Investigating mathematical investigations

There are good reasons why we may involve the students in doing mathematics investigations. Recent curricula encourage this sort of activity but we notice that its application in the classroom is not a simple matter. We discuss the issues that arise when students are presented with investigative tasks, with special interest in the dynamics of the classroom and in the role of the teacher. Our aim is to derive suggestions for classroom practice as well as for further research and teacher development

The impact of asking intention or self-prediction questions on subsequent behavior: a meta-analysis

The current meta-analysis estimated the magnitude of the impact of asking intention and self-prediction questions on rates of subsequent behavior, and examined mediators and moderators of this question–behavior effect (QBE). Random-effects meta-analysis on 116 published tests of the effect indicated that intention/prediction questions have a small positive effect on behavior (d+ = 0.24). Little support was observed for attitude accessibility, cognitive dissonance, behavioral simulation, or processing fluency explanations of the QBE. Multivariate analyses indicated significant effects of social desirability of behavior/behavior domain (larger effects for more desirable and less risky behaviors), difficulty of behavior (larger effects for easy-to-perform behaviors), and sample type (larger effects among student samples). Although this review controls for co-occurrence of moderators in multivariate analyses, future primary research should systematically vary moderators in fully factorial designs. Further primary research is also needed to unravel the mechanisms underlying different variants of the QBE

Wider school effects of engaging with the Further Mathematics Support Programme to introduce Further Mathematics: Final Report

Case studies were conducted in four 11-18 schools where Further Mathematics (FM) A-level has recently been introduced with some input from the Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP). The aim was to probe teachers’ accounts of the range of effects of that introduction beyond the targeted FM students, so as to inform policy makers, other schools and teachers, potential students and their parents. Interviews with Heads of Departments and A-level teachers investigated any reported impact on teachers, structures, pedagogy and students at four points as the new course(s) developed. Intervening lesson observations served to elucidate and challenge the researchers’ understanding

Exploring Perceptions of Math Instructional Practices in Preparation for High-Stakes Testing

In all things, I give my God glory; He is my strength and comforter. To my mom, thank you for giving me life and choosing to love me relentlessly. You are, to me, an inspiration and a warrior for Christ. To my mother-in-law, my first classroom teacher, completing this project could not have happened without you. Its success is just as much yours as it is mine. Thank you for giving me my best friend and biggest supporter. To my Joe, the wind beneath my wings and protector of my heart, you have been with me through every season of my life from our earliest years and beyond. I don’t know why God saw me fit to deserve such a strong and loving man, but I thank Him every day for you. Thank you for always knowing exactly when to stand in front of me and behind me and hand-in-hand beside me. To my Grant Green, you are my greatest gift of love from God. You are the light of my life. Always remember how much dad and I love you. Every day, you make us so proud. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you. Thank you to Dr. Wisdom for the leadership and direction you have continuously provided through this project. In summer 2018, God put you in my path. Blessed by your patience and guidance, I returned to finish something abandoned and am forever indebted to you. Thank you to Dr. Caffey and Dr. Vest for serving as committee members. I am grateful for your generosity of time and commitment to helping me complete this project. Thank you for the path you paved to my dad, my father-in-law, Granny Edna and Uncle Lynn, Grandpa Windy, and all the grandmas and grandpas that have gone before me. To all my family near and far, you are a piece of my life’s puzzle, and I thank you for completing me. And to Grandpa Dan, the Senator, I burnt the midnight oil. I hope its glow was bright enough for you to see from Heaven

Effects of Digital-Based Math Fluency Interventions on Learners with Math Difficulties: A Review of the Literature

Mathematical proficiency serves as a foundation for student success in the classroom and real world. One component of mathematical proficiency is fluency with basic facts. Frequently, students with mathematics difficulties struggle to become proficient and fluent in the four basic operations. Interventions are available to help develop and promote fluency for students. Digital-based interventions, such as programs on computers or tablet applications, are one avenue by which students are able to acquire and maintain fluency. These digital tools are becoming increasingly more common and available in today’s classroom. Eight studies on digital-based fact fluency were identified through a systematic search of the literature and analyzed to determine their effects. Study participants were elementary aged students with mathematics difficulties. Results of this synthesis indicate that digital-based interventions are an effective instructional technique for increasing fact fluency with students demonstrating mathematics difficulties. Implications research and practice are discussed

Teaching New-Comer Haitian Teens: An Exploratory Study of Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Instructional Endorsement of Haitian Creole

The literature about Haitian immigrant children’s achievement in the United States and elsewhere is very limited, and so is the information regarding teachers’ viewpoints about these students’ achievement in relation to teachers’ practices. The present exploratory study’s purpose was to assess whether there was a relationship between middle school math teachers’ personal and professional background and constructs and their appraisals of new-comer Haitian teens’ (NCHT) learning outcomes. The mathematics teachers’ personal backgrounds include their fluency in Haitian Creole. Their professional background includes their years of experience teaching mathematics, as well as their years of academic preparation in teaching mathematics in Haitian Creole, and their constructs include their personal teaching efficacy, their approaches to instruction, their perception of administrative pressure to prepare for high stakes testing, and their instructional endorsement of Haitian Creole (IEHC). Findings from the quantitative analysis revealed that there is statistically significant evidence of associations between mathematics teachers’ fluency in Haitian Creole and their instructional endorsement of Haitian Creole, between mathematics teachers’ fluency in Haitian Creole and their appraisals of NCHT learning outcomes, between mathematics teachers’ years of experience and their instructional endorsement of Haitian Creole, between mathematics teachers’ years of academic preparation to teach math in Haitian Creole and their instructional endorsement of Haitian Creole, and between math teachers’ years of academic preparation to teach math in Haitian Creole and their appraisals of NCHT learning outcomes. The study’s findings revealed that 85 percent of the participants appraised NCHT mathematics learning outcomes at levels one or two, which is an indication that NCHT may be underachieving in math. The findings also revealed that some of these math teachers were involved in some manner of English instruction during their math lessons. These participants viewed Haitian Creole as a temporary mode of communication for NCHT. In addition, teachers who had no academic preparation to teach math in Haitian Creole said that they either needed help to provide feedback or did not provide feedback in Haitian Creole to new-comer Haitian teens. Also, some participants in this study indicated that instruction in a new language may be a reason for the underachievement of NCHT. The researcher identified a need for policies that would promote the development of open source online math activities and math video games for new-comer Haitian teens. She also identified a need for a school-based organization that would support these students, their parents and the school community to improve the quality of their interactions. This research, which was conducted with a sample that included both non-speakers and speakers of Haitian Creole, makes an important contribution to the literature regarding teachers’ beliefs and practices when working with NCHT. For this study, the researcher created an Instructional Endorsement of Haitian Creole questionnaire which can be used in a wide range of contexts, including research and professional development activities to address issues associated with teachers’ instructional beliefs about Haitian Creole. The evidence of relationships among the variables in the study serves as an opportunity for this researcher to continue this work. This process may help fill the void that exists in the literature concerning teaching and learning experiences involving NCHT

Improving middle school math achievement using a web-based program and extended written tasks

This thesis outlines a dual-intensity approach using a web-based program, MyMathLab, for procedural fluency and, in parallel, extended written tasks for helping students improve their reasoning skills, to learn to use multiple representations, and securing mathematical knowledge. The new Common Core State Standards have increased expectations and achievement goals at all grade levels, the required changes being most significant at earlier grade levels (in elementary and middle schools). It is my assertion that a combined approach, one that encompasses both procedure-oriented practice for fluency and extended written tasks designed to stretch thinking and reasoning is needed to meet these goals

Effects of Movement, Growth Mindset and Math Talks on Math Anxiety

Mathematical anxiety is prevalent in our schools. This research provides insight into how mathematical anxiety develops and how it affects students throughout their lives. This study focuses on the mathematical anxiety and mathematical self-concept of five second grade classes at an economically disadvantaged school in rural North Texas. The study looked to see if adding the interventions of movement, mathematical growth mindset and math talks to a classroom would improve the mathematical self-concept of the children in the classrooms which participated. The study contained three classrooms of students who participated in the interventions and two classrooms which were used as a control group. All five second grade classrooms completed a pre and post-intervention survey of mathematical self-concepts. The three main categories measured by the survey were math self-concept, comfort using different mathematical strategies and comfort level with discussing and using math concepts in front of peers. The children received mathematical movement lessons on Mondays, growth mindset journaling and discussions on Tuesdays and mental math number talks on Wednesdays. After the four-week study, the results showed an overall gain in positive responses for the three categories, which were measured for this study in the intervention group. The control group did not show as much of a positive gain as the intervention group did, and in some cases actually went down in positive responses