837 resultados para Critical mathematics education
Resumo:
This study examined standards-based mathematics reform initiatives to determine if they would improve student achievement on the part of low-performing students. New curricula, the Carnegie Learning Cognitive Tutor®, were provided for algebra and geometry students. The new instructional strategy relied on both the teacher-led instruction and the use of computers to differentiate instruction for individual students. Mathematics teachers received ongoing professional development to help them implement the new curricula. In addition, teachers were provided with ongoing support to assist them with the transformation of the learning environments for students using standards-based practices. This quasi-experimental (nonrandomized) study involved teachers in two matched urban high schools. Analyses (ANCOVAs) revealed that the experimental group with an appropriately implemented program had significantly higher learning gains than the comparison group as determined by the students' 2007 mathematics Developmental Scale Score (DSS). In addition, the experimental group's adjusted mean for the second interim mathematics assessment was significantly higher than the comparison group's mean. The findings support the idea that if the traditional curriculum is replaced with standards-based curriculum, and the curriculum is implemented as intended, low-performing students may make significant learning gains. With respect to the teaching practices as observed with the Classroom Observation Protocol (COP), t-tests were conducted on four constructs. The results for both the algebra and geometry teachers on the constructs were not significant. The COP indicated that teachers in both the experimental and comparison groups used traditional instruction strategies in their classrooms. The analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) on the use of technology revealed no significant main effects for computer use.
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According to Venezia, Kirst, and Antonio (2003) and Barth’s 2002 Thinking K16 Ticket to Nowhere report, the disconnect between K-12 and postsecondary education was a contributing factor to high attrition rates. Since mathematics emerged as a primary concern for college readiness, Barth (2002) called for improving student transitions from K-12 to postsecondary institutions through the use of state or local data. The purpose of the present study was to analyze mathematics course-taking patterns of secondary students in a local context and to evaluate high school characteristics in order to explore their relationships with Associate degree attainment or continuous enrollment at an urban community college. Also, this study extended a national study conducted by Clifford Adelman (The Toolbox Revisited, 2006) as it specifically focused on community college students that were not included his study. Furthermore, this study used the theoretical framework that human capital, social capital, and cultural capital influence habitus—an individual’s or a group’s learned inclination to behave within the parameters of the imposed prevailing culture and norms. Specifically, the school embedded culture as it relates to tracking worked as a reproduction tool of ultimate benefit for the privileged group (Oakes, 1994). ^ Using multilevel analysis, this ex post facto study examined non-causal relationships between math course-taking patterns and college persistence of public high school graduates who enrolled at the local community college for up to 6 years. One school-level variable (percent of racial/ethnic minorities) and 7 student-level variables (community college math proportion, remedial math attempts, race, gender, first-year credits earned, socioeconomic status, and summer credits earned) emerged as predictors for college persistence. Study results indicated that students who enter higher education at the community college may have had lower opportunities to learn and therefore needed higher levels of remediation, which was shown to detract students from degree completion. Community college leaders are called to partner with local high schools with high percentages of racial/ethnic minorities to design academic programs aimed at improving the academic preparation of high school students in mathematics and promote student engagement during the first year and summers of college. ^
Resumo:
Many students are entering colleges and universities in the United States underprepared in mathematics. National statistics indicate that only approximately one-third of students in developmental mathematics courses pass. When underprepared students repeatedly enroll in courses that do not count toward their degree, it costs them money and delays graduation. This study investigated a possible solution to this problem: Whether using a particular computer assisted learning strategy combined with using mastery learning techniques improved the overall performance of students in a developmental mathematics course. Participants received one of three teaching strategies: (a) group A was taught using traditional instruction with mastery learning supplemented with computer assisted instruction, (b) group B was taught using traditional instruction supplemented with computer assisted instruction in the absence of mastery learning and, (c) group C was taught using traditional instruction without mastery learning or computer assisted instruction. Participants were students in MAT1033, a developmental mathematics course at a large public 4-year college. An analysis of covariance using participants' pretest scores as the covariate tested the null hypothesis that there was no significant difference in the adjusted mean final examination scores among the three groups. Group A participants had significantly higher adjusted mean posttest score than did group C participants. A chi-square test tested the null hypothesis that there were no significant differences in the proportions of students who passed MAT1033 among the treatment groups. It was found that there was a significant difference in the proportion of students who passed among all three groups, with those in group A having the highest pass rate and those in group C the lowest. A discriminant factor analysis revealed that time on task correctly predicted the passing status of 89% of the participants. ^ It was concluded that the most efficacious strategy for teaching developmental mathematics was through the use of mastery learning supplemented by computer-assisted instruction. In addition, it was noted that time on task was a strong predictor of academic success over and above the predictive ability of a measure of previous knowledge of mathematics.^
Resumo:
This study analyzed three fifth grade students’ misconceptions and error patterns when working with equivalence, addition and subtraction of fractions. The findings revealed that students used both conceptual and procedural knowledge to solve the problems. They used pictures, gave examples, and made connections to other mathematical concepts and to daily life topics. Error patterns found include using addition and subtraction of numerators and denominators, and finding the greatest common factor.
Resumo:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of technology on students’ mathematics achievement, particularly the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) mathematics results. Eleven schools within the Miami-Dade County Public School System participated in a pilot program on the use of Geometers Sketchpad (GSP). Three of these schools were randomly selected for this study. Each school sent a teacher to a summer in-service training program on how to use GSP to teach geometry. In each school, the GSP class and a traditional geometry class taught by the same teacher were the study participants. Students’ mathematics FCAT results were examined to determine if the GSP produced any effects. Students’ scores were compared based on assignment to the control or experimental group as well as gender and SES. SES measurements were based on whether students qualified for free lunch. The findings of the study revealed a significant difference in the FCAT mathematics scores of students who were taught geometry using GSP compared to those who used the traditional method. No significant differences existed between the FCAT mathematics scores of the students based on SES. Similarly, no significant differences existed between the FCAT scores based on gender. In conclusion, the use of technology (particularly GSP) is likely to boost students’ FCAT mathematics test scores. The findings also show that the use of GSP may be able to close known gender and SES related achievement gaps. The results of this study promote policy changes in the way geometry is taught to 10th grade students in Florida’s public schools.
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Math anxiety levels and performance outcomes were compared for bilingual and monolingual community college Intermediate Algebra students attending a culturally diverse urban commuter college. Participants (N = 618, 250 men, 368 women; 361 monolingual, 257 bilingual) completed the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) and a demographics instrument. Bilingual and monolingual students reported comparable mean AMAS scores (20.6 and 20.7, respectively) and comparable proportions of math anxious individuals (50% and 48%, respectively). Factor analysis of AMAS scores, using principal component analysis by varimax rotation, yielded similar two-factor structures for both populations -- assessment and learning content -- accounting for 65.6% of the trace for bilingual AMAS scores. Statistically significant predictor variables for levels of math anxiety for the bilingual participants included (a) preparatory course enrollment (β = .236, p = .041) with those enrolled in prior preparatory courses scoring higher, (b) education major (β = .285, p = .018) with education majors scoring higher, and (c) business major (β = .252, p = .032) with business majors scoring higher. One statistically significant predictor variable emerged for monolingual students, gender (β = -.085, p = .001) with females ranking higher. Age, income, race, ethnicity, U.S. origin, science or health science majors did not emerge as statistically significant predictor variables for either group. Similarities between monolingual and bilingual participants included statistically significant negative linear correlations between AMAS scores and course grades for both bilingual (r = -.178, p = .017) and monolingual participants (r = -.203, p = .001). Differences included a statistically significant linear correlation between AMAS scores and final exam grades for monolingual participants only (r = -.253, p < .0009) despite no statistically significant difference in the strength the linear relationship of the AMAS scores and the final exam scores between groups, z = 1.35, p = .1756. The findings show that bilingual and monolingual students report math anxiety similarly and that math anxiety has similar associations with performance measures, despite differences between predictor variables. One of the first studies on the math anxiety of bilingual community college students, the results suggest recommendations for researchers and practitioners.
Resumo:
This study examines how one secondary school teacher’s use of purposeful oral mathematics language impacted her students’ language use and overall communication in written solutions while working with word problems in a grade nine academic mathematics class. Mathematics is often described as a distinct language. As with all languages, students must develop a sense for oral language before developing social practices such as listening, respecting others ideas, and writing. Effective writing is often seen by students that have strong oral language skills. Classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and collected student work served as evidence to demonstrate the nature of both the teacher’s and the students’ use of oral mathematical language in the classroom, as well as the effect the discourse and language use had on students’ individual written solutions while working on word problems. Inductive coding for themes revealed that the teacher’s purposeful use of oral mathematical language had a positive impact on students’ written solutions. The teacher’s development of a mathematical discourse community created a space for the students to explore mathematical language and concepts that facilitated a deeper level of conceptual understanding of the learned material. The teacher’s oral language appeared to transfer into students written work albeit not with the same complexity of use of the teacher’s oral expression of the mathematical register. Students that learn mathematical language and concepts better appear to have a growth mindset, feel they have ownership over their learning, use reorganizational strategies, and help develop a discourse community.
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Teacher observation has shown that some pupils achieve very high on the Kangaroo Competition test (KC) but very low on the Swedish National test in Mathematics (SNM). This study will investigate the number of pupils who have high achievement scores on the KC (top 10%) but low achievement scores on the SNM (bottom 50%). Individual results on the SNM given in grade 6 (age 12) will be compared to results on the KC given in grade 7; concerning approximately 700 individuals. Results will give an example of the quantity of mathematically able pupils who underachieve in School Mathematics in Sweden. Data interpretation will connect this study to international research concerning mathematical abilities and mathematical achievement among mathematically able pupils.
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This article describes the purpose and activities of the project Promoting Mathematics Education in Rural Areas of Costa Rica. The activity has focused on two objectives. First, supporting and monitoring students who have expressed interest in studying a mathematics teacher. To achieve this, it has been working with students who have an ideal profile for the career, mainly from rural areas. The second objective is to conduct training workshops for high school in-service teachers, to strengthen and improve their knowledge in the area of mathematics. Among the results of the project, it can be highlighted a significant increase in the enrollment of students in the career of Mathematics Education in 2010 and 2011, and the training processes in the field of Real Functions of Real Variable and Geometry at different regional areas mostly rural as Aguirre, Sarapiquí, Coto, Buenos Aires, Limón, Cañas, Pérez Zeledón, Nicoya, Los Santos, Turrialba, Puriscal, Desamparados, San Carlos, Puntarenas, Limón, Liberia, Santa Cruz y Upala.
Resumo:
This qualitative case study explored three teacher candidates’ learning and enactment of discourse-focused mathematics teaching practices. Using audio and video recordings of their teaching practice this study aimed to identify the shifts in the way in which the teacher candidates enacted the following discourse practices: elicited and used evidence of student thinking, posed purposeful questions, and facilitated meaningful mathematical discourse. The teacher candidates’ written reflections from their practice-based coursework as well as interviews were examined to see how two mathematics methods courses influenced their learning and enactment of the three discourse focused mathematics teaching practices. These data sources were also used to identify tensions the teacher candidates encountered. All three candidates in the study were able to successfully enact and reflect on these discourse-focused mathematics teaching practices at various time points in their preparation programs. Consistency of use and areas of improvement differed, however, depending on various tensions experienced by each candidate. Access to quality curriculum materials as well as time to formulate and enact thoughtful lesson plans that supported classroom discourse were tensions for these teacher candidates. This study shows that teacher candidates are capable of enacting discourse-focused teaching practices early in their field placements and with the support of practice-based coursework they can analyze and reflect on their practice for improvement. This study also reveals the importance of assisting teacher candidates in accessing rich mathematical tasks and collaborating during lesson planning. More research needs to be explored to identify how specific aspects of the learning cycle impact individual teachers and how this can be used to improve practice-based teacher education courses.
Resumo:
We report here about a series of international workshops on e-learning of mathematics at university level, which have been jointly organized by the three publicly funded open universities in the Iberian Peninsula and which have taken place annually since 2009. The history, achievements and prospects for the future of this initiative will be addressed.
Resumo:
The use of intriguing open-ended quick-write prompts within the Basotho science classroom could potentially provide a way for secondary teachers in Lesotho to have a time-efficient alternative to stimulate student thinking and increase critical thinking or application of scientific principles. Writing can be used as a powerful means to improve the achievement of students across many subject areas, including the sciences (Moore, 1993; Rivard, 1994; Rillero, Zambo, Cleland, and Ryan, 1996; Greenstein, 2013). This study focuses on the use of a non-traditional nor extensively studied writing method that could potentially support learning in science. A quasi-experimental research design, with a control and experimental group, was applied. The study was conducted at two schools, with one experimental classroom in one school and a second control group classroom in the second school for a period of 4 weeks. 51 Form B (US Grade 9 equivalent) students participated as the experimental group and 43 Form B students as the control group. In an effort to assess learning achievement, a 1 hour (35 mark) pre-test evaluation was made by and given to students by Basotho teachers at the beginning of this study to have an idea of student’s previous knowledge. Topics covered were Static Electricity, Current Electricity, Electromagnetic Waves, and Chemistry of Water. After the experimental trial period, an almost completely identical post-test evaluation was given to students in the same fashion to observe and compare gains in achievement. Test data was analyzed using an inferential statistics procedure that compared means and gains in knowledge made by the experimental and control groups. Difference between the gains of mean pre-test and post-test scores were statistically significant within each group, but were not statistically significant when the control and experimental groups were compared. Therefore, there was no clear practical effect. Qualitative data from teachers’ journals and students’ written feedback provides insight on the assessments, incorporation of the teaching method, and the development of participating students. Both mid and post-study student feedback shows that students had an overall positive and beneficial experience participating in this activity. Assessments and teacher journals showed areas of strength and weaknesses in student learning and on differences in teaching styles. They also helped support some feedback claims made by students. Areas of further research and improvement of the incorporation of this teaching method in the Basotho secondary science classroom are explored.
Resumo:
This thesis is about young students’ writing in school mathematics and the ways in which this writing is designed, interpreted and understood. Students’ communication can act as a source from which teachers can make inferences regarding students’ mathematical knowledge and understanding. In mathematics education previous research indicates that teachers assume that the process of interpreting and judging students’ writing is unproblematic. The relationship between what students’ write, and what they know or understand, is theoretical as well as empirical. In an era of increased focus on assessment and measurement in education it is necessary for teachers to know more about the relationship between communication and achievement. To add to this knowledge, the thesis has adopted a broad approach, and the thesis consists of four studies. The aim of these studies is to reach a deep understanding of writing in school mathematics. Such an understanding is dependent on examining different aspects of writing. The four studies together examine how the concept of communication is described in authoritative texts, how students’ writing is viewed by teachers and how students make use of different communicational resources in their writing. The results of the four studies indicate that students’ writing is more complex than is acknowledged by teachers and authoritative texts in mathematics education. Results point to a sophistication in students’ approach to the merging of the two functions of writing, writing for oneself and writing for others. Results also suggest that students attend, to various extents, to questions regarding how, what and for whom they are writing in school mathematics. The relationship between writing and achievement is dependent on students’ ability to have their writing reflect their knowledge and on teachers’ thorough knowledge of the different features of writing and their awareness of its complexity. From a communicational perspective the ability to communicate [in writing] in mathematics can and should be distinguished from other mathematical abilities. By acknowledging that mathematical communication integrates mathematical language and natural language, teachers have an opportunity to turn writing in mathematics into an object of learning. This offers teachers the potential to add to their assessment literacy and offers students the potential to develop their communicational ability in order to write in a way that better reflects their mathematical knowledge.