Writing Relevant Word Problems: Seeking to Increase Student Mathematical Achievement

In this action research study of eighth grade mathematics, I investigated my students’ use of writing and solving word problems. I collected data to determine if writing and solving word problems would have a positive effect on students’ abilities to understand and solve word problems. These word problems are grade-level appropriate and are very similar to the problems on the eighth grade online assessment of state standards. Pre- and post-test data, weekly word problems that focus on specific mathematics topics, beginning and end surveys about word problem perceptions, and a teacher journal reveal that student engagement in this weekly practice of writing and solving word problems did influence the students’ overall abilities for, achievement in and attitudes toward solving word problems. Except for some students’ perceptions, the influence was largely positive. This suggests that word problems can be a constructive feature in eighth mathematics instruction.

Current Expressions of American Jewish Identity: An Analysis of 114 Teenagers

This chapter explores the characteristics of 114 American teenagers' Jewish identities using data from the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). The NSYR includes a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 3,290 adolescents aged 13 to 17. Jewish teenagers were over-sampled, resulting in a total of 3,370 teenage participants. Of the NSYR teens surveyed, 141 have at least one Jewish parent and 114 of them identify as Jewish. The NSYR also includes in-depth face-to-face interviews with a total of 267 U.S. teens: 23 who have at least one Jewish parent and 18 who identify as Jewish. The following analysis draws upon quantitative data from the 114 teens who identified themselves as Jewish in the face-to-face interviews.