. Mathematically rich tasks that use a problem solving or inquiry approach allow students to develop deep understanding of mathematical concepts through reasoning and communication that will lead to greater fluency.

Are There Any Winners In High-Stakes Mathematics Testing? A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Student, Parent And Teacher Attitudes Towards Naplan Numeracy Tests In Years 3 And 5, L Cranley, G Hine

Education Conference Papers

Through the annual implementaion of National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), testing of mathematical standards across Australia invokes questions about the impact that high-stakes testing has for the teaching and learning of mathematics. According to recent studies on high-stakes testing, the role of the teacher is instrumental in children's achievement results. The purpose of this case study is to explore perspectives about NAPLAN from key participants at one Western Australian Primary School, namely: students, teachers, and parents. The paper will report on the extent to which instructional pedagogy at one school has been affected by the implementation of …