Education Commons^™

Comparing Two Different Student Teaching Structures By Analyzing Conversations Between Student Teachers And Their Cooperating Teachers, Niccole Suzette Franc

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that preservice teachers participating in traditional student teaching programs tend to focus on classroom management, with very little focus on student mathematical thinking. The student teaching program at BYU has been redesigned in the hopes of shifting the focus of student teachers away from classroom management toward student mathematical thinking. This study compared conversations between student teachers and cooperating teachers before and after the redesign of the program to work towards determining the effectiveness of the refocusing of the new student teaching program. The study found that STs and CTs in the different student teaching structures were …

Effects Of School Choice On Math Performance, Rachel Ricioli Wittenberg

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a significant skill level difference between freshmen geometry students who attended charter schools and those who attended noncharter schools during middle school. The study addresses the controversy over charter schools providing better educational outcomes. The literature reviewed focuses on achievement in charter schools, and also discusses the indirect effects charter schools may have on surrounding public schools. The sample includes two cohorts of freshmen geometry students from the 2011- 2012 and 2012-2013 school years, which resulted in a sample size of 115 students. The results show that the difference …

Textbooks, Teachers, And Middle School Mathematics Student Achievement, Susan R. Monaghan

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this study was to extend the research on textbook effectiveness to a situated investigation of a single large urban school district in which middle schools were given a choice in selecting from three textbooks for mathematics instruction: a reform textbook, a commercially produced textbook developed in response to mathematics standards, and a traditional textbook. Its genesis is rooted in the efforts in the mathematics education community to investigate the interaction of teachers and mathematics curriculum materials, but in light of the shift to an accountability policy climate in public education. In particular, this study sought to determine …

Exploring Community Colleges In The Stem Education Landscape : Development Of Stem College Major Choice Model, Colleen Evans

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Community colleges are becoming increasingly relevant as an entrance point into postsecondary education for potential science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. These institutions are also an important education pathway for women and racial/ethnic minorities who are currently underrepresented in the STEM workforce. The purpose of this study is to understand how student demographics, high school, and college experiences influence the entrance of community college students to the STEM college majors. Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) were used for the study. Students included in the study began their postsecondary education at community colleges. Descriptive and …

The Effect Of Manipulatives On Achievement Scores In The Middle School Mathematics Class, Elaine D. Doias

Dissertations

When applied to mathematics education, manipulatives help students to visualize mathematical concepts and apply them to everyday situations. Interest in mathematics instruction has increased dramatically over the past two decades with the introduction of virtual manipulatives, as opposed to the concrete manipulatives that have been employed for centuries. This quasi-experimental study proposed to explain the relationship between concrete and virtual manipulatives when used in a seventh-grade mathematics classroom. Using students’ mathematics composite scores on standardized and teacher-created assessments, it compared the effectiveness of using concrete manipulatives alone versus using a combination of concrete and virtual manipulatives. The foundational theory of …

Using Brief Experimental Analyses To Identify Effective Math Interventions For Early Elementary Students, Chelsi Ronatta Clark

Dissertations

athematics difficulties, this study aimed to use a brief experimental analysis (BEA) to identify effective interventions within a response to intervention (RTI) framework. Participants included four lower elementary school students who exhibited marked problems in mathematics. The effects of mathematics interventions to increase mathematic computational fluency and accuracy were assessed during the BEA. The intervention that produced the greatest gains during the BEA was compared to the intervention that produced the least gains during an extended analysis phase. It was hypothesized that: (a) during a BEA of math interventions, students will demonstrate differential responding across interventions; (b) during a BEA …

The Impact Of Selected Academic And Demographic Variables On Mathematics College Readiness Predicted By Act, Marcia Sue Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine the degree to which academic and demographic variables affected the ACT results used in determining college readiness. This quantitative research study followed a non-experimental correlational design. A multiple regression was used to analyze archival data to determine the impact the combined Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) mathematics end-of-course (EOC) score, high school GPA, and highest mathematics class completed had on the ACT mathematics exam. In addition, a hierarchical multiple regression model was used to determine how English language learner (ELL) status and socio-economic status (SES) impacted students' ACT performance …

Implications For Ability Grouping In Mathematics For Fifth Grade Students, Anne M. Stinnett

Masters Theses

This study examines the effects of ability grouping on fifth grade students at 47 elementary schools in a large urban school district. Using disaggregated standardized test data that statistically measures achievement growth, this study analyzes gains among students assigned to prior achievement quintiles as compared to three grouping strategies: homogeneous, heterogeneous with special classes for advanced and special education, and heterogeneous ability groups.

The findings suggest that the grouping strategies used in these schools are effective for the students at these schools. Most significant is that, on average, low achieving schools are grouping students in ways that are exhibiting positive …

Breaking Tradition In The Mathematics Classroom: Making Mathematics Real, Relevant, And Personal (Project), Karri Lynn Sanders

Award Winners

Traditional mathematics education is failing students as many are unable to comprehend and master advanced and abstract concepts (Rakes, Valentine, McGatha, & Ronau, 2010). Struggling students, including those at Knapp Charter Academy, face a disadvantage in subsequent mathematics classes and limited opportunities in higher education and beyond. The importance of mathematics, as a gatekeeper to opportunity, makes increasing students’ success in mathematics a necessity. The mathematics failure rates coupled with the proven ineffectiveness of traditional mathematics teaching and learning additionally establish the need for meaningful reform. This project analyzes educational theory and research to determine the effect of certain reform …

Promoting Stem Literacy In 21st Century Education, Emily V. Martin

Honors College Theses

This research paper focuses on the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Literacy in American Education. Specifically, the research paper focuses on different strategies that can be used to incorporate literacy into the science and math classrooms. There are five different strategies presented for each content area and they were all suggested by a variety of Educational Journals. Along with literacy strategies, there is another part of the research paper that focuses on the importance of innovative experiences in the science and math classrooms that incorporate principles of engineering and technology. The importance of this is not only to …

The Development Of Introductory Statistics Students' Informal Inferential Reasoning And Its Relationship To Formal Inferential Reasoning, Bridgette Lynn Jacob

Teaching and Leadership - Dissertations

The difficulties introductory statistics students have with formal statistical inference are well known in the field of statistics education. "Informal" statistical inference has been studied as a means to introduce inferential reasoning well before and without the formalities of formal statistical inference. This mixed methods study investigated the development of introductory statistics students' informal inferential reasoning and its relationship to their formal inferential reasoning. A pre/posttest was administered to 136 students enrolled in introductory statistics classes taught in their secondary schools. Four task-based interviews were also conducted with seven pairs of those students.

With probabilistic reasoning essential for formal statistical …

Perceptions By High School Teachers Of Mathematical Readiness Of Students With Disabilities Transitioning To College, Adam Dwight King

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

More and more students with mild disabilities enroll in and attend college. However, test scores and other achievement measures show that they are well behind
their regular education peers in math achievement, and thus unprepared for the rigors of college. While much has been done to revise laws and policy involving students with disabilities and academic core standards to increase preparedness, it is still what happens in the classroom that has the greatest effect on student preparation. Due to
the nature of pullout/resource classes where pacing is typically slower and less content is covered, special education teachers make a myriad …

The Relationship Between Attitudes And Achievement In Mathematics Among Fifth Grade Students, Madeleine P. Michelli

Honors Theses

There have been a number of studies investigating how attitudes such as confidence and motivation affect students and their academic achievement. This study was conducted to identify specifically how fifth grade students’ attitudes affect their achievement in mathematics. Gender was studied to determine its effect on attitude and achievement. Furthermore, various types of personality traits were studied including extroversion, conscientiousness, self-control, and intellectual efficiency to determine their effects on achievement. To gather the data a questionnaire including a Likert scale survey and a math test was administered. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward and …

A Case Study Exploring The Relationship Between Culturally Responsive Teaching And A Mathematical Practice Of The Common Core State Standards, Tashana Howse

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This collective case study explores the nature of the relationship between teachers’ use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices and students’ engagement in constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others (SMP3). This study was informed by the Common Core State Standards Initiative related to developing mathematically proficient students through the use of student engagement practices consistent with the standards for mathematical practice. As a means to support teachers’ facilitating specific student engagement practices, professional development was provided. This study is situated in the growing body of research associated with student engagement and cultural identity. The case of two …

Inner City African American Girls' Learning Mathematics: Parental Influence And Classroom Experience As They Impact Mathematics Scores On The Act, Sharon Alicia Simeon

Wayne State University Dissertations

The objective of this study was to discover how parents (N=47), through their input at home, influence the mathematical performance of their daughters; how female African American students view their teachers' influence in their mathematical thinking; how critical is the mathematical classroom experience for African American girls; and can positive classroom experiences (teacher implementation of best practices) significantly add to the effect of the parental mathematical input at home. And lastly, how much can the two factors together predict higher mathematics scores on the ACT. Research instruments consisted of parent and student surveys. The participants were African American girls who …

Investigating Latina/O Mathematics Students' Perceptions Of Interpersonal Relationships In College Mathematics, Victoria Rose Larabell

Open Access Theses

It is known that interpersonal relationships are significant to the success of the Latina/o mathematics learner. Unfortunately, interpersonal relationships in mathematics are understudied. For this reason, this study seeks to answer the following question: How do Latina/o mathematics students perceive their interpersonal relationships with their mathematics professors, peers in mathematics, and families with respect to mathematics? To explore the role of such relationships in Latinas/os experiences in mathematics, I define a meaningful relationship in mathematics education (MRIME) as interactions between two parties in which one party acknowledges the other party as a sociocultural being and fosters their mathematics identity. This …

Mathematical Tasks Without Words And Word Problems: Perceptions Of Reluctant Problem Solvers, Sydney Margaret Holbert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative research study used a multiple, holistic case study approach (Yin, 2009) to explore the perceptions of reluctant problem solvers related to mathematical tasks without words and word problems. Participants were given a choice of working a mathematical task without words or a word problem during four problem-solving sessions. Data were gathered from problem-solving sessions, in the form of session transcripts, written reflections, and interviews to determine how the reluctant problem solvers perceived the problems presented in each session. Participants' views of the problems before and after working were recorded and thick descriptions of the sessions including quotes from …

A Comparison Of Students' And Parents' Mathematics Attitudes And Achievement At A Private Historically Black University, Kristopher Childs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to compare students’ and their parents’ mathematical attitudes using the Attitudes Towards Mathematics Instrument (ATMI). The sample consisted of 476 newly-enrolled students and 263 parents attending the New Student Orientation and Leadership program at a private historically black university. The sample was predominantly African American, with 96% of the students and 95% of the parents identifying themselves as African American. The ATMI total score and subscale scores of self-confidence, value, enjoyment, and motivation were explored to determine if there was a relationship between the mathematics attitudes of students enrolled at a private historically black …

Effect Of Personalized Instruction On The Achievement Of Solving Mathematical Word Problems, Danica Vukmirovic

Wayne State University Dissertations

Graduation rates are negatively affected by college learners' inability to demonstrate proficiency in mathematics. The purpose of this research study was to determine the effect of individual personalized mathematical instruction on the achievement of solving mathematical word problems by undergraduates enrolled in a college mathematics course. As well, the effect of individual personalized mathematical instruction on undergraduate motivation to solve mathematical word problems was also examined.

The research undertaken was a true experimental post-test only, control group design that took place over three consecutive weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental …

Connected Mathematics Learning And Gender Equity In Predominantly Latino/A High Schools: Case Of Spatial Reasoning, Raymond Falcon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzed interventions used in improving the mathematics achievement in spatial reasoning tasks for females called connectedness. Gender achievement in mathematics has been a controversial topic because of the wide variance in research. Some research has found a difference between the genders in mathematics while others argue there is no difference in mathematical achievement. The Seven Clever Piece Tangrams were used in the mixed method study as the instrument of spatial reasoning tasks. Freshmen participants (N=719) from southwest high schools in a border town participated in one of two groups: control (n=247) and treatment (n=472). Of the participants, 379 …

The Impact Of Teachers' Characteristics And Self-Reported Practices On Students' Algebra Achievement, Liza Cope

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examined the impact of teachers' characteristics and self-reported practices on students' Algebra achievement while controlling for students' characteristics. This study is based on the secondary analysis of data collected from a nationally representative sample of 9th grade students and their mathematics teachers during the base year of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS). Student and teacher data were obtained through questionnaires and students' Algebra achievement was measured by an ability-adaptive assessment designed to measure a cross-section of understandings representative of the six major Algebraic content domains (The language of algebra; Proportional relationships and change; Linear equations, …

Dismantling The Birdcage : Adolescent Girls' Attitudes Towards Learning Mathematics With A Relational Pedagogy In A Problem-Based Environment, Carmel Schettino

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Although the Gender Achievement Gap is closing in mathematics, the "interest gap" in pursuing STEM fields is not. Mathematics education research has discussed constructivist, student-centered and inclusive methods of teaching that have been found to encourage students that have underachieved and been underrepresented in STEM fields. One recommendation for encouraging young women to continue in their mathematical studies is to find instructional methods that allow them to feel included in the learning process and "unfix" the dichotomous, gendered socio-cultural view of mathematics and the mathematics classroom fostering positive attitudes such as self-confidence, empowerment and agency.

Numeracy Support For Year Two Students, Gillian Dawn Hurle

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Research of teaching theories and intervention programs internationally and in Australia suggests that the implementation of numeracy support programs can improve student achievement levels (Fuchs, 2005; Ketterlin-Geller, Chard & Fien, 2008; Van Kraayenoord & Elkins, 2004). An intervention program was conducted for a small group of Year Two students with the aim of improving their numeracy skills over a 20 week period. Results of two mathematics assessments, together with information provided by teachers based on classroom observations and informal assessments were combined to select a group of twelve students who were considered to be at risk of developing mathematical difficulties. …