Education Commons^™

Examining The Influence Of Number Line Fraction Task Characteristics On Student Work, Sharlee Hatch

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Research supports the claim that classrooms with teachers who respond to student thinking in the mathematics classroom will see greater student gains and student success (Lamon, 1996; Sleep & Boerst, 2012). The topic of fractions is both difficult to teach and learn, but has important implications on future success in mathematics and in life. This study set out to explore the ways in which student work is influenced by characteristics of number line fraction tasks. By examining task type, number line structure, and number choice this study shares the way these task characteristics influenced student strategies. The relationship between task …

Assessing The Impact Of Picture Books In Primary Grades Mathematics Instruction, Jessica Stone

Doctoral Dissertations

This study documents an educational field experiment evaluating the effects of picture books on primary students’ mathematical achievement and their dispositions towards mathematics. The study involved 136 primary grade students from one elementary school in the southeastern region of the United States. The student population had an overrepresentation of students from minority backgrounds (91%), low socioeconomic status (93%) and English Language Learners (47%). During the 18-week treatment period, teacher participants from the treatment group received bi-weekly collaborative professional development regarding the use of picture books in mathematics instruction. The teachers in the control group followed their district’s mathematics curriculum.

To …

Mathematics Learning Support Models And Student Success At A Tennessee Community College, Bobby Allen Dixon Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every year thousands of students make preparations to pursue a college degree. Many are high school seniors, but a large percentage of the population are nontraditional age students who are years removed from a formal classroom setting. Included in the list of preparations is an examination whose results will be used to determine each individual’s readiness to be academically successful at the collegiate level. These examinations assess student’s abilities in the areas of reading, English composition, and mathematics. The results of these examinations show that at the community college level more than half of these students will need remediation in …

First Graders’ Use Of The Bar Model To Communicate Their Understanding Of The Equal Sign, Amber L. Van Vooren

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Students’ misunderstandings of the equal sign have been well documented in children as young as kindergarten. Misconceptions of the symbol (=) hinder students’ relational thinking and impede access to algebraic contexts. Symbolic equations (e.g., 4+2=__+3) have been widely used to test students’ understanding and communication of equivalence. The purpose of this study was to explore how first grade students communicate their understanding of equivalence when instruction involved using a bar model versus symbolic equations. It used a two-case study approach to compare an atypical instruction design (the bar model) to a traditional design (symbolic equations). Distinct patterns in communication and …

Guiding Sixth Grade Language Development In Mathematical Content Acquisition Through Student Centered Siop Instruction, Leah Callister

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Mathematics is considered a universal language for students. However, now common core standards require students to explain their conceptual understanding through words, numbers, and verbal explanations. Student proficiency in the universal language is impeded when they do not speak the primary language. It is difficult for the teacher to teach both the academic language and mathematical concepts, when the vocabulary is not accessible to all students. Conversely it is difficult for students to follow the pacing of the class while having to translate and gain a conceptual understanding of the subject. The purpose of this study is to increase student …

Eighth Grade Mathematics Intervention: Improving Student Self-Esteem And Content Knowledge Of Targeted Mathematic Skills, Stephanie Hart

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

By eighth grade some students believe they are “not good” and never will be successful at mathematics. Discouraged by poor grades, negative feedback from teachers or demoralized by repeated academic failure, these students disengage from their mathematics classwork. In some cases, mathematics intervention classes are a last chance to get them back on track to qualify for Algebra I in 9^th grade. The purpose of this study is to identify strategies to reengage students by increasing their academic content knowledge in mathematics and boosting their self-esteem and sense of belonging in the school setting. The review of the literature …

Cooperative Groups And Student Engagement: Exploring Cooperative Learning Groups In Mathematics, Trisha Reszel

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project explores using cooperative learning strategies, specifically five of the structures designed by Dr. Spencer Kagan within a third grade mathematics classroom for six weeks. There were twenty-three participants in the third grade classroom, ages 8 to 9 years old. Students were given a survey of their opinion of math before the unit started, as well as after for comparison. During the unit, students participated in five different structures (or strategies based on KAGAN’s research) multiple times within each mathematics lesson. To determine if the action research was successful or not, unit scores from the current unit …

A Review Of Secondary Mathematics Textbooks On Families Of Functions, Emily Nyszczy

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In 2008, twelve commonly used textbooks were studied for their use of technology and content across 5 families of functions: polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric. Since 2008, the Common Core State Standards have been released and many textbook companies have used this as an opportunity to change their textbook content. This study reevaluates new high school algebra and precalculus textbooks across many of the same criterion studied in 2008. Some topics such as increasing and decreasing functions significantly increased their presence in the mathematics textbooks while topics such as sketching graphs has decreased. The reason for this shift in …

Strengthening Elementary Students' Understanding Of Factors, Jordan R. Frotz

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Research on pre-service elementary school teachers’ understanding of the multiplicative structure of the natural numbers demonstrates an under-utilization of unique prime factorization in the identification of a number’s factors. For example, Zazkis and Campbell (1996b) found that a majority of teacher candidates employed trial division to analyze factor-candidates of a number, even when both were presented in prime-factored-form. Recent studies (i.e. Roscoe & Feldman, 2015) have shown that teachers’ understanding of factor can be strengthened by engaging in a sequence of instructional tasks that explore the relationship between a number’s prime factorization and its factors. This study seeks to extend …