Browsing by Subject "mathematics education"
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Item Co-teaching and the PrimeD framework: Radicals and Rational Exponents(2018-04) Rakes, Christopher R.; Kirvan, Rebecca; Witkowski, AshleyThis study examined the application of a co-teaching model to the PrimeD framework. Two teachers and a teacher educator collaborated to develop, implement, evaluate, and study a unit on radical expressions, equations, and functions in 3 high school algebra 2 classes. Results indicated that this approach to PD can be a powerful way to support the professional growth of teachers and teacher educators alike.Item Educators Perceptions of Schema Based Instruction and Academic Self-Concept of their Learning Disabled Students(2020-11-18) Connell, Kelsey; Rhoades, Thomas; Sarah, Brennan; Education; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to examine how teacher implemented strategies and interventions for solving mathematical word problems can help improve the academic self- concept of students with learning disabilities. This study attempted to find out if teachers have utilized a particular problem-solving strategy and if they have found providing constructive feedback in combination with the intervention has helped students have the confidence to solve word problems independently and successfully. The method used in this study was a free response online survey administered to three middle school math teachers who have experience teaching students with learning disabilities. It was found that teachers were unaware of the Schema-Based Instruction strategy but did incorporate aspects of the strategy into their teaching. It was also found that teachers primarily provide words of encouragement as a means of improving academic self-concept but did not consider that the interventions they choose to use is also a factor in students’ academic self- concept. More research in Schema-Based Instruction and how it impacts student academic self-concept is needed.Item Game-based Learning Effects on Mathematical Engagement and Academic Achievement(2021-07-20) Ibberson, Regan; Rhoades, Thomas; Sunshine, Phyllis; Brennan, Sarah; Masters of EducationThe purpose of the study was to determine how game-based learning effects student engagement and academic achievement in the mathematics classroom. The participants in the study were given an engagement survey and were given achievement tests to determine the impact of using games in math. The participants were 59 Math 7 students in seventh grade. Findings showed that most students were more engaged and performed better when given the opportunity to play games to enhance their mathematics abilities.Item Mathematics education technology professional development: Changes over several decades.(IGI Global, 2016) Driskell, Shannon O.; Bush, Sarah B.; Ronau, Robert N.; Niess, Margaret L.; Rakes, Christopher R.; Pugalee, David K.; EducationThe effective use of digital technologies in school settings calls for appropriate professional development opportunities that will transform inservice teachers’ knowledge for integrating technologies as effective mathematics learning tools. To inform such opportunities, this study examined the contents of published mathematics education technology professional development papers over several decades using Sztajn’s (2011) standards for high quality reporting in mathematics professional development research studies, the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework, and the Comprehensive Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Both the Professional Development Implementation and Evaluation Model and Education Professional Development Research Framework are recommended for further guidance on reporting key features of mathematics education technology professional development.Item Modifications in Teaching Mathematical Concepts through Problem Solving for Elementary Grade Students including Students with Learning Disabilities(2019-05-14) Jakubowski, Monica; Sunshine, Phyllis; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to survey teacher opinion on whether strategies for modifications in teaching mathematical concepts through problem solving are effective for elementary grade students including students with learning disabilities. The measurement tool was a questionnaire consisting of 11 multiple-choice responses. The data were collected from the participants and analyzed for their response to questions on the benefits of using strategies and their effectiveness in teaching mathematics in their classrooms. Research in this area should continue as there is evidence that problem solving strategies are effective in solving mathematical word problems for students with mathematics difficulties and learning disabilities.Item NSF grants UMBC’s Chris Rakes and Michele Stites $3M to transform undergraduate secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs(UMBC News, 2020-12-17)UMBC’s Chris Rakes and Michele Stites and colleagues have received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to strengthen undergraduate secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs.Item The role of contextual factors in understanding mathematics teacher efficacy beliefs(2013) Austin, JathanThe purpose of this article is to argue for a more nuanced view of mathematics teacher efficacy beliefs as a construct. I argue that most researchers studying teacher efficacy assert that teachers should display a strong sense of teacher efficacy, even though the ways teacher efficacy beliefs are often measured are not specific to any content area. This belief apparently is based on the assumption that a strong sense of teacher efficacy results in more effective teaching. Other explanatory variables (e.g., teachers’ content knowledge for teaching and the content to be taught) are important contextual factors affecting teacher efficacy beliefs. I argue that these too often have been neglected in the existing literature. An understanding of the effects of these contextual factors can help reveal why advocating a strong sense of teacher efficacy is too simple a prescription for improving teaching.Item Teachers' perspectives on mathematics education research reports(2007) Groth, Randall E.; Bergner, Jennifer A.Practicing teachers’ perspectives on a set of mathematics education research reports are described. Data were gathered through e-mail messages, group discussions, and questionnaires. Teachers identified positive influences of research on practice aligned with some of the strands of proficient mathematics teaching identified by Kilpatrick, Swafford, and Findell (2001). Teachers also gave negative critiques of the ability of research to influence practice aligned with Kennedy’s (1997) discussion of historical factors underlying the gap between educational research and practice. The variety of perspectives documented provides some empirical ground for informing actions in the areas of teacher education and research.Item Transforming undergraduate mathematics teacher preparation using the PrimeD framework.(2022-06) Rakes, Christopher; Fisher, Molly; Ronau, RobertItem Understanding teachers' resistance to the curricular inclusion of alternative algorithms(2007) Groth, Randall E.This study focuses on a group of practitioners from a school district that adopted reform-oriented curriculum materials but later rejected them, partially due to the inclusion of alternative algorithms in the materials. Metaphors implicit in a conversation among the group were analysed to illuminate their perspectives on instructional issues surrounding alternative algorithms. Several possible sources of resistance to folding alternative algorithms into instruction were found, including the ideas that: successful learning does not involve struggling with mathematics, the teacher’s role in the classroom is primarily to present information, and that mathematics learning progresses according to a fixed sequence of levels.