The effects of teaching a mathematics problem solving strategy on the problem solving ability of grade nine students

Forty grade 9 students were selected from a small rural board in southern Ontario. The students were in two classes and were treated as two groups. The treatment group received instruction in the Logical Numerical Problem Solving Strategy every day for 37 minutes over a 6 week period. The control group received instruction in problem solving without this strategy over the same time period. Then the control group received the treat~ent and the treatment group received the instruction without the strategy. Quite a large variance was found in the problem solving ability of students in grade 9. It was also found that the growth of the problem solving ability achievement of students could be measured using growth strands based upon the results of the pilot study. The analysis of the results of the study using t-tests and a MANOVA demonstrated that the teaching of the strategy did not significaritly (at p s 0.05) increase the problem solving achievement of the students. However, there was an encouraging trend seen in the data.

The impact of integrated programming on student attitude and achievement in grade 9 academic mathematics and science

This research studioo the effect of integrated instruction in mathematics and~ science on student achievement in and attitude towards both mathematics and science. A group of grade 9 academic students received instruction in both science and mathematics in an integrated program specifically developed for the purposes of the research. This group was compared to a control group that had received science and mathematics instruction in a traditional, nonintegrated program. The findings showed that in all measures of attitude, there was no significant difference between the students who participated in the integrated science and mathematics program and those who participated in a traditional science and mathematics program. The findings also revealed that integration did improve achievement on some of the measures used. The performance on mathematics open-ended problem-solving tasks improved after participation in the integrated program, suggesting that the integrated students were better able to apply their understanding of mathematics in a real-life context. The performance on the final science exam was also improved for the integrated group. Improvement was not noted on the other measures, which included EQAO scores and laboratory practical tasks. These results raise the issue of the suitability of the instruments used to gauge both achievement and attitude. The accuracy and suitability of traditional measures of achievement are considered. It is argued that they should not necessarily be used as the measure of the value of integrated instruction in a science and mathematics classroom.

Teachers' professional learning within communities of mathematics-for-teaching practice

Ontario bansho is an emergent mathematics instructional strategy used by teachers working within communities of practice that has been deemed to have a transformational effect on teachers' professional learning of mathematics. This study sought to answer the following question: How does teachers' implementation of Ontario bansho within their communities of practice inform their professional learning process concerning mathematics-for-teaching? Two other key questions also guided the study: What processes support teachers' professional learning of content-for-teaching? What conditions support teachers' professional learning of content-for-teaching? The study followed an interpretive phenomenological approach to collect data using a purposive sampling of teachers as participants. The researcher conducted interviews and followed an interpretive approach to data analysis to investigate how teachers construct meaning and create interpretations through their social interactions. The study developed a model of professional learning made up of 3 processes, informing with resources, engaging with students, and visualizing and schematizing in which the participants engaged and 2 conditions, ownership and community that supported the 3 processes. The 3 processes occur in ways that are complex, recursive, nonpredictable, and contextual. This model provides a framework for facilitators and leaders to plan for effective, content-relevant professional learning by placing teachers, students, and their learning at the heart of professional learning.

Treatise on mathematics and astronomy: written about the year 1680, in Boston

Bound volume containing a late 17th century handwritten mathematical and astronomical text in one hand. The text is separated into mathematical and astronomical sections with rules, instructions for performing calculations, tables, and drawings. The subjects include arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and trigonometry, and segments have titles such as "Subtraction," "A decimal table of English coince," "Logarithes & their use," and "To find the true place of the sun." The text is undated and unattributed but references Briggs, Oughtred, Ramus, and Apollonius. Certain tables are calculated from latitudinal and longitudinal numbers associated with Boston, and many of the examples use dates in the 1670s and 1680. The manuscript pages are mounted onto unruled pages, and some of the manuscript pages are fragments.

A virtual mathematics learning environment for engineering students

Teachers of the course Introduction to Mathematics for Engineers at the UOC, an online distance-learning university, have designed,developed and tested an online studymaterial. It includes basic pre-university mathematics, indications for correct follow-up of this content and recommendations for finding appropriate support and complementarymaterials. Many different resources are used,depending on the characteristics of thecontents: Flash sequences, interactive applets, WIRIS calculators and PDF files.During the last semester, the new study material has been tested with 119 students. The academic results and student satisfaction have allowed us to outline and prioritise future lines of action.

A Virtual Mathematics Learning Environment for Engineering Students

Teachers of the course Introduction to Mathematics for Engineers at the UOC, an online distance-learning university, have designed and produced online study material which includes basic pre-university mathematics, instructions for correct follow-up of this content and recommendations for finding appropiate support and complementary materials.

Un análisis optimista de la educación matemática en la formación de maestros de educación infantil = An optimistic analysis of mathematics education in training pre-school teachers

This article offers a panorama of mathematics training for future teachers at pre-school level in Spain. With this goal in mind, this article is structured infour sections: where we come from, where we are, where we’re going and where we want to go. It offers, in short, a brief analysis that shows the efforts made to ensure there is sufficient academic and scientific rigour in teachers’ studies at pre-school in general and students’ mathematics education in particular. Together with a description of the progress made in recent years, it also raises some questions for all those involved in training future teachers for this educational stage

Cómo enseñar matemáticas en las primeras edades a partir de contextos de vida cotidiana = How to teach mathematics to young students based on everyday contexts

This paper stresses the importance of developing mathematical thought in young children based on everyday contexts, since these are meaningful learning situations with an interdisciplinary, globalised focus. The first part sets out the framework of reference that lays the theoretical foundations for these kinds of educational practices. The second part gives some teaching orientations for work based on everyday contexts. It concludes with the presentation of the activity 'We’re off to the cinema to learn mathematics!'

¿Para qué sirven los problemas en la clase de matemáticas? = What is the use of problems in Mathematics lessons?

The results obtained in several yield tests, at an international level (mainly the famous PISA 2003 report, by the OCDE), have raised a multiplicity of performances in order to improve the students' yield regarding problem solving. In this article we set a clear guideline on how problems should be used in Mathematics lessons, not for obtaining better scores in the yield tests but for improving the development of Mathematical thinking in students. From this perspective, the author analyses, through eight reflections, how the concept of problem, transmitted both in the school and from society, influences the students

Las habilidades motrices básicas en educación primaria: aspectos de su desarrollo = Key motor skills in primary education: developmental aspects

The physical education curriculum stresses the importance of improving students’ key motor skills. This idea agrees with the contributions of research into motor development concerning the important role these skills play in child development. In order to facilitate this improvement is essential to know the different basic aspects of how these key motor skills evolve as well as the essential factors related to the characteristics and conditions of educational practice

The effect of social skills training on grade 3 students' self-esteem, moral development and perceptions of classroom environment

Two Grade 3 classes were used to study the effects of a formal social skills training program. Specifically, comparisons were made on self-esteem, classroom environment, and moral development to see whether changes occurred as a direct result of social skills training. One group participated in the social skills program, while the other group did not. It was hypothesized that formal social skills training would improve students' selfesteem, moral development, and the classroom environment. At the end of the program, however, data from class observations, teacher interviews, journal of the social skills training group teacher, and measures of self-esteem, classroom environment and moral development did not support this hypothesis. Although the social skills training group scored significantly higher in class cohesiveness, they did not show marked improvement in the other measures. In fact, in some measures (e.g., friction and competitiveness), they demonstrated greater scores at both pretest and posttests. The social skills training group was, however, able to vocalize and utilize the strategies of several skills which had been a focus of the program, suggesting that formal social skills training is a useful tool for presenting and reinforcing some specific behaviours.

The generation effect and word learning: a test of the effect of the language experience approach versus the text approach in the acquisition of new reading vocabulary

A class of twenty-two grade one children was tested to determine their reading levels using the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Achievement Test. Based on these results and teacher input the students were paired according to reading ability. The students ages ranged from six years four months to seven years four months at the commencement of the study. Eleven children were assigned to the language experience group and their partners became the text group. Each member of the language experience group generated a list of eight to be learned words. The treatment consisted of exposing the student to a given word three times per session for ten sessions, over a period of five days. The dependent variables consisted of word identification speed, word identification accuracy, and word recognition accuracy. Each member of the text group followed the same procedure using his/her partner's list of words. Upon completion of this training, the entire process was repeated with members of the text group from the first part becoming members of the language experience group and vice versa. The results suggest that generally speaking language experience words are identified faster than text words but that there is no difference in the rate at which these words are learned. Language experience words may be identified faster because the auditory-semantic information is more readily available in them than in text words. The rate of learning in both types of words, however, may be dictated by the orthography of the to be learned word.

The impact of a digital children's literature program on primary students' reading motivation

This qualitative study stemmed from a concern of the perceived decline in students' reading motivation after the early years of schooling, which has been attributed to the disconnect between the media students are accustomed to using outside the classroom and the media they predominantly use within the classroom. This research documented the effectiveness of a digital children's literature program and a postreading multimedia program on eight grade 1 students' reading motivation, word recognition, and comprehension abilities. Eight students were given ten 25-minute sessions with the software program over 15 weeks. Preprogram, interim-program, and postprogram qualitative data were collected from students, teachers, and parents through questionnaires, interviews, standardized reading assessment tools, classroom observations, field notes, and student behaviour observation checklists. Findings are summarized into 3 themes. The motivational aspects and constructivist styles of instruction in the digital reading programs may have contributed to 5 student participants' increased participation in online storybook reading at home. Qualitative data revealed that the digital children's literature program and multimedia postreading activities seemed to have a positive influence on the majority of grade 1 student participants' reading motivation, word recognition, and listening comprehension skills. These findings suggest the promise of multimedia and Internet-based reading software programs in supporting students with reading andlor behavioural difficulties. In keeping with current educational initiatives and efforts, increased use of media literacy practices in the grade 1 curriculum is suggested.

Writing and science connections : integrated instruction and assessment

Learning to write is a daunting task for many young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a combined approach to writing instruction and assessment on the writing performance of students in two grade 3 classes. Five forms and traits of writing were purposefully connected during writing lessons while exhibiting links to the four strands of the grade 3 Ontario science curriculum. Students then had opportunities to engage in the writing process and to self-assess their compositions using either student-developed (experimental group/teacher-researcher's class) or teachercreated (control group/teacher-participant's class) rubrics. Paired samples t-tests revealed that both the experimental and control groups exhibited statistically significant growth from pretest to posttest on all five integrated writing units. Independent samples t-tests showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the persuasive + sentence fluency and procedure + word choice writing tasks. Pearson product-moment correlation r tests revealed significant correlations between the experimental group and the teacher-researcher on the recount + ideas and report + organization tasks, while students in the control group showed significant correlations with the teacher-researcher on the narrative + voice and procedure + word choice tasks. Significant correlations between the control group and the teacher-participant were evident on the persuasive + sentence fluency and procedure + word choice tasks. Qualitative analyses revealed five themes that highlighted how students' self-assessments and reflections can be used to guide teachers in their instructional decision making. These findings suggest that educators should adopt an integrated writing program in their classrooms, while working with students to create and utilize purposeful writing assessment tools.