Education Commons^™

Talking In Math Class? Encouraging Engagement And Achievement Through The Use Of Talk Moves, Monika Burnside, Jessica King

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Purpose of the Study: Investigate the variations in three second-grade teachers' implementation of a number sense curriculum, in particular the variations in the ways they used Talk Moves to encourage students' engagement in classroom discussions. Long Term Goal: To improve number sense instruction in early elementary grades.

Graduation As A Function Of Mobility, Attendance, Discipline, Math, English Language Arts/Reading, And Parental Educational Attainment Of The Cohort Group 2015 In One South Texas Urban School District In The Rio Grande Valley, Nancy Lopez Castillo

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the trends and patterns across time over the cohort 2015 on dependent variable, graduation. Aggregated longitudinal data for independent variables, mobility, attendance, discipline, math achievement, reading achievement, and parental educational attainment was collected for 98 students from 2010 to 2018. The independent variables of mobility, attendance, discipline, math achievement, reading achievement, and parental educational attainment were examined to determine whether or not high school completion is dependent on these measures.

The freshmen cohort 2015 in one south Texas urban school district in the Rio Grande Valley was the focus of the study. Exploratory and confirmatory analysis statistical/data …

Novice Elementary Teachers’ Experiences With Preparedness To Teach Mathematics: A Phenomenological Study, Ashleigh Rose Chaves

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe novice elementary teachers’ experiences with preparedness to teach mathematics in a large school district in southeastern Massachusetts. In defining the novice elementary teachers’ experiences, I looked at the participants’ self-efficacy through the lens of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Self-efficacy was defined as how confident the novice teachers were in regard to their ability to teach mathematics. The focus of this study was how adequately prepared the teachers felt teaching elementary mathematics but also investigated how the teachers felt about their readiness to address the challenges students experience in mathematics. The following …

The Effect Of Family Engagement On Parents' Abilities To Help Their Children With Math, Kathleen A. Kalena

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to ascertain if parents’ reported participation in specific math intervention strategies increased their abilities to help their children with math. The five math intervention strategies were Everyday Math Online Tools and Games, Star Math Reports/Home Connect from Renaissance Learning, HomeworkNOW, Study Island, and Family Math Nights. This research also served to examine if there was an association between parents’ participation in the five math intervention strategies and parents’ reported demographics. Parents of students in Grades 1 through 5 in a large, urban rim school district were surveyed. Survey respondents encompassed 694 parents. Descriptive statistics …

Reflections On Inquiry-Based Learning In A First-Year Algebra Classroom: Implications For Practitioners, Gregory P. Sand

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This self-study examines the learning by the teacher and students in a first-year Algebra class in a medium sized Midwestern city. The author, a secondary mathematics teacher, overviews two problems of practice and outlines methodology used to study these problems within the standard curriculum of first-year Algebra taught using inquiry-based methodology. Three units of study, Inequalities, Exponents, and Parabolas are analyzed to identify the learning of students and the mathematical and pedagogical learning of the teacher. Emergent mathematical and pedagogical themes from the analysis chapters are discussed with implications for practice.

Advisor: Stephen A. Swidler

The Effect Of Choice Of Ipad-Delivered Math Independent Practice Of Elementary Grade Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Characteristics, Nora A. Altaweel

Communication Disorders & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

A choice-making strategy is an antecedent control that has proven to be effective for students with problem behaviors. Because students with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may display disruptive behaviors and show poor academic performance, it has been suggested that incorporating choice-making strategies into academic instruction could serve to increase academic engagement and task accuracy. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of iPad-based choice-making opportunities during math independent practice on each participant's task engagement, time required to complete task, task accuracy, and task completion, as well as the teacher and participants perceptions of social validity of the intervention. …

The Comparison Of The Effects Of Direct Instruction And Project-/Problem-Based Learning To Teach Basic Math Skills For Students With Low-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder, Maiko Hosokawa

Culminating Projects in Special Education

The attention toward the mathematics achievement of U.S. students in general education, when they took the national and international assessments, has risen (Przychodzin et al., 2004). However, a limited amount of research focusing on effective mathematics instruction was completed (Baker, Gersten, & Lee, 2002).

Mathematics is an important academic area for students with disabilities, including autism, because people with disabilities can increase work or volunteering opportunities and enrich their post-secondary life if they perform functional math skills well (Brown & Snell, 2000). However, Su et al. (2010) described that few studies focusing on learning strategies to support students with autism …

Writing In Mathematics To Increase Student Understanding, Ashley Harlan

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this action research study was to understand the impact of introducing writing into the math sequence of a third-grade class. The teacher-researcher sought to understand students’ perceptions of as well as her personal perceptions of introducing writing into math and how this impacted student achievement. Data was collected through writing samples, assessment scores, observations and reflections, surveys, and interviews. The data was analyzed using the constant comparative method as well as quantitative methods of analysis. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the data: process of introducing writing into math, student attitudes and ideas, and …

Engagement During Math Small Groups Using The Interactive White Board, Grace Diana Cozby

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

Interactive whiteboards are an integral part of many elementary classrooms. These boards are becoming increasingly common in the early childhood setting. This study looks at how the interactive whiteboard impacts engagement in a Head Start, pre-kindergarten classroom. This study was done by teaching math small groups, both with and without the use of the interactive whiteboard, and recording the results in regards to engagement. Interviews, surveys, checklists, tally sheets, and journaling were used to garner both teacher and student perceptions about the use of the interactive whiteboard. This study found that interactive whiteboards increased direct instruction engagement and were perceived …

The Role Of Homework In A Mathematics Classroom, Adam Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Research Topic: The topic I researched is assignment grading techniques. I would studied which type of grading works best for students to learn.

Participants: Participants in this study came from a lower class public middle school and high school. The population is 90% white with 60% of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches. The size of the study will be approximately 15 students in the 9th grade. 65% of the students come from a single parent home or have divorced parents.

Instrument: Tests that I have created on the topic will be the measuring instrument. The test will only …

Tcap Assessment In Correlation With And As Compared By Star Assessment, Brooke Sampson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was twofold. The first purpose of the study was to determine if a correlation existed between the Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading (STAR), created and distributed by Renaissance, and the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test in Math and Reading for grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the percentile category of the STAR test and the TCAP test. The factor variable, identified as the percentile category, included three levels: Urgent Intervention, Intervention, and At/Beyond Benchmark. The dependent variable was …

Making Connections: Evaluation Of A Professional Development Program For Teachers Focused On Stem Integration, Judy Lambert, Carmen Cioc, Sorin Cioc, Dawn Sandt

Journal of STEM Teacher Education

This article reports on a 2-year evaluation of a STEM integration professional development (PD) program for 40 math, science, and special education teachers in Grades 5–9 from a large Midwestern public school district. The National Research Council’s framework for integrated STEM education (Honey, Pearson, & Schweingruber, 2014) was used to explain the goals, outcomes, nature and scope, and implementation of the program. Teachers were measured on their growth in STEM content knowledge, technology integration, teaching confidence, pedagogical beliefs, and impact of PD. Increases resulted in all these areas with statistically significant improvements in most of them, particularly in Year 2. …

Impact Of Literacy On Student Readiness In Math And Science Classroom, Mackenzie Alexandra Rittner

Honors Projects

Lack of literacy, specifically disciplinary literacy, is an epidemic in education today. Here, I will illustrate how this problem presents itself in our student’s reading every day in every class. Within a literature review, many accounts are detailed about the impact literacy has on a student’s educational career. From the outset, literacy is a key factor in a student’s success in school. A research study was conducted that asked students to give varied definitions of the word ‘volume’ based on prior experience. These results showed that direct instruction in how a word can change based on its context had an …

Elementary Students’ Attitudes Toward Social Studies, Math, And Science: An Analysis With The Emphasis On Social Studies, Sahin Dundar, Anatoli Rapoport

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

The purpose of the study was to compare upper elementary students' attitudes towards social studies, science, math, and to find out whether there si a significant difference between 4th and 5th grade students' attitudes towards social studies. The participants of the study were 4th and 5th grades students (n=348) from three elementary schools in a Midwestern state. Results showed that students held less positive attitudes towards social studies than science and mathematics, and fourth graders hold more positive attitues toward social studies than fifth graders.

The Impact Of Exercising At A Self-Selected Intensity On Concurrent Academic Task Performance, Carrie Ann French

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of this study was to examine the impact of exercising while completing an academic task on performance on the academic tasks. Participants were 71 undergraduate students at a midsized southern university who were asked to complete reading and math tasks while exercising on a stationary bike. Performance on reading and math tasks completed on the stationary bike was compared within-subjects to performance on parallel tasks while seated. Working memory scores were assessed as potential covariates. Order of experimental tasks was evaluated as a between-subjects factor. Within-subjects ANCOVA’s indicated that performance on math tasks was significantly worse while exercising. …

A Tale Of Two Contexts: Mathematics Self-Efficacy Development Among Rural And Urban Students, Brianna L. Weidner

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

Self-efficacy, or a belief in one’s ability to complete a task, has been shown to predict student success and persistence. Rural students have a history of lower college enrollment and degree attainment than urban students. However, no studies have compared self-efficacy or its sources across rural and urban groups. The purpose of this study is to examine differences in how rural and urban middle school students develop self-efficacy and self-efficacy for self-regulated learning in the domain of math. Data were collected from 174 rural students and 1743 urban students in grades 6-8 in the southeastern United States. Measurement invariance analyses …

Math Self-Efficacy Effects On Prisoners' Academic Achievement, Randall Peder Bergman

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined three hypothesized math-self efficacy (MSE) sources that inhibit adult basic education male prisoner mathematics achievement. Previous correctional studies indicated that United States prisoners tend to have low self-efficacy and therefore lower academic achievement (Greve & Enzmann, 2003). Adult education studies also indicated lower self-efficacy in adults older than age 20 who take coursework to complete their high school diploma (Jameson & Fusco, 2014). Survey studies of MSE factors from analysis showed that students who self-reported lower self-confidence, negative self-beliefs, increased math anxieties, and greater devaluation of math’s usefulness to their future employment have significant barriers to math …

Global Problem-Based Learning In Math, Dora Fletcher

Theses and Dissertations

In the high school of focus in this study, mathematics students struggle to transfer and apply skills to unfamiliar contexts. Also, minority students are underrepresented in advanced mathematics course enrollments. This two-part study consists of a longitudinal analysis of enrollment trends in mathematics courses as well as an action research study of the impact of Global Problem-Based Learning on achievement and attitudes in advanced mathematics classes. The study was conducted at a southern U.S. International Baccalaureate (IB) high school with an annual enrollment of approximately 1300 students. The longitudinal study examined three cohorts of high school graduates, 797 students, beginning …

A Case Study On The Perceived Impact Of Elementary School Departmentalization On Teacher Math Self-Efficacy, Rich Thomas Haley Iii

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a qualitative case study of three elementary teachers that currently teach at a school implementing a departmental structure in Northern California. Data was gathered by interviewing each participant individually and is presented in the form of a narrative for each participant. The purpose of this study was to explore the math self-efficacy of elementary teachers who teach in a school implementing a departmental structure. The research addressed the following question: How does a departmental structure influence the experiences, perceptions, and self-efficacy of elementary teachers as each relates to mathematics instruction? The results of this study demonstrate that, …