Using Preschool to Close the Socioeconomic Math Achievement Gap

Socioeconomic status (SES) heavily influences students’ academic performance, creating an achievement gap in core subjects like reading and mathematics. This thesis will describe the socioeconomic achievement gap as it relates to mathematics specifically, discuss the problem’s causes, and propose how preschool programs should be implemented more prevalently as a solution to close the gap. Children with low socioeconomic statuses enter school with lower math proficiency due to their limited math exposure in their early years and the quality of their home learning environments. This thesis will propose an expansion of preschool programs as a solution to this problem to help mediate the proficiency in foundational math concepts of low-SES students prior to school entry

The Effectiveness of an Interactive Multimedia Learning Explanation on Baccalaureate Nursing Students\u27 Mathematical Achievement and Self-Efficacy

Digitized thesi

Holistic ICT environments for effective mathematics teaching and learning

To understand the numbers world, each child must face a path that includes propaedeutic phases and only overcoming these phases will allow the child to consolidate processes before tackling new ones. If this does not happen, the child becomes self-convinced of \u201dnot being able to understand math\u201d and becomes increasingly aware of it throughout primary school. The transition to middle school may have a significant impact on a child, with specific difficulties or disabilities in learning mathematics, especially if his/her difficulties have not yet been identified. The present thesis studies the contributions of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in supporting various aspects of mathematical teaching and learning. A multidimensional approach was used. In the first part, empirical studies assessed the effectiveness of digital tools to identify individual differences based on cognitive profiles and emotional responses associated with math performance in children from Northern Italy. In the second part a meta-analysis and systematic review analysis were carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions supporting math learning by means of ICT in the school and home environments respectively. Altogether the thesis indicates that designing holistic ICT environments proves successful for effective mathematics teaching and learning not only for typically developing children but also for students in disadvantaged situations, including those suffering from dyscalculia

Computer detection of spatial visualization in a location-based task

An untapped area of productivity gains hinges on automatic detection of user cognitive characteristics. One such characteristic, spatial visualization ability, relates to users’ computer performance. In this dissertation, we describe a novel, behavior-based, spatial visualization detection technique. The technique does not depend on sensors or knowledge of the environment and can be adopted on generic computers. In a Census Bureau location-based address verification task, detection rates exceeded 80% and approached 90%

Understanding the use of tablet devices in the classroom when teaching a group of learners diagnosed with autism

The increasing number of individuals diagnosed with autism, the shift in educational paradigms, and technology advances that allow affordability and accessibility were the motivation behind this study. Learners with autism have the potential to develop social and emotional skills as well as increasing motivation for learning while using technology, in particular tablet devices (i.e., iPads) as instructional tools. The purpose of this case study was to better understand the use of technology (in particular, tablet devices) to teach mathematics to a group of learners diagnosed with autism. Two research questions guided this study: (1) How do the motivational principles of the ARCS model impact the learners\u27 motivation with classroom activities (i.e., with excitement? apathy? sense of accomplishment)?; and (2) How do learners interact with technology used in the classroom (i.e., as an instructional tool? as a rewarding mechanism? as an entertaining strategy)? Moreover, the hope is to potentially gain more awareness into the motivational impact tablet devices can have on learners on the autism spectrum concerning engagement and participation in learning activities. Participants in this study were five children diagnosed with autism between the ages of 8 and 11 who attended a middle school located at a large school district in a metropolitan area of a U.S. Midwestern state. The learners participated in a paper-based mathematics activity as well as interacted with an iPad to work on mathematics concepts. Observations and opportunistic interviews with learners and teacher were conducted. An in-depth semi-structured interview was also done with the classroom teacher. In attempt to explore the research questions, data were analyzed using the Interpretive Descriptive qualitative research analysis method. Based on that analysis four themes emerged: (1) the motivational use of the tablet device in the classroom, (2) the classroom activities\u27 impact on learners\u27 social interactions, (3) learners\u27 behavioral changes resulting from change in classroom routine, and (4) teacher\u27s motivational strategy. The overall study provided an understanding of the motivational impact tablet devices potentially have on learners on the autism spectrum concerning engagement and participation in learning activities. The impact of technology was contingent on its strategic instructional or reward mechanism implementation in the curriculum. The study revealed that technology in general and tablet devices in particular are used in the classroom as reward mechanisms and entertaining strategies to seize and retain the learners\u27 attention in order to achieve instructional goals. The findings also revealed how the learners\u27 conceptual levels affect their response to the reward and influence their social behavioral skills that could become uncontrollable. Additionally, the findings raised awareness concerning the learners\u27reactions to the change in their daily structured schedule and revealed some practices to manage learners\u27 behaviors

The effectiveness of iPad in enhancing instruction in mathematics teaching and learning for secondary schools in Saudi Arabia

Tablet devices, such as the iPad, have emerged among the most essential educational tools due to features that facilitate the learning and teaching process without the limitations of time or location. Tablet devices and their range of applications (apps) can potentially improve both the teaching and learning processes and the communication between teachers and students. However, there are concerns about the benefits of using tablet devices and their different apps in the learning process, including the extent to which students actually use them for educational purposes. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of iPad usage, including various applications, in terms of improving students' mathematics achievement and motivation based on accomplishing the goals of mathematics lessons in a 10th grade secondary school in Saudi Arabia (SA). To achieve this, iPad devices were deliberately introduced to support teachers and students in the teaching and learning of mathematics. The study also sought to evaluate the impact that iPad usage and the various applications would have on mathematics teachers’ perspectives regarding the teaching of mathematics concepts in the same secondary school in SA. While there are now many opportunities for technology to be used in the education sector, there is still a need for a better understanding of how and to what extent iPad devices and the various dedicated education apps can be integrated in teaching and learning in secondary schools in SA, particularly with regard to mathematics education. This is an important matter, as it has several wider implications for curriculum design, classroom practice, teacher and student education, and the development of greater understanding of learning and cognition in technology-enhanced learning settings. To generate insights into the effectiveness of introducing iPad devices and various apps related to teaching and learning mathematics in Saudi secondary schools, the study used a logical model design for program evaluation based on a mixed-method approach. A quasi-experimental design was applied as the primary quantitative approach, while the secondary qualitative approach was carried out simultaneously. The quasi-experimental period stretched over two months. In the first month, class A was the treatment group and pupils in that group used iPads and relevant apps to learn mathematics, while class B was the control group, with the pupils using traditional methods based on using books, paper, and pencils. The treatment was switched between the two classes in the second month. Data were collected from a pre-test and two post-tests (quantitative data), semi-structured interviews, and a focus group interview (qualitative data). The participants in this quasi-experimental study included 50 students from two classes in the 10th grade (25 participants in each class), as well as four teachers who took part in the interviews. The focus groups comprised eight groups of six students, four groups from each class. The quantitative data were analysed using a multi-statistical method in IBM SPSS and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study uncovered a wide range of evidence indicating encouraging results for the integration of the iPad and relevant applications in the process of teaching and learning mathematics in educational systems, particularly in Saudi Arabian secondary schools. The findings of the quantitative data showed that the iPad devices and the applications used significantly improved students’ achievement in the period during which they were encouraged to use these devices to learn mathematics, with better results than when they used the traditional methods (books, paper, and pencils). However, this improvement might not occur if the students or teacher are not trained to use the device and the various educational apps employed in this quasi-experimental study. The findings of the students' focus group interviews revealed largely positive views towards the use of the iPad device and its apps, such as education platform apps and various communication apps. This device and its apps promoted students’ performance in mathematics by providing immediate feedback, improving their mathematical skills, helping them to prepare for tests, and assisting them to search for information, thus equipping them with a better understanding of the content. The majority of students also found the use of these devices to be a source of motivation and they encouraged them to learn mathematics and achieve the goals of the lesson plans to a greater degree than when working with conventional methods. Moreover, the students were dependent on this device and its apps for their learning and viewed is as a useful and supportive educational tool for facilitating their communication and enhancing their collaboration, as well as organising their time and studies. However, while most of the students believed that the iPad and its apps encourage them to study mathematics, some students reported that they were not inclined to use this device to learn mathematics. They stated that their preference was to handwrite notes or complete mathematics activities using paper and pencil because they found it difficult to write certain symbols on the device. They also reported encountering several obstacles, such as interrupted or slow internet connection, low battery level, difficulty recharging the battery, some apps hanging during use, and the iPad screen breaking easily. The findings of the teacher interviews showed that, in general, the perception was that both teachers and students benefitted from the use of the iPad, and the apps were deemed useful tools for facilitating and improving the in-class teaching and learning processes. They believed that this device assisted them in achieving the lesson objectives faster than previous teaching methods. It also helped them to immediately ascertain their students' academic level, improve their students' performance, motivate their students to learn mathematics, and provide instant feedback for their students. The findings also demonstrate that iPads facilitated collaboration and communication among students, as well as developing their creativity, critical thinking, and self-reliance skills. However, the results also illustrated that there are several elements that make both teachers and students in SA public schools unwilling or unable to use the device and its apps. For instance, the infrastructure of schools may not be equipped to integrate the technology, especially so in the case of iPads. In addition, teachers were afraid to integrate iPad use in the classroom because they lacked the knowledge to use this device and its apps for educational purposes. They also faced continuing obstacles and limitations in using the iPad and its apps in the classroom environment. These obstacles were mainly associated with technical issues, such as lack of connection to the internet or battery problems. Other issues included students forgetting to bring their iPad device or using non-instructional apps in the classroom. The study, therefore, proposes some solutions to these obstacles, which could be beneficial for schools to consider before deciding whether to integrate iPad devices and their various apps in the classroom. Therefore, this study helps provide insights and evidence regarding iPad usage with various educational apps in the classroom. The implications of these findings are considered in relation to students’ development, teachers’ development, and the educational technology and school development curricula in SA secondary schools. Some suggestions regarding future research based on this are also offered

Integrating Socially Assistive Robots into Language Tutoring Systems. A Computational Model for Scaffolding Young Children's Foreign Language Learning

Schodde T. Integrating Socially Assistive Robots into Language Tutoring Systems. A Computational Model for Scaffolding Young Children's Foreign Language Learning. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2019.Language education is a global and important issue nowadays, especially for young children since their later educational success build on it. But learning a language is a complex task that is known to work best in a social interaction and, thus, personalized sessions tailored to the individual knowledge and needs of each child are needed to allow for teachers to optimally support them. However, this is often costly regarding time and personnel resources, which is one reasons why research of the past decades investigated the benefits of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). But although ITSs can help out to provide individualized one-on-one tutoring interactions, they often lack of social support. This dissertation provides new insights on how a Socially Assistive Robot (SAR) can be employed as a part of an ITS, building a so-called "Socially Assistive Robot Tutoring System" (SARTS), to provide social support as well as to personalize and scaffold foreign language learning for young children in the age of 4-6 years. As basis for the SARTS a novel approach called A-BKT is presented, which allows to autonomously adapt the tutoring interaction to the children's individual knowledge and needs. The corresponding evaluation studies show that the A-BKT model can significantly increase student's learning gains and maintain a higher engagement during the tutoring interaction. This is partly due to the models ability to simulate the influences of potential actions on all dimensions of the learning interaction, i.e., the children's learning progress (cognitive learning), affective state, engagement (affective learning) and believed knowledge acquisition (perceived learning). This is particularly important since all dimensions are strongly interconnected and influence each other, for example, a low engagement can cause bad learning results although the learner is already quite proficient. However, this also yields the necessity to not only focus on the learner's cognitive learning but to equally support all dimensions with appropriate scaffolding actions. Therefore an extensive literature review, observational video recordings and expert interviews were conducted to find appropriate actions applicable for a SARTS to support each learning dimension. The subsequent evaluation study confirms that the developed scaffolding techniques are able to support young children’s learning process either by re-engaging them or by providing transparency to support their perception of the learning process and to reduce uncertainty. Finally, based on educated guesses derived from the previous studies, all identified strategies are integrated into the A-BKT model. The resulting model called ProTM is evaluated by simulating different learner types, which highlight its ability to autonomously adapt the tutoring interactions based on the learner's answers and provided dis-engagement cues. Summarized, this dissertation yields new insights into the field of SARTS to provide personalized foreign language learning interactions for young children, while also rising new important questions to be studied in the future