Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Exploring And Training Spatial Reasoning Via Eye Movements: Implications On Performance, Victoria A. Roach

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation sought to determine if eye movements could serve as an indicator of success in spatial reasoning, and if eye movements associated with successful completion could be applied to strategically improve spatial reasoning.

Using the line images of Shepard and Metzler, an electronic test of mental rotations ability (EMRT) was designed. Two versions of the test were created, allowing for both a timed (6 seconds per question) and untimed testing environment. Four experiments were designed and completed to relate mental rotation ability (MRA) scores from the EMRT, to patterns in chrononumeric and visual salience data. In each experiment, participants …

The Advanced Placement Program's Impact On Academic Achievement, Russell T. Warne, Braydon Anderson

Russell T Warne

The Effects Of Problem-Based Learning On Mathematics Achievement Of Elementary Students Across Time, Brittany Marie Crowley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The present study specifically evaluated the long-term effects of problem-based learning (PBL) instruction on the mathematics achievement of students who demonstrated higher ability in the subject area than their comparable peers. Subjects included 65 students from six south-central Kentucky elementary schools who participated in Project Gifted Education in Math and Science (Project GEMS), a grant partially funded through the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program. The students were assigned to one of three conditions – PBL-Plus, PBL, or Control – based upon school of attendance. The participants were then administered baseline testing in the fall of the …

Move, Interact, And Connect Personally Barter Theatre’S Project Real Gets Implicit In Order To Learn, Megan E. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body movement, hands-on activity, embodiment, social interaction, emotions, and self-reflection allow teaching artists of Barter’s Theatre’s Project REAL to conduct a lesson with an implicit learning experience as the focus. Barter Theatre’s Project REAL exists as a theatre for education program that collaborates with regular classroom teachers on delivering the curriculum through specific theatre exercises in order to connect the material personally to the students’ lives. Theatre tools provide a human experience that enhances learning for the student by use of kinesthetic movement, social learning, emotions and interpersonal skills. To understand the effects of Barter Theatre’s Project REAL, the director …

Moving College Students To A Better Understanding Of Substrate Specificity Of Enzymes Through Utilizing Multimedia Pre-Training And An Interactive Enzyme Model, Mounir R. Saleh

Dissertations

Scientists’ progress in understanding enzyme specificity uncovered a complex natural phenomenon. However, not all of the currently available biology textbooks seem to be up to date on this progress. Students’ understanding of how enzymes work is a core requirement in biochemistry and biology tertiary education. Nevertheless, current pre-college science education does not provide students with enough biochemical background to enable them to understand complex material such as this. To bridge this gap, a multimedia pre-training presentation was prepared to fuel the learner’s prior knowledge with discrete facts necessary to understand the presented concept. This treatment is also known to manage …

Teachers' Sense Of Efficacy: Examining The Relationship Of Teacher Efficacy And Student Achievement, Nouf Abdullah Alrefaei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate which teachers’ characteristics have an impact on teachers’ sense of efficacy. In addition, the relationship between mathematics and science fifth grade teachers’ sense of efficacy and student achievement was examined. Two characteristics related to teachers were examined: teachers’ years of teaching experience and teachers’ highest degree. Participants included 62 mathematics and science teachers from three school districts in Northwest Arkansas. When comparing fifth grade mathematics and science teachers’ efficacy beliefs based on their highest degree, a significant difference in teachers’ efficacy beliefs was found based on their degrees. Teachers with a Bachelor …

The Impact Of Non-Band Music Participation On The Academic Achievement Of 6th Grade Mathematics Students, Sherica Denise Jones-Lewis

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is hypothesized that participation in non-band music has a positive impact on mathematics achievement. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the theory of self-determination, multiple intelligence theory, and brain research provide a theoretical foundation in support of this conjecture. This causal comparative study seeks to address three questions related to the hypothesis: a) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade mathematics students based on non-band music participation status; b) is there a difference between the academic achievement of 6th grade males based on non-band music participation; and c) is there a difference between the academic achievement of …

Changing The Culture: Developing Creative Problem Solvers, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Presentations

Mathematics embraces creativity and beauty yet often our children are immersed in classroom activities where these attributes are hidden by an overemphasis on algorithms, computational speed and known answers that can be found in the back of the book or with a quick Google search. This learning environment creates a false perception of what it means to be “good at math.” From the research we know than many of our elementary school teachers have negative attitudes towards mathematics; an attitude students pick up and adopt which may foster the development of the reluctant, impatient problem solvers we find in our …

Comparison Of Linear Functions In Middle Grades Textbooks From Singapore And The United States, Linda D. Fowler

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many U.S. students do not perform well on mathematics assessments with respect to algebra topics such as linear functions, a building-block for other functions. Poor achievement of U.S. middle school students in this topic is a problem.

U.S. eighth graders have had average mathematics scores on international comparison tests such as Third International Mathematics Science Study, later known as Trends in Mathematics and Science Study, (TIMSS)-1995, -99, -03, while Singapore students have had highest average scores. U.S. eighth grade average mathematics scores improved on TIMMS-2007 and held steady onTIMMS-2011. Results from national assessments, PISA 2009 and 2012 and National Assessment …

Antecedents Of Teachers’ Educational Beliefs About Mathematics And Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching Among In-Service Teachers In High Poverty Urban Schools, Danya M. Corkin, Adem Ekmekci, Anne Papakonstantinou

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper examines the antecedents of three types of educational beliefs about mathematics among 151 teachers predominantly working in high poverty schools. Studies across various countries have found that teachers in high poverty schools are less likely to enact instructional approaches that align with mathematics reform standards set by national and international organizations. Researchers contend that for instruction to change, educational beliefs about mathematics and teaching must change. Regression analyses indicated that mathematics-teaching experience was associated with teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching mathematics at the onset of professional development and the number of mathematics college courses teachers had taken moderated their …

Fostering Students' Identification With Mathematics And Science, Brett D. Jones, Chloe Ruff, Jason W. Osborne

Education Faculty Publications

Book Summary: Interest in Mathematics and Science Learning is the first volume to assemble findings on the role of interest in mathematics and science learning. As the contributors illuminate across the volume’s 22 chapters, interest provides a critical bridge between cognition and affect in learning and development. This volume will be useful to educators, researchers, and policy makers, especially those whose focus is mathematics, science, and technology education.

Chapter Summary: The primary purpose of this chapter is to explore the process whereby students transition from a short-term, situational interest in mathematics or science to a more enduring individual interest in …

The Short Grit Scale: A Dimensionality Analysis, Caihong Li

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

This study aimed to examine the internal structure, score reliability, scoring, and interpretation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) using a sample of engineering students (N = 610) from one large southeastern university located in the United States. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare four competing theoretical models: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a two-factor model, (c) a second-order model, and (d) a bi-factor model. Given that researchers have used Grit-S as a single factor, a unidimensional model was examined. Two-factor and second-order models were considered based upon the work done by Duckworth, Peterson, …

The Effects Of A Varied Method Of Instruction On Student Achievement, Transfer, Situational Interest, And Course Retention Rates In Community College Developmental Mathematics, Kevin L. Mccandless

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effects of a varied method of instruction on student achievement, knowledge transfer, situational interest, and course retention rates, relative to a non-varied method of instruction, in community college developmental mathematics. The varied method of instruction consisted of active learning teaching practices with foundations in social constructivism, whereas the non-varied method of instruction was founded in Cognitive Load Theory and consisted primarily of explicit instruction and individual practice.

An initial sample of 139 students who enrolled in six sections of Beginning Algebra at an urban community college in Northern California participated …

Effects Of Successmakers Math As An Intervention For Students, Jennifer Lee Calcut

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schools throughout the United States use the IQ-achievement discrepancy method to

identify children with learning disabilities. This current method allows many students to fall behind in the regular education setting. In 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was reauthorized to provide states with the option of using a response to intervention (RtI) model in lieu of or in conjunction with the IQ-achievement discrepancy model. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, single subject, pre/posttest design study was to determine the impact of a Tier II intervention using SuccesMakers Math, a learning system that adapts to the unique needs of the individual …

‘But Math Is My Subject’ - A Study Of Motivational Beliefs And Self-Regulated Learning As A Predictor Of Goal Orientation In Secondary School Students, Shamila Nabi Khan, Maria Khan

Business Review

The relations between three goal orientations and students’ motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning were examined in a study of 210 students of grade 7-9. Data collected were self-reported questionnaires from several different schools for two major academic subject areas: English, and Math. SEM analyses revealed that generally positive pattern of motivational beliefs including adaptive levels of task value, as well as cognition including higher levels of cognitive strategy use, self- regulation, and academic performance and negative patterns of test anxiety resulted in learning goal orientation. Higher levels of self-efficacy and cognitive strategy use also leads to relative ability goal orientation …