Browsing by Subject "mathematics education"
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Item Mathematics Classroom Activities of Selected East Asian and Non-Asian Countries From the Views of Teachers and Students(2012-10-19) Lee, Jin HeeEast Asian countries have achieved high levels of mathematics competency. This study investigated classroom activities of East Asian countries based on the idea that different learning experiences lead to gaps in academic outcomes. The main purposes of this study were: (1) to identify the features of classroom activities in the four East Asian countries of Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea and the two non-Asian countries of Hungary and England, (2) to determine whether or not there are predominant features of classroom activities shared in East Asia, and (3) to verify whether or not the perceptions of classroom activities between teachers and students are consistent with each other. The data was gathered from the Student Questionnaire and the Teacher Questionnaire in TIMSS 2007. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's chi-square tests were employed to examine classroom activities in the six countries. The results indicated that, compared to traditional mathematics activities, the activities related to reform mathematics were not more likely to be deemphasized in each East Asian country. Also, with respect to reformed mathematics activities, all East Asian countries did not necessarily emphasize them less than the two non-Asian countries. Furthermore, in the frequencies of all ten activities, statistically significant differences existed between all six countries as well as within the East Asian countries. Lastly, it was found that in numerous instances, there were differences in perceptions of classroom activities between teachers and students within a country. Based on the findings, this study suggested not to regard educational practice in East Asia as traditional and to over-simplify it by the label 'East Asian style.' However, further studies are needed on various aspects of classroom practice, except for classroom activities, in East Asia. In addition, this study argued that both the views of students and teachers should be considered together in the study for educational practice. Moreover, it is suggested that future studies investigate the relationships of discrepancies between teachers and students with students' learning and achievement.Item Middle school students' representational understandings and justification schemes: gleanings from cognitive interviews(2009-05-15) Matteson, Shirley MarieThis dissertation investigated several aspects of middle graders? mathematical understanding based on representational models. Twenty (11 male, 9 female) sixth grade students were interviewed about their solution strategies and answer justifications when solving difficult mathematics problems. The interview participants represented a stratified demographic sampling of the student body of a culturally diverse middle school in a suburban school district in the southwestern United States. Data from the interviews were analyzed qualitatively. This involved ?chunking? cognitive interview transcripts into sections. Major themes were identified and manuscripts were developed around those themes. One theme examined the interviewers? ethic of care behaviors. Carol Gilligan noted differences in male and female ethic of care behaviors, but it was Nel Noddings who discussed the importance of such behaviors in the educational community. So what impact could the gender of the interviewer have on cognitive interviews? After considering ethic of care behaviors explicated by Hayes, Ryan and Zseller?s (1994) study with middle grades students, the interview transcripts were examined for specific positive and negative ethic of care behaviors. The theme of students? justifications of mathematical solutions was also selected. The major undertaking involved developing a justification scheme applicable across mathematical strands and grade levels. The justification scheme that emerged was based on the work of Guershon Harel and Larry Sowder. The first-level schemes of Language, Mechanistic, Authoritarian, and Visual were used to classify and define the justifications. Several second-level schemes were also defined. The justification scheme framework was applied to students? cognitive interview responses on four difficult mathematics problems. The third theme investigated the symbiosis of justification schemes with mathematical representations. This study examined possible links between representational formats and justification scheme categories. The premise of this study was that representations ?trigger? students? choices of justification schemes. Student responses were analyzed as to which aspect of the mathematical representation received the students? initial attention. The students? understanding of the representation was pivotal to their solution, as well as the students? reasoning, or justification, of the answer. Students focused on key aspects of the problem and developed solutions based on that information.Item Predicting Math Achievement Using the SMALSI as a Measure of Motivation and Learning and Study Strategy Use(2012-10-19) Kahn, David AndrewThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the School Motivation and Learning Strategies Inventory (SMALSI) and the AIMSweb Math Winter Benchmarks to determine if they could be used by school personnel to identify students at-risk of low performance in mathematics. Previous research shows strategy use enhances math achievement and math fluency predicts math achievement. It was thought that if scores on the SMALSI and AIMSweb Math Winter Benchmarks were found to correlate to scores on the math subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) and the TAKS Math Test, then this would provide evidence for using the SMALSI and AIMSweb Benchmarks for identifying students at-risk of learning problems in mathematics. Participants (n = 176) completed the AIMSweb Math Winter Benchmarks, the SMALSI, the math subtests of the WJ-III, and the TAKS Math Test. None of the scales of the SMALSI were statistically significant predictors of the variance in performance on the WJ-III when used individually. The Writing/Research Skills scale explained the most variance as an individual predictor. When all nine scales were used as predictors, they explained a statistically significant portion of the variance on the WJ-III, with the Reading/Comprehension Strategies scale being the most significant predictor. The level of learning and study strategy use predicted more of the variance in performance on the WJ-III for students in Fifth Grade than for students in Third and Fourth Grade, even though the level of strategy use remained the same across the three grade levels. In general, females reported using more learning and study strategies and more anxiety during test-taking situations while males reported lower academic motivation and more attention/concentration difficulties. Finally, the AIMSweb Math Winter Benchmarks explained a statistically significant portion of the variance in performance on the WJ-III and the TAKS Math Test. Based on these results, the SMALSI would be a useful screening tool for identifying students who require explicit instruction of learning and study strategies designed to enhance math achievement, and the AIMSweb Math Winter Benchmarks would be a useful screening tool for identifying students at-risk of academic difficulties in mathematics.Item Teacher questioning: effect on student communication in middle school algebra mathematics classrooms(Texas A&M University, 2007-09-17) Matthiesen, Elizabeth AprillaThis study investigates the components within teacher questioning and how they affect communication within the mathematics classroom. Components examined are the type of question, the amount of wait time allowed, the use of follow-up questions, and the instructional setting. The three types of questions analyzed in this study were highorder, low-order, and follow-up questions. High-order questions are defined as questions which promote analysis, synthesis or evaluation of information versus low-order questions which only seek procedural or knowledge of basic recall of information. The third type of question, follow-up, is the second question asked of a student when the initial question is not answered or answered incorrectly. This study observed video of three teachers from three different adjacent school districts. Upon watching three lessons of each teacher and recording data, conclusions were made. All three teachers were found to use low-order questions at least 50% of the time during instruction. Wait time following high-order questions met the minimum three second time as suggested from previous researchers. Follow-up questions were found to occur more frequently after high-order questions, but followed similar trends as stated above related to the type of question asked. Instructional setting does differ in the types of questions asked with a small group setting more likely to elicit high-order questions than a whole group setting. The researcher concluded that high-order questions with a minimum of three seconds wait time in a small group setting encourage communication within the mathematics classroom.Item Teachers' Perceptions of Effective Science, Technology, and Mathematics Professional Development and Changes in Classroom Practices(2013-04-11) Boriack, Anna ChristineThe purpose of this study is to examine teachers? perceptions of professional development and changes in classroom practice. A proposed conceptual framework for effective professional development that results in changes in classroom practices was developed. Data from two programs that provided professional development to teachers in the areas of technology, mathematics, and science was used to inform the conceptual framework. These two programs were Target Technology in Texas (T3) and Mathematics, Science, and Technology Teacher Preparation Academies (MSTTPA). This dissertation used a multiple article format to explore each program separately, yet the proposed conceptual framework allowed for comparisons to be made between the two programs. he first study investigated teachers? perceptions of technology-related professional development after their districts had received a T3 grant. An online survey was administrated to all teachers to determine their perceptions of technology-related professional development along with technology self-efficacy. Classroom observations were conducted to determine if teachers were implementing technology. The results indicated that teachers did not perceive professional development as being effective and were not implementing technology in their classrooms. Teachers did have high technology self-efficacy and perceived adequate school support, which implies that effective professional development may be a large factor in whether or not teachers implement technology in their classrooms. The second study evaluated participants? perceptions of the effectiveness of mathematics and science professional development offered through a MSTTP academy. Current and former participants completed an online survey which measured their perceptions of academy activities and school environment. Participants also self-reported classroom implementation of technology. Interviews and open-ended survey questions were used to provide further insight into academy activities. The results indicated that academy participants perceived effective academy activities along with a supportive school environment. Additionally, participants reported sometimes implementing technology in their classrooms. These findings suggest that several factors might influence the successful classroom implementation of professional development. The data which supports the conceptual framework shows that effective professional development may play a key role in successful classroom implementation. Future professional development activities should be designed around characteristics for effective professional development to increase the likelihood that classroom implementation might occur.