Standards-based Mathematics Curriculum and Hispanic Middle School Students’ Attitudes and Classroom Experiences

Sixth-grade, Mexican American, middle school students completed a survey which gauged attitudes toward mathematics and the frequency of traditional and nontraditional classroom activities, following the implementation of a standardsbased curriculum. Analysis of variance procedures were conducted using Gender, Ethnicity, and School as main factors. The results indicated that on average students held favorable attitudes toward mathematics, and they experienced primarily nontraditional classroom activities. There was a significant gain in achievement scores as measured by the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test. The implications are that a standards-based curriculum promotes favorable attitudes in middle school mathematics students and encourages teachers to use nontraditional methods of instruction while improving student achievement

Impact of Curriculum Reform: Evidence of Change in Classroom Instruction in the United States

The purpose of the study reported in this article is to examine the impact of curriculum on instruction. Over a three-year period, we observed 579 algebra-related lessons in grades 6–8. Approximately half the lessons were taught in schools that had adopted a Standards-based mathematics curriculum called the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP), and the remainder of the lessons were taught in schools that used more traditional curricula (non-CMP). We found many significant differences between the CMP and non-CMP lessons. The CMP lessons, emphasized the conceptual aspects of instruction to a greater extent than the non-CMP lessons and the non-CMP lessons emphasized the procedural aspects of instruction to a greater extent than the CMP lessons. About twice as many CMP lessons as non-CMP lessons were structured to use group work as a method of instruction. During lessons, non-CMP students worked individually on homework about three times as often as CMP students. When it came to text usage, CMP teachers were more likely than non-CMP teachers to work problems from the text and to follow lessons as laid out in the text. However, non-CMP students and teachers were more likely than CMP students and teachers to review examples or find formulas in the text. Surprisingly, only small proportions of the CMP lessons utilized calculators (16%) or manipulatives (11%)

THE IMPACT OF UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS COURSES ON COLLEGE STUDENT’S GEOMETRIC REASONING STAGES

The purpose of this study is to investigate possible effects of different college level mathematics courses on college students’ van Hiele levels of geometric understanding. Particularly, since logical reasoning is an important aspect of geometric understanding, it would be interesting to see whether there are differences in van Hiele levels of students who have taken non-geometry courses that emphasize or focus on logic and proofs (Category I) and those that don’t (Category II). We compared geometric reasoning stages of students from the two categories. One hundred and forty nine college students taking various courses from the two categories have been involved in this study. The Van Hiele Geometry Test designed to find out students’ van Hiele levels was used to collect data. After the collection and analysis of the quantitative data, the participants’ van Hiele levels are reported and the reasoning stages of two groups are compared. The results show that students taking logic/proof based courses attain higher reasoning stages than students taking other college level mathematics courses, such as calculus. The results may have implications that are of particular interest to teacher education programs. Finally, the results also confirm a previous assertion about correlation between van Hiele levels and proof writing

Gutstein Generalized- A Philosophical Debate: A Critical Commentary on Gutstein\u27s (2003) thesis for the incorporation of social justice in the mathematics curriculum

The Scene: A CourtroomThe Year: 2004 (old style), 15 (new style - After Standards) The Grand Inquisitor mounts the podium, and addresses the Debaters standing silently before him. A large crowd fills the hall. Inquisitor:Ladies and Gentlemen! You have been summoned here today to present the final arguments for and against these propositions which have so vexed our society in recent months. Each of you represents a vision of the future of mathematics education. Ere the sun sets we shall fix our resolve to one vision or the other. The victors, I doubt not, shall lead us into a glorious society of mathematically literate citizens whose ears shall be forever deaf to the cries of the vanquished

The Effects of Changing from a Traditional Mathematics Curriculum to an Integrated Mathematics Curriculum on Student Mathematics Learning in Georgia

In 2005, the state of Georgia adopted a new integrated mathematics curriculum, the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), which included a task-based approach for instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if the new Georgia Performance Standards for mathematics increased students’ mean mathematics Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) scores or induced changes in the distribution of students’ scores on the PSAT/NMSQT. In addition, it was determined whether the level of course the student took, the type of implementation of the GPS curriculum or the preparation for implementation affected the PSAT/NMSQT scores. The results of the study indicated there was a statistically significant relationship between the GPS curriculum and students’ mean mathematics scores for year one of implementation, but not for year two. Results also showed a change in the distribution of test scores for students scoring in the lower half of the range of possible scores. This study did not reveal any indication that following the specific practices of the GPS had an effect on the PSAT/NMSQT scores. In addition, the department chairman indicated while students benefitted from the GPS as it provided a more challenging curriculum and required students to make more mathematical connections, there were significant challenges for the students and teachers

Achievement of Eighth Grade Students in Mathematics After

The purpose of this study was to examine the three- year effect of the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) on the mathematics achievement of middle school students in a southeastern Tennessee public school district. This was accomplished by (1) comparing the mathematics achievement of eighth graders who have completed three years of CMP with their mathematics achievement after completing one and two years of CMP; (2) comparing the achievement of male and female students during the same period of time; and (3) comparing the mathematics achievement of historically underrepresented students after completing one, two, and three years of CMP. In order to provide for a richer analysis of the CMP experience, the overall design employed quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The quantitative section of the study examined the mathematical achievement of almost 2,900 of the 2001-2002 eighth graders, over 3,000 of the 2000-2001 seventh graders, and over 3,100 1999-2000 sixth graders as evidenced by their Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) test scores. The qualitative segment of the study explored the experiences of the textbook adoption committee members, teachers, administrators, and parents. Using the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program mathematics total battery test score as the dependent variable, there was no significant difference between the mathematics achievement of students completing one or two years of CMP. However, there was a significant different in the mathematics achievement between students completing three years of CMP when compared to their mathematics scores after one and two years. There was also a significant difference between male and female students after completing one and two years of CMP but no significant difference was detected after the completion of three years. Though there was a significant difference revealed in the achievement between African Americans and Non African Americans after completing one, two, and three years of CMP the gap closed slightly after completing three years. Overall, CMP students performed better on the state achievement assessment the longer they were being instructed using the standards based curriculum

Longitudinal investigation of the curricular effect: An analysis of student learning outcomes from the LieCal Project in the United States

In this article, we present the results from a longitudinal examination of the impact of a Standards-based or reform mathematics curriculum (called CMP) and traditional mathematics curricula (called non-CMP) on students’ learning of algebra using various outcome measures. Findings include the following: (1) students did not sacrifice basic mathematical skills if they are taught using a Standards-based or reform mathematics curriculum like CMP; (2) African American students experienced greater gain in symbol manipulation when they used a traditional curriculum; (3) the use of either the CMP or a non-CMP curriculum improved the mathematics achievement of all students, including students of color; (4) the use of CMP contributed to significantly higher problem-solving growth for all ethnic groups; and (5) a high level of conceptual emphasis in a classroom improved the students’ ability to represent problem situations. (However, the level of conceptual emphasis bears no relation to students’ problem solving or symbol manipulation skills.

Agent of Change: NSF Sponsored Mathematics Curriculum Development

This article identifies factors that make it difficult for publishers of commercial textbooks to make significant changes consistent with curricular visions put forth by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Central among these factors is the lack of consensus of state standards on what and when certain topics in mathematics should be addressed. The variability of grade placement of key mathematics learning goals across different state standards results in excessive repetition and superficial treatment of topics in school mathematics textbooks

Today\u27s Mathematics Students

A common mistake that undergraduate mathematics professors make when teaching is to assume that students are younger versions of themselves. Since many mathematics professors are above average in intelligence and were quite good students, the assumption that students are just like themselves can cause pedagogical difficulties (Krantz, 1993). To teach effectively, it is important to understand students. Yet, understanding today\u27s students is literally like bridging a generation gap (Hawk, 2005)

Making Explicit the Commonalities of MSP Projects: Learning from Doing

The seven projects discussed in the preceding articles are funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program (Hamos et al., 2009), which began in 2002. One of the main goals of the MSP program is to build capacity and integrate the work of higher education, especially its STEM disciplinary faculty, with that of K‐12 to strengthen and reform mathematics and science education (Hamos et al., 2009). Thus, the MSP program brought together three sets of people (disciplinary faculty, teacher educators, and school system personnel) who do not usually work together to reform the mathematics and science education of teachers. For many of the MSP partnerships this was the first time that members of these groups were purposefully working together to develop mechanisms designed to 1) increase both preservice and inservice teachers’ mathematical content knowledge for teaching; 2) provide teachers with the opportunity to learn mathematics in the manner in which their students should learn mathematics in order to develop habits of mind similar to those of mathematicians, such as making conjectures and testing them out, modeling contextual situations with mathematics, and persevering in solving problems; and 3) engage all of the partners in collaborative opportunities focused on student learning and assessment. Accordingly, the seven partnerships discussed throughout this issue and other partnerships chose coursework at universities, some combination of coursework and professional development, and/or study groups as the mechanisms to accomplish the objectives of the MSP program