Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Exploring The Potential To Motivate High School Environmental Science Students With Environmental Justice: A Mixed Methods Approach, Elliott Karetny

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods, design-based study was to explore the potential for socioscientific issues framed by environmental to motivate high school environmental science students. The embedded design began and ended with a survey of student dispositions, and included interviews of particular students in an effort to capture views of general and personal dispositions. Statistical analyses uncovered a moralistic approach to environmental decision-making, and a positive outlook of the future, including the confidence to solve environmental problems. Students revealed an abstract notion of the environment that requires innovative approaches to teaching environmental science, and view scientists as essential change agents …

The Effects Of Computer Games On The Mastery Of Multiplication Facts For Students With Exceptional Learning Needs, Kristy Peters

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of multiplication computer games on mastering multiplication facts for students with exceptional learning needs. Three students will be participating in this research study. There is one male student and two female students, in Grades 3 and 4. Each of the three students has an individualized education plan (IEP) and receives three hours of instruction outside the regular classroom in a resource room setting. Two of the students have been identified as having Specific Learning Disabilities and one as having multiple disabilities. The students were selected for the study due to …

Making Sense Of School Reform: A Case Study Of Mathematics And Science Teachers' Sensemaking With One District's Differentiation And Detracking Initiatives, Katelyn Daplyn Skinner

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this case study was to examine how individual science and mathematics teachers within a particular high school made sense of a district differentiation effort. A focus on teachers' perceptions and interpretations of this effort was targeted through the theoretical framework of sensemaking. Two of the teachers were present for an initial detracking reform effort, which enabled the researcher to examine their sensemaking of both initiatives.

There were clear differences in the sense that teachers made of the differentiation initiative. Additionally, there were multiple factors that impacted teacher sensemaking; the district initiative was not one of these factors. …

Middle And High-School Teacher Perceptions Of The Mathematics Georgia Standards Of Excellence, Marnie Dutcher

Theses and Dissertations

Public education in the United States had frequent curriculum changes throughout history. The curriculum initiatives of the past had a focus on improving education in schools based on one of four topics: (a) common standards, (b) preparing students for post-secondary education, (c) improving the quality of education, and (d) increasing the rigor of the content (Wallender, 2014). In February 2015, the Georgia State Board of Education approved revisions to the Common Core Mathematics Curriculum, which was the third set of mathematics curriculum standards implemented in Georgia since 2012. The standards were named The Georgia Standards of Excellence Mathematics Curriculum (GSE). …

The Impact Of An Elementary Algebra Course On Student Success In A College-Level Liberal Arts Math Course And Persistence In College, Lori Ann Austin

Theses and Dissertations

Many students enter community college underprepared for college-level math and are placed into developmental elementary algebra without consideration if the algebra will provide a foundation for their needed college-level math course. Large percentages of those students are unable to succeed in the developmental course and, therefore, are unable to graduate (Bahr, 2008; Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010). This quasi-experimental design focused on students who are not in math-intensive majors, needing only a general liberal arts math course. The purpose was to determine the impact of the elementary algebra course on success in college-level math and persistence in college. Student performance …

Factors That Lead To The Success Of Inner City Hispanic Students In Stem Dual Enrollment: A Mixed Methods Study, Anjali C. Thanawala

Theses and Dissertations

The United States has been struggling to maintain its authority in a technological world. Every year thousands of skilled STEM workers come to the United States to take jobs that are not filled by our college graduates. In order to uplift STEM education in the United States intermediation is required from the early years and also to encourage participation of Hispanic students in STEM majors and careers.

Over the years the high school graduation rate for Hispanic youth has increased, and their enrollment in institutions of higher education have also increased, however, their participation in STEM majors has not yet …

Exploring The Effects Of Different Classroom Environments On The Learning Process. Synthesis Of Thiazole-Linked Porous Organic Polymers For Co2 Separation And Nitro-Aromatics Sensing., Davide D'Urbino

Theses and Dissertations

When attempting to study the learning process of undergraduate chemistry student, the classroom and any interaction that take place within it constitute the social context of interest. By studying how different approaches can foster different classroom environments, it is possible to approach course design from an informed and scientifically sound perspective. Thus, it becomes necessary to identify and quantify the factors that have a positive or negative effect on the classroom environment. Social comparison concerns, comfort levels and self-efficacy have been shown to be social factors that affect each other as well as the learning process and have therefore been …

Developing Conceptual Understanding And Procedural Fluency In Algebra For High School Students With Intellectual Disability, Andrew J. Wojcik

Theses and Dissertations

Teaching students with Intellectual Disability (ID) is a relatively new endeavor. Beginning in 2001 with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, the general education curriculum integrated algebra across the K-12 curriculum (Kendall, 2011; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010), and expansion of the curriculum included five intertwined skills (productive disposition, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning, and conceptual understanding) (Kilpatrick, Swafford, & Findell, 2001). Researchers are just beginning to explore the potential of students with ID with algebra (Browder, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell, Harris & Wakeman, 2008; Creech-Galloway, Collins, Knight, …

Closing The Achievement Gap In Mathematics For Students With Learning Disabilities Utilizing The Resource Room As An Intervention, Esta H. Brownstein

Theses and Dissertations

Students with learning disabilities are placed in general education classrooms in increasing numbers. Many of these students receive additional services in Resource Room programs taught by a special education teacher. The intent of this study was to determine if students with disabilities, who were struggling in mathematics, increased achievement utilizing Resource Room instruction as an intervention. Students in the study were in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades and performed at least one grade level below expectations for that grade in mathematics. All of the students had a specific learning disability. This study investigated the correlation, if any, between the amounts …

Effects Of Intelligent Computer-Generated Interactive Mathematics Programs On Students’ Achievement And Affective Domain, Holly Marie Wendel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship each of the mathematics web-based programs, MyMathLab and Assessments and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS), has with students’ mathematics achievement. In addition, the study examined the relationship between students’ affective domain and the type of program as well as student achievement. The affective domain measures were students’ anxiety, self-efficacy as well as their attitudes towards mathematics. The study used a quasi-experimental nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group during the spring 2016 semester. The data were collected using several different instruments including: (a) a questionnaire, (b) a test of prerequisite skills, and (c) …

An Examination Of How One University Is Preparing Elementary And Middle Level Education Majors For Common Core Mathematics, Michelle Elizabeth Schwartze

Theses and Dissertations

In 2010 the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for mathematics and English Language Arts were introduced into K – 12 classrooms (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2015b). The standards for mathematics focus on having students demonstrate and explain understanding more than the standards have in the past (Burns, 2013). McCallum (2011) divides the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice into four main themes: reasoning and explaining, modeling and using tools, seeing structure and generalizing, and overarching habits of mind of a productive mathematical thinker. These four themes encompass what a mathematics classroom should look like when utilizing the CCSS for mathematics. …

Effectiveness Of 1:1 Technology In The Science Classroom, Courtney Tara Weiss

Theses and Dissertations

The purposes of this study were: (a) to determine if using e-text technology in a middle school resource science classroom increases student academic performance, (b) to determine if using e-text technology in a middle school science resource classroom increases student engagement/on-task behavior, and (c) to evaluate student comfort and satisfaction in using an electronic textbook or print textbook in a middle school resource science classroom. Ten middle school students, four in grade 7 and six in grade 8 participated in the study using the Discovery Education Science Techbook and the AGS General Science series. A single subject design with ABABA …

Comparing Math Fluency And Automaticity Using Explicit Timing With Students With Disabilities, Andrew Ehala

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the mathematical fluency performance of a group of students with various learning disabilities in an eighth grade classroom by implementing and intervention intensification program that incorporates an explicit timing model. Students demonstrated a wide range of progression with their mathematical fluency with all students showing progress from the start of the study to the conclusion. Analysis of the data determined that students fluency levels increased at a faster rate when provided with a consistent intensive regime of math computational facts. Implications for teaching students with disabilities mathematical fluency are discussed.

First-Year Students: Investigating The Impact Of Participating In A Mathematics Learning Community, Lindsay Barrie

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how participating in a mathematics learning community can impact a first-year students’ experience in college. The total population in the Math Learning Community (MLC) was 40, 36 of these members participated in a survey and five volunteered to participate in an interview. The survey collected demographic information and responses to statements regarding the students’ transition to college, their connectedness to Rowan, their peer interaction, faculty interaction, and their overall satisfaction at Rowan. The interview questions asked about their most and least satisfying aspects of participating in the MLC and what recommendations they …

Do Formative Assessment Strategies Help Learners With Academic Difficulties?, Dana King

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not formative assessment strategies enhance the educational learning experience for lower level learners in a mathematics classroom setting. The selected students are supported by a Basic Skills teacher and perform below grade level. The FA group, Formative Assessment group, was given two variations of Formative Assessments to use each day. The IAL group, Instruction as Usual group, continued as is. The formative assessment strategies used were mini white boards and a mathematical graphic organizer allowing the students to determine the problem, question being asked, information provided, which operation to choose, …

Insight Into Student Conceptions Of Proof, Steven Daniel Lauzon

Theses and Dissertations

The emphasis of undergraduate mathematics content is centered around abstract reasoning and proof, whereas students' pre-college mathematical experiences typically give them limited exposure to these concepts. Not surprisingly, many students struggle to make the transition to undergraduate mathematics in their first course on mathematical proof, known as a bridge course. In the process of this study, eight students of varied backgrounds were interviewed before during and after their bridge course at BYU. By combining the proof scheme frameworks of Harel and Sowder (1998) and Ko and Knuth (2009), I analyzed and categorized students’ initial proof schemes, observed their development throughout …

Secondary Mathematics Teachers' Learning Through Practice: The Case Of Rudy, Theodore John Rupnow

Theses and Dissertations

In this study I investigated teachers’ learning through practice. Teachers learn in teacher preparation programs and in professional development, but the most personal learning occurs in practice. Teachers spend much of their time isolated from colleagues, participating in classroom communities instead of professional communities. If teacher educators want to understand the potential for learning in the space where teachers spend much of their time it is necessary to investigate the learning that is occurring in classroom practice. To pursue this end, I explored one secondary mathematics teacher’s learning in practice. I observed and video-recorded this teacher’s classroom practice for one …

The Effects Of Cognitive Strategies Paired With Hands-On Or Virtual Manipulatives On Math Instruction For Students With Mathematical Learning Disabilities To Learn Word Problem Solving Skills, Kimberly Plute

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using cognitive strategies with hands-on manipulatives, and cognitive strategies with virtual manipulatives to enhance problem solving skills of students with Mathematical Learning Disabilities (MLD), as well as their satisfaction with those strategies. Five, 5th graders with MLD participated in the study to learn word problem solving skills in a math class for 80 minutes, 5 days a week for 10 weeks. A single subject research design with ABC phases was used in the study. Results showed each student gained from 3.6 to 5.2 mean points of the weekly quizzes …

An Intervention Study Aimed At Enhancing Seventh-Grade Students’ Development Of The Concept Of A Variable, Sinan Kanbir

Theses and Dissertations

Thirty-two seventh-grade students attending a public middle school in a rural district in a midwestern state of the United States of America participated in a mixed-method intervention study aimed at enhancing student understandings of the algebraic concept of a variable, especially in relation to structure and modeling. Participating students were randomly allocated to two class groups, with one class initially being taught by Mr. X and the other by Mr. Y, who had both participated in professional development sessions led by two senior mathematics educators. Mr. X initially led one of the class groups in seven sessions on algebraic structures …

Comparing The Effectiveness Of Two Verbal Problem Solving Strategies: Solve It! And Cubes, Margaret Tibbitt

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to find which problem solving strategy was more effective for special education students in the general education classroom; CUBES or Solve It! The students completed a pre-test, solving five single step and five multi-step word problems. The students then received four instructional and activity sessions on the CUBES and Solve It! strategies. The results indicated that the six fourth grade special education participants increased their problem solving skills after using each strategy. The Solve It! strategy resulted in a larger increase then the CUBES strategy. The students showed a slightly larger decrease in the …

Exploring Alternate Route Science Teacher Development Of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Kim Feltre

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how alternate route first year science teachers’ learning experiences gained from their alternate route courses translated into their classroom instruction and facilitated the development of their pedagogical content knowledge. Participants included three first year high school teachers from two alternate route program institutions. Data collection and analyses focused on semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and teacher-generated artifacts. Findings reveal patterns among participant responses that emphasized the limited translation of learned pedagogical experiences from their alternate route programs into classroom instruction. In addition, findings show that participant alternate route program learned pedagogical …

The Effects Of Using The Gomath Program On Teaching Computation Skills For Students With Learning Disabilities, Patricia Virginia Giordano

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects on teaching math computation skills to students with learning disabilities (LD) using the GoMath program and to examine the teachers’ and students’ satisfaction with this program in their teaching and learning. Four, 3rd and 4th graders with LD were taught by one special education teacher in a resource room and participated in learning computation skills for 60 minutes, 5 days per week for 12 weeks, using the Go Math program. A multiple baseline research design with A B phases across students was used to evaluate their performance. The findings indicated …

The Effects Of The Ride Strategy On Teaching Word Problem Solving Skills To Students With Learning Disabilities, Sandra Kay Locke

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the RIDE, a mnemonic device on solving word problems for middle school students with Learning Disabilities and to examine the teacher and student satisfaction in teaching and learning using RIDE to solve word problems. Two male 8th graders participated in this study. They were both classified as having learning disabilities and were learning mathematics at a 3rd grade level. A single subject design with ABC phases was used in this study. During the baseline, the students were given a quiz with 5 word problems each day for ten …

Strategies For Teaching Developmental Mathematics Students At The College Level, Natalie Lynn Kautz

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to identify strategies used by effective instructors of developmental mathematics, and to discover the perceptions developmental mathematics students have about these strategies. While there are research projects focusing solely on developmental mathematics achievement, this study fills a need by incorporating views of teaching effectiveness from multiple viewpoints.

In this research project, college-level instructors of developmental mathematics students were recorded on video before, during, and after the teaching of an algebraic concept. Students were given a pre-lesson survey and post-lesson survey to see if there were gains in their learning. Students completed a survey about …

Instructional Approach And Mathematics Achievement: An Investigation Of Traditional, Online, And Flipped Classrooms In College Algebra, Dustin Daniel Files

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship three different instructional models had with students’ mathematics achievement. The research factors included group membership (flipped, online, and traditional), student demographics (gender, age, and race/ethnicity), and students’ affective domain (attitudes toward mathematics, mathematics self-efficacy with respect to algebra, and locus of control). The study used a quasi-experimental, modified nonrandomized pretest-posttest control group, involving intact classes of 117 students during the fall 2015 semester. The data collection instruments consisted of several different assessments: (a) a four-section questionnaire, (b) a test of prerequisite skills (TPRS), (c) three unit examinations, and (d) an …

Why Are Students Doing Research? Examining The Motivation Of Students Involved In Undergraduate Research Programs, Andrew Layne Mcdevitt

Theses and Dissertations

Use of self-determination theory (SDT) within the science classroom focuses primarily on ways to integrate intrinsic motivation into students' identity. Experiential learning plays a large role in promoting learning by shaping students' interests, identity, and intrinsic aspirations. This phenomenological research study sought to understand how experiential learning experiences helped influence career aspirations of graduate students within ecological disciplines. By determining how their experiences met three basic psychological needs outlined by SDT (competence, autonomy, and relatedness), we were able to examine which regulators drove motivation.

In the qualitative pilot study, participants developed a genuine enjoyment and appreciation for their discipline as …

The Assessment Of Scientific Reasoning Skills Of High School Science Students: A Standardized Assessment Instrument, Shane Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of science education has been achieving scientific literacy. However, this has been no easy task considering that scientific literacy has many definitions that involve a plethora of activities. This means that assessing the topic becomes quite challenging, especially if this is done with some sort of overarching instrument. Fortunately, Shamos (1995) has characterized the many dimensions of scientific literacy into three levels. These dimensions can then be assessed individually, making the task of assessment less overwhelming. The highest level, true scientific literacy contains dimensions that are discussed in this study, which already have individual assessments. Wenning's Nature …

Teacher Participation And Motivation Inprofessional Development, Krystal A. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Although professional development is accepted as important for making educational improvements, some have been unsuccessful due to how the teachers choose to participate, and the lack of motivation in teachers to attend or implement the suggested changes. A case study of secondary mathematics teachers in a required professional development is used to look at teachers' motivation and participation during the professional development. This study compared mathematics teachers' motivation to attend with ways of participating in order to determine how these influence a teacher's intent to change. It was found that certain aspects of motivation and participation does influence a teacher's …

Mathematical Interactions Between Teachers And Students In The Finnish Mathematics Classroom, Paula Jeffery Prestwich

Theses and Dissertations

The Finnish school system has figured prominently in the PISA international assessments for over 10 years. Many reasons are given for Finnish success yet few of them focus on what is happening in the mathematics classroom. This study addresses the question of “What does mathematics instruction in the Finnish mathematics classroom look like?” Eight Finnish mathematics classes, from 6th – 9th grade were recorded, translated, and analyzed using the Mathematical Quality of Instruction (MQI) 2013 video coding protocol. Other aspects and observations of these classes also are discussed. Although the study is small, this study gives a view into the …

Academic And Peer Status In The Mathematical Life Stories Of Students, Carol Ann Wise

Theses and Dissertations

Mathematics students often define themselves by their grades, test scores, how they compare to other people, how comfortable they feel in mathematics class, and so on. These experiences are all part of a student's mathematical life story. Students assume positions with particular rights and duties for themselves and for the actors in the stories they tell. Those positions reflect certain types and levels of status. Those types and levels of status have been shown to either inhibit or open a student's access to learning mathematics. Thus, a student's status in mathematics education is an issue of equity. Mathematics educators and …