Curriculum and Instruction 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 …

An Examination Of Accessible Hands-On Science Learning Experiences, Self-Confidence In One’S Capacity To Function In The Sciences, And Motivation And Interest In Scientific Studies And Careers., Mick D. Isaacson, Cary Supalo, Michelle Michaels, Alan Roth

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This study examined the potential relationship of accessible hands-on science learning experiences to the development of positive beliefs concerning one’s capacity to function in the sciences and motivation to consider science as a college major and career. Findings from Likert survey items given before and after engaging in accessible hands-on science laboratories show that students who were blind or had low vision (BLV) were more likely to agree with the following items after engaging in accessible science experiences: 1) I plan on enrolling as a science major in college; 2) My educational experiences, so far, have given me the …

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.

Making Something Out Of Mathematics: Using Advanced Technology To Interest Secondary School Girls In Mathematics, Patricia Mclaughlin, Belinda Kennedy

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

Australia is in the bottom third of all OECD nations in the proportion of girls studying mathematics and technology at undergraduate level. The representation of girls entering technology-related study at tertiary level over the past decade has averaged 11%. There is an urgent need for cultural change in attitudes and processes for encouraging girls into these disciplines. One of the key issues in female students undertaking tertiary study in technology disciplines is the importance of maintaining mathematics as a subject beyond the compulsory secondary school years. Within Australia, the study of mathematics at senior school levels has been in decline …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Stemming On Stem: A Stem Education Framework For Students With Disabilities, Jiwon Hwang, Jonte C. Taylor

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

There has been increased attention paid to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics also known as STEM. The focus on STEM has been both educational and occupational. Unfortunately, students with disabilities perform below their peers without disabilities in math and science. The authors discuss issues related to STEM and students with disabilities. These issues include (1) traditional views of STEM education, (2) the importance of STEM education, and (3) students with disabilities performance in STEM. The authors posit a framework for STEM education for students with disabilities and promote the incorporation of the arts to increase students’ STEM knowledge and achievement.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Rigor Demystified, Now What?: Applying & Aligning Webb’S Depth Of Knowledge To Literacy & Math Instruction., Barbara Serianni, Kelly Brooksher

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

After exploring the four levels of cognitive rigor in Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and the alignment to the Common Core. Participants will further engage in hands-on activities designed to model the application of DOK in the content areas of literacy and mathematics to improve instructional alignment, increase student engagement, and ensure appropriate rigor in classroom activities and assessment.

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 …

The Role Of Black Colleges In The Development Of Mathematicians, Viveka Borum, Adriel Adon Hilton, Erica Walker

Journal of Research Initiatives

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are home to almost 400,000 of the nation’s college and university population and account for nearly 25% of degrees conferred to African Americans, according to Hale (2006). They have been the launching pads for three-fourths of African Americans who hold doctorate degrees, three-fourths of Black officers in the military, and four-fifths of African American federal judges (Hale, 2006). In addition, fifty percent of African American faculty in predominantly White research universities received their bachelor’s degrees at an HBCU (Hale, 2006). These are significant percentages given the relatively small number of Black colleges and universities …

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 …

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 …

Building Depth Of Understanding Of The Concept Of Number Sense And Algebra In Students Grades 7 And 8, Catherine Janes

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Mathematics instruction offers both challenges and rewards to students. Teachers tend to focus on transmission of knowledge. Student creativity and problem-solving skills are not typically activated with common teaching practices. When students are engaged in mathematics they are recognizing patterns, making connections on their own, coming up with creative solutions, and discussing mathematical ideas with peers and adults. The purpose of this study was to identify, employ, and evaluate strategies that engage students in these practices and assist them in developing a deep understanding of mathematics concepts such as number sense and algebra.

The review of the literature began with …

The Impact Of An Interactive Technology Application On Elementary Student Achievement In Fractions., Shannon M. Stone

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data reported locally and nationally show that students struggle to understand fractional concepts. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an interactive tablet application on student achievement in fractions. Students in grades three through five at the treatment school worked with an interactive tablet application designed to facilitate student construction of fractions knowledge. The interactive tablet application is an open-platform that allowed teachers the autonomy to work with the researcher to load their desired content activities on the topic of fractions to develop instructional sessions for students. Students worked independently during the math workshop to complete …

Understanding The Meaning Of The Equal Sign : An Investigation Of Elementary Students And Teachers., Victoria Miller Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of two different policies for implementing new mathematics standards in two schools, for grades two through five, on student understanding of the equal sign. The study also examined teachers’ knowledge of the equal sign. The research used a mixed methods design to explore differences in student understanding of the equal sign as a result of how standards were implemented in two adjoining states with two different decisions as to when the standards would be implemented. This dissertation shares research that may be of interest to teachers, administrators, teacher educators and …

Elementary Students’ Perceptions Of Gender Equity In Mathematics Classes, Debra Jacobson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

There have been various research studies stating that in elementary school, gender bias in all subjects is nonexistent. However, other researchers interested in gender equity in the mathematics classroom have recognized that gender bias does not occur in early elementary school grades but exists by middle school. Thus, research in this area is greatly needed. This study examined children in the third, fourth, and fifth grades to determine whether students’ perceptions of their own mathematical abilities relate to their perceptions of their teacher’s beliefs about gender bias in mathematics. Pearson Product-Moment correlation and Point-Biserial correlations were used to analyze data. …

Integrating Writing In The Middle-Level Mathematics Classroom: An Action Research Study, Alyssa Beavers, Brandon L. Fox, Jamaal Young, Elizabeth M. Bellows, Leah Kahn

MLET: The Journal of Middle Level Education in Texas

Discourse in mathematics refers to the written and oral communication that occurs in the mathematics classroom. Yet, in many classrooms in the United States, writing is often taught remotely in the classroom of a language arts teacher. In this action research project, our focus was on improving students’ written expressions and explanations in the middle-level mathematics classroom. The purpose of this action research was to examine and evaluate the effect writing has on students’ mathematical thinking processes and skills. Over the course of eight weeks, students were presented with various writing assignments in mathematics. Students were given approximately 20 minutes …

Mathematical Game Creation And Play Assists Students In Practicing Newly-Learned Challenging Concepts, Kalyn Jon Cody, Audrey C. Rule, Benjamin R. Forsyth

Curriculum & Instruction Faculty Publications

Twenty-four high-performing fifth grade students (aged 10 - 11 years) participated in a year-long study in which conditions alternated for six instructional units between lecture-based mathematics instruction and practice through solving additional problems in small groups versus practice through designing and playing mathematics games related to the topic. Students scored similarly on all units at the time of the posttest. Creating games allowed students to examine concepts on their own, making sense of them at a deeper level, avoiding confusion. Game-making may also have made the mathematics more personal, relevant, and interesting. The authors suggest that mathematics teachers consider adding …

Interventions To Improve Student Achievement In Mathematics For Middle School Students With Autism, Sherria L. Burney

Specialist in Education Degree (Ed.S.) Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) teaching sequence and explicit instruction to improve student achievement in mathematics in middle school aged students with autism and moderate intellectual disabilities. The effects of the CRA teaching sequence and explicit instruction were examined using a Multiple Baseline Design. Although the results in the curriculum-based measurements were inconsistent, all participants showed an increase in the pre-test and post-test scores.

Common Core Math And Critical Reasoning, Lorna M. Hayman

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

This teacher research action study compared the performance of students in mathematical critical reasoning for selected strands of math under the new Common Core Math Standards with their performance under the old California State Standards. Student scores from in-class tests and quizzes were comparatively analyzed over the duration of a year in one sixth grade classroom in Northern California. Findings from this study indicated a minimal increase in the critical reasoning skills of the students under the Common Core Standards when compared to the California State Standards. The results of the study imply that there is a need for longitudinal …

Teaching Algebra: A Comparison Of Scottish And American Perspectives, Brittany Munro

Undergraduate Honors Theses

A variety of factors influence what teaching strategies an educator uses. I analyze survey responses from algebra teachers in Scotland and Appalachia America to discover how a teacher's perception of these factors, particularly their view of mathematics itself, determines the pedagogical strategies employed in the classroom.

A Framework For Evaluating Learning Progressions On Features Related To Their Intended Uses, Jennifer L. Kobrin, Sarah Larson, Ashley Cromwell, Patricia Garza

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

In recent years, learning progressions (LPs) have captured the interest of educators and policy makers. There have been numerous efforts to develop LPs aligned to college and career readiness standards, to unpack these standards, and to provide more clarity on the pathways students follow to reach them. There is great variation, however, in the structure, content, and features of LPs, and these have implications for the LP’s most appropriate use. The purpose of this research was to devise a framework to understand and evaluate key features of an LP, including its structure, content, usability, and validity evidence. We maintain that …

Mastery Learning For 9th Grade Mathematics: Can The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Close The Achievement Gap?, Rhonda Jeffries, Hope Reed

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation critiques educational tracking as a default system of grouping that perpetuates inequities particularly for students most likely to experience challenges with academic achievement (Rubin & Noguera, 2004). The research explores the mastery learning method in 9th grade Algebra I CP to improve achievement for students who enter high school without Pre-Algebra skills.

Expect The Unexpected When Teaching Probability, Karen Koellner, Mary Pittman, Jonathan L. Brendefur

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Probability has recently made its way into many textbook series and standards documents (NCTM, 2000; NGA, 2010). When students engage in probability problem solving many unexpected situations can arise due to the counterintuitive nature of probability concepts. These situations can be difficult for students and challenging for teachers to analyse during teaching. Recently, as facilitators of a Mathematics Science Partnership grant workshop on probability, we had the opportunity to engage middle school teachers in professional development workshops as well as in their classrooms. In this article, we discuss a rich probability task used with these teachers along with two scenarios …