Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

The Importance Of Using Manipulatives In Teaching Math Today, Joseph M. Furner, Nancy L. Worrell

Transformations

This paper explores the research and use of mathematics manipulatives in the teaching of mathematics today during an age of technology and standardized testing. It looks at the drawbacks and cautions educators as they use math manipulatives in their instruction. It also explores some cognitive concerns as a teacher goes about teaching with math manipulatives. The paper shares many commonly used math manipulatives used in today’s classrooms and matches them up to some of the Common Core Math Standards that are taught today in classrooms in the USA and around the world.

The Impact Of Think Through Math© Usage On Middle School Students’ Mathematics Achievement, Laurie A. Sharp, Marc Hamil

MLET: The Journal of Middle Level Education in Texas

Technology-based resources have become a popular supplement to mathematics instruction within K-12 schools. Recently, the state of Texas provided school districts with access to Think Through Math^©, a web-based adaptive technology resource for mathematics instruction in Texas. At the time of this present study, no research independent of the provider of Think Through Math^© was available. Guided by concepts that underlie Cognitive Load Theory and its application to technology-based supplemental resources for mathematics, the purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Think Through Math^© usage on middle school students’ performance with state-mandated standardized …

Volume 7, Issue 1, Catherine Scott

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field is greatly promoted as a career path for students in recent years, and the demand for individuals specializing in STEM disciplines is expected to rise. Often, when considering STEM, one thinks of careers related to medicine, laboratory settings, or the pure sciences. However, in examining only these aspects of STEM, we may errantly overlook the impacts that P-20 education may have in using STEM as a means for improving student lives. One unique aspect of STEM is its role in helping to improve our well being as individuals and society as a …

Stem Integration: Math, Meet Biology!, Lindsey Herlehy, Karen Togliatti

Publications & Research

Join us for three hands-on, inquiry-based activities integrating mathematical and scientific thinking. First, explore patterns in the powers of ten and use this information to sort a set of images and design a scale model of an E. coli's DNA. Then, simulate a colorful biotechnology application using new tools and laboratory skills. Art, science, and math intersect in an activity merging coordinate geometry, symmetry, and biotechnology skills. NGSS and CCSS practice standards will be demonstrated.

The Effects Of Integrating Lego Robotics Into A Mathematics Curriculum To Promote The Development Of Proportional Reasoning, Shelli L. Casler-Failing

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This mixed methods, action research case study sought to investigate the effects of incorporating LEGO robotics into a seventh grade mathematics curriculum focused on the development of proportional reasoning through the lens of Social Constructivist Theory. Quantitative data was collected via pre- and post-tests from the mathematics class of six students. Qualitative data was collected from each of the students as they worked in groups of two to complete purposefully designed investigations, activities, from whole class discussions, and student artifacts. In addition, four students were purposefully chosen to participate as embedded case studies. The quantitative analysis showed development of proportional …

Towards A Unified Theory Of Engineering Education, Oscar Humberto Salcedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

STEM education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning where rigorous academic concepts are coupled with real-world lessons and activities as students apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in contexts that make connections between school, community, work, and the global enterprise enabling STEM literacy (Tsupros, Kohler and Hallinen, 2009). The purpose of the Dissertation is to develop a unified theory of engineering education based on philosophies of mathematics, science, technology & engineering, and engineering education. Using purposive sampling methods, the Thesis constructs "representative" philosophy statements from the STEM fields based on the criteria of Constructivism, Progressivism, and/or Pragmatism. These statements are …

Instructional Strategies Used By Effective Mathematics Teachers In Adventist Elementary Schools In Florida: An Mqi Analysis, Anna Adkins

Dissertations

The Problem

Teaching mathematics can be a difficult task. United States students on comparative international mathematics assessments consistently rank near the test averages. On a national assessment, commonly called the Nation’s Report Card, more than half of American students rank as ‘not proficient’ in mathematics. The purpose of this study was to describe the strategies used by teachers with at least average mathematical knowledge for teaching. This was evidenced by their scores on the Mathematical Knowledge Test for Teaching (MKT). In addition to teacher knowledge, the study sample was selected from among schools where the five-year average was above the …

“I’M Not Good At Math”: Mathematical Illiteracy And Innummeracy In The United States, G. Wesley Rogers

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Why do we view mathematics the way we do in the United States and how have these views created an environment where we consider mathematical illiteracy and innumeracy socially and culturally acceptable when a lack of this knowledge and ability can function to enslave, exploit, restrict, and oppress. Throughout this investigation, I have explored some of the possible reasons for why we view education, mathematics, and the learning of mathematics the way we do and the impact of these views on our motivation and desire to learn mathematics. Using my over 20 years of teaching experience and the review of …

A Study Of Fourth-Grade Students' Perceptions On Homework Environment And Academic Motivation In Mathematics, Stefanie Harmon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem at an elementary school is teachers' lack of knowledge and information on the perceptions and motivation of students to complete independent mathematics homework. The purpose of this study was to identify students' perceptions regarding their homework environment and academic motivation in mathematics. The study's conceptual framework, attribution theory, supported the examination of drivers of motivation for participants related to homework completion. Guiding research questions, supported by Keller's ARCS model, focused on the identification of students' perceptions of homework attention, relevance, curiosity, satisfaction, and their preferred homework environment. This qualitative research study obtained data from semistructured interviews with 44 …

“I Learned Quite A Lot Of The Maths Stuff Now That I Think Of It”: Māori Medium Students Reflecting On Their Initial Teacher Education, Ngārewa Hāwera, Merilyn Taylor

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research involving preservice or initial teacher education (ITE) indicates that mathematics education is a vital component of study. Little is known however, of indigenous student views of their compulsory mathematics education courses for a teaching degree. This research contributes to that knowledge space as it explores Māori medium ITE students’ perceptions of mathematics education in Aotearoa New Zealand. A thematic and qualitative analysis of a focused group discussion provides insights into key factors that students reported as significant links between their university and practicum experiences (teaching practice in schools). Some suggestions for strengthening that programme were also expressed. Findings indicate …

Digital Story-Based Problem Solving Applications: Preservice Primary Teachers’ Experiences And Future Integration Plans, Çiğdem Kilic, Hatice Sancar-Tokmak

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This case study investigates how preservice primary school teachers describe their experiences with digital story-based problem solving applications and their plans for the future integration of this technology into their teaching. Totally 113 preservice primary school teachers participated in the study. Data collection tools included a questionnaire with three open-ended questions and focus group interviews. The data were analyzed using content analysis by combining manifest and latent techniques. Most of the preservice primary teachers described positive experiences about digital story-based problem solving applications by emphasizing on that they contribute to both their own and their students’ learning, development, and attitudes. …

Associating Mathematics To Its History: Connecting The Mathematics We Teach To Its Past, Joseph M. Furner, Ernest A. Brewer

Transformations

Across the USA and around the world now, globalization has taken a strong hold. The purpose of this paper is to explore the historical considerations that can be incorporated in the teaching of mathematics. The paper will also provide suggestions for teaching math by interweaving historical elements into the mathematics instruction. Teachers should strive to bridge the cultural and historical gap among all students by incorporating innovative ideas as well as historical and cultural connections into their teaching so to foster understanding, appreciation, and tolerance for the richness inherent in diversity and a sound understanding of mathematics and appreciation for …

Art-Integration Through Making Dioramas Of Women Mathematicians’ Lives Enhances Creativity And Motivation, Audrey C. Rule, Dana L. Atwood-Blaine, Clayton M. Edwards, Mindy M. Gordon

Journal of STEM Arts, Crafts, and Constructions

Creativity is essential for solving problems in the workplace, natural environment, and everyday life, necessitating that creativity be nurtured in schools. Identification of factors that intrinsically motivate students to learn difficult or initially unappealing content is also important. This project, in which 24 racially diverse fifth grade girls created dioramas of the lives of diverse successful women mathematicians, explored the girls’ reactions to art integration into mathematics through a phenomenological qualitative analysis of their products, essays, and responses to questionnaires. The project supported the Next Generation Science Standard for engineering design, Standard 3-5-ETS1-1 and two National Core Arts Standards for …

Differentiating Instruction Through Math Stations And Literacy Centers, Olivia Bates

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

Differentiating instruction based on students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles is essential for creating effective and meaningful learning activities. Identifying these characteristics allows teachers to meet students’ needs and engage them in learning. By differentiating instruction, educators target specific students’ strengths and challenges in developing lessons to support their understanding of content. Two useful strategies for differentiating math and literacy instruction include stations and centers. In stations and centers, students work on specific skills catered to their educational needs while rotating activities in flexible groups. This guide supports teachers in identifying strategies and understanding the benefits of differentiating math and …

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.

Mathematics-Literacy Checklists: A Pedagogical Innovation To Support Teachers As They Implement The Common Core, Pixita M. Del Prado Hill 8785617, Ellen S. Friedland, Susan E. Mcmillen

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

This article presents two innovative tools – the Mathematics-Literacy Planning Framework and Mathematics-Literacy Implementation Checklist – which are designed to help instructional coaches and specialists support teachers to meet the challenges of the mathematics-literacy integration goals of the Common Core. Developed with teacher input, these instruments serve as cognitive “safety nets” to ensure effective integration of appropriate strategies before, during, and after instruction.

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. …

Creating Art Patterns With Math And Code, Boyan Kostadinov

Publications and Research

The goal of this talk is to showcase some visualization projects that we developed for a 3-day Code in R summer program, designed to inspire the creative side of our STEM students by engaging them with computational projects that we developed with the purpose of mixing calculus level math and code to create complex geometric patterns. One of the goals of this program was to attract more minority and female students into applied math and computer science majors.

The projects are designed to be implemented using the high-level, open-source and free computational environment R, a popular software in industry for …

Using Ibl In A History Of Mathematics Course: A Skeptic’S Success, Michael E. Matthews, Angela M. Hodge

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A college professor, who is highly skeptical of change, but sensing a need for teaching in a more inspiring and engaging way, implements an inquiry-based learning (IBL) approach to teaching the history of mathematics. The first author (Matthews) worked with an experienced IBL colleague mentor (Hodge) on the course. Some student data was collected to document the effects of the class on the students. The approach taken for the course is described in detail including how the students of the course learned about and used IBL in key peer-to-peer teaching about historical mathematics (with a primary focus on the mathemat- …

The Impact Of Response To Intervention In A High School Mathematics Setting, Lauren Dominick

EDL Sixth Year Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the impact of response to intervention (RTI) in a high school mathematics setting. A major concern in the literature related to the fact that majority of RTI research focused on students at the elementary level and in reading. Therefore in this study RTI was implemented in a high school mathematics classroom and the effects were analyzed. This study is focused on a sample of ninth and tenth grade students from two classes and taught by one teacher in the same high school in an action research setting. Quantitative and qualitative methods of …

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 …

Preservice Teacher Development Through Math Camp Involvement, Kelly Largent

Honors Projects

This research study investigated the role that involvement in Math Camp had on the development of preservice math teachers at Bowling Green State University. The research question was, In what ways do preservice teachers perceive their development through math camp involvement and how do they plan to use this development in their future classrooms? Since 2013, there have been 134 BGSU preservice teachers that have participated in Math Camp. All of these individuals were solicited to participate in the research study. Fifteen responded to the solicitation and participated in the study. Each participant completed a brief survey as well as …

The Evaluation Of Rhode Island Public High School Teachers: The Impact On Students, Stephen Lamontagne

Honors Projects in Mathematics

In 2012, the state of Rhode Island began the full implementation of a high-stakes teacher evaluation system. Its purpose is to increase teacher accountability and to improve student performance. However, a significant amount of literature casts doubt about the effectiveness and validity of teacher evaluation. This paper utilizes statistical methods including regression and decision trees in order to determine whether or not there is a relationship between teacher evaluation in Rhode Island and student performance, using RI Department of Education Data for each school from 2008-2015. Furthermore, this presentation investigates other factors that affect schools, to see if changes in …

Collaboration And Creativity In Southern Califonia: An Offering, Gizem Karaali, Ami Radunskaya

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

WiMSoCal (Women in Math in Southern California) is a regional conference in its ninth incarnation. The conference is the result of the efforts of Professor Cymra Haskell (USC) to create a supportive local community for women mathematicians. At our first meeting in 2007, a confluence of Ami’s EDGE regional cluster and Cymra’s WISE group at USC, we socialized, got to know each other and brainstormed about what we, as a group, would like to see happen. It was clear that our younger colleagues wanted to meet as mathematicians, sharing intellectual ideas as well as anecdotes from the trenches.

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 …

Predicting Mathematics Teachers' Acceptance Of Reflective Blogging To Improve Instruction, Diana Sue Fesmire

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An internal district audit identified that a rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged Southwestern school district has a lack of congruent and consistent implementation of the Common Core State Standards in mathematics. Innovative and cost-saving avenues for professional development (PD), such as reflective blogging, foster teacher learning to reconcile the enacted curriculum with the intended curriculum. This correlational study investigated the predictive power of technology acceptance and motivation constructs on reflective mathematics teachers' social media use intention and participation in informal, virtual Communities of Practice (vCoP). The framework that guided this study is the unified acceptance and use of technology and self-determination theory. …

How Social Presence On Twitter Impacts Student Engagement And Learning In A Grade 8 Mathematics Classroom, Shelly Vohra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social media for personal use has evolved rapidly among adolescents, changing the way they communicate with each other. However, little research has been conducted about how teachers use social media in the classroom to improve student learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe how social presence on Twitter impacts student engagement and learning when a mathematics teacher integrates this social media tool into an instructional unit. The conceptual framework was based on social presence theory developed by Short, Williams, and Christie. This qualitative study used a single case study design. Participants included 6 students and 1 classroom …

Understanding The Relationships Among Students' Goal Orientations, Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, And Accelerated Academic Success In The Redesign Of Developmental Mathematics, Kelly Ann Hogan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The low success rates of increasing numbers of underprepared students taking developmental mathematics classes 'often minority and economically disadvantaged' are challenging community colleges across the United States. These students, who must start in the lowest levels of precollege mathematics courses, are unlikely to pass the first course and earn a credential. Using a mastery goal orientation theoretical framework, a quantitative, survey research design was used to ascertain any correlations between students' goal orientations, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and success in a new model of learning. Survey data were used to answer 3 research questions: (a) the relationship between success and students' …