Crossing the Gender Gap: A Study of Female Participation and Performance in Advanced Maths and Sciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haseltine, Jessica

2006-10-01

A statistical analysis of enrollment in AP maths and sciences in the Abilene Independent School District, between 2000 and 2005, studied the relationship between gender, enrollment, and performance. Data suggested that mid-scoring females were less likely than their male counterparts to enroll in AP-level courses. AISD showed higher female : male score ratios than national and state averages but no improvement in enrollment comparisons. Several programs are suggested to improve both participation and performance of females in upper-level math and science courses.

Student Perceptions of a Mathematics Major for Prospective Elementary Teachers with an Inquiry-Based Philosophy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Samuel A.; Borkovitz, Debra K.

2017-01-01

In this paper we present data from one-on-one interviews conducted with students who have taken intermediate and advanced inquiry-based mathematics courses in a program that prepares future preK-8 teachers. Many of these students entered college with a fear of math, but then gained confidence from a required introductory math course and chose to…

The Role of Gender and Friendship in Advanced Course Taking

PubMed Central

Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Farkas, George; Muller, Chandra

2010-01-01

This article examines the role of friends in girls' and boys' advanced course taking and explores whether friends' characteristics are particularly important for girls' math and science attainment. With the use of data from Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Heath, the results indicate that same-sex friends' academic performance significantly predicts course taking in all subjects for girls, but not for boys. Furthermore, for math and science only, the effects of friends' performance are greater in the context of a predominantly female friendship group, which suggests that such groups provide a counterpoint to the gendered stereotypes and identities of those subjects. PMID:20333274

An investigation of the impact of science course sequencing on student performance in high school science and math

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mary, Michael Todd

High school students in the United States for the past century have typically taken science courses in a sequence of biology followed by chemistry and concluding with physics. An alternative sequence, typically referred to as "physics first" inverts the traditional sequence by having students begin with physics and end with biology. Proponents of physics first cite advances in biological sciences that have dramatically changed the nature of high school biology and the potential benefit to student learning in math that would accompany taking an algebra-based physics course in the early years of high school to support changing the sequence. Using a quasi-experimental, quantitative research design, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of science course sequencing on student achievement in math and science at a school district that offered both course sequences. The Texas state end-of-course exams in biology, chemistry, physics, algebra I and geometry were used as the instruments measuring student achievement in math and science at the end of each academic year. Various statistical models were used to analyze these achievement data. The conclusion was, for students in this study, the sequence in which students took biology, chemistry, and physics had little or no impact on performance on the end-of-course assessments in each of these courses. Additionally there was only a minimal effect found with respect to math performance, leading to the conclusion that neither the traditional or "physics first" science course sequence presented an advantage for student achievement in math or science.

Exposing the Myth: Advanced Math Does Not Increase Drop out Rates. Math Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

A common argument against raising math course-taking requirements for all students is that it will cause more students to drop out of high school. But most students who drop out for academic reasons do so not because they are being "too challenged," but rather because they are not being challenged enough. It is important to raise the rigor and…

Putting the spark into physical science and algebra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pill, Bruce; Dagenais, Andre

2007-06-01

The presenters will describe a number of laboratory activities developed in collaboration with the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Delaware as part of their outreach program to help make math and science more authentic on the pre-college level. Lessons relating to electrical topics are often abstract and appropriate only for advanced students in math and science. We have devised lessons that rely on simple equipment. They promote skills that are included in National and State Standards. They emphasize the connections between math and science; they are appropriate for an algebra course, a physical science course, a PhysicsFirst course or a traditional physics course. Students benefit from seeing that what they learn in math and science courses can lead to cutting-edge work in areas such as passive wave imaging, photonics, wireless communication and high performance computing. The collaboration has been meaningful because it has motivated us to tailor our lessons to reflect what is happening in the research lab of our local university. Written materials for use in teacher training workshops will also be available.

The Effects of Participation in an Accelerated Academic Math Course on the Academic Performance of Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pond, Jeff G.

2017-01-01

Acceleration refers to placing students in advanced courses to meet their individual learning ability. The problem of focus in this study was that the increased placement of students in advanced courses was often associated with negative impacts, including a lack of readiness, as well as emotional and social immaturity. As such, the purpose of…

Do High School STEM Courses Prepare Non-College Bound Youth for Jobs in the STEM Economy?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bozick, Robert; Srinivasan, Sinduja; Gottfried, Michael

2017-01-01

Our study assesses whether high school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses provide non-college bound youth with the skills and training necessary to successfully transition from high school into the STEM economy. Specifically, our study estimates the effects that advanced math, advanced science, engineering, and…

Self-regulation, motivation, and math achievement in middle school: variations across grade level and math context.

PubMed

Cleary, Timothy J; Chen, Peggy P

2009-10-01

The current study examined grade level, achievement group, and math-course-type differences in student self-regulation and motivation in a sample of 880 suburban middle-school students. Analysis of variance was utilized to assess group differences in student self-regulation and motivation, and linear regression analysis was used to identify variables that best predicted students' use of regulatory strategies. A key finding was that although seventh graders exhibited a more maladaptive self-regulation and motivation profile than sixth graders, achievement groups in seventh grade (high, moderate, low) were more clearly differentiated across both self-regulation and motivation than achievement groups in sixth grade. The pattern of achievement group differences also varied across math course type, as self-regulation and motivation processes more consistently differentiated achievement groups in advanced classes than regular math courses. Finally, task interest was shown to be the primary motivational predictor of students' use of regulatory strategies during math learning. The study highlights the importance of identifying shifting student motivation and self-regulation during the early middle school years and the potential role that context may have on these processes.

The Efficacy of Academic Acceleration for Gifted Minority Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Seon-Young; Olszewski-Kubilius, Paula; Peternel, George

2010-01-01

This study supported the use of acceleration for gifted minority students in math. The gifted minority students in this study viewed taking accelerated math courses as exciting and beneficial for preparation for high school and college and particularly liked the challenges they encountered while taking advanced classes. They enjoyed working ahead…

Putting the “Spark” into Physical Science and Algebra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dagenais, Andre; Pill, B.

2006-12-01

The presenters will describe a number of laboratory activities developed in collaboration with the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Delaware as part of their outreach program to help make math and science more authentic on the pre-college level. Lessons relating to electrical topics are often abstract and appropriate only for advanced students in math and science. We have devised lessons that rely on simple equipment. They promote skills that are included in National and State Standards. They emphasize the connections between math and science; they are appropriate for an algebra course, a physical science course, a PhysicsFirst course or a traditional physics course. Students benefit from seeing that what they learn in math and science courses can lead to cutting-edge work in areas such as passive wave imaging, photonics, wireless communication and high performance computing. The collaboration has been meaningful because it has motivated us to tailor our lessons to reflect what is happening in the research lab of our local university. Written materials for use in teacher training workshops will also be available. Funded by NSF Research Experience for Teachers(RET #0322633) program under the direction of Dr. Dennis Prather, University of Delaware Electrical Engineering

The Psychosocial Factors Contributing to the Underrepresentation of African American Males in Advanced High School Mathematics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rowlett, Joel Everett

2013-01-01

This case study examined the beliefs of African American males on the psychosocial and pedagogical factors contributing to the underrepresentation of African American males in advanced high school math courses. Six 11th grade African American male juniors from a large, comprehensive, Southeastern high school served as individual cases. Within- and…

The Relationship between High School Math Courses, High School GPA, and Retention of Honors Scholarships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Megert, Diann Ackerman

2005-01-01

This research examined the high school transcripts of honors scholarship recipients to identify a better criterion for awarding scholarships than high school grade point average (GPA) alone. Specifically, this study compared the honors scholarship retention rate when the scholarship was awarded based on completed advanced high school math classes…

Assessing the Assessment: Access to Algebra in an Era of API

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lloyd, Jayson D.

2010-01-01

A high school education, which includes access to advanced math courses, has a positive effect on students. Math classes taken in high school show a relationship to higher salaries and college graduation rates. However, the high-stakes accountability system in California, redesigned in 2003 to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act…

Trigonometry and Advanced Math. De Soto Parish Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeSoto Parish School Board, Mansfield, LA.

The primary aim of this guide is to aid teachers in planning and preparing a senior high school mathematics course for students preparing for college work. It is divided into separate one-semester courses of seven chapters each. The first-semester course consists of a traditional approach to the introduction of trigonometry and trigonometric…

Math achievement is important, but task values are critical, too: examining the intellectual and motivational factors leading to gender disparities in STEM careers.

PubMed

Wang, Ming-Te; Degol, Jessica; Ye, Feifei

2015-01-01

Although young women now obtain higher course grades in math than boys and are just as likely to be enrolled in advanced math courses in high school, females continue to be underrepresented in some Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) occupations. This study drew on expectancy-value theory to assess (1) which intellectual and motivational factors in high school predict gender differences in career choices and (2) whether students' motivational beliefs mediated the pathway of gender on STEM career via math achievement by using a national longitudinal sample in the United States. We found that math achievement in 12th grade mediated the association between gender and attainment of a STEM career by the early to mid-thirties. However, math achievement was not the only factor distinguishing gender differences in STEM occupations. Even though math achievement explained career differences between men and women, math task value partially explained the gender differences in STEM career attainment that were attributed to math achievement. The identification of potential factors of women's underrepresentation in STEM will enhance our ability to design intervention programs that are optimally tailored to female needs to impact STEM achievement and occupational choices.

Math achievement is important, but task values are critical, too: examining the intellectual and motivational factors leading to gender disparities in STEM careers

PubMed Central

Wang, Ming-Te; Degol, Jessica; Ye, Feifei

2015-01-01

Although young women now obtain higher course grades in math than boys and are just as likely to be enrolled in advanced math courses in high school, females continue to be underrepresented in some Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) occupations. This study drew on expectancy-value theory to assess (1) which intellectual and motivational factors in high school predict gender differences in career choices and (2) whether students’ motivational beliefs mediated the pathway of gender on STEM career via math achievement by using a national longitudinal sample in the United States. We found that math achievement in 12th grade mediated the association between gender and attainment of a STEM career by the early to mid-thirties. However, math achievement was not the only factor distinguishing gender differences in STEM occupations. Even though math achievement explained career differences between men and women, math task value partially explained the gender differences in STEM career attainment that were attributed to math achievement. The identification of potential factors of women’s underrepresentation in STEM will enhance our ability to design intervention programs that are optimally tailored to female needs to impact STEM achievement and occupational choices. PMID:25741292

Math Readiness and Preparation for Competitive College Majors and Careers: The Case of Black Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Gail E.

This study examines factors that determine the enrollment of black students in the high school math courses (i.e., advanced algebra, trigonometry, calculus) that are necessary for competitive college and major field access. The data are from a local college survey of juniors and seniors who were enrolled in eight (8) local public and private…

The Math–Biology Values Instrument: Development of a Tool to Measure Life Science Majors’ Task Values of Using Math in the Context of Biology

PubMed Central

Andrews, Sarah E.; Runyon, Christopher; Aikens, Melissa L.

2017-01-01

In response to calls to improve the quantitative training of undergraduate biology students, there have been increased efforts to better integrate math into biology curricula. One challenge of such efforts is negative student attitudes toward math, which are thought to be particularly prevalent among biology students. According to theory, students’ personal values toward using math in a biological context will influence their achievement and behavioral outcomes, but a validated instrument is needed to determine this empirically. We developed the Math–Biology Values Instrument (MBVI), an 11-item college-level self-­report instrument grounded in expectancy-value theory, to measure life science students’ interest in using math to understand biology, the perceived usefulness of math to their life science career, and the cost of using math in biology courses. We used a process that integrates multiple forms of validity evidence to show that scores from the MBVI can be used as a valid measure of a student’s value of math in the context of biology. The MBVI can be used by instructors and researchers to help identify instructional strategies that influence math–biology values and understand how math–biology values are related to students’ achievement and decisions to pursue more advanced quantitative-based courses. PMID:28747355

Competitive Robotics Brings out the Best in Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caron, Darrell

2010-01-01

This article features Advanced Competitive Science (ACS), a two-year course introduced by a science teacher, Joe Pouliot, in 2004 at Trinity High School in Manchester, New Hampshire. More than a traditional STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) course, ACS harnesses the excitement of robotics competitions to promote student…

The Role of Mothers' Communication in Promoting Motivation for Math and Science Course-Taking in High School.

PubMed

Hyde, Janet S; Canning, Elizabeth A; Rozek, Christopher S; Clarke, Emily; Hulleman, Chris S; Harackiewicz, Judith M

2017-03-01

In the context of concerns about American youths' failure to take advanced math and science (MS) courses in high school, we examined mothers' communication with their adolescent about taking MS courses. At ninth grade, U.S. mothers (n = 130) were interviewed about their responses to hypothetical questions from their adolescent about the usefulness of algebra, geometry, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics. Responses were coded for elaboration and making personal connections to the adolescent. The number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses taken in 12th grade was obtained from school records. Mothers' use of personal connections predicted adolescents' MS interest and utility value, as well as actual MS course-taking. Parents can play an important role in motivating their adolescent to take MS courses. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Research on Adolescence © 2016 Society for Research on Adolescence.

Reaching the Next Stephen Hawking: Five Ways to Help Students with Disabilities in Advanced Placement Science Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Lori A.; Potts, Elizabeth A.; Linz, Ed

2013-01-01

As the federal government encourages all students to attempt advanced math and science courses, more students with disabilities are enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) science classes. AP science teachers can better serve these students by understanding the various types of disabilities (whether physical, learning, emotional, or behavioral),…

Where the girls aren't: High school girls and advanced placement physics enrollment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barton, Susan O'brien

During the high school years, when many students first have some choice in course selection, research indicates that girls choose to enroll in more math and science courses, take more advanced placement courses, and take more honors courses in English, biology, chemistry, mathematics, and foreign languages than ever before. Yet, not only are boys more likely to take all of the three core science courses (biology, chemistry, and physics), boys enroll in advanced placement physics approximately three times as often as do girls. This study examines the perceptions, attitudes, and aspirations of thirty high school girls enrolled in senior-level science electives in an attempt to understand their high school science course choices, and what factors were influencing them. This is a qualitative investigation employing constructivist grounded theory methods. There are two main contributions of this study. First, it presents a new conceptual and analytical framework to investigate the problem of why some high school girls do not enroll in physics coursework. This framework is grounded in the data and is comprised of three existing feminist perspectives along the liberal/radical continuum of feminist thought. Second, this study illuminates a complex set of reasons why participants avoided high school physics (particularly advanced placement physics) coursework. These reasons emerged as three broad categories related to: (a) a lack of connectedness with physics curriculum and instruction; (b) prior negative experiences with physics and math classroom climates; and (c) future academic goals and career aspirations. Taken together, the findings of this study indicate that the problem of high school girls and physics enrollment---particularly advanced placement physics enrollment---is a problem that cannot be evaluated or considered from one perspective.

Completing Algebra II in High School: Does It Increase College Access and Success?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jeongeun; Kim, Jiyun; DesJardins, Stephen L.; McCall, Brian P.

2015-01-01

Noting the benefits of mathematics in students' future educational attainment and labor market success, there is considerable interest in high school requirements in terms of course-taking in mathematics at the national, state, and school district level. Previous research indicates that taking advanced math courses in high school leads to positive…

The effect of the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program on increasing enrollment and performance on Advanced Placement science exams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramsey, Susan Brady

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of the National Math and Science Initiative's Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP) on the number of students taking AP science courses and their performance. The study evaluated 39 schools over a six-year period in six states that participate in the APTIP. The National Math and Science Initiative provided data for cohort I. A general linear model for repeated measures was used to evaluate the data. Data was evaluated three years prior to the intervention and three years during the intervention, which will actually continue for two more years (2012 and 2013) since cohort I schools were awarded five years of support. Students in APTIP schools enrolled in more AP science exams (AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, and AP Physics-B) over the course of the intervention. The quantity of students earning qualifying scores increased during the intervention years. APTIP is a multi-tiered program that includes seven days of teacher training, three six-hour student prep sessions, school equipment, reduced exam fees, and monetary incentives for students and teachers. This program positively impacted the quantity of enrollment and qualifying scores during the three years evaluated in this study. Increases in the number of female and African American students' test takers their and qualifying scores were seen in all three years of the APTIP intervention. This study supports the premise that the first step to increasing the Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline is giving access to advanced courses to more students in high schools.

The Math-Biology Values Instrument: Development of a Tool to Measure Life Science Majors' Task Values of Using Math in the Context of Biology.

PubMed

Andrews, Sarah E; Runyon, Christopher; Aikens, Melissa L

2017-01-01

In response to calls to improve the quantitative training of undergraduate biology students, there have been increased efforts to better integrate math into biology curricula. One challenge of such efforts is negative student attitudes toward math, which are thought to be particularly prevalent among biology students. According to theory, students' personal values toward using math in a biological context will influence their achievement and behavioral outcomes, but a validated instrument is needed to determine this empirically. We developed the Math-Biology Values Instrument (MBVI), an 11-item college-level self--report instrument grounded in expectancy-value theory, to measure life science students' interest in using math to understand biology, the perceived usefulness of math to their life science career, and the cost of using math in biology courses. We used a process that integrates multiple forms of validity evidence to show that scores from the MBVI can be used as a valid measure of a student's value of math in the context of biology. The MBVI can be used by instructors and researchers to help identify instructional strategies that influence math-biology values and understand how math-biology values are related to students' achievement and decisions to pursue more advanced quantitative-based courses. © 2017 S. E. Andrews et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Updating Algebra for All?: Evidence of a Middle-Grades Math Acceleration Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dougherty, Shaun M.; Goodman, Joshua; Hill, Darryl; Litke, Erica; Page, Lindsay

2014-01-01

The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) in North Carolina recently addressed the issue of advancement in and equitable access to advanced mathematics. Under a recent policy, WCPSS uses a SAS-generated predicted probabilities of students' success in obtaining a passing score on the NC Algebra I End-of-Course (EOC) exam, to determine…

Self-Regulation and Math Attitudes: Effects on Academic Performance in Developmental Math Courses at a Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Otts, Cynthia D.

2010-01-01

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship among math attitudes, self-regulated learning, and course outcomes in developmental math. Math attitudes involved perceived usefulness of math and math anxiety. Self-regulated learning represented the ability of students to control cognitive, metacognitive, and behavioral aspects of…

Importance of Grades and Placement for Math Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tyson, Will; Roksa, Josipa

2017-01-01

Research on high school math course taking documents the advantages of starting high school at or beyond Algebra 1. Fewer studies examine differentiation into remedial, general, and honors Algebra 1 course types by course rigor. This study examines how course grades and course rigor are associated with math attainment among students with similar…

A Worked Example for Creating Worked Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGinn, Kelly M.; Lange, Karin E.; Booth, Julie L.

2015-01-01

Researchers have extensively documented, and math teachers know from experience, that algebra is a "gatekeeper" to more advanced mathematical topics. Students must have a strong understanding of fundamental algebraic concepts to be successful in later mathematics courses. Unfortunately, algebraic misconceptions that students may form or…

Math remediation intervention for student success in the algebra-based introductory physics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forrest, Rebecca L.; Stokes, Donna W.; Burridge, Andrea B.; Voight, Carol D.

2017-12-01

Pretesting and early intervention measures to identify and remediate at-risk students were implemented in algebra-based introductory physics to help improve student success rates. Pretesting via a math and problem-solving diagnostic exam administered at the beginning of the course was employed to identify at-risk students based on their scores. At-risk students were encouraged to utilize an online math tutorial to increase their chances of passing the course. The tutorial covers the same math topics covered by the diagnostic exam. Results from 643 students enrolled in the course showed that the 61 at-risk students who successfully completed the math tutorial increased their odds of passing the course by roughly 4 times those of the at-risk students who did not. This intervention is easily implemented, short term, and can be administered concurrently with the course. Based on these results, the Department of Physics has implemented the math tutorials in all sections of the introductory algebra as well as the calculus-based physics courses.

A Correlation of Community College Math Readiness and Student Success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Jayna Nicole

Although traditional college students are more prepared for college-level math based on college admissions tests, little data have been collected on nontraditional adult learners. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between math placement tests and community college students' success in math courses and persistence to degree or certificate completion. Guided by Tinto's theory of departure and student retention, the research questions addressed relationships and predictability of math Computer-adaptive Placement Assessment and Support System (COMPASS) test scores and students' performance in math courses, persistence in college, and degree completion. After conducting correlation and regression analyses, no significant relationships were identified between COMPASS Math test scores and students' performance (n = 234) in math courses, persistence in college, or degree completion. However, independent t test and chi-squared analyses of the achievements of college students who tested into Basic Math (n = 138) vs. Introduction to Algebra (n = 96) yielded statistically significant differences in persistence (p = .039), degree completion (p < .001), performance (p = .008), and progress ( p = .001), indicating students who tested into Introduction to Algebra were more successful and persisted more often to degree completion. In order to improve instructional methods for Basic Math courses, a 3-day professional development workshop was developed for math faculty focusing on current, best practices in remedial math instruction. Implications for social change include providing math faculty with the knowledge and skills to develop new instructional methods for remedial math courses. A change in instructional methods may improve community college students' math competencies and degree achievement.

The Design and Analysis of a Complete Hierarchical Interface for the Multi-Backend Database System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

Change the prerequisite of Course# 4 from Math to Discrete Math . The DL/I call to accomplish this is as follows: GHU COURSE (COURSE# = 𔃾’) PREREQ change...title to ’ Discrete Math ’ in I/O work area REPL The interface would respond to this call by treating the Get Hold Unique call as a Get Unique call...4) & (PREREQ.COURSE# = COURSE#1)) <TITLE = DISCRETE MATH > Upon execution of this request, the call is completed. 61 VI. IMPLEMENTATION CONCERNS AND

Exploring Bias in Math Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Ability by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

PubMed Central

Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Humphries, Melissa

2013-01-01

This study explores whether gender stereotypes about math ability shape high school teachers’ assessments of the students with whom they interact daily, resulting in the presence of conditional bias. It builds on theories of intersectionality by exploring teachers’ perceptions of students in different gender and racial/ethnic subgroups, and advances the literature on the salience of gender across contexts by considering variation across levels of math course-taking in the academic hierarchy. Utilizing nationally representative data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), analyses reveal that disparities in teachers’ perceptions of ability that favored white males over minority students of both genders are explained away by student achievement in the form of test scores and grades. However, we find evidence of a consistent bias against white females which, although relatively small in magnitude, suggests that teachers hold the belief that math is easier for white males than it is for white females. We also find some evidence of variation across course level contexts with regard to bias. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for research on the construction of gender inequality. PMID:24187437

A Double Dose of Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cortes, Kalena; Nomi, Takako; Goodman, Joshua

2013-01-01

In 2008, president-elect Barack Obama declared that preparing the nation for the "21st-century economy" required making "math and science education a national priority." Encouraging more students to take advanced classes seems laudable, but concerns have arisen about the ability of many students to complete such course work…

Accelerating Mathematics Achievement Using Heterogeneous Grouping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burris, Carol Corbett; Heubert, Jay P.; Levin, Henry M.

2006-01-01

This longitudinal study examined the effects of providing an accelerated mathematics curriculum in heterogeneously grouped middle school classes in a diverse suburban school district. A quasi-experimental cohort design was used to evaluate subsequent completion of advanced high school math courses as well as academic achievement. Results showed…

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Remedial Mathematics at the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Daysha Monique

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of remedial math courses at the community college level through an examination of short-term academic success variables. For the purposes of this study, short-term academic success was defined as passing required remedial math course(s) and the first college-level math course with a C or…

The Impact of an Elementary Algebra Course on Success in a College-Level Liberal Arts Math Course and Persistence in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Lori Ann

2017-01-01

Many students enter community college underprepared for college-level math and are placed into developmental elementary algebra without consideration if the algebra will provide a foundation for their needed college-level math course. Large percentages of those students are unable to succeed in the developmental course and, therefore, are unable…

Analyses of Trends in High School Students' Math-Science Course Credit Attainment and Registrations in Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeng, Liang; Poelzer, G. Herold

2016-01-01

This study describes the trends in course credit attainment (CCA) of high school students in required and non-required science and math courses and trends in registration in non-required science and math courses in Texas between 1997 and 2009. Using Texas Public Education Information Management System data between 1997 and 2009, it presents…

Explaining Math Achievement: Personality, Motivation, and Trust

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilic-Bebek, Ebru

2009-01-01

This study investigated the statistical significance of student trust next to the well-tested constructs of personality and motivation to determine whether trust is a significant predictor of course achievement in college math courses. Participants were 175 students who were taking undergraduate math courses in an urban public university. The…

An Integration of Math with Auto Technician Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valenzuela, Hector

2012-01-01

This article describes the development of the contextualized math, the course design, student teaching and daily interaction with the students, and the implementation aspects of the research project designed to develop contextualized mathematics and integrate it into the Auto Technician courses. The applied math curriculum was integrated into…

Individual Differences Related to College Students' Course Performance in Calculus II

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Sara A.; Daucourt, Mia; Ganley, Colleen M.

2017-01-01

In this study, we explore student achievement in a semester-long flipped Calculus II course, combining various predictor measures related to student attitudes (math anxiety, math confidence, math interest, math importance) and cognitive skills (spatial skills, approximate number system), as well as student engagement with the online system…

Preparing for Local Labor: Curricular Stratification across Local Economies in the United States

PubMed Central

Sutton, April

2017-01-01

I investigate how the educational demands of local labor markets shape high school course offerings and student course taking. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 linked to the U.S. Census 2000, I focus on local economic variation in the share of jobs that do not demand a bachelor’s degree. I find that schools in local labor markets with higher concentrations of subbaccalaureate jobs devote a larger share of their course offerings to career and technical education (CTE) courses and a smaller share to advanced college-preparatory courses compared to schools in labor markets with lower concentrations of subbaccalaureate jobs, even net of school resources. Students in labor markets with higher concentrations of subbaccalaureate jobs take greater numbers of CTE courses, and higher-achieving students in these labor markets are less likely to take advanced math and Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate courses. These course-taking disparities are largely due to school course offerings. This study shows how local economic inequalities shape high school curricular stratification, and suggests that school curricula linked to the educational demands of local jobs delimits the college preparation opportunities of high-achieving students. PMID:29531407

Preparing for Local Labor: Curricular Stratification across Local Economies in the United States.

PubMed

Sutton, April

2017-04-01

I investigate how the educational demands of local labor markets shape high school course offerings and student course taking. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 linked to the U.S. Census 2000, I focus on local economic variation in the share of jobs that do not demand a bachelor's degree. I find that schools in local labor markets with higher concentrations of subbaccalaureate jobs devote a larger share of their course offerings to career and technical education (CTE) courses and a smaller share to advanced college-preparatory courses compared to schools in labor markets with lower concentrations of subbaccalaureate jobs, even net of school resources. Students in labor markets with higher concentrations of subbaccalaureate jobs take greater numbers of CTE courses, and higher-achieving students in these labor markets are less likely to take advanced math and Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate courses. These course-taking disparities are largely due to school course offerings. This study shows how local economic inequalities shape high school curricular stratification, and suggests that school curricula linked to the educational demands of local jobs delimits the college preparation opportunities of high-achieving students.

Do the Math: Course Redesign's Impact on Learning and Scheduling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Squires, John; Faulkner, Jerry; Hite, Carl

2009-01-01

The math department at Cleveland State Community College embarked upon course redesign in 2008. As a result of this project, student engagement, learning, and success rates have increased dramatically. By including both developmental and college level math courses in the redesign, the department has been able to implement innovative scheduling and…

Applied Math. Course Materials: Math 111, 112, 113. Seattle Tech Prep Applied Academics Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

South Seattle Community Coll., Washington.

This publication contains materials for three courses in Applied Math in the Applied Academics program at South Seattle Community College. It begins with the article, "Community College Applied Academics: The State of the Art?" (George B. Neff), which describes the characteristics, model, courses, and coordination activity that make up…

Basic Math Skills and Performance in an Introductory Statistics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Marianne; Kuennen, Eric

2006-01-01

We identify the student characteristics most associated with success in an introductory business statistics class, placing special focus on the relationship between student math skills and course performance, as measured by student grade in the course. To determine which math skills are important for student success, we examine (1) whether the…

Preliminary Success and Retention Rates in Selected Math Courses. Research Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuesta Coll., San Luis Obispo, CA. Matriculation and Research Services.

This report presents findings of exploratory research on success, retention, and persistence in math courses at Cuesta College. The following research questions were addressed: (1) How do success rates in Math 23 (elementary algebra) and Math 27 (intermediate algebra) compare with traditional and computer-assisted formats? (2) What are the…

Students' confidence in the ability to transfer basic math skills in introductory physics and chemistry courses at a community college

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, Reginald

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the confidence levels that community college students have in transferring basic math skills to science classes, as well as any factors that influence their confidence levels. This study was conducted with 196 students at a community college in central Mississippi. The study was conducted during the month of November after all of the students had taken their midterm exams and received midterm grades. The instrument used in this survey was developed and validated by the researcher. The instrument asks the students to rate how confident they were in working out specific math problems and how confident they were in working problems using those specific math skills in physics and chemistry. The instrument also provided an example problem for every confidence item. Results revealed that students' demographics were significant predictors in confidence scores. Students in the 18-22 year old range were less confident in solving math problems than others. Students who had retaken a math course were less confident than those who had not. Chemistry students were less confident in solving math problems than those in physics courses. Chemistry II students were less confident than those in Chemistry I and Principals of Chemistry. Students were least confident in solving problems involving logarithms and the most confident in solving algebra problems. In general, students felt that their math courses did not prepare them for the math problems encountered in science courses. There was no significant difference in confidence between students who had completed their math homework online and those who had completed their homework on paper. The researcher recommends that chemistry educators find ways of incorporating more mathematics in their courses especially logarithms and slope. Furthermore, math educators should incorporate more chemistry related applications to math class. Results of hypotheses testing, conclusions, discussions, and recommendations for future research are included.

The Effect of Instructional Strategies on Math Anxiety and Achievement: A Mixed Methods Study of Preservice Elementary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorenzen, Janelle K.

2017-01-01

This study addressed how different instructional strategies affected preservice elementary teachers' levels of math anxiety and their achievement in a math content course while considering descriptions of their experiences in the course in relation to their math anxiety and achievement. The instructional strategies used were traditional teaching…

Examining Students' Math Course-Taking and Educational Outcomes in the Garden Grove Unified School District (Year 1). Issue Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biag, Manuelito; Williams, Imeh

2014-01-01

Research demonstrates that students' success in rigorous middle and high school math courses is positively associated with their admission to college, earnings later in life, and career prospects. The sequential nature of math course-taking, however, can create an opportunity structure that puts certain students at a disadvantage, specifically…

The Labor Market Returns to Math Courses in Community College. A CAPSEE Working Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belfield, Clive; Liu, Vivian Yuen Ting

2015-01-01

This paper examines the returns to math courses relative to courses in other subjects for students in community college. Using matched college transcript and earnings data on over 80,000 students entering community college during the 2000s, we find that college-level math coursework has an indirect positive effect on award completion that is…

The Effects of Guided Discussion on Math Anxiety Levels, Course Performance, and Retention in a College Algebra Internet Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emig, Christa

2009-01-01

The study sought to test the hypotheses that effective, guided discussions that facilitate meaningful dialogue about math anxiety would reduce levels of math anxiety in college algebra students, and would enhance course performance and course retention at a large community college in South Texas. The study was quantitative with a qualitative…

Math Refresher Workshop Series as an Aid to Registrants of a College Level Math Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, Vivian; And Others

Because the failure rate for Math 110 (a college algebra course for non-science/technology-oriented majors at the University of Maryland) was so high, it was decided to offer selected registrants the opportunity to take a free refresher workshop series to improve their mathematics skills before they took the course. In summer 1985, 809 students…

Are There Academic CTE Cluster Pipelines? Linking High School CTE Coursetaking and Postsecondary Credentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plasman, Jay S.; Gottfried, Michael; Sublett, Cameron

2017-01-01

Career and technical education (CTE) has become a key focus of stakeholders across the political spectrum. It has been shown to be an effective means of promoting many desired outcomes, including increased chances of high school graduation, improved opportunities of enrolling in advanced math and science courses, and increased earnings after high…

Designing a Site to Embed and to Interact with Wolfram Alpha Widgets in Math and Sciences Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cepeda, Francisco Javier Delgado; Acosta, Ruben Dario Santiago

2014-01-01

This paper reports design and implementation outcomes at middle development advance of an educative program based on use and construction of widgets on Wolfram Alpha platform at higher education level for engineering and sciences areas. Widgets were based on Physics and Mathematics curricula under Project Oriented Learning and Blended Learning…

Courses on the Beauty of Mathematics: Our Version of General Education Mathematics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rash, Agnes M.; Fillebrown, Sandra

2016-01-01

This article describes various courses designed to incorporate mathematical proofs into courses for non-math and non-science majors. These courses, nicknamed "math beauty" courses, are designed to discuss one topic in-depth rather than to introduce many topics at a superficial level. A variety of courses, each requiring students to…

The Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment in non-Astro 101 Courses II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkman, Thomas W.; Jensen, Ellen

2017-06-01

The Quantitative Reasoning for College Science (QuaRCS) Assessment[1] aims to measure the pre-algebra mathematical skills that are often part of "general education" science courses like Astro 101. In four majors STEM classes, we report comparisons between QuaRCS metrics, ACT math, GPAO, and the course grade. In three of four classes QuaRCS QR score and ACT math were statistically significantly correlated (with r˜.6), however in the fourth course —a senior-level microbiology course— there was no statistically significantly correlation (in fact, r<0). In all courses —even in courses with seemingly little quantitative content— course grade was statistically significantly correlated to GPAO and QR. A QuaRCS metric aiming to report the students belief in the importance of math in science was seen to grow with the course level. Pre/post QuaRCS testing in Physics courses showed fractional sigma gains in QR, self-estimated math fluency and math importance, but not all of those increases were statistically significant. Using a QuaRCS map relating the questions to skill areas, we found graph reading, percentages, and proportional reasoning to be the most misunderstood skills in all four courses.[1] QuaRCS, Follette, et al.,2015, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.8.2.2

Course Placement Series: Spotlight on High School Math Course Enrollment. Policy Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennessee Department of Education, 2015

2015-01-01

The Tennessee Department of Education explored course enrollment patterns in an effort to better understand in which courses students are enrolling and whether course enrollment policies and procedures are promoting students' interests. This report focuses on math course enrollment patterns throughout high school by following the 2013-14 twelfth…

Assessing the Effectiveness of a Learning Community Course Design to Improve the Math Performance of First-Year Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Michele J.; Meshulam, Susan; Parker, Brooke

2013-01-01

National attention is focused on the persistent high failure rates for students enrolled in math courses, and the search for strategies to change these outcomes is on. This study used a mixed-method research design to assess the effectiveness of a learning community course designed to improve the math performance levels of firstyear students.…

Preparing Potential Teachers for the Transition from Employment to Teacher Training: An Evaluative Case Study of a Maths Enhancement Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Steve; Gay, Jane; Atkins, Nigel; Marks-Maran, Diane

2008-01-01

In response to a UK government drive to improve maths teaching in schools, the South West London Maths Enhancement Course (MEC) has been set up through collaboration between three higher education institutions (HEIs) to provide an efficient route for non-maths graduates in employment to upgrade their subject knowledge and give a smooth transition…

Understanding Faculty Perceptions in Undergraduate Online Math Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bertram, Mary

2017-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to understand how online undergraduate math instructors perceive student learning in the online learning environment. With significantly higher attrition rates in online math courses, researchers should seek to identify instructional elements that could potentially lead to increased…

Aloha Teachers: Teacher Autonomy Support Promotes Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Students' Motivation, School Belonging, Course-Taking and Math Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Froiland, John Mark; Davison, Mark L.; Worrell, Frank C.

2016-01-01

Among 110 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, teacher autonomy support in 9th grade significantly predicted intrinsic motivation for math in 9th grade as well as math course-taking over the next 2 years, both of which in turn significantly predicted math achievement by 11th grade. In a second model, teacher autonomy support was positively…

Do We Need Remedial College Math Courses?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hughes, Anne O.; Khatri, D.

2006-12-01

Entering college freshmen, in increasing numbers, in practically every public institution of higher learning are in need of one or two remedial math courses. This is particularly a big problem at the Historically Black Colleges and Universities where a large number of remedial math course sections are offered to meet the growing demand for such courses. For most of these students, graduation is delayed by at least a year. In addition, these students continue to be taught by teaching methodologies that did not work for them even in high schools resulting in disgust and hatred for math. This situation makes entry for these students into STEM areas difficult and is the perfect recipe for failure in STEM disciplines if they enroll in college level courses. The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is no exception. A first attempt was made in summer 2006 to remedy this situation. The problem for this exploratory research study was to ascertain if a short, intensive six-week project in basic math and introductory algebra would produce a recognizable improvement in the math performance of entering UDC freshmen students as measured by the UDC math placement test. The results are eye opening. On the pre-test for basic math (005), the mean score for the group (N=10) was 35.6, with the passing score being 70. On the post-test, the mean increased to 63.4 showing an improvement of 78 percent. The authors will present the results of this research study at the conference

Function Plotters for Secondary Math Teachers. A MicroSIFT Quarterly Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weaver, Dave; And Others

This report examines mathematical graphing utilities or function plotters for use in introductory algebra classes of more advanced courses. Each product selected for inclusion in this report is able to construct the graph of a given equation on the screen and serves as a utility which may be used by the student for an open-ended exploration of a…

Advanced Placement Math and Science Courses: Influential Factors and Predictors for Success in College STEM Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoepner, Cynthia Colon

2010-01-01

President Obama has recently raised awareness on the need for our nation to grow a larger pool of students with knowledge in science mathematics, engineering, and technology (STEM). Currently, while the number of women pursuing college degrees continues to rise, there remains an under-representation of women in STEM majors across the country.…

A Comparison of Online and Classroom-Based Developmental Math Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eggert, Jeanette Gibeson

2009-01-01

Effectiveness was operationalized as a combination of successful developmental course completion, high student satisfaction at the end of the course, and high academic achievement in a subsequent college-level math course. Instructional methodologies were similar to the extent that the instructional delivery systems allowed. With a sample size of…

It is not known the impact or implications of a study skills class and its effect on high school students in relation to performance on math and science Georgia High School Graduation Test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Mary E.

The Georgia State Board of Education has put in place requirements that high school students must meet in order to advance to a higher grade level and to achieve credits for graduation. Georgia requires all ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders to take an end-of-course test after completing class time for academic core subjects. The student's final grade in the end-of-course test course will be calculated using the course grade as 85% and the end-of-course test score as 15%. The student must have a final course grade of 70 or above to pass the course and to earn credit toward graduation. Students in Georgia are required to take the Georgia High School Graduation Test. The tests consist of five parts, writing, math, science, social studies and language arts. Students must make a minimum score of 500 which indicates the student was proficient in mastering the objectives for that particular section of the test. Not all students finish high school in four years due to obstacles that occur. Tutorial sessions are provided for those that wish to participate. High schools may offer study skills classes for students that need extra help in focusing their attention on academic courses. Study skill courses provide the student with techniques that he or she may find useful in organizing thoughts and procedures that direct the student towards success.

A study of the factors affecting advancement and graduation for engineering students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, John Thomas

The purpose of this study was, first, to determine whether a set of predictor variables could be identified from pre-enrollment and post-enrollment data that would differentiate students who advance to a major in engineering from non-advancers and, further, to determine if the predictor variables would differentiate students who graduate from the College of Engineering from non-graduates and graduates of other colleges at Auburn University. A second purpose was to determine if the predictor variables would correctly identify male and female students with the same degree of accuracy. The third purpose was to determine if there were significant relationships between the predictor variables studied and grades earned in a set of 15 courses that have enrollments over 100 students and are part of the pre-engineering curriculum. The population for this study was the 868 students who entered the pre-engineering program at Auburn University as freshmen during the Summer and Fall Quarters of 1991. The variables selected to differentiate the different groups were ACT scores, high school grade indices, and first quarter college grade point average. Two sets of classification matrices were developed using analysis and holdout samples that were divided based on sex. With respect to the question about advancement to the professional engineering program, structure coefficients derived from discriminant analysis procedures performed on all the cases combined indicated that first quarter college grade point average, high school math index, ACT math score, and high school science grade index were important predictor variables in classifying students who advanced to the professional engineering program and those who did not. Further, important structure coefficients with respect to graduation with a degree from the College of Engineering were first quarter college grade point average, high school math index, ACT math score, and high school science grade index. The results of this study indicated that significant differences existed in the model's ability to predict advancement and graduation for male and female students. This difference was not unexpected based on the male-dominated population. However, the models identified predicted at a high rate for both male and female students. Finally, many significant relationships were found to exist between the predictor variables and the 15 pre-engineering courses that were selected. The strength of the relationships ranged from a high of .82, p < .001 (Chemistry 103 grade with total high school grade index) to a low of .07, p > .05 (Chemistry 102 with ACT science score).

Successful Developmental Math Students in Traditional Format and Online Delivery: A Comparative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Jeremy Lloyd

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare student performance in online and traditional classroom based developmental math courses at Texas community colleges. This study specifically examined: (a) student performance in both delivery methods, (b) students who successfully completed the developmental math course, and (c) student performance in the…

Laying the Foundations: Early Findings from the New Mathways Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zachry Rutschow, Elizabeth; Diamond, John

2015-01-01

National studies reveal that 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students are required to take developmental, or remedial, math courses upon enrollment, and only 20 percent of developmental math students ever successfully complete a college-level math course. Taking up the challenge is the "New Mathways Project" (NMP),…

Taking Math Outside of the Classroom: Math in the City

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radu, Petronela

2013-01-01

Math in the City is an interdisciplinary mathematics course offered at University of Nebraska-Lincoln in which students engage in a real-world experience to understand current major societal issues of local and national interest. The course is run in collaboration with local businesses, research centers, and government organizations, that provide…

Combining Basic Business Math and Electronic Calculators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merchant, Ronald

As a means of alleviating math anxiety among business students and of improving their business machine skills, Spokane Falls Community College offers a course in which basic business math skills are mastered through the use of desk top calculators. The self-paced course, which accommodates varying student skill levels, requires students to: (1)…

Building on the foundation for an engineering career

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Susan; White, Ruth

1994-01-01

A predictable and preventable hurdle stops a majority of young women from entering the scientific and technical fields. This cuts down the individual's career possibilities and cuts in half the pool of potential U.S. engineers later available to industry. The waste of talent does not advance our country's competitive position. The typical American adolescent girl has acquired all the basic mathematical skills needed to pursue science and math, but, from adolescence on, she does not build the foundation of science and math courses that she would need later in life to work in engineering. Several questions are addressed: Why are some young women stopped cold in their mathematical tracks during adolescence? What is the influence of psychology, including discussion of the personality traits quantifiably shared by women in technical fields? and How should the school system adapt to keep their female charges learning math and science?

Innovative Math for Liberal Arts Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strasser, Nora

2011-01-01

An innovative Math for Liberal Arts course was designed to provide liberal arts students with the life skills necessary to survive in the 21st century. The course emphasizes application driven mathematics. This course has been successful in changing students' perceptions of the usefulness of the course and improving student success rate as well as…

Online Interactive Teaching Modules Enhance Quantitative Proficiency of Introductory Biology Students

PubMed Central

Nelson, Kären C.; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Keller, Michael; Fagan, William F.

2010-01-01

There is widespread agreement within the scientific and education communities that undergraduate biology curricula fall short in providing students with the quantitative and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills they need to obtain a deep understanding of biological phenomena and be prepared fully to contribute to future scientific inquiry. MathBench Biology Modules were designed to address these needs through a series of interactive, Web-based modules that can be used to supplement existing course content across the biological sciences curriculum. The effect of the modules was assessed in an introductory biology course at the University of Maryland. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant increases in quantitative skills that were independent of previous math course work. Students also showed increased comfort with solving quantitative problems, whether or not they ultimately arrived at the correct answer. A survey of spring 2009 graduates indicated that those who had experienced MathBench in their course work had a greater appreciation for the role of mathematics in modern biology than those who had not used MathBench. MathBench modules allow students from diverse educational backgrounds to hone their quantitative skills, preparing them for more complex mathematical approaches in upper-division courses. PMID:20810959

Online interactive teaching modules enhance quantitative proficiency of introductory biology students.

PubMed

Thompson, Katerina V; Nelson, Kären C; Marbach-Ad, Gili; Keller, Michael; Fagan, William F

2010-01-01

There is widespread agreement within the scientific and education communities that undergraduate biology curricula fall short in providing students with the quantitative and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills they need to obtain a deep understanding of biological phenomena and be prepared fully to contribute to future scientific inquiry. MathBench Biology Modules were designed to address these needs through a series of interactive, Web-based modules that can be used to supplement existing course content across the biological sciences curriculum. The effect of the modules was assessed in an introductory biology course at the University of Maryland. Over the course of the semester, students showed significant increases in quantitative skills that were independent of previous math course work. Students also showed increased comfort with solving quantitative problems, whether or not they ultimately arrived at the correct answer. A survey of spring 2009 graduates indicated that those who had experienced MathBench in their course work had a greater appreciation for the role of mathematics in modern biology than those who had not used MathBench. MathBench modules allow students from diverse educational backgrounds to hone their quantitative skills, preparing them for more complex mathematical approaches in upper-division courses.

Using a Math Pre-Test in a Large General Education Geoscience Course: How Effective?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, R. M.

2006-12-01

Teaching large (150 or more students) General Education Geoscience courses presents many challenges, but one of the most important is how to effectively incorporate quantitative literacy. Many students are math phobic, and will run to General Education courses that minimize quantitative aspects. I will present results from one approach that we have used successfully for at least two years: a math pre-test. Our General Education Geoscience course has no prerequisites other than admission to the University, and is designed for first and second year non-science students. Fortunately, with limited exceptions, all entering students at the University of Arizona take a Math Readiness Test (MRT) for math placement. With the cooperation of the Mathematics Department, we have used old MRT exams to selectively use questions that are of the highest utility for the course material `understanding graphs, linear equations and extrapolations, scientific notation and large numbers, word problems, and scaling/unit conversions. We administer the exam in the first discussion section. Students receive full credit for a `serious effort', and we score the exam. In recent semesters the percentage of correct answers has varied from just under 50% to nearly 90% on individual questions. The pre-test has several important benefits. First, it lets students know clearly up front that there will be mathematics in the class. Second, it lets students know the range of skills expected to be successful. Third, because the average score is between 70-80% it gives students confidence that they can do the math in the course. Fourth, we contact all students who score less than 50%, and offer help, including referral to tutoring service in Mathematics. Feedback from students has been positive. Unfortunately, when we compared scores on the math pre-test to final grades in the course, we found essentially no correlation. We are exploring a number of possible explanations. We are also seeing if our math pre-test scores correlate with the initial MRT score, and overall student success.

Establishing Astronomy in the Curriculum at a Teacher Preparation College: Some Successes and Some Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, L. M.; Borkovitz, D.

1999-12-01

At Wheelock College, a liberal arts college in Boston which prepares students for careers in elementary and early childhood teaching and social work, we are developing science and mathematics courses designed to prepare our students for their work with children while teaching them adult-level math and science. Our students arrive with varying skill levels and, often, a great deal of math and science anxiety. We must address the anxiety in order for the students to make progress as learners and, eventually, teachers of math and science. Two courses have been notable successes. A one-semester course entitled The Solar System has become a staple in the curriculum. Major topics covered include finding our way around the sky, the nature of light and color, the size and scale of the solar system, and the causes of the Earth’s seasons and the phases of the moon. Students report that it changes their minds about how science can be taught by modeling a style of teaching which is more interactive than the way they were taught. In the graduate school, astronomy is the focus for a course entitled Teaching and Learning. Co-taught by an education faculty member and an astronomer, the course immerses students in learning a new content area and asks them to consider their own learning process. Observations play an important role here, with students keeping journals of their own sky observations. We also describe two challenges. One is the establishment of more advanced courses; although an astrophysics class has been offered twice to overwhelmingly positive student reviews, it is not easy to “sell”. The other challenge is the establishment of an introductory level course in stars and galaxies for non-science majors. This work has been supported in part by a grant from the DUE of the National Science Foundation.

Improving quantitative skills in introductory geoscience courses at a four-year public institution using online math modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, E. S.

2011-12-01

Fitchburg State University has a diverse student population comprised largely of students traditionally underrepresented in higher education, including first-generation, low-income, and/or students with disabilities. Approximately half of our incoming students require developmental math coursework, but often enroll in science classes prior to completing those courses. Since our introductory geoscience courses (Oceanography, Meteorology, Geology, Earth Systems Science) do not have prerequisites, many students who take them lack basic math skills, but are taking these courses alongside science majors. In order to provide supplemental math instruction without sacrificing time for content, "The Math You Need, When You Need It (TMYN), a set of online math tutorials placed in a geoscience context, will be implemented in three of our introductory courses (Oceanography, Meteorology, and Earth Systems Science) during Fall, 2011. Students will complete 5-6 modules asynchronously, the topics of which include graphing skills, calculating rates, unit conversions, and rearranging equations. Assessment of quantitative skills will be tracked with students' pre- and post-test results, as well as individual module quiz scores. In addition, student assessment results from Oceanography will be compared to student data from Academic Year 2010-11, during which quantitative skills were evaluated with pre- and post-test questions, but students did not receive online supplemental instruction.

Basic Math I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer County Community Coll., Trenton, NJ.

This document offers instructional materials for a 60-hour course on basic math operations involving decimals, fractions, and proportions as applied in the workplace. The course, part of a workplace literacy project developed by Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) and its partners, contains the following: course outline; 17 lesson…

A Comparative Study of Student Achievement in Remedial Math Courses through Online and Traditional Delivery Modes at Northwest Mississippi Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Keith Deon

2017-01-01

This study focused on student achievement in remedial math through online and traditional delivery modes at Northwest Mississippi Community College. Student participants were interviewed through a semi-structured interview process to determine perceived influences and challenges that affected success in remedial math courses. The perceived…

Investigation of Remedial Education Course Scores as a Predictor of Introduction-Level Course Performances

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ulmer, Ward; Means, Darris R.; Cawthon, Tony W.; Kristensen, Sheryl A.

2016-01-01

This study explores whether performance in remedial English and remedial math is a predictor of success in a college-level introduction English or college-level math class; and whether demographic variables increase the likelihood of remedial English and remedial math as a predictor of success in a college-level introduction English or…

Peer Learning as a Tool to Strengthen Math Skills in Introductory Chemistry Laboratories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Srougi, Melissa C.; Miller, Heather B.

2018-01-01

Math skills vary greatly among students enrolled in introductory chemistry courses. Students with weak math skills (algebra and below) tend to perform poorly in introductory chemistry courses, which is correlated with increased attrition rates. Previous research has shown that retention of main ideas in a peer learning environment is greater when…

Academic Progress in Developmental Math Courses: A Comparative Study of Student Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Silverman, Loretta H.

2010-01-01

The majority of college students are not ready for college-level math courses, which, when completed, have been shown to increase graduation and transfer rates among college students. To address this problem, the Math My Way (MMW) program was developed to integrate module-based curriculum and mastery learning approaches. The purpose of this study…

The Effects of Self-Regulated Learning Training on Community College Students' Metacognition and Achievement in Developmental Math Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bol, Linda; Campbell, Karen D. Y.; Perez, Tony; Yen, Cherng-Jyh

2016-01-01

The effects of training in self-regulation on metacognition and math achievement were investigated. The participants were 116 community college students enrolled in developmental math courses. Students enrolled in 16 classrooms were randomly assigned to the treatment and control groups. Participants in the treatment group completed four…

Flipping the Math Classroom for Non-Math Majors to Enrich Their Learning Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heuett, William J.

2017-01-01

Students' learning experiences in an introductory statistics course for non-math majors are compared between two different instructional approaches under controlled conditions. Two sections of the course (n = 52) are taught using a flipped classroom approach and one section (n = 30) is taught using a traditional lecture approach. All sections are…

College Math Assessment: SAT Scores vs. College Math Placement Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foley-Peres, Kathleen; Poirier, Dawn

2008-01-01

Many colleges and university's use SAT math scores or math placement tests to place students in the appropriate math course. This study compares the use of math placement scores and SAT scores for 188 freshman students. The student's grades and faculty observations were analyzed to determine if the SAT scores and/or college math assessment scores…

Assessing Course Redesign: The Case of Developmental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ariovich, Laura; Walker, Sadé A.

2014-01-01

Higher education institutions have taken to redesigning high-enrollment, introductory courses to improve student learning outcomes, student success, and degree completion. This paper presents findings from the assessment of course redesign by focusing on the case of developmental math at a large community college. The college adopted…

Motivation and Math Anxiety for Ability Grouped College Math Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helming, Luralyn

2013-01-01

The author studied how math anxiety, motivation, and ability group interact to affect performance in college math courses. This clarified the effects of math anxiety and ability grouping on performance. It clarified the interrelationships between math anxiety, motivation, and ability grouping by considering them in a single analysis. It introduces…

Math Anxiety, Working Memory, and Math Achievement in Early Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramirez, Gerardo; Gunderson, Elizabeth A.; Levine, Susan C.; Beilock, Sian L.

2013-01-01

Although math anxiety is associated with poor mathematical knowledge and low course grades (Ashcraft & Krause, 2007), research establishing a connection between math anxiety and math achievement has generally been conducted with young adults, ignoring the emergence of math anxiety in young children. In the current study, we explored whether…

A University Math Help Centre as a Support Framework for Students, the Instructor, the Course, and the Department

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menz, Petra; Jungic, Veselin

2015-01-01

Among many challenges a math department at a post-secondary institution will most likely be faced with the optimization problem of how best to offer out-of-lecture learning support to several thousand first- and second-year university students enrolled in large math service courses within given spatial, scheduling, financial, technological, and…

Degrees of Freedom: Probing Math Placement Policies at California Colleges and Universities (Report 3 of a 3-Part Series)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burdman, Pamela

2015-01-01

There is growing concern that the remedial math courses taken by most community college students unnecessarily divert some students from earning a degree. Anecdotes of students who thought they had completed their math requirements in high school only to have remedial courses delay their progress through college are common. In addition, research…

Implementing College and Career Standards in Math Methods Course for Early Childhood and Elementary Education Teacher Candidates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Joohi

2016-01-01

This study is purposed to measure the efficacy of implementing College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) math standards into math methods courses for early childhood and elementary education teacher candidates at an urban university located in the Dallas and Fort Worth metroplex area. A total of 161 college seniors (teacher candidates)…

How Much Math Do Students Need to Succeed in Business and Economics Statistics? An Ordered Probit Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Jeffrey J.; Stone, Courtenay C.; Zegeye, Abera; Charles, Thomas A.

2009-01-01

Because statistical analysis requires the ability to use mathematics, students typically are required to take one or more prerequisite math courses prior to enrolling in the business statistics course. Despite these math prerequisites, however, many students find it difficult to learn business statistics. In this study, we use an ordered probit…

Gatekeepers of the American Dream: How Teachers' Perceptions Shape the Academic Outcomes of Immigrant and Language-Minority Students

PubMed Central

Blanchard, Sarah; Muller, Chandra

2014-01-01

High school teachers evaluate and offer guidance to students as they approach the transition to college based in part on their perceptions of the students' hard work and potential to succeed in college. Their perceptions may be especially crucial for immigrant and language-minority students navigating the U.S. educational system. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), we consider how the intersection of nativity and language-minority status may (1) inform teachers' perceptions of students' effort and college potential, and (2) shape the link between teachers' perceptions and students' academic progress towards college (grades and likelihood of advancing to more demanding math courses). We find that teachers perceive immigrant language-minority students as hard workers, and that their grades reflect that perception. However, these same students are less likely than others to advance in math between the sophomore and junior years, a critical point for preparing for college. Language-minority students born in the U.S. are more likely to be negatively perceived. Yet, when their teachers see them as hard workers, they advance in math at the same rates as nonimmigrant native English speaking peers. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering both language-minority and immigrant status as social dimensions of students' background that moderate the way that high school teachers' perceptions shape students' preparation for college. PMID:25769866

MathPatch - Raising Retention and Performance in an Intro-geoscience Class by Raising Students' Quantitative Skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baer, E. M.; Whittington, C.; Burn, H.

2008-12-01

The geological sciences are fundamentally quantitative. However, the diversity of students' mathematical preparation and skills makes the successful use of quantitative concepts difficult in introductory level classes. At Highline Community College, we have implemented a one-credit co-requisite course to give students supplemental instruction for quantitative skills used in the course. The course, formally titled "Quantitative Geology," nicknamed "MathPatch," runs parallel to our introductory Physical Geology course. MathPatch teaches the quantitative skills required for the geology class right before they are needed. Thus, students learn only the skills they need and are given opportunities to apply them immediately. Topics include complex-graph reading, unit conversions, large numbers, scientific notation, scale and measurement, estimation, powers of 10, and other fundamental mathematical concepts used in basic geological concepts. Use of this course over the past 8 years has successfully accomplished the goals of increasing students' quantitative skills, success and retention. Students master the quantitative skills to a greater extent than before the course was implemented, and less time is spent covering basic quantitative skills in the classroom. Because the course supports the use of quantitative skills, the large number of faculty that teach Geology 101 are more comfortable in using quantitative analysis, and indeed see it as an expectation of the course at Highline. Also significant, retention in the geology course has increased substantially, from 75% to 85%. Although successful, challenges persist with requiring MathPatch as a supplementary course. One, we have seen enrollments decrease in Geology 101, which may be the result of adding this co-requisite. Students resist mandatory enrollment in the course, although they are not good at evaluating their own need for the course. The logistics utilizing MathPatch in an evening class with fewer and longer class meetings has been challenging. Finally, in order to better serve our students' needs, we began to offer on-line sections of MathPatch; this mode of instruction is not as clearly effective, although it is very popular. Through the new The Math You Need project, we hope to improve the effectiveness of the on-line instruction so it can provide comparable results to the face-to-face sections of this class.

English Language Learners' (ELLs) Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Course-Taking, Achievement and Attainment in College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shi, Qi

2017-01-01

Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study: 2002, the present study examined the effects of demographic variables, high school math course-taking and high school GPA on ELL students' STEM course-taking, achievement and attainment in college. Regression analysis showed female ELL students were more likely to take more STEM courses and get…

The Labor Market Returns to Math in Community College: Evidence Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. A CAPSEE Working Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Belfield, Clive

2015-01-01

This paper examines the returns to math courses relative to those in courses in other subjects for students who started their postsecondary education at community college. The limited available evidence presumes that college-level math is valuable in the labor market relative to other coursework. Using data on college transcript and earnings from…

The relationship between selected standardized test scores and performance in advanced placement math and science exams: Analyzing the differential effectiveness of scores for course identification and placement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbina, Josue N.

There is a national need to increase the STEM-related workforce. Among factors leading towards STEM careers include the number of advanced high school mathematics and science courses students complete. Florida's enrollment patterns in STEM-related Advanced Placement (AP) courses, however, reveal that only a small percentage of students enroll into these classes. Therefore, screening tools are needed to find more students for these courses, who are academically ready, yet have not been identified. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which scores from a national standardized test, Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test/ National Merit Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), in conjunction with and compared to a state-mandated standardized test, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), are related to selected AP exam performance in Seminole County Public Schools. An ex post facto correlational study was conducted using 6,189 student records from the 2010 - 2012 academic years. Multiple regression analyses using simultaneous Full Model testing showed differential moderate to strong relationships between scores in eight of the nine AP courses (i.e., Biology, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C Electrical, Physics C Mechanical, Statistics, Calculus AB and BC) examined. For example, the significant unique contribution to overall variance in AP scores was a linear combination of PSAT Math (M), Critical Reading (CR) and FCAT Reading (R) for Biology and Environmental Science. Moderate relationships for Chemistry included a linear combination of PSAT M, W (Writing) and FCAT M; a combination of FCAT M and PSAT M was most significantly associated with Calculus AB performance. These findings have implications for both research and practice. FCAT scores, in conjunction with PSAT scores, can potentially be used for specific STEM-related AP courses, as part of a systematic approach towards AP course identification and placement. For courses with moderate to strong relationships, validation studies and development of expectancy tables, which estimate the probability of successful performance on these AP exams, are recommended. Also, findings established a need to examine other related research issues including, but not limited to, extensive longitudinal studies and analyses of other available or prospective standardized test scores.

Track Placement and the Motivational Predictors of Math Course Enrollment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyes, Marcela; Domina, Thurston

2017-01-01

Background: Virtually all high schools offer a range of courses to allow students to enroll in four years of high school mathematics. However, only two thirds of U.S. high school graduates took mathematics courses each school year. Purpose/Research Question: This study addresses three research questions: First, how do students' math course…

Peer group contexts of girls' and boys' academic experiences.

PubMed

Crosnoe, Robert; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Field, Sam; Frank, Kenneth; Muller, Chandra

2008-01-01

Girls have caught up with boys in math course taking in high school but reasons for taking math still differ by gender. This study, therefore, investigated gender differences in the linkage between peer relations and math course taking by applying multilevel modeling to a nationally representative data set that includes peer networks and school transcripts (N= 6,457 American 9th to 11th graders, aged 13-19). For all adolescents, math course taking was associated with the achievement of their close friends and, to a lesser extent, their coursemates. These associations tended to be stronger toward the end of high school and weaker among adolescents with a prior record of failure in school. Each of these patterns was somewhat more consistent among girls.

A School in Siberia: 14-Year-Olds Take University Math Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bogdanovsky, Georgy

1978-01-01

Ordinary students (n=40) are participating in a Soviet experiment wherein they are taught by well-known scientists and specialists in a math-intensive course comparable to that taught at the Kiev University. (JC)

Encouraging Competence in Basic Mathematics in Hydrology using The Math You Need

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredrick, K. C.

2011-12-01

California University of Pennsylvania has experienced significant growth in interest of its Earth Science programs over the last few years. With the burgeoning shale gas exploration and drilling, along with continued environmental problems, students and parents recognize the potential for jobs in the region in the Geosciences. With this increase in student interest has come an increase in the number of majors including a greater number of first-year students entering the major right from high school. Hydrology, is an important course within the Earth Science department curriculum. It is required by all Geology, Meteorology, and Earth and Space Science Education majors. It also serves majors from the Biology program, but is not required. This mix of students based on major expectations, grade level, and background leads to a varied distribution of math competencies. Many students enter unprepared for the rigors of a physics-based Hydrology course. The pre-requisites for the course are Introduction to Geology, a mostly non-quantitative survey course, and College Algebra. However, some students are more confident in their math skills because they have completed some level of Calculus. Regardless of the students' perceived abilities, nearly all struggle early on in the course because they have never used math within the context of Hydrology (or Science for that matter) , including continuity, conservation, and fluid dynamics. In order to make sure students have the basic skills to understand the science, it has been necessary to dedicate significant class time to such topics as Unit Conversions, Scientific Notation, Significant Figures, and basic Graphing. The Math You Need (TMYN) is an online tool, which requires students to complete instructor-selected questions to assess student competence in fundamental math topics. Using Geology as the context for the questions in the database, TMYN is ideal for introductory-level courses, but can also be effective as a review tool in higher-level courses. For our Hydrology course, we employ a strategy to integrate TMYN assessments throughout the course, to continually encourage students to practice math skills and introduce others that might be unfamiliar. The course begins with a pass/fail pre-assessment to gauge math competencies across the class, to prepare students for the rigors of the course, and to make sure they are technically able to access the website. Beginning the first week, and continuing through the first twelve weeks of the semester, additional assessments are assigned and graded on a pass/fail basis. The assessments include a guided module, followed by a brief quiz. The modules are aligned with the course materials as much as possible. At the end of the course, a post-assessment is assigned to measure student improvement. Most of the students will continue on to courses within Geology or Meteorology, depending on major, for which Hydrology is a pre-requisite. For the students, TMYN will serve to lay the groundwork for improved math competencies throughout their college career. For the faculty, this model allows for more class time to concentrate on science content, lab activities, and data analysis.

Students' Mathematics Self-Efficacy, Anxiety, and Course Level at a Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaniol, Scott R.

2017-01-01

Research suggests that student success in mathematics is positively correlated to math self-efficacy and negatively correlated to math anxiety. At a Hispanic serving community college in the Midwest, developmental math students had a lower pass rate than did college-level math students, but the role of math self-efficacy and math anxiety on these…

Turning Negatives into Positives: The Role of an Instructional Math Course on Preservice Teachers' Math Beliefs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Looney, Lisa; Perry, David; Steck, Andy

2017-01-01

Teachers' beliefs about mathematics can play a role in their teaching effectiveness (Bandura, 1993). Negative attitudes toward math (e.g., math anxiety) or low self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math can act as barriers to the teaching process, impacting the achievement and math beliefs of students (Beilock, Gunderson, Ramirez, & Levine, 2010;…

Helping Students Get Past Math Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scarpello, Gary

2007-01-01

Math anxiety can begin as early as the fourth grade and peaks in middle school and high school. It can be caused by past classroom experiences, parental influences, and remembering poor past math performance. Math anxiety can cause students to avoid challenging math courses and may limit their career choices. It is important for teachers, parents…

Business Math without Tears.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merchant, Ronald

1980-01-01

Describes a new course at Spokane Falls Community College which builds on and reviews basic business math and electronic calculator skills. Material is self-paced and includes work with metrics. Discusses student evaluation of the course and type of equipment used. (CT)

The Path through Math: Course Sequences and Academic Performance at the Intersection of Race-Ethnicity and Gender

PubMed Central

RIEGLE-CRUMB, CATHERINE

2010-01-01

Using new national data from Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement (AHAA), this article examines high school math patterns for students of different race-ethnicity and gender. Compared with white males, African American and Latino males receive lower returns from taking Algebra I during their freshman year, reaching lower levels of the math course sequence when they begin in the same position. This pattern is not explained by academic performance, and, furthermore, African American males receive less benefit from high math grades. Lower returns are not observed for minority female students, suggesting that more attention to racial-ethnic inequality in math among male students is needed. PMID:20574544

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Readiness: Ethno-linguistic and gender differences in high-school course selection patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamuti-Trache, Maria; Sweet, Robert

2014-03-01

The study examines science-related course choices of high-school students in the culturally diverse schools of the province of British Columbia, Canada. The analysis employs K-12 provincial data and includes over 44,000 students born in 1990 who graduated from high school by 2009. The research sample reflects the presence of about 27% of students for whom English is not a first language. We construct an empirical model that examines ethno-linguistic and gender differences in Grade 12 course choices while accounting for personal and situational differences among students. The study employs a course selection typology that emphasizes readiness for science, technology, engineering and math fields of study. Findings indicate that math- and science-related course selection patterns are strongly associated with ethnicity, qualified not only by gender and prior math and science achievement but also by the individual's grade level at entry to the system and enrollment in English as a Second Language program. Students who are more likely to engage in math and science courses belong to Asian ethno-linguistic groups and entered the provincial school system during the senior high-school years. We suggest that ethnic diversity and broader academic exposure may play a crucial role in changing the gender composition of science classrooms, university fields of study and science-related occupations.

Reducing "Math Anxiety" in College Algebra Courses Including Comparisons with Elementary Statistics Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bankhead, Mike

The high levels of anxiety, apprehension, and apathy of students in college algebra courses caused the instructor to create and test a variety of math teaching techniques designed to boost student confidence and enthusiasm in the subject. Overall, this proposal covers several different techniques, which have been evaluated by both students and the…

Developmental Education and Its Relationship to Academic Success in College Level Courses at a Suburban Community College in Kansas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cole, Lisa M.

2014-01-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of developmental math, English, and reading courses by evaluating the success of students in the corresponding college-level math, English, and reading course. This study analyzed select student characteristics (sex, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status) or student developmental education status as predictors…

Experiences of Visually Impaired Students in Community College Math Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swan, S. Tomeka

Blind and visually impaired students who attend community colleges face challenges in learning mathematics (Forrest, 2010). Scoy, McLaughlin, Walls, and Zuppuhaur (2006) claim these students are at a disadvantage in studying mathematics due to the visual and interactive nature of the subject, and by the way mathematics is taught. In this qualitative study six blind and visually impaired students attended three community colleges in one Mid-Atlantic state. They shared their experiences inside the mathematics classroom. Five of the students were enrolled in developmental level math, and one student was enrolled in college level math. The conceptual framework used to explore how blind and visually impaired students persist and succeed in math courses was Piaget's theory on constructivism. The data from this qualitative study was obtained through personal interviews. Based on the findings of this study, blind and visually impaired students need the following accommodations in order to succeed in community college math courses: Accommodating instructors who help to keep blind and visually impaired students motivated and facilitate their academic progress towards math completion, tutorial support, assistive technology, and a positive and inclusive learning environment.

On the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in early elementary school: The role of problem solving strategies.

PubMed

Ramirez, Gerardo; Chang, Hyesang; Maloney, Erin A; Levine, Susan C; Beilock, Sian L

2016-01-01

Even at young ages, children self-report experiencing math anxiety, which negatively relates to their math achievement. Leveraging a large dataset of first and second grade students' math achievement scores, math problem solving strategies, and math attitudes, we explored the possibility that children's math anxiety (i.e., a fear or apprehension about math) negatively relates to their use of more advanced problem solving strategies, which in turn relates to their math achievement. Our results confirm our hypothesis and, moreover, demonstrate that the relation between math anxiety and math problem solving strategies is strongest in children with the highest working memory capacity. Ironically, children who have the highest cognitive capacity avoid using advanced problem solving strategies when they are high in math anxiety and, as a result, underperform in math compared with their lower working memory peers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In Brief: Revitalizing Earth science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2008-12-01

A 5-year, $3.9-million U.S. National Science Foundation Math Science Partnership grant to Michigan Technological University (MTU), in Houghton, aims to improve instruction in middle-school Earth and space science courses. The program will enable geoscience and education researchers to work with middle-school science teachers to test strategies designed to reform science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. Project lead researcher Bill Rose said the project could be a template for improvement in STEM throughout the United States. Rose, one of seven MTU faculty members involved with the Michigan Institute for Teaching Excellence Program (MITEP), said the project is ``trying to do something constructive to attract more talented young people to advanced science, math, and technology.'' The project includes data collection and analysis overseen by an evaluation team from the Colorado School of Mines. Also participating in the project are scientists from Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Mich.; the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Area Pre-College Engineering Program; the American Geological Institute; and the U.S. National Park Service.

Peer Group Contexts of Girls’ and Boys’ Academic Experiences

PubMed Central

Crosnoe, Robert; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Frank, Kenneth; Field, Sam; Muller, Chandra

2010-01-01

Girls have caught up with boys in math course taking in high school but reasons for taking math still differ by gender. This study, therefore, investigated gender differences in the linkage between peer relations and math course taking by applying multilevel modeling to a nationally representative data set that includes peer networks and school transcripts (N = 6,457 American 9th to 11th graders, aged 13 – 19). For all adolescents, math course taking was associated with the achievement of their close friends and, to a lesser extent, their coursemates. These associations tended to be stronger toward the end of high school and weaker among adolescents with a prior record of failure in school. Each of these patterns was somewhat more consistent among girls. PMID:18269514

Developmental Math Programs in California Community College: An Analysis of Math Boot Camp at Cosumnes River College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Torence J.

2017-01-01

The California Community College system, as an open access institution, is tasked with helping students who possess math skills far below college-level complete math course requirements for obtaining an associate degree or transfer to a university. Colleges have created various developmental math programs to achieve this mission; this paper…

Mathematics for the Eighties: A Study of Two Effective Math Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Patrick J.

1985-01-01

This bulletin describes two exemplary mathematics programs in Oregon: the Math Lab at Mountain View Junior High School in Beaverton and the Academy Math Program at Jefferson High School in northeastern Portland. The Math Lab at Mountain View is a weekly supplemental unit that is integrated into general math and pre-algebra courses for seventh and…

The Effects of Recorded Lectures on Passing Rates in Online Math Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fital-Akelbek, Sandra; Akelbek, Mahmud

2018-01-01

In this mixed method study we investigate the impact of recorded lectures on passing rates in an online math course. For three years, we collected data from approximately 380 students enrolled in a first-year undergraduate online course, College Algebra. The data was used to compare the amount of time students spent watching recorded lectures and…

The Role of Applied Engineering and Computer Science Courses in the Production of Math Achievement in High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Michael; Bozick, Robert

2012-01-01

Academic math and science courses have been long shown to increase learning and educational attainment, but are they sufficient on their own to prepare youth for the challenges and rigor of the STEM workforce? Or, are there distinctive benefits to complementing these traditional academic courses with applied ones? Answers to these questions are…

Can Low-Cost Online Summer Math Programs Improve Student Preparation for College-Level Math? Evidence from Randomized Experiments at Three Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chingos, Matthew M.; Griffiths, Rebecca J.; Mulhern, Christine

2017-01-01

Every year many students enter college without the math preparation needed to succeed in their desired programs of study. Many of these students struggle to catch up, especially those who are required to take remedial math courses before entering college-level math. Increasing the number of students who begin at the appropriate level of math has…

Gatekeepers of the American Dream: how teachers' perceptions shape the academic outcomes of immigrant and language-minority students.

PubMed

Blanchard, Sarah; Muller, Chandra

2015-05-01

High school teachers evaluate and offer guidance to students as they approach the transition to college based in part on their perceptions of the student's hard work and potential to succeed in college. Their perceptions may be especially crucial for immigrant and language-minority students navigating the U.S. educational system. Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), we consider how the intersection of nativity and language-minority status may (1) inform teachers' perceptions of students' effort and college potential, and (2) shape the link between teachers' perceptions and students' academic progress towards college (grades and likelihood of advancing to more demanding math courses). We find that teachers perceive immigrant language-minority students as hard workers, and that their grades reflect that perception. However, these same students are less likely than others to advance in math between the sophomore and junior years, a critical point for preparing for college. Language-minority students born in the U.S. are more likely to be negatively perceived. Yet, when their teachers see them as hard workers, they advance in math at the same rates as nonimmigrant native English speaking peers. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering both language-minority and immigrant status as social dimensions of students' background that moderate the way that high school teachers' perceptions shape students' preparation for college. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Solving America's Math Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vigdor, Jacob

2013-01-01

Concern about students' math achievement is nothing new, and debates about the mathematical training of the nation's youth date back a century or more. In the early 20th century, American high-school students were starkly divided, with rigorous math courses restricted to a college-bound elite. At midcentury, the "new math" movement sought,…

An exploration of the gateway math and science course relationships in the Los Angeles Community College District

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchanan, Donald G.

This study evaluated selected demographic, pre-enrollment, and economic status variables in comparison to college-level performance factors of GPA and course completion ratios for gateway math and science courses. The Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students (TRUCCS) project team collected survey and enrollment data for this study in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). The TRUCCS team surveyed over 5,000 students within the nine campus district beginning in the fall of 2000 and spring of 2001 with follow-up data for next several years. This study focused on the math and science courses; established background demographics; evaluated pre-enrollment high school self-reported grades; reviewed high school and college level math courses taken; investigated specific gateway courses of biology, chemistry and physics; and compared them to the overall GPAs and course completion ratios for 4,698 students. This involved the SPSS development of numerous statistical products including the data from frequency distributions, means, cross-tabulations, group statistics t-tests, independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. Findings revealed demographic and economic relationships of significance for students' performance factors of GPA and course completion ratios. Furthermore, findings revealed significant differences between the gender, age, ethnicity and economic employment relationships. Conclusions and implications for institutions of higher education were documented. Recommendations for dissemination, intervention programs, and future research were also discussed.

Math in the Real World: Early Findings from a Study of the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutschow, Elizabeth Zachry; Diamond, John; Serna-Wallender, Elena

2017-01-01

Until recently, most colleges required students to pass a college-level algebra course in order to earn a degree. As many as 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students enter college unprepared to take these courses, and fewer than 20 percent of such students ever successfully complete a college-level math course; the rest are…

Improving Math Success in Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bisk, Richard

2013-01-01

Many students begin higher education unprepared for college-level work in mathematics and must take non-credit developmental courses. Furthermore, many are "math-phobic" and avoid courses, majors and careers that involve quantitative work. Yet science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are among the few job-growth…

Gender, Math Confidence, and Grit: Relationships with Quantitative Skills and Performance in an Undergraduate Biology Course

PubMed Central

Flanagan, K. M.; Einarson, J.

2017-01-01

In a world filled with big data, mathematical models, and statistics, the development of strong quantitative skills is becoming increasingly critical for modern biologists. Teachers in this field must understand how students acquire quantitative skills and explore barriers experienced by students when developing these skills. In this study, we examine the interrelationships among gender, grit, and math confidence for student performance on a pre–post quantitative skills assessment and overall performance in an undergraduate biology course. Here, we show that females significantly underperformed relative to males on a quantitative skills assessment at the start of term. However, females showed significantly higher gains over the semester, such that the gender gap in performance was nearly eliminated by the end of the semester. Math confidence plays an important role in the performance on both the pre and post quantitative skills assessments and overall performance in the course. The effect of grit on student performance, however, is mediated by a student’s math confidence; as math confidence increases, the positive effect of grit decreases. Consequently, the positive impact of a student’s grittiness is observed most strongly for those students with low math confidence. We also found grit to be positively associated with the midterm score and the final grade in the course. Given the relationships established in this study among gender, grit, and math confidence, we provide “instructor actions” from the literature that can be applied in the classroom to promote the development of quantitative skills in light of our findings. PMID:28798209

Ideas in Practice: Teaching Mathematics in an "Academic Servicing" Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ritsena, Paul

1981-01-01

Describes a remedial approach which provides math and communications instruction for applied arts and technology students. Looks at the problems of lack of time and math anxiety. Provides examples of math problems that show "real life" applications of math skills. Recounts how the problems are used in the classroom. (AYC)

A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Math Anxiety among Preservice Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sloan, Tina Rye

2010-01-01

This project investigated the effects of a standards-based mathematics methods course on the mathematics anxiety levels of preservice teachers. The qualitative portion of the study examined aspects of a math methods course that affected mathematics anxiety levels and the antecedents of mathematics anxiety. Findings revealed a significant…

Consumer Math 4, Mathematics: 5285.24.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL.

The last of four guidebooks for the General Math student covers installment purchases and small loans, investments, insurance, and cost of housing. Goals and strategies for the course are given; performance objectives for computational skills and for each unit are specified. A course outline, teaching suggestions for each unit, and sample pretests…

Avoidance temperament and social-evaluative threat in college students' math performance: a mediation model of math and test anxiety.

PubMed

Liew, Jeffrey; Lench, Heather C; Kao, Grace; Yeh, Yu-Chen; Kwok, Oi-man

2014-01-01

Standardized testing has become a common form of student evaluation with high stakes, and limited research exists on understanding the roles of students' personality traits and social-evaluative threat on their academic performance. This study examined the roles of avoidance temperament (i.e., fear and behavioral inhibition) and evaluative threat (i.e., fear of failure and being viewed as unintelligent) in standardized math test and course grades in college students. Undergraduate students (N=184) from a large public university were assessed on temperamental fear and behavioral inhibition. They were then given 15 minutes to complete a standardized math test. After the test, students provided data on evaluative threat and their math performance (scores on standardized college entrance exam and average grades in college math courses). Results indicate that avoidance temperament was linked to social-evaluative threat and low standardized math test scores. Furthermore, evaluative threat mediated the influence of avoidance temperament on both types of math performance. Results have educational and clinical implications, particularly for students at risk for test anxiety and underperformance. Interventions targeting emotion regulation and stress management skills may help individuals reduce their math and test anxieties.

Carnegie Math Pathways 2015-2016 Impact Report: A Five-Year Review. Carnegie Math Pathways Technical Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoang, Hai; Huang, Melrose; Sulcer, Brian; Yesilyurt, Suleyman

2017-01-01

College math is a gateway course that has become a constraining gatekeeper for tens of thousands of students annually. Every year, over 500,000 students fail developmental mathematics, preventing them from achieving their college and career goals. The Carnegie Math Pathways initiative offers students an alternative. It comprises two Pathways…

Firefighter Math - a web-based learning tool

Treesearch

Dan Jimenez

2010-01-01

Firefighter Math is a web based interactive resource that was developed to help prepare wildland fire personnel for math based training courses. The website can also be used as a refresher for fire calculations including slope, flame length, relative humidity, flow rates, unit conversion, etc. The website is designed to start with basic math refresher skills and...

Cosmology. A first course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lachieze-Rey, Marc

This book delivers a quantitative account of the science of cosmology, designed for a non-specialist audience. The basic principles are outlined using simple maths and physics, while still providing rigorous models of the Universe. It offers an ideal introduction to the key ideas in cosmology, without going into technical details. The approach used is based on the fundamental ideas of general relativity such as the spacetime interval, comoving coordinates, and spacetime curvature. It provides an up-to-date and thoughtful discussion of the big bang, and the crucial questions of structure and galaxy formation. Questions of method and philosophical approaches in cosmology are also briefly discussed. Advanced undergraduates in either physics or mathematics would benefit greatly from use either as a course text or as a supplementary guide to cosmology courses.

Examining the Impact of Redesigned Developmental Math Courses in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okimoto, Hae; Heck, Ronald

2015-01-01

At community colleges, student preparedness for college-level work is a significant initial barrier. Over 70% of community college students are reported to be inadequately prepared for college mathematics. Because students need to pass college-level math in order to enroll in subsequent courses required for their majors or to complete general…

Use of MathCAD in a Pharmacokinetics Course for PharmD Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Timothy J.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the application of the Student Edition of MathCAD as a computational aid in an introductory graduate level pharmacokinetics course. The program allows the student to perform mathematical calculations and analysis on a computer screen. The advantages and disadvantages of this application are discussed. (GLR)

Differential Peer Effects, Student Achievement, and Student Absenteeism: Evidence From a Large-Scale Randomized Experiment.

PubMed

Eren, Ozkan

2017-04-01

Using data from a well-executed randomized experiment, I examine the effects of gender composition and peer achievement on high school students' outcomes in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results show that having a higher proportion of female peers in the classroom improves girls' math test scores only in less-advanced courses. For male students, the estimated gender peer effects are positive but less precisely estimated. I also find no effect of average classroom achievement on female math test scores. Males, on the other hand, seem to benefit from a higher-achieving classroom. I propose mechanisms relating to lower gender stereotype influences and gender-specific attitudes toward competition as potential explanations for peer effects findings. Finally, having a higher proportion of female students in the classroom decreases student absenteeism among male students but has no impact on female attendance.

Framework and Implementation for Improving Physics Essential Skills via Computer-Based Practice: Vector Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mikula, Brendon D.; Heckler, Andrew F.

2017-01-01

We propose a framework for improving accuracy, fluency, and retention of basic skills essential for solving problems relevant to STEM introductory courses, and implement the framework for the case of basic vector math skills over several semesters in an introductory physics course. Using an iterative development process, the framework begins with…

Teacher-Reported Use of Empirically Validated and Standards-Based Instructional Approaches in Secondary Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gagnon, Joseph Calvin; Maccini, Paula

2007-01-01

A random sample of 167 secondary special and general educators who taught math to students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and learning disabilities (LD) responded to a mail survey. The survey examined teacher perceptions of (a) definition of math; (b) familiarity with course topics; (c) effectiveness of methods courses; (d)…

Attitudes of College Students Enrolled in 2-Year Health Care Programs towards Online Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdulla, Dalya

2012-01-01

Colleges offering 2-year diplomas to high-school graduates were among the forefront leaders in online learning however studies illustrating appropriate course construction for such student populations are scarce. Pharmacy Math (MATH16532) is a core course for students enrolled in the Practical Nursing (PN) and Pharmacy Technician (PT) programs at…

Childcare Quality and Preschoolers' Math Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Ji Young; Dobbs-Oates, Jennifer

2014-01-01

This study examined the associations between four types of childcare quality (i.e. teacher-child closeness, frequency of math-related activities, and teacher education and experience) and preschoolers' residualised gain in math over the course of six months. Additionally, potential interactions between teacher-child closeness and other indicators…

Restructuring Schools To Be Math Friendly to Females.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karp, Karen; Shakeshaft, Charol

1997-01-01

The gender gap in math Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, attributable to course avoidance, lack of confidence, and unbalanced classroom instruction, can have serious consequences for young women, such as limited university selection, limited career choices, and lower lifetime salaries. Solutions include hiring math specialists, establishing role…

Enhanced Resource Descriptions Help Learning Matrix Users.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roempler, Kimberly S.

2003-01-01

Describes the Learning Matrix digital library which focuses on improving the preparation of math and science teachers by supporting faculty who teach introductory math and science courses in two- and four-year colleges. Suggests it is a valuable resource for school library media specialists to support new science and math teachers. (LRW)

The Effectiveness of Distance Education across Virginia's Community Colleges: Evidence from Introductory College-Level Math and English Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Di; Jaggars, Shanna Smith

2011-01-01

Although online learning is rapidly expanding in the community college setting, there is little evidence regarding its effectiveness among community college students. In the current study, the authors used a statewide administrative data set to estimate the effects of taking one's first college-level math or English course online rather than face…

Architecture and Impact of an Open, Online, Remixable, and Multimedia-Rich Algebra 1 Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bissell, Ahrash N.

2012-01-01

Less than half of the students in the United States graduate from high school and are ready to take college-level math courses. Many years and varieties of remedial math programs have failed to dramatically improve outcomes, especially at scale. The question we face is whether technology in general, and open educational resources in particular,…

Examination of Science and Math Course Achievements of Vocational High School Students in the Scope of Self-Efficacy and Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yüksel, Mehmet; Geban, Ömer

2016-01-01

This study attempted to predict physics, chemistry, and biology and math course achievements of vocational high school students according to the variables of student self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, state anxiety and trait anxiety. Study data were collected using a questionnaire administered to the students of a vocational high school…

A Case Study in Elementary Statistics: The Florida Panther Population

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazowski, Andrew; Stopper, Geffrey

2013-01-01

We describe a case study that was created to intertwine the fields of biology and mathematics. This project is given in an elementary probability and statistics course for non-math majors. Some goals of this case study include: to expose students to biology in a math course, to apply probability to real-life situations, and to display how far a…

Collaborative Workshops and Student Academic Performance in Introductory College Mathematics Courses: A Study of a Treisman Model Math Excel Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Hollis; Dick, Thomas

2000-01-01

Describes the Treisman model which involves supplemental workshops in which college students solve problems in collaborative learning groups. Reports on the effectiveness of Math Excel, an implementation of the Treisman model for introductory mathematics courses at Oregon State University over five academic terms. Reveals a significant effect on…

Assessing Assessment: Evaluating Outcomes and Reliabilities of Grammar, Math, and Writing Skill Measures in an Introductory Journalism Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farwell, Tricia M.; Alligood, Leon; Fitzgerald, Sharon; Blake, Ken

2016-01-01

This article introduces an objective grammar and math assessment and evaluates the assessment's outcome and reliability when fielded among eighty-one students in media writing courses. In addition, the article proposes a rubric for grading straight news leads and compares the rubric's reliability with the reliability of rating straight news leads…

The Effect of a Pre-University Mathematics Bridging Course on Adult Learners' Self-Efficacy and Retention Rates in STEM Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Patrick; O'Keeffe, Lisa

2016-01-01

In August 2008, the Mathematics Learning Centre at the University of Limerick initiated a mathematics bridging course, entitled "Head Start Maths", to provide mathematics revision for adult learners about to embark on science or technology degree programmes. The aim of Head Start Maths was to revise mathematics fundamentals before the…

Effects of Math Anxiety on Student Success in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nunez-Pena, M. I.; Suarez-Pellicioni, M.; Bono, R.

2013-01-01

This study examines whether math anxiety and negative attitudes toward mathematics have an effect on university students' academic achievement in a methodological course forming part of their degree. A total of 193 students were presented with a math anxiety test and some questions about their enjoyment, self-confidence and motivation regarding…

Effective Developmental Math Instructional Practices That Facilitate Learning and Academic Success of Community College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Pamela Hilson

2017-01-01

The purpose of the qualitative study was to discover instructional practices used by developmental math instructors that facilitate learning and academic success of students in developmental math courses at select community colleges in Alabama in order to generate improved instructional practices in the developmental education field. Emergent data…

Preservice Teachers' Observations of Children's Learning during Family Math Night

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurz, Terri L.; Kokic, Ivana Batarelo

2011-01-01

Family math night can easily be implemented into mathematics methodology courses providing an opportunity for field-based learning. Preservice teachers were asked to develop and implement an inquiry-based activity at a family math night event held at a local school with personnel, elementary children and their parents in attendance. This action…

Embedded Mathematics in Chemistry: A Case Study of Students' Attitudes and Mastery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preininger, Anita M.

2017-02-01

There are many factors that shape students' attitudes toward science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This exploratory study of high school students examined the effect of enriching chemistry with math on chemistry students' attitudes toward math and careers involving math. To measure student attitudes, a survey was administered before and after the 18-week chemistry class; results from the chemistry class were compared to survey results from students in an elective science class that did not emphasize mathematics. At the end of the 18-week period, only the chemistry students exhibited more positive views toward their abilities in mathematics and careers that involve mathematics, as compared to their views at the outset of the course. To ensure that chemistry mastery was not hindered by the additional emphasis on math, and that mastery on state end-of-course examinations reflected knowledge acquired during the math-intensive chemistry class, a chemistry progress test was administered at the start and end of the term. This exploratory study suggests that emphasizing mathematical approaches in chemistry may positively influence attitudes toward math in general, as well as foster mastery of chemistry content.

Seeking mathematics success for college students: a randomized field trial of an adapted approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gula, Taras; Hoessler, Carolyn; Maciejewski, Wes

2015-11-01

Many students enter the Canadian college system with insufficient mathematical ability and leave the system with little improvement. Those students who enter with poor mathematics ability typically take a developmental mathematics course as their first and possibly only mathematics course. The educational experiences that comprise a developmental mathematics course vary widely and are, too often, ineffective at improving students' ability. This trend is concerning, since low mathematics ability is known to be related to lower rates of success in subsequent courses. To date, little attention has been paid to the selection of an instructional approach to consistently apply across developmental mathematics courses. Prior research suggests that an appropriate instructional method would involve explicit instruction and practising mathematical procedures linked to a mathematical concept. This study reports on a randomized field trial of a developmental mathematics approach at a college in Ontario, Canada. The new approach is an adaptation of the JUMP Math program, an explicit instruction method designed for primary and secondary school curriculae, to the college learning environment. In this study, a subset of courses was assigned to JUMP Math and the remainder was taught in the same style as in the previous years. We found consistent, modest improvement in the JUMP Math sections compared to the non-JUMP sections, after accounting for potential covariates. The findings from this randomized field trial, along with prior research on effective education for developmental mathematics students, suggest that JUMP Math is a promising way to improve college student outcomes.

Gender, Math Confidence, and Grit: Relationships with Quantitative Skills and Performance in an Undergraduate Biology Course.

PubMed

Flanagan, K M; Einarson, J

2017-01-01

In a world filled with big data, mathematical models, and statistics, the development of strong quantitative skills is becoming increasingly critical for modern biologists. Teachers in this field must understand how students acquire quantitative skills and explore barriers experienced by students when developing these skills. In this study, we examine the interrelationships among gender, grit, and math confidence for student performance on a pre-post quantitative skills assessment and overall performance in an undergraduate biology course. Here, we show that females significantly underperformed relative to males on a quantitative skills assessment at the start of term. However, females showed significantly higher gains over the semester, such that the gender gap in performance was nearly eliminated by the end of the semester. Math confidence plays an important role in the performance on both the pre and post quantitative skills assessments and overall performance in the course. The effect of grit on student performance, however, is mediated by a student's math confidence; as math confidence increases, the positive effect of grit decreases. Consequently, the positive impact of a student's grittiness is observed most strongly for those students with low math confidence. We also found grit to be positively associated with the midterm score and the final grade in the course. Given the relationships established in this study among gender, grit, and math confidence, we provide "instructor actions" from the literature that can be applied in the classroom to promote the development of quantitative skills in light of our findings. © 2017 K. M. Flanagan and J. Einarson. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The Relationship between Upper-Level Math Course Completion and ACT Math Sub Score Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dial, Larry Michael

2016-01-01

More high school students are taking the ACT and more students are taking it at an earlier age. States such as Missouri are now testing all public and charter school students during their junior year to use the ACT as a formative assessment to drive discussions about student schedules, plans of study, and course offerings. With more data from more…

Success in an Introductory Operations Research Course: A Case Study at the United Arab Emirates University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yousef, Darwish Abdulrahman

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of a number of factors such as high school major, high school score, gender, Stat105, Maths I, Maths II grades, and grade point average (GPA) on students' academic performance in an introductory operations research (OR) course at the department of Business Administration--College of…

The Effect of Using Flipped Classroom in Teaching Calculus on Students' Achievements at University of Tabuk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albalawi, Abdullah S.

2018-01-01

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of using flipped classrooms in teaching the Math2 course for the preparatory year's students at the University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The Math2 course was organized via an (ADDE) design model, with recorded videos of the topics included in the study; it was implemented by a Moodle platform and…

The Talent Development Middle School. An Elective Replacement Approach to Providing Extra Help in Math--The CATAMA Program (Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration). Report No. 21.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mac Iver, Douglas J.; Balfanz, Robert; Plank, Stephen B.

In Talent Development Middle Schools, students needing extra help in mathematics participate in the Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration (CATAMA) course. CATAMA is an innovative combination of computer-assisted instruction and structured cooperative learning that students receive in addition to their regular math course for about…

Deconstructing Remediation in Community Colleges: Exploring Associations between Course-Taking Patterns, Course Outcomes, and Attrition from the Remedial Math and Remedial Writing Sequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahr, Peter Riley

2012-01-01

Each year, a sizeable percentage of community college students enroll in remedial coursework to address skill deficiencies in math, writing, and/or reading. Unfortunately, the majority of these students do not attain college-level competency in the subjects in which they require remedial assistance. Moreover, students whose point of entry into the…

Gender and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Self-Reported Levels of Engagement in High School Math and Science Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Sylvia; Guzman, Stephanie

2013-01-01

While gender and racial/ethnic performance gaps in math and science have been well documented, we know little about how students feel while they are in these courses. Using a sample of 793 high school students who participated in the Experience Sampling Method of the Study of Youth and Social Development, this study examines the gender and…

Implementing 'The Math You Need' in an Introductory Physical Geology Course at California State University East Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moran, J. E.

2011-12-01

The wide range of abilities in the student population at California State University East Bay, with a significant fraction of students under-prepared and requiring mathematics remediation, is a challenge to including mathematical concepts and exercises in our introductory geoscience courses. Student expectations that a geoscience course will not include quantitative work may result in math-phobics choosing the course and resisting quantitative work when presented with it. Introductory courses that are required for Geology and Environmental Science majors are also designated as General Education, which gives rise to a student group with a wide range of abilities and expectations. This presentation will focus on implementation of a series of online math tutorials for students in introductory geoscience courses called 'The Math You Need' (TMYN; http://serc.carleton.edu/mathyouneed/index.html). The program is implemented in a Physical Geology course, in which 2/3 of the students are typically non-majors. The Physical Geology course has a three hour lab each week and the lab exercises and lab manual offer several opportunities for application of TMYN. Many of the lab exercises include graphing, profiling, working with map scales, converting units, or using equations to calculate some parameter or solve for an unknown. Six TMYN modules covering topics using density calculations as applied to mineral properties and isostasy, graphing as applied to rock properties, earthquake location, and radiometric dating, and calculation of rates as applied to plate movement, stream discharge, and groundwater flow, are assigned as pre-labs to be completed before lab classes. TMYN skills are reinforced during lectures and lab exercises, as close in time as possible to students' exposure via TMYN. Pre- and post-tests give a measure of the effectiveness of TMYN in improving students' quantitative literacy.

Your Teenager at School

MedlinePlus

... his allaround development and future success as English, math, science and social studies, even if they don’ ... cognitive transitions extremely quickly. They go from, say, math to geography in the course of just a ...

Teaching Math More Effectively, Through the Design of Calculational Proofs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-01

typically taught in a first discrete math course -e.g. set theory, mathematical induction, a theory of integers, finc- tions and relations, combinatorics...by all who want to teach mathematics effectively. 4 4 The authors’ 500-pape text A Logical Approach to Discrete Math (Springer Verlag NY, 1993) uses...the appr,.., h described in this article in teaching the usual topics in discrete math -logic, set theory, & theory of integers, induct,., functions

Integrating Quantitative Reasoning into STEM Courses Using an Energy and Environment Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Myers, J. D.; Lyford, M. E.; Mayes, R. L.

2010-12-01

Many secondary and post-secondary science classes do not integrate math into their curriculum, while math classes commonly teach concepts without meaningful context. Consequently, students lack basic quantitative skills and the ability to apply them in real-world contexts. For the past three years, a Wyoming Department of Education funded Math Science Partnership at the University of Wyoming (UW) has brought together middle and high school science and math teachers to model how math and science can be taught together in a meaningful way. The UW QR-STEM project emphasizes the importance of Quantitative Reasoning (QR) to student success in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). To provide a social context, QR-STEM has focused on energy and the environment. In particular, the project has examined how QR and STEM concepts play critical roles in many of the current global challenges of energy and environment. During four 3-day workshops each summer and over several virtual and short face-to-face meetings during the academic year, UW and community college science and math faculty work with math and science teachers from middle and high schools across the state to improve QR instruction in math and science classes. During the summer workshops, faculty from chemistry, physics, earth sciences, biology and math lead sessions to: 1) improve the basic science content knowledge of teachers; 2) improve teacher understanding of math and statistical concepts, 3) model how QR can be taught by engaging teachers in sessions that integrate math and science in an energy and environment context; and 4) focus curricula using Understanding by Design to identify enduring understandings on which to center instructional strategies and assessment. In addition to presenting content, faculty work with teachers as they develop classroom lessons and larger units to be implemented during the school year. Teachers form interdisciplinary groups which often consist of math and science teachers from the same school or district. By jointly developing units focused on energy and environment, math and science curricula can be coordinated during the school year. During development, teams present their curricular ideas for peer-review. Throughout the school year, teachers implement their units and collect pre-post data on student learning. Ultimately, science teachers integrate math into their science courses, and math teachers integrate science content in their math courses. Following implementation, participants share their experiences with their peers and faculty. Of central interest during these presentations are: 1) How did the QR-STEM experience change teacher practices in the classroom?; and 2) How did the modification of their teaching practices impact student learning and their ability to successfully master QR? The UW QR-STEM has worked with Wyoming science and math teachers from across the state over the three year grant period.

Algebra for All: California's Eighth-Grade Algebra Initiative as Constrained Curricula.

PubMed

Domina, Thurston; Penner, Andrew M; Penner, Emily K; Conley, Annemarie

2014-08-01

Across the United States, secondary school curricula are intensifying as a growing proportion of students enroll in high-level academic math courses. In many districts, this intensification process occurs as early as eighth grade, where schools are effectively constraining their mathematics curricula by restricting course offerings and placing more students into Algebra I. This paper provides a quantitative single-case research study of policy-driven curricular intensification in one California school district. (1a) What effect did 8th eighth grade curricular intensification have on mathematics course enrollment patterns in Towering Pines Unified schools? (2b) How did the distribution of prior achievement in Towering Pines math classrooms change as the district constrained the curriculum by universalizing 8th eighth grade Algebra? (3c) Did 8th eighth grade curricular intensification improve students' mathematics achievement? Towering Pines is an immigrant enclave in the inner-ring suburbs of a major metropolitan area. The district's 10 middle schools together enroll approximately 4,000 eighth graders each year. The districts' students are ethnically diverse and largely economically disadvantaged. The study draws upon administrative data describing 8th eighth graders in the district in the 2004-20-05 through 2007-20-08 school years. During the study period, Towering Pines dramatically intensified middle school students' math curricula: In the 2004-20-05 school year 32% of the district's 8th eighth graders enrolled in Algebra or a higher- level mathematics course; by the 2007-20-08 school year that proportion had increased to 84%. We use an interrupted time-series design, comparing students' 8th eighth grade math course enrollments, 10th grade math course enrollments, and 10th grade math test scores across the four cohorts, controlling for demographics and prior achievement. We find that students' odds of taking higher level mathematics courses increased as this district implemented the state's Algebra mandate. However, even as the district implemented a constrained curriculum strategy, mathematics achievement growth between 6th sixth and 10th grade slowed and the achievement advantages associated with 8th eighth grade Algebra declined. Our analyses suggest that curricular intensification increased the inclusiveness and decreased the selectivity of the mathematics tracking regime in Towering Pines middle schools. However, the findings suggest that this constrained curriculum strategy may have may have unintended negative consequences for student achievement.

Level Up: A Systematic Review of the Nexus between Game-Based Learning and Developmental Math Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Monique

2013-01-01

Developmental math currently poses a hurdle that many community college students are unable to overcome. Eighty percent of developmental math students do not successfully complete any college-level course within three years (Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, as cited by Strother, Van Campen & Grunow, 2013, p. 1). Despite numerous reform attempts,…

At Their Own Pace: Interim Findings from an Evaluation of a Computer-Assisted, Modular Approach to Developmental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardenhire, Alissa; Diamond, John; Headlam, Camielle; Weiss, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Community colleges nationwide are looking for solutions to help students complete developmental (remedial) math--a known barrier to graduation. Some are offering computer-assisted, modular developmental math courses that allow students to earn credits incrementally and move through the curriculum at their own pace. One of these modularized…

How Effective Are Community College Remedial Math Courses for Students with the Lowest Math Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Di; Dadgar, Mina

2018-01-01

Objective: This article examines the effectiveness of remediation for community college students who are identified as having the lowest skills in math. Method: We use transcript data from a state community college system and take advantage of a regression discontinuity design that compares statistically identical students who are assigned to the…

Math Requirement Fulfillment and Educational Success of Community College Students: A Matter of When

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Xueli; Wang, Yan; Wickersham, Kelly; Sun, Ning; Chan, Hsun-yu

2017-01-01

Objective: In community colleges, achieving competence in math is critical to students' timely progression through coursework and eventual educational success; yet, it remains unclear when the optimal timing to complete required math courses is in order to maximize the chance of completing a credential on time. This study examines the timing of…

The Effect of the Math Emporium Instructional Method on Students' Performance in College Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cousins-Cooper, Kathy; Staley, Katrina N.; Kim, Seongtae; Luke, Nicholas S.

2017-01-01

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the Emporium instructional method in a course of college algebra and trigonometry by comparing to the traditional lecture method. The math emporium method is a nontraditional instructional method of learning math that has been implemented at several universities with much success and has been…

Contextualizing Developmental Math Content into Introduction to Sociology in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Stuart; Traver, Amy E.; Cornick, Jonathan

2018-01-01

Across community colleges in the United States, most students place into a developmental math course that they never pass. This can leave them without the math skills necessary to make informed decisions in major areas of social life and the college credential required for participation in growing sectors of our economy. One strategy for improving…

"Double-Dosing" in Math in North Carolina Public Schools. REL 2016-140

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henry, Gary T.; Barrett, Nathan; Marder, Camille

2016-01-01

Double-dosing in math expands the time for students to learn by having them enroll in two (or occasionally more) math courses during the regular school day. Although the practice can take different forms and be used at different grade levels (Chait, Muller, Goldware, & Housman, 2007; Nomi & Allensworth, 2009), most research on…

Successful Strategies for Implementation of a High School Standards-Based Integrated Mathematics Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Linda

2012-01-01

Math achievement for students in the United States is not as high as in other countries. In response, one state implemented a new standards-based, integrated math curriculum that combines traditional high school math courses and emphasizes student centered instruction. The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of a standards…

Problem Solving and the Use of Math in Physics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redish, Edward F.

2006-01-01

Mathematics is an essential element of physics problem solving, but experts often fail to appreciate exactly how they use it. Math may be the language of science, but math-in-physics is a distinct dialect of that language. Physicists tend to blend conceptual physics with mathematical symbolism in a way that profoundly affects the way equations are…

Machine Shop. Module 1: Machine Shop Orientation and Math. Instructor's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtis, Donna; Nobles, Jack

This document consists of materials for a six-unit course on employment in the machine shop setting, safety, basic math skills, geometric figures and forms, math applications, and right triangles. The instructor's guide begins with a list of competencies covered in the module, descriptions of the materials included, an explanation of how to use…

Changing Stereotypes, Changing Grades: A Longitudinal Study of Stereotyping during a College Math Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramsey, Laura R.; Sekaquaptewa, Denise

2011-01-01

Previous research has illuminated an important connection between stereotypes and the performance of those targeted by a stereotype. This body of work suggests that even implicit (i.e., nonconscious and unintended) math-gender stereotyping is related to poor math performance among women. Our longitudinal study sought to measure students'…

Technology and Communications Coursework: Facilitating the Progression of Students with Learning Disabilities through High School Science and Math Coursework.

PubMed

Shifrer, Dara; Callahan, Rebecca

2010-09-01

Students identified with learning disabilities experience markedly lower levels of science and mathematics achievement than students who are not identified with a learning disability. Seemingly compounding their disadvantage, students with learning disabilities also complete more credits in non-core coursework-traditionally considered non-academic coursework-than students who are not identified with a learning disability. The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a large national dataset with both regular and special education high school students, is utilized to determine whether credit accumulation in certain types of non-core coursework, such as Technology and Communications courses, is associated with improved science and math course-taking outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Results show that credit accumulation in Technology and Communications coursework uniquely benefits the science course-taking, and comparably benefits the math course-taking, of students identified with learning disabilities in contrast to students who are not identified with a learning disability.

Technology and Communications Coursework: Facilitating the Progression of Students with Learning Disabilities through High School Science and Math Coursework

PubMed Central

Shifrer, Dara; Callahan, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Students identified with learning disabilities experience markedly lower levels of science and mathematics achievement than students who are not identified with a learning disability. Seemingly compounding their disadvantage, students with learning disabilities also complete more credits in non-core coursework—traditionally considered non-academic coursework—than students who are not identified with a learning disability. The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a large national dataset with both regular and special education high school students, is utilized to determine whether credit accumulation in certain types of non-core coursework, such as Technology and Communications courses, is associated with improved science and math course-taking outcomes for students with learning disabilities. Results show that credit accumulation in Technology and Communications coursework uniquely benefits the science course-taking, and comparably benefits the math course-taking, of students identified with learning disabilities in contrast to students who are not identified with a learning disability. PMID:27695150

Exploring the Impact of Learning Communities at a Community College: An Effort to Support Students Enrolled in a Developmental Math Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VonHandorf, Teri A.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-methods participatory action research study was to explore the impact of learning communities on students enrolled in the lowest level of developmental math at a two-year college. The learning community consisted of twenty-three students who were enrolled in both a student success course (GEN102) and a developmental math…

Math Anxiety and Math Ability in Early Primary School Years.

PubMed

Krinzinger, Helga; Kaufmann, Liane; Willmes, Klaus

2009-06-01

Mathematical learning disabilities (MLDs) are often associated with math anxiety, yet until now, very little is known about the causal relations between calculation ability and math anxiety during early primary school years. The main aim of this study was to longitudinally investigate the relationship between calculation ability, self-reported evaluation of mathematics, and math anxiety in 140 primary school children between the end of first grade and the middle of third grade. Structural equation modeling revealed a strong influence of calculation ability and math anxiety on the evaluation of mathematics but no effect of math anxiety on calculation ability or vice versa-contrasting with the frequent clinical reports of math anxiety even in very young MLD children. To summarize, our study is a first step toward a better understanding of the link between math anxiety and math performance in early primary school years performance during typical and atypical courses of development.

Math Anxiety and Math Ability in Early Primary School Years

PubMed Central

Krinzinger, Helga; Kaufmann, Liane; Willmes, Klaus

2010-01-01

Mathematical learning disabilities (MLDs) are often associated with math anxiety, yet until now, very little is known about the causal relations between calculation ability and math anxiety during early primary school years. The main aim of this study was to longitudinally investigate the relationship between calculation ability, self-reported evaluation of mathematics, and math anxiety in 140 primary school children between the end of first grade and the middle of third grade. Structural equation modeling revealed a strong influence of calculation ability and math anxiety on the evaluation of mathematics but no effect of math anxiety on calculation ability or vice versa—contrasting with the frequent clinical reports of math anxiety even in very young MLD children. To summarize, our study is a first step toward a better understanding of the link between math anxiety and math performance in early primary school years performance during typical and atypical courses of development. PMID:20401159

Use of On-Line Math Skills Modules in an Introductory General Education Geoscience Course at a Community College: The Importance of Integration Across Lab & Lecture Sections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moosavi, S. C.

2011-12-01

The NSF sponsored on-line math skills module series The Math You Need When You Need It (TMYN) was constructed to provide math skill development and support to introductory geoscience course instructors whose students science learning is often hindered by deficiencies in critical math skills. The on-line modules give instructors a mechanism for student-centered, skill-specific math tutorials, practice exercises and assessments outside regular class time. In principle, a student deficient in a skill such as graphing, calculating a best-fit line or manipulating and quantifying a concept such as density can use the appropriate TMYN module to identify their area of weakness, focus on developing the skill using geologically relevant examples, and get feedback reflecting their mastery of the skill in an asynchronous format just as the skill becomes critical to learning in the course. The asynchronous format allows the instructor to remain focused on the geoscience content during class time without diverting all students' attention to skill remediation needed by only a subset of the population. Such a blended approach prevents the progression of the class from being slowed by the need for remediation for some students while simultaneously not leaving those students behind. The challenge to geoscience educators comes in identifying the best strategy for implementing TMYN modules in their classrooms. This presentation contrasts the effectiveness of 2 strategies for implementing TMYN in an introductory Earth System Science class taken as a general education science lab requirement by lower division students at a community college. This course is typical of many such large general education courses in that lab instruction is provided by separate educators from the primary instructor in charge of the lecture, often creating 2 parallel and only dimly connected courses in the experience of many students. In case 1, TMYN was implemented in 3 of 4 lab sections by an adjunct lab instructor while the primary instructor made no mention or use of TMYN in lecture or in the remaining lab section. In case 2, the same instructors each taught independent lecture and lab (2) sections, with TMYN being fully integrated in the course of the first instructor while not mentioned in that of the second. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach both for faculty implementation and student learning are compared with important insights into how such modules should be implemented in lecture/lab courses with separate instructors.

Math Placement: The Importance of Getting It Right for All Students. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fong, Anthony; Finkelstein, Neal

2014-01-01

Given the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, California's history of math acceleration in the middle grades, and the concern for correct math course placement for all students, this brief examines patterns from the past to shed light on considerations for the future. The brief, written by WestEd's Tony Fong and Neal Finkelstein, presents…

Effective STEM Programs for Adolescent Girls: Three Approaches and Many Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosatche, Harriet S.; Matloff-Nieves, Susan; Kekelis, Linda; Lawner, Elizabeth K.

2013-01-01

While women's participation in math and physical science continues to lag to some degree behind that of men, the disparity is much greater in engineering and computer science. Though boys may outperform girls at the highest levels on math and science standardized tests, girls tend to get better course grades in math and science than boys do.…

Explaining Gaps in Readiness for College-Level Math: The Role of High School Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Mark C.; Iatarola, Patrice; Conger, Dylan

2009-01-01

Despite increased requirements for high school graduation, almost one-third of the nation's college freshmen are unprepared for college-level math. The need for remediation is particularly high among students who are low income, Hispanic, and black. Female students are also less likely than males to be ready for college-level math. This article…

The Impact of Early Exposure of Eighth Grade Math Standards on End of Grade Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Tonjai E.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the Cumberland County Schools district-wide issue surrounding the disproportional performance of eighth grade Math I students' proficiency scores on standardized end-of-grade and end-of-course assessments. The study focused on the impact of the school district incorporating eighth grade math standards in…

Online Options for Math-Advanced Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wessling, Suki

2012-01-01

Once upon a time, a student well advanced past grade level in math would have had few choices. Advanced students would invariably outpace the skills of their elementary teachers, and due to age wouldn't have options such as going to the middle school or community college for classes. Soon thereafter, students would enter middle school only to find…

Readiness, Behavior, and Foundational Mathematics Course Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Kevin; Zelenka, Richard; Buonaguidi, Larry; Beckman, Robert; Casillas, Alex; Crouse, Jill; Allen, Jeff; Hanson, Mary Ann; Acton, Tara; Robbins, Steve

2013-01-01

This study examines the effects of math readiness and student course behavior (e.g., attendance, participation, homework completion) on knowledge gain and course success using two samples of students enrolled in foundational skills (noncredit-bearing) mathematics courses. As hypothesized, entering student mathematics readiness and course behavior…

Using Bayesian Networks to Understand Relationships among Math Anxiety, Genders, Personality Types, and Study Habits at a University in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smail, Linda

2017-01-01

Mathematics is the foundation of all sciences, but most students have problems learning math. Although students' success in life related to their success in learning, many would not take a math course unless it is their university's core requirements. Multiple reasons exist for students' poor performance in mathematics, but one prevalent variable…

Math Remediation for the College Bound: How Teachers Can Close the Gap, from the Basics through Algebra

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khatri, Daryao

2011-01-01

Algebra is the language that must be mastered for any course that uses math because it is the gateway for entry into any science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discipline. This book fosters mastery of critical math and algebraic concepts and skills essential to all of the STEM disciplines and some of the social sciences. This…

Calculation Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

MathSoft Plus 5.0 is a calculation software package for electrical engineers and computer scientists who need advanced math functionality. It incorporates SmartMath, an expert system that determines a strategy for solving difficult mathematical problems. SmartMath was the result of the integration into Mathcad of CLIPS, a NASA-developed shell for creating expert systems. By using CLIPS, MathSoft, Inc. was able to save the time and money involved in writing the original program.

Algebra for All: California’s Eighth-Grade Algebra Initiative as Constrained Curricula

PubMed Central

Domina, Thurston; Penner, Andrew M.; Penner, Emily K.; Conley, Annemarie

2015-01-01

Background/Context Across the United States, secondary school curricula are intensifying as a growing proportion of students enroll in high-level academic math courses. In many districts, this intensification process occurs as early as eighth grade, where schools are effectively constraining their mathematics curricula by restricting course offerings and placing more students into Algebra I. This paper provides a quantitative single-case research study of policy-driven curricular intensification in one California school district. Research Questions (1a) What effect did 8th eighth grade curricular intensification have on mathematics course enrollment patterns in Towering Pines Unified schools? (2b) How did the distribution of prior achievement in Towering Pines math classrooms change as the district constrained the curriculum by universalizing 8th eighth grade Algebra? (3c) Did 8th eighth grade curricular intensification improve students’ mathematics achievement? Setting Towering Pines is an immigrant enclave in the inner-ring suburbs of a major metropolitan area. The district’s 10 middle schools together enroll approximately 4,000 eighth graders each year. The districts’ students are ethnically diverse and largely economically disadvantaged. The study draws upon administrative data describing 8th eighth graders in the district in the 2004–20-05 through 2007–20-08 school years. Intervention/Program/Practice During the study period, Towering Pines dramatically intensified middle school students’ math curricula: In the 2004–20-05 school year 32% of the district’s 8th eighth graders enrolled in Algebra or a higher- level mathematics course; by the 2007–20-08 school year that proportion had increased to 84%. Research Design We use an interrupted time-series design, comparing students’ 8th eighth grade math course enrollments, 10th grade math course enrollments, and 10th grade math test scores across the four cohorts, controlling for demographics and prior achievement. Findings/Results We find that students’ odds of taking higher level mathematics courses increased as this district implemented the state’s Algebra mandate. However, even as the district implemented a constrained curriculum strategy, mathematics achievement growth between 6th sixth and 10th grade slowed and the achievement advantages associated with 8th eighth grade Algebra declined. Conclusions/Recommendations Our analyses suggest that curricular intensification increased the inclusiveness and decreased the selectivity of the mathematics tracking regime in Towering Pines middle schools. However, the findings suggest that this constrained curriculum strategy may have may have unintended negative consequences for student achievement. PMID:26120219

From Earth Algebra to Earth Math: An Expansion and Dissemination of the Methods of Earth Algebra [and] Proceedings, Earth Math Conference (Kennesaw, Georgia, April 19-20, 1996).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zumoff, Nancy; Schaufele, Christopher

This final report and appended conference proceedings describe activities of the Earth Math project, a 3-year effort at Kennesaw State University (Georgia) to broaden and disseminate the concept of Earth Algebra to precalculus and mathematics education courses. Major outcomes of the project were the draft of a precalculus textbook now being…

Cybersecurity Education for Military Officers

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-12-01

lecture showed the math behind the possible combinations of passwords of different lengths, and made the recommendation to increase your password to...2. Math the system to the real world: Use of effective metaphors and real world language wherever possible. 3. User Control: Try to give the user...given any training on this topic outside of annual NKO courses. I was a math major for my undergraduate degree, so I have no computer science

Improving numeracy through values affirmation enhances decision and STEM outcomes

PubMed Central

Peters, Ellen; Tompkins, Mary Kate; Schley, Dan; Meilleur, Louise; Sinayev, Aleksander; Tusler, Martin; Wagner, Laura; Crocker, Jennifer

2017-01-01

Greater numeracy has been correlated with better health and financial outcomes in past studies, but causal effects in adults are unknown. In a 9-week longitudinal study, undergraduate students, all taking a psychology statistics course, were randomly assigned to a control condition or a values-affirmation manipulation intended to improve numeracy. By the final week in the course, the numeracy intervention (statistics-course enrollment combined with values affirmation) enhanced objective numeracy, subjective numeracy, and two decision-related outcomes (financial literacy and health-related behaviors). It also showed positive indirect-only effects on financial outcomes and a series of STEM-related outcomes (course grades, intentions to take more math-intensive courses, later math-intensive courses taken based on academic transcripts). All decision and STEM-related outcome effects were mediated by the changes in objective and/or subjective numeracy and demonstrated similar and robust enhancements. Improvements to abstract numeric reasoning can improve everyday outcomes. PMID:28704410

Assessment of factors impacting success for incoming college engineering students in a summer bridge program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reisel, John R.; Jablonski, Marissa; Hosseini, Hossein; Munson, Ethan

2012-06-01

A summer bridge program for incoming engineering and computer science freshmen has been used at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2007 to 2010. The primary purpose of this program has been to improve the mathematics course placement for incoming students who initially place into a course below Calculus I on the math placement examination. The students retake the university's math placement examination after completing the bridge program to determine if they then place into a higher-level mathematics course. If the students improve their math placement, the program is considered successful for that student. The math portion of the bridge program is designed around using the ALEKS software package for targeted, self-guided learning. In the 2007 and 2008 versions of the program, both an on-line version and an on-campus version with additional instruction were offered. In 2009 and 2010, the program was exclusively in an on-campus format, and also featured a required residential component and additional engineering activities for the students. From the results of these four programs, we are able to evaluate the success of the program in its different formats. In addition, data has been collected and analysed regarding the impact of other factors on the program's success. The factors include student preparation before the beginning of the program (as measured by math ACT scores) and the amount of time the student spent working on the material during the program. Better math preparation and the amount of time spent on the program were found to be good indicators of success. Furthermore, the on-campus version of the program is more effective than the on-line version.

Math at home adds up to achievement in school.

PubMed

Berkowitz, Talia; Schaeffer, Marjorie W; Maloney, Erin A; Peterson, Lori; Gregor, Courtney; Levine, Susan C; Beilock, Sian L

2015-10-09

With a randomized field experiment of 587 first-graders, we tested an educational intervention designed to promote interactions between children and parents relating to math. We predicted that increasing math activities at home would increase children's math achievement at school. We tested this prediction by having children engage in math story time with their parents. The intervention, short numerical story problems delivered through an iPad app, significantly increased children's math achievement across the school year compared to a reading (control) group, especially for children whose parents are habitually anxious about math. Brief, high-quality parent-child interactions about math at home help break the intergenerational cycle of low math achievement. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Knowledge Integration and Wise Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiu, Jennifer L.; Linn, M. C.

2011-01-01

Recent efforts in engineering education focus on introducing engineering into secondary math and science courses to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education (NAS, 2010). Infusing engineering into secondary classrooms can increase awareness of and interest in STEM careers, help students see the relevance of science and…

Math CAMMP: A Constructivist Summer Camp for Teachers and Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Michael; Piel, John A.

2012-01-01

A summer session, math methods course for elementary teachers incorporates 30 hours of instruction that emphasizes (1) developmentally appropriate instructional strategies, (2) hierarchical levels of increasingly abstract manipulatives, (3) ongoing assessment of student learning, (4) integrated thematic instructional modules, (5) team planning and…

A Successful Senior Seminar: Unsolved Problems in Number Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Styer, Robert

2014-01-01

The "Unsolved Problems in Number Theory" book by Richard Guy provides nice problems suitable for a typical math major. We give examples of problems that have worked well in our senior seminar course and some nice results that senior math majors can obtain.

Math 3320--Technical Mathematics II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Inst. of Tech., Old Westbury.

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for a college pre-calculus course designed as the second course in a two-semester sequence for students in a Bachelor of Technology program. The course emphasizes applications from technology and verbal problems. Topics include trigonometric functions; identities;…

Effectiveness of Intelligent Tutoring Systems: A Meta Analytic Review

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

studies of peer tutoring in elementary and secondary school mathematics, reported that tutoring programs raised math test scores by an average of 0.60...programs in elementary and secondary schools. Mathes and Fuchs (1994) found an improvement of 0.36 stan- dard deviations in 11 studies of peer...per- centile. Slavin et al. analyzed evaluations carried out in math courses in both middle and high schools. They located 13 evaluations, but only

Is Math Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning? The Role of Math Motivation.

PubMed

Wang, Zhe; Lukowski, Sarah L; Hart, Sara A; Lyons, Ian M; Thompson, Lee A; Kovas, Yulia; Mazzocco, Michèle M M; Plomin, Robert; Petrill, Stephen A

2015-12-01

The linear relations between math anxiety and math cognition have been frequently studied. However, the relations between anxiety and performance on complex cognitive tasks have been repeatedly demonstrated to follow a curvilinear fashion. In the current studies, we aimed to address the lack of attention given to the possibility of such complex interplay between emotion and cognition in the math-learning literature by exploring the relations among math anxiety, math motivation, and math cognition. In two samples-young adolescent twins and adult college students-results showed inverted-U relations between math anxiety and math performance in participants with high intrinsic math motivation and modest negative associations between math anxiety and math performance in participants with low intrinsic math motivation. However, this pattern was not observed in tasks assessing participants' nonsymbolic and symbolic number-estimation ability. These findings may help advance the understanding of mathematics-learning processes and provide important insights for treatment programs that target improving mathematics-learning experiences and mathematical skills. © The Author(s) 2015.

The persistence of Black males in the STEM fields at Texas State University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Day, Beverly Woodson

For the past five years, enrollment in the College of Science and Engineering by first-time undergraduate students has steadily increased. However, retaining the students through their first-year and their persistence to their second year of college and beyond has been problematic. The purpose of this study is to add to the knowledge of why Black students, specifically Black men, are not persisting at Texas State University in the STEM majors. It will also determine if specific factors like the SAT scores, parent's education, high school rank, college GPA, college science and math courses (physics, math, biology and chemistry), college credits earned and average GPA in all science and math college courses predict college preparation and college performance for all students and for Black male students.

Fueling Interest in Science: An After-School Program Model that Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koenig, Kathleen; Hanson, Margaret

2008-01-01

As our society becomes more technologically advanced and jobs require additional related skills, it is important that all girls, not just those interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (commonly referred to as the STEM disciplines), take advanced levels of science and math in high school. Evidence suggests that intervention…

Assessment of Spreadsheet-based Modules in a Physical Geology Course with Emphasis on the Effectiveness of the use of Excel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehto, H.; Vacher, H. L.

2013-12-01

Educators have used spreadsheets to teach math concepts for years. However, when spreadsheet-based modules began to be used to teach math and geology concepts at USF students found them difficult to use. Most often students expressed frustration that learning how to use Excel took precedence over learning the concepts presented in the modules. Was the Excel was getting in the way? To investigate this question, we placed students in Physical Geology courses into two groups: one group was given a set of modules that instructed them to use Excel for their calculations, while the modules given to the other group simple instructed them to do the calculations but they were not told what method to use. Our expectation was that students in the Non-Excel group would be less frustrated and thus attain a higher level of learning of the concepts presented in the modules. However, our results show that students had high gains for both the math and geology concepts presented in the modules whether Excel was used or not. We also tested the students' attitudes about the modules and the knowledge they gained and found that overall students were comfortable with the math and geology concepts presented in the modules, and most felt that the modules were worth their time; however they did not wish to complete any more modules. The only observed difference in gains was that students in the course led by the author of the modules had larger gains in knowledge versus those in the course led by another instructor. This difference may have been the result of differences in teaching style, such as the module author's mention and linking of the modules with lecture materials throughout the course. We believe that spreadsheet-based modules are a good tool for teaching math and geology concepts, as overall the students were confident in their new knowledge. We also found that the use of Excel within the module did not affect the learning outcomes. The one downside of this study was that after completing the modules the students did not wish to do any more, which may have to do with a strong tendency towards math avoidance.

Developing Compressed Beginning and Intermediate Algebra Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Sylvia E.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this project was two-fold. First, it would provide an opportunity for students to complete the developmental math course sequence more quickly, thereby enabling students to proceed to a college-level mathematics course sooner. To accomplish this, the classroom was designed with computer-assisted homework courses that blended…

Math 3007--Developmental Mathematics I. Course Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Inst. of Tech., Old Westbury.

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for an introductory college algebra course designed to develop student proficiency in the basic algebraic skills. This course is designed as the first of a two-semester sequence. Topics include operations with signed numbers; simple operations on monomials and…

Math 3310--Technical Mathematics I. Course Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Inst. of Tech., Old Westbury.

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for a college pre-calculus designed as the first course in a two-semester sequence for students in a Bachelor of Technology program. The course emphasizes engineering technology applications and verbal problems. Topics include a review of elementary algebra; factoring…

The effectiveness of problem-based learning on students’ problem solving ability in vector analysis course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mushlihuddin, R.; Nurafifah; Irvan

2018-01-01

The student’s low ability in mathematics problem solving proved to the less effective of a learning process in the classroom. Effective learning was a learning that affects student’s math skills, one of which is problem-solving abilities. Problem-solving capability consisted of several stages: understanding the problem, planning the settlement, solving the problem as planned, re-examining the procedure and the outcome. The purpose of this research was to know: (1) was there any influence of PBL model in improving ability Problem solving of student math in a subject of vector analysis?; (2) was the PBL model effective in improving students’ mathematical problem-solving skills in vector analysis courses? This research was a quasi-experiment research. The data analysis techniques performed from the test stages of data description, a prerequisite test is the normality test, and hypothesis test using the ANCOVA test and Gain test. The results showed that: (1) there was an influence of PBL model in improving students’ math problem-solving abilities in vector analysis courses; (2) the PBL model was effective in improving students’ problem-solving skills in vector analysis courses with a medium category.

Making WAVES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hindes, Victoria A.; Hom, Keri; Brookshaw, Keith

About 46% of high school graduates enrolled in California State Universities need remedial courses in both math and English to prepare them for college level. These students typically earned B averages in their high school math and English classes. In order to address this issue, Shasta College launched Operation WAVES (Win by Achieving Valuable…

A Course in Combinatorial Choreography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wasley, Paula

2008-01-01

This article describes how students at North Central College do-si-doed their way to a deeper understanding of fractals, fractions, and abstract algebra. As part of the college's "Verandah" curriculum, David J. Schmitz, an associate professor of mathematics, led seven undergraduates, mostly math majors and minors, through an adventure in "math in…

Developmental Mathematics and the Lansing Community College Math Lab.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rotman, Jack W.

Based on an extensive literature search, this paper reviews recent research and theoretical studies and discusses their applicability to Lansing Community College's (LCC's) Mathematics Laboratory. After noting the steps taken in data collection, part I describes LCC and its Math Lab, which offers developmental courses in a self-paced, mastery…

Competency-Based Business Math. Curriculum Guide. Bulletin No. 1814.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Louisiana State Dept. of Education, Baton Rouge. Div. of Vocational Education.

This is a curriculum guide for a course designed to enable students to master the necessary basic mathematics and business-related mathematics skills needed for entry into office and business occupations. The guide includes 11 instructional units: (1) "Fundamental Math Skills"; (2) "Fractions"; (3) "Decimals"; (4)…

Where Have All the Mathematics Teachers Gone?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clever, George

Three basic causes for the general decline in mathematics achievement among high school graduates nationally are poor motivation to learn math, poor math curriculum, and poor or no mathematics instruction. Many Native Americans drop mathematics because of lack of challenging courses or interesting teachers in their high schools. Since American…

Video Based Developmental Mathematics Learning System For Community College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gormley, Tyrone D.

The University of Maine at Augusta uses an individualized video-taped mathematics instructional system to eliminate students' math weaknesses before they attempt college math. The course, "1 Mth Developmental Mathematics," is part of the Educational Assistance Program and teaches basic skills and concepts of arithmetic and algebra. The…

Integrative Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Training: The Role of Interdisciplinary Collaborative Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiatula, Victoria Oliaku

2015-01-01

This primer summarizes interdisciplinary collaborative mathematics as an integrative approach to train pre-service elementary teachers to teach math utilizing Junior Achievement USA (JA) educational programs within an elementary Math Methods course. The primer provides a JA historical background/program overview, summarizes the interdisciplinary…

Regression Analyses of Self-Regulatory Concepts to Predict Community College Math Achievement and Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gramlich, Stephen Peter

2010-01-01

Open door admissions at community colleges bring returning adults, first timers, low achievers, disabled persons, and immigrants. Passing and retention rates for remedial and non-developmental math courses can be comparatively inadequate (LAVC, 2005; CCPRDC, 2000; SBCC, 2004; Seybert & Soltz, 1992; Waycaster, 2002). Mathematics achievement…

SPC-Prep. Instructor's Guide. Workplace Education. Project ALERT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruetz, Nancy

This instructor's guide contains materials for a course designed to prepare employees for statistical process control (SPC) training given at their workplace by refreshing math skills and building the concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand SPC in manufacturing environments. SPC-Prep 1 addresses the math skills necessary to perform SPC…

Understanding decisions Latino students make regarding persistence in the science and math pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munro, Janet Lynn

This qualitative study focused on the knowledge and perceptions of Latino high school students, as well those of their parents and school personnel, at a southwestern, suburban high school regarding persistence in the math/science pipeline. In the context of the unique school and community setting these students experience, the decision-making process was examined with particular focus on characterizing the relationships that influence the process. While the theoretical framework that informs this study was that of social capital, its primary purpose was to inform the school's processes and policy in support of increased Latino participation in the math and science pipeline. Since course selection may be the most powerful factor affecting school achievement and college-preparedness, and since course selection is influenced by school policy, school personnel, students, parents, and teachers alike, it is important to understand the beliefs and perceptions that characterize the relationships among them. The qualitative research design involved a phenomenological study of nine Latino students, their parents, their teachers and counselors, and certain support personnel from the high school. The school's and community's environment in support of academic intensity served as context for the portrait that developed. Given rapidly changing demographics that bring more and more Latino students to suburban high schools, the persistent achievement gap experienced by Latino students, and the growing dependence of the world economy on a citizenry versed in the math- and science-related fields, a deeper understanding of the decision-making processes Latino 12 students experience can inform school policy as educators struggle to influence those decisions. This study revealed a striking lack of knowledge concerning the college-entrance ramifications of continued course work in math and science beyond that required for graduation, relationships among peers, parents, and school personnel that were markedly lacking in influence over the decision a student makes to continue, or not, course work beyond that required for graduation, and a general dismissal of the value of math- and science-related careers. Also lacking was any evidence of social capital within parental networks that reflected intergenerational closure.

Measuring Student Success from a Developmental Mathematics Course at an Elite Public Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Julian; Gehring, William J.

2016-01-01

This paper asks whether placement recommendations for a developmental math course at an elite public institution impact students' future academic performance, course-taking, and college outcomes. Researchers use these specific outcomes to measure whether developmental courses help students develop the skills necessary to succeed in college,…

Oleanna Math Program Materials.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coole, Walter A.

This document is a collection of course outlines, syllabi, and test materials designed for several high school level and lower division mathematics courses taught in an auto-tutorial learning laboratory at Skagit Valley College (Washington). The courses included are: Pre-Algebra, Basic Algebra, Plan Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, Probability and…

Is Mathematical Anxiety Always Bad for Math Learning: The Role of Math Motivation

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhe; Lukowski, Sarah L.; Hart, Sara Ann; Lyons, Ian M.; Thompson, Lee A.; Kovas, Yulia; Mazzocco, Michèle M.; Plomin, Robert; Petrill, Stephen A.

2015-01-01

The linear relations between math anxiety and math cognition have been frequently studied. However, the relations between anxiety and performance on complex cognitive tasks have been repeatedly demonstrated to follow a curvilinear fashion. Given the lack of attention to the possibility of such complex interplay between emotion and cognition in the math learning literature, the current study aimed to address this gap via exploring the relations between math anxiety, math motivation, and math cognition. The current study consisted of two samples. One sample included 262 pairs of young adolescent twins and the other included 237 adult college students. Participants self-reported their math anxiety and math motivation. Math cognition was assessed using a comprehensive battery of mathematics tasks. In both samples, results showed inverted-U relations between math anxiety and math performance in students with high intrinsic math motivation, and modest negative associations between math anxiety and math performance in students with low intrinsic math motivation. However, this pattern was not observed in tasks assessing student’s nonsymbolic and symbolic number estimation. These findings may help advance our understanding of mathematics learning processes and may provide important insights for treatment programs that target improving mathematics learning experiences and mathematical skills. PMID:26518438

Academic and emotional functioning in middle school: the role of implicit theories.

PubMed

Romero, Carissa; Master, Allison; Paunesku, Dave; Dweck, Carol S; Gross, James J

2014-04-01

Adolescents face many academic and emotional challenges in middle school, but notable differences are evident in how well they adapt. What predicts adolescents' academic and emotional outcomes during this period? One important factor might be adolescents' implicit theories about whether intelligence and emotions can change. The current study examines how these theories affect academic and emotional outcomes. One hundred fifteen students completed surveys throughout middle school, and their grades and course selections were obtained from school records. Students who believed that intelligence could be developed earned higher grades and were more likely to move to advanced math courses over time. Students who believed that emotions could be controlled reported fewer depressive symptoms and, if they began middle school with lower well-being, were more likely to feel better over time. These findings illustrate the power of adolescents' implicit theories, suggesting exciting new pathways for intervention.

Transforming the advanced lab: Part I - Learning goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwickl, Benjamin; Finkelstein, Noah; Lewandowski, H. J.

2012-02-01

Within the physics education research community relatively little attention has been given to laboratory courses, especially at the upper-division undergraduate level. As part of transforming our senior-level Optics and Modern Physics Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder we are developing learning goals, revising curricula, and creating assessments. In this paper, we report on the establishment of our learning goals and a surrounding framework that have emerged from discussions with a wide variety of faculty, from a review of the literature on labs, and from identifying the goals of existing lab courses. Our goals go beyond those of specific physics content and apparatus, allowing instructors to personalize them to their contexts. We report on four broad themes and associated learning goals: Modeling (math-physics-data connection, statistical error analysis, systematic error, modeling of engineered "black boxes"), Design (of experiments, apparatus, programs, troubleshooting), Communication, and Technical Lab Skills (computer-aided data analysis, LabVIEW, test and measurement equipment).

Acceleration across California: Shorter Pathways in Developmental English and Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hern, Katie

2012-01-01

Developmental courses in English, math, and reading have an important purpose in higher education, especially in the open-access world of community colleges. These classes--also referred to as "remedial"--are intended to give less-prepared students a chance to catch up and meet the challenges of college-level coursework. However,…

Buoys and Springs--Building Connections between Math and Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tenhoff, Amanda C.; Gerenz, Adam J.; Jalkio, Jeffrey A.

2016-01-01

Students often tend to compartmentalize material learned in school. While we see this phenomenon within our own classes, it is even more apparent that students have difficulty making connections between their math and physics courses. We believe that hands-on experiments are particularly useful in helping students make these connections. In this…

Impact of Instructor Teaching Style and Content Course on Mathematics Anxiety of Preservice Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van der Sandt, Suriza; O'Brien, Steve

2017-01-01

Integrative-STEM methodologies entail integrating multiple disciplines with active design-centric teaching and learning methods. If math anxiety is prevalent, for teachers or students, then both the level of integration and design thinking may be limited. This quantitative study of 160 preservice teachers investigated how math anxiety was impacted…

Effectiveness of "Essentials for College Math" as a High School Transitional Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riggleman, Jennifer S.

2017-01-01

Statistics on the number of students who leave high school underprepared for postsecondary education, and have to take remedial coursework upon entrance to college vary, but, unfortunately, for at least the last 10 years, these statistics have remained high. This study examined the effectiveness of one transitional high school math curriculum…

SPC-Prep 1. Participant's Manual. Workplace Education. Project ALERT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruetz, Nancy

This companion document to the instructor's guide for a course designed to prepare employees for statistical process control (SPC) training given at their workplace by refreshing math skills and building the concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand SPC in manufacturing environments. SPC-Prep 1 addresses the math skills necessary to perform…

Math/Measurement Literacy for Upgrading Skills of Industrial Hourly Workers. Math Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMahon, Joan L.

This manual contains materials for a numeracy course for adult industrial workers. In addition to assessment tests, seven units are provided. Unit topics are whole numbers; fractions; decimals; percents, median, and range; measurement and signed numbers; ratio/proportion and introduction to algebra; and computer literacy using algebra software.…

Math + Science + Technology = Vocational Preparation for Girls: A Difficult Equation to Balance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fear-Fenn, Marcia; Kapostasy, Kathy Karako

1992-01-01

Females are underrepresented in courses in mathematics, science, and computer and other high technology applications. Research in the last decade has identified a variety of factors that contribute to females' lack of participation in math, science, and technology. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: stereotypic images…

From Square Dance to Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremer, Zoe

2010-01-01

In this article, the author suggests a cross-curricular idea that can link with PE, dance, music and history. Teacher David Schmitz, a maths teacher in Illinois who was also a square dance caller, had developed a maths course that used the standard square dance syllabus to teach mathematical principles. He presents an intensive, two-week course…

Algebra for All. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bleyaert, Barbara

2009-01-01

The call for "algebra for all" is not a recent phenomenon. Concerns about the inadequacy of math (and science) preparation in America's high schools have been a steady drumbeat since the 1957 launch of Sputnik; a call for raising standards and the number of math (and science) courses required for graduation has been a part of countless…

The Role of Social Support in Students' Perceived Abilities and Attitudes toward Math and Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Lindsay; Barth, Joan M.; Guadagno, Rosanna E.; Smith, Gabrielle P. A.; McCallum, Debra M.

2013-01-01

Social cognitive models examining academic and career outcomes emphasize constructs such as attitude, interest, and self-efficacy as key factors affecting students' pursuit of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses and careers. The current research examines another under-researched component of social cognitive models: social…

"MathePraxis"--Connecting First-Year Mathematics with Engineering Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harterich, Jorg; Kiss, Christine; Rooch, Aeneas; Monnigmann, Martin; Darup, Moritz Schulze; Span, Roland

2012-01-01

First-year engineering students often complain about their mathematics courses as the significance of the difficult and abstract calculus to their field of study remains unclear. We report on the project "MathePraxis", a feasibility study which was designed as a means to give first-year students some impression about the use of…

Using Linguistics in the Teaching of Developmental and Remedial Algebra.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lesnak, Richard J.

Basic algebra at Robert Morris College (RMC) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a remedial course for students with virtually no algebra background, and for students whose previous experiences with algebra have created math blocks and math anxiety. A study was conducted in an effort to measure quantitatively the benefits of using linguistic methods…

Manufacturing Math Classes: An Instructional Program Guide for Manufacturing Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBride, Pamela G.; And Others

This program guide documents a manufacturing job family curriculum that develops competence in generic work force education skills through three courses: Reading Rulers, Charts, and Gauges and Math for Manufacturing Workers I and II. An annotated table of contents lists a brief description of the questions answered in each section. An introduction…

U.S. Poised to Sit Out TIMSS Test: Physics, Advanced Math Gauged in Global Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viadero, Debra

2007-01-01

This article reports on reactions to the U.S. Department of Education's first time decision to sit out an international study designed to show how advanced high school students around the world measure up in math and science. Mark S. Schneider, the commissioner of the department's National Center for Education Statistics, which normally takes the…

Friends and Family: A Literature Review on How High School Social Groups Influence Advanced Math and Science Coursetaking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Michael; Owens, Ann; Williams, Darryl; Kim, Hui Yon; Musto, Michela

2017-01-01

In this study, we synthesized the literature on how informal contexts, namely friends and family social groups, shape high school students' likelihood of pursuing advanced math and science coursework. Extending scholarly understandings of STEM education, we turned to the body of literature with three guiding questions: (1) What influence do…

Math 3011--College Algebra and Trigonometry. Course Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Inst. of Tech., Old Westbury.

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for a college level mathematics course designed to provide the necessary foundation for success in calculus, develop logical thinking skills, and enhance analytic skills through problem solving. Topics include relations and functions; inequalities; complex numbers;…

Scaling Up: Adapting a Phage-Hunting Course to Increase Participation of First-Year Students in Research

PubMed Central

Staub, Nancy L.; Poxleitner, Marianne; Braley, Amanda; Smith-Flores, Helen; Pribbenow, Christine M.; Jaworski, Leslie; Lopatto, David; Anders, Kirk R.

2016-01-01

Authentic research experiences are valuable components of effective undergraduate education. Research experiences during the first years of college are especially critical to increase persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) model provides a high-impact research experience to first-year students but is usually available to a limited number of students, and its implementation is costly in faculty time and laboratory space. To offer a research experience to all students taking introductory biology at Gonzaga University (n = 350/yr), we modified the traditional two-semester SEA-PHAGES course by streamlining the first-semester Phage Discovery lab and integrating the second SEA-PHAGES semester into other courses in the biology curriculum. Because most students in the introductory course are not biology majors, the Phage Discovery semester may be their only encounter with research. To discover whether students benefit from the first semester alone, we assessed the effects of the one-semester Phage Discovery course on students’ understanding of course content. Specifically, students showed improvement in knowledge of bacteriophages, lab math skills, and understanding experimental design and interpretation. They also reported learning gains and benefits comparable with other course-based research experiences. Responses to open-ended questions suggest that students experienced this course as a true undergraduate research experience. PMID:27146160

Americans Need Advanced Math to Stay Globally Competitive. Math Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

No student who hopes to compete in today's rapidly evolving global economy and job market can afford to graduate from high school with weak mathematical skills, which include the ability to use logic, reason, and solve problems. The benefits associated with improving the math performance of American students also extend to the larger U.S. economy.…

A Student-Led Feedback Protocol on Writing Assignments in a History of Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Diana

2014-01-01

History of math courses are commonly offered in mathematics departments. Such courses naturally lend themselves to writing assignments, and a growing body of research supports writing as a means to learn mathematics. This article details two such assignments, providing an overview of the course in which they are situated, and a student-led…

Research and Teaching: From Gatekeeper to Gateway: Improving Student Success in an Introductory Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Amy N.; McNair, Delores E.; Lucas, Jonathan C.; Land, Kirkwood M.

2017-01-01

Introductory science, math, and engineering courses often have problems related to student engagement, achievement, and course completion. To begin examining these issues in greater depth, this pilot study compared student engagement, achievement, and course completion in a small and large section of an introductory biology class. Results based on…

What Math Matters? Types of Mathematics Knowledge and Relationships to Methods Course Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kajander, Ann; Holm, Jennifer

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effect of a departmental focus on enhanced mathematics knowledge for teaching on overall performance in upper elementary mathematics methods courses. The study examined the effect of performance on a new course in mathematics for teaching on performance at the methods course level. In addition, the effect of performance…

Methods to Improve Performance of Students with Weaker Math Skills in an Algebra-based Physics Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Leigh

2015-03-01

I will describe methods used at the University of Cincinnati to enhance student success in an algebra-based physics course. The first method is to use ALEKS, an adaptive online mathematics tutorial engine, before the term begins. Approximately three to four weeks before the beginning of the term, the professor in the course emails all of the students in the course informing them of the possibility of improving their math proficiency by using ALEKS. Using only a minimal reward on homework, we have achieved a 70% response rate with students spending an average of 8 hours working on their math skills before classes start. The second method is to use a flipped classroom approach. The class of 135 meets in a tiered classroom twice per week for two hours. Over the previous weekend students spend approximately 2 hours reading the book, taking short multiple choice conceptual quizzes, and viewing videos covering the material. In class, students use Learning Catalytics to work through homework problems in groups, guided by the instructor and one learning assistant. Using these interventions, we have reduced the student DWF rate (the fraction of students receiving a D or lower in the class) from an historical average of 35 to 40% to less than 20%.

Modeling an Outbreak of Anthrax

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturdivant, Rod; Watts, Krista

2010-01-01

This article presents material that has been used as a classroom activity in a calculus-based probability and statistics course. The application was used in the first few lessons of this course. Students had three previous semesters of math, including calculus (single and multivariable), differential equations, and a course in mathematical…

Asynchronous Discourse in a Web-Assisted Mathematics Education Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Zhongxiao

2009-01-01

Fall term of 2006, a web-assisted undergraduate mathematics course was taught at the University of Idaho: Math 235 Mathematics for Elementary Teachers I. The course goals were: To foster a deep understanding of critical mathematical content; and to promote the development of mathematical communication and collaboration concepts, skills, and…

Math 3008--Developmental Mathematics II. Course Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Inst. of Tech., Old Westbury.

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for an introductory college algebra course designed to develop student proficiency in the basic algebraic skills. This is designed as the second of a two-semester sequence. Topics include performing operations with radicals and exponents; learning to solve equations;…

Math 3013--Developmental Mathematics I and II. Course Outline.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New York Inst. of Tech., Old Westbury.

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for an introductory college algebra course that requires some previous knowledge of algebra and the ability to work at a rapid pace. Topics include the basic operations with signed integers; fractions; decimals; literal expressions; algebraic fractions; radicals;…

Pedagogical Reform and College WOMEN’S Persistence in Mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strand, Kerry J. Strand; Mayfield, M. Elizabeth

Significant gender differences persist in the election of mathematics courses and math-related majors in college. Recent research suggests that part of the blame lies with conventional pedagogical approaches and that alternative approaches emphasizing practical applications, collaborative problem solving, and group work make mathematics more understandable and appealing to all students, particularly women. Using questionnaires administered to 355 traditional-age female college students, the authors examined the relationship between alternative teaching strategies in high school mathematics classes and two categories of outcome variables: mathematics-related attitudes and mathematics persistence in college. Multivariate analysis showed that experience with this so-called female-friendly pedagogy is positively related to students’ math-related attitudes and that these attitudes predict math persistence in college. However, the authors’ data also indicate that alternative teaching strategies have no discernible direct effect on students’ choices of mathematics courses or mathrelated

Effects of Course Experiences on Self-Efficacy in Teaching Math: A Case Study of Preservice Elementary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogden, Michele A.

2012-01-01

Elementary students' math achievement in the United States is mediocre in comparison to that of students in other countries. Students in California perform below the national average on standardized tests. Reform efforts in mathematics education aim at proficiency in fact fluency, procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and application of…

Maths Anxiety in Psychology Undergraduates: A Mixed-Methods Approach to Formulating and Implementing Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Ross; Wylie, Judith; Hanna, Donncha

2016-01-01

Due to the empirical nature of the discipline, psychology students, during the course of their degree, are required to become proficient with a range of quantitative methods. Unfortunately many of these students experience high levels of maths anxiety, which can have a damaging effect on this aspect of their educational development. The first…

Using Multiple Measures to Make Math Placement Decisions: Implications for Access and Success in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngo, Federick; Kwon, William W.

2015-01-01

Community college students are often placed in developmental math courses based on the results of a single placement test. However, concerns about accurate placement have recently led states and colleges across the country to consider using other measures to inform placement decisions. While the relationships between college outcomes and such…

Active Learning in a Math for Liberal Arts Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenz, Laurie

2015-01-01

Inquiry-based learning is a topic of growing interest in the mathematical community. Much of the focus has been on using these methods in calculus and higher-level classes. This article describes the design and implementation of a set of inquiry-based learning activities in a Math for Liberal Arts course at a small, private, Catholic college.…

What Adds Up?: Math Enrollment and Graduation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Utah System of Higher Education, 2015

2015-01-01

College students struggling to pass a college level math course required for Quantitative Literacy (QL) credit1 has been a common issue facing many institutions in higher education. In the fall of 2014, the Utah State Board of Regents solidified a statewide initiative that set goals for each of the Utah System of Higher Education institutions (UU,…

Problems in the Pipeline: Stereotype Threat and Women's Achievement in High-Level Math Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Good, Catherine; Aronson, Joshua; Harder, Jayne Ann

2008-01-01

It is well established that negative stereotypes can undermine women's performance on mathematics tests. Despite considerable laboratory evidence for the role of "stereotype threat" in girls' and women's math test performance, the relevance of such findings for the "real world" gender test-score gap remains unclear and debates about causes focus…

ESL Mentoring for Secondary Rural Educators: Math and Science Teachers Become Second Language Specialists through Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen-Thomas, Holly; Grosso Richins, Liliana

2015-01-01

This article draws on data from the capstone graduate course in a specially designed professional development program for rural math and science teachers that describes how participant teachers translated their newly acquired knowledge about English as a second language (ESL) into a mentoring experience for their rural content specialist peers.…

Building a High School Math Research Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerver, Robert; Santucci, Lauren; Leventhal, Hanah

2017-01-01

For decades, all honors students at North Shore High School in New York were required to write a mathematics paper. In 1991, these papers were eliminated, and a new elective, "Investigations in Math Research," was added to the course catalog. Research is not an innate skill, and now, students of all ability levels who wanted the research…

What Is Math? Exploring the Perception of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burton, Megan

2012-01-01

Sixty-two elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics methods course were asked to "draw math" at the beginning and end of the semester. These drawings were used to examine the initial perceptions and how these changed by the end of the semester of methods and field experiences. Findings describe the various drawings and…

The Prevalence or Absence of Attention to Adolescent Literature in the Initial Preparation of Secondary Content Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruiz, Amanda M.; Many, Joyce E.; Aoulou, Eudes

2011-01-01

This study examined uses of adolescent literature included secondary teacher preparation in English, math, science, and social studies education at 12 institutions. Analyses revealed programs emphasized adolescent literature in a variety of ways and most often in courses for English majors. Only two institutions required that prospective math,…

Rigor "and" Relevance: Enhancing High School Students' Math Skills through Career and Technical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, James R., III; Alfeld, Corinne; Pearson, Donna

2008-01-01

Numerous high school students, including many who are enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses, do not have the math skills necessary for today's high-skill workplace or college entrance requirements. This study tests a model for enhancing mathematics instruction in five high school CTE programs (agriculture, auto technology,…

Gender Differences in Children's Math Self-Concept in the First Years of Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindberg, Sven; Linkersdörfer, Janosch; Ehm, Jan-Henning; Hasselhorn, Marcus; Lonnemann, Jan

2013-01-01

In the course of elementary school, children start to develop an academic self-concept reflecting their motivation, thoughts, and feelings about a specific domain. For the domain of mathematics, gender differences can emerge which are characterized by a less pronounced math self-concept for girls. However, studies are rather sparse regarding the…

Evaluating the Benefits of Providing Archived Online Lectures to In-Class Math Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cascaval, Radu C.; Fogler, Kethera A.; Abrams, Gene D.; Durham, Robert L.

2008-01-01

The present study examines the impact of a novel online video lecture archiving system on in-class students enrolled in traditional math courses at a mid-sized, primarily undergraduate, university in the West. The archiving system allows in-class students web access to complete video recordings of the actual classroom lectures, and sometimes of…

Middle School Student Factors as Predictors of College Readiness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karnick, Kelley

2013-01-01

In this study, several middle school factors of students from two consecutive graduating classes were analyzed to determine what relation they had to college readiness, as measured by ACT subtest scores. The academic factors included: 8th grade EXPLORE composite score, 7th grade spring reading and math MAP scores, highest math course completed in…

Long-term Stable Conservative Multiscale Methods for Vortex Flows

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-31

Computational and Applied Mathematics and Engeneering, Eccomas 2016 (Crete, June, 2016) - M. A. Olshanskii, Scientific computing seminar of Math ...UMass Dartmouth (October 2015) - L. Rebholz, Applied Math Seminar Talk, University of Alberta (October 2015) - L. Rebholz, Colloquium Talk, Scientific...Colloquium, (November 2016) - L. Rebholz, Joint Math Meetings 2017, Special session on recent advances in numerical analysis of PDEs, Atlanta GA

Differential Equations Course Module for the Superior Student - Curriculum Development

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-04-01

13,14 25 Numerical 39 Explore 12 15 26 Project Lab 40 40 13 18 27 Explore 41 41 14 17 28 29 42 42 Table 3. Corresponding Lessons From Basic Math 245...for Math 245". USAFA/DFMS Letter, June 1986. Other Sources 12 . Cass, John R., MaJ, USAF. Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Department of...39 Exploration Work: 40 4.6 Convolution Integral Work: 1, 3, 12 41 GRADED REVIEW III REVIEW 42 Review/Critique 25 -’." .. ~ MATH 245A HANDOUT FALL

Communication Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

MedlinePlus

... or an advanced ability to count and do math calculations. Approximately 10 percent of children with ASD ... areas, such as memorization, calendar calculation, music, or math. Uneven language development. Many children with ASD develop ...

Stated Briefly: Participation and Pass Rates for College Preparatory Transition Courses in Kentucky. REL 2015-060

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cramer, Eric; Mokher, Christine

2015-01-01

This study examines Kentucky high school students' participation and pass rates in college preparatory transition courses, voluntary remedial courses in math and reading offered to grade 12 students. These courses are targeted to students scoring just below the state's college readiness benchmarks on the ACT in grade 11. The study found that:…

Assessing Quantitative Learning With The Math You Need When You Need It

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenner, J. M.; Baer, E. M.; Burn, H.

2008-12-01

We present new data from a pilot project using the The Math You Need, When You Need It (TMYN) web resources in conjunction with several introductory geoscience courses. TMYN is a series of NSF-supported, NAGT-sponsored, web-based modular resources designed to help students learn (or relearn) mathematical skills essential for success in introductory geoscience courses. TMYN presents mathematical topics that are relevant to introductory geoscience based on a survey of more than 75 geoscience faculty members. To date, modules include unit conversions, many aspects of graphing, density calculations, rearranging equations and other simple mathematical concepts commonly used in the geosciences. The modular nature of the resources make it simple to select the units that are appropriate for a given course. In the fall of 2008, nine TMYN modules were tested in three courses taught at Highline Community College (Geology 101) and University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (Physical and Environmental Geology). Over 300 students participated in the study by taking pre- and post-tests and completing modules relevant to their course. Feedback about the use of these modules has been mixed. Initial results confirm anecdotal evidence that students initially have difficulty applying mathematical concepts to geologic problems. Furthermore, pre- test results indicate that, although instructors assume that students can perform simple mathematical manipulations, many students arrive in courses without the skills to apply mathematical concepts in problem solving situations. TMYN resources effectively provide support for learning quantitative problem solving and a mechanism for students to engage in self-teaching. Although we have seen mixed results due to a range of instructor engagement with the material, TMYN can have significant effect on students who are math phobic or "can't do math" because they can work at their own pace to overcome affective obstacles such as fear and dislike of mathematics. TMYN is most effective when instructors make explicit connections between material in the modules and course content. Instructors who participated in the study in Fall 2008 reacted positively to the use of TMYN in introductory geoscience courses because the resources require minimal class and prep time. Furthermore, when instructors can hold students responsible for the quantitative concepts covered with TMYN, they feel more comfortable including quantitative information without significant loss of geologic content.

What We Know about Developmental Education Outcomes. Research Overview

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaggars, Shanna Smith; Stacey, Georgia West

2014-01-01

Many recent high school graduates who enter community college are required to take remedial or developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level courses. Developmental courses essentially reteach high school- and junior high school-level content in reading, writing, and math. In some cases, students are referred to two or even…

Mini-Courses: Promoting Interdisciplinary Relationships, Creative Expression, and Social Skill Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunham, Diane

1995-01-01

Outlines a minicourse for the middle level, intended as a foundation for planning courses that meet the unique needs of each school and its students. The course, on the properties of silver, covers the curricular areas of science, social studies, language arts, math, creative arts, and vocational-career education. (HTH)

A Course Which Used Programming to Aid Learning Various Mathematical Concepts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Jane M.

A three unit mathematics course entitled Introduction to Computing evaluated the effectiveness of programing as an aid to learning math concepts and to developing student self-reliance. Sixteen students enrolled in the course at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California; one terminal was available, connected to the Stanford Computation…

"Math Makes Me Sweat" The Impact of Pre-Service Courses on Mathematics Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Beth; vanderSandt, Suriza

2011-01-01

We investigate mathematics anxiety amongst education majors currently enrolled as pre-service teachers in special education, deaf and hard of hearing, early childhood and elementary education. The impact of a compulsory freshmen content course and sophomore methodology course on mathematics anxiety for each education major was studied over a two…

Preservice Education of Math Teachers Using Paradoxes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Movshovitz-Hadar, Nitsa; Hadass, Rina

Teacher preparation curriculum at Technion--Israel Institute of Technology (Israel) includes courses intended to bridge the gap between the pure mathematics courses and those in psychology. The focus of this paper is an experimental program for one of these courses and data collected while implementing it. This is a second report on a naturalistic…

Standardized Curriculum for Machine Tool Operation/Machine Shop.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mississippi State Dept. of Education, Jackson. Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education.

Standardized vocational education course titles and core contents for two courses in Mississippi are provided: machine tool operation/machine shop I and II. The first course contains the following units: (1) orientation; (2) shop safety; (3) shop math; (4) measuring tools and instruments; (5) hand and bench tools; (6) blueprint reading; (7)…

What's My Math Course Got to Do with Biology?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burks, Robert; Lindquist, Joseph; McMurran, Shawnee

2008-01-01

At United States Military Academy, a unit on biological modeling applications forms the culminating component of the first semester core mathematics course for freshmen. The course emphasizes the use of problem-solving strategies and modeling to solve complex and ill-defined problems. Topic areas include functions and their shapes, data fitting,…

The Misplaced Math Student: Lost in Eighth-Grade Algebra. The 2008 Brown Center Report on American Education. Special Release

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loveless, Tom

2008-01-01

This new study is being released as an advance excerpt of the 2008 Brown Center Report on American Education. This new report finds that the nation's push to challenge more students by placing them in advanced math classes in eighth grade has had unintended and damaging consequences, as some 120,000 middle-schoolers are now struggling in advanced…

Who Will Do Science? Trends, and Their Causes in Minority and Female Representation among Holders of Advanced Degrees in Science and Mathematics. A Special Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berryman, Sue E.

This paper describes trends in and causes of minority and female representation among holders of advanced science and math degrees. The minority groups studied are Blacks, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, and Asian Americans, all of whom are compared with Whites. The degrees looked at include those in math, the computer sciences, physical…

Factors that Influence Participation of Students in Secondary Science and Mathematics Subjects in IB Schools Outside of the United States and Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Straffon, Elizabeth

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that affect the extent of international secondary students' participation in International Baccalaureate science and mathematics courses. The factors examined were gender, home region, size, percent host culture and age of the program, and coeducational and legal status of the school. Participation in math and science subjects was determined by analyzing the level and number of courses taken by students taking International Baccalaureate exams in 2010. Chi-Square and Cramer's V analysis were used to measure the effect of categorical variables on student participation and One-Way ANOVA and Bonferroni comparison of means were used to analyze the quantitative variables. All categorical variables were statistically significant (p<.01). Home region was the most important factor affecting participation in both math and science. Students from East, Southeast and South-Central Asia; and Eastern Europe have greater participation in math. The highest science participation came from students in East, Southern and Western Africa; and Southeast Asia. Top participators in science came from Australia/New Zealand, Northern Europe, East Africa and South-Central and Western Asia. State schools showed higher math and science participation. Science and math participation was also greater in all-male schools though associations were weak. Boys participated more than girls, especially in math. All quantitative variables were statistically significant. The program size had the largest effect size for both math and science with larger programs showing more participation at the higher level. A decreasing trend for age of the program and percent host culture was found for math participation. Three years of participation data were collected from an international school in Western Europe (n = 194). Variables included the influence of parent occupation, math preparedness (PSAT-Math), student achievement (GPA), and the importance of significant others in career and academic decisions. Findings indicate that performance on the PSAT- Math was the most important predictor of both science and mathematics participation. Twenty students were also interviewed. Results showed the importance of several key factors. These include the role of parents in student academic and career decisions, the importance of personal interest, and the contribution of early decisions in confidence-building.

Assessing Learning Outcomes in Middle-Division Classical Mechanics: The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caballero, Marcos D.; Doughty, Leanne; Turnbull, Anna M.; Pepper, Rachel E.; Pollock, Steven J.

2017-01-01

Reliable and validated assessments of introductory physics have been instrumental in driving curricular and pedagogical reforms that lead to improved student learning. As part of an effort to systematically improve our sophomore-level classical mechanics and math methods course (CM 1) at CU Boulder, we have developed a tool to assess student…

Curricular Choice and Adolescents' Interest in Math: The Roles of Network Diversity and Math Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carolan, Brian V.; Matthews, Jamaal S.

2015-01-01

Background/Context: Over the last two decades, school districts in the United States have increasingly allowed students and their families to choose the schools they attend and, at the high school level, the courses they take. While the movement to provide more curricular choice for students and families has accelerated, so, too, has the policy…

Using Assessment Data to Guide Math Course Placement of California Middle School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Chun-Wei; Snipes, Jason; Finkelstein, Neal

2016-01-01

Middle school math placement and progression are topics that are part of an active policy and practice discussion in California and elsewhere. Beginning in the 2008/09 school year, California's State Board of Education recommended that students complete algebra I by the end of grade 8. Between 2003 and 2009 the proportion of grade 8 students…

Middle School Math Acceleration and Equitable Access to Eighth-Grade Algebra: Evidence from the Wake County Public School System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dougherty, Shaun M.; Goodman, Joshua S.; Hill, Darryl V.; Litke, Erica G.; Page, Lindsay C.

2015-01-01

Taking algebra by eighth grade is considered an important milestone on the pathway to college readiness. We highlight a collaboration to investigate one district's effort to increase middle school algebra course-taking. In 2010, the Wake County Public Schools began assigning middle school students to accelerated math and eighth-grade algebra based…

Educational and Career Interests in Math: A Longitudinal Examination of the Links between Classroom Environment, Motivational Beliefs, and Interests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Ming-Te

2012-01-01

Drawing on the expectancy-value model, stage-environment fit theory, and self-determination theory, this study examined the longitudinal associations between classroom characteristics, expectancies-values, high school course enrollment, and career aspirations in the domain of math. Data were collected on 3,048 youth who reported on their classroom…

Altering Perceptions of Mutual Value by Reframing Diversity as a Resource: An Intervention to Improve Learning Climate and Reduce Gender Disparities in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitamura, Chelsea

2017-01-01

Though women increasingly participate in mathematics courses, substantial gender disparities persist across math domains, with women consistently underperforming compared to their male counterparts. We argue that these disparities are caused in part by learning climates in math environments that negatively affect female students. We suggest that…

Gender Gap in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM): Current Knowledge, Implications for Practice, Policy, and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Ming-Te; Degol, Jessica L.

2017-01-01

Although the gender gap in math course-taking and performance has narrowed in recent decades, females continue to be underrepresented in math-intensive fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Career pathways encompass the ability to pursue a career as well as the motivation to employ that ability. Individual differences…

Hazardous Asteroids: Cloaking STEM Skills Training within an Attention-Grabbing Science/Math Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, Eileen V.; Ryan, William H.

2015-11-01

A graduate-level course was designed and taught during the summer months from 2009 - 2015 in order to contribute to the training and professional development of K-12 teachers residing in the Southwest. The teachers were seeking Master’s degrees via the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology’s (NMT’s) Masters of Science Teaching (MST) program, and the course satisfied a science or math requirement. The MST program provides opportunities for in-service teachers to enhance their content backgrounds in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET). The ultimate goal is to assist teachers in gaining knowledge that has direct application in the classroom.The engaging topic area of near-Earth object (NEO) characterization studies was used to create a fun and exciting framework for mastering basic skills and concepts in physics and astronomy. The objective was to offer a class that had the appropriate science rigor (with an emphasis on mathematics) within a non-threatening format. The course, entitled “Hazardous Asteroids”, incorporates a basic planetary physics curriculum, with challenging laboratories that include a heavy emphasis on math and technology. Since the authors run a NASA-funded NEO research and follow-up program, also folded into the course is the use of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory’s 2.4-meter telescope so participants can take and reduce their own data on a near-Earth asteroid.In exit assessments, the participants have given the course excellent ratings for design and implementation, and the overall degree of satisfaction was high. This validates that a well-constructed (and rigorous) course can be effective in receptively reaching teachers in need of basic skills refreshment. Many of the teachers taking the course were employed in school districts serving at-risk or under-prepared students, and the course helped provide them with the confidence vital to developing new strategies for successful teaching.

The Math You Need at Baylor University: Improving Quantitative Skills in an Introductory Geology Lab Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Browning, S.

2014-12-01

The Math You Need (TMYN) modules were introduced at Baylor University in fall 2012 to address issues of math anxiety common among freshmen non-majors completing their lab science requirement, and to reduce lab time spent reviewing basic math concepts. Modules and associated assessment questions commonly use geoscience examples to illustrate the mathematical principles involved, reinforcing topics addressed in lab. Large enrollments in the course selected for these modules necessitate multiple graduate teaching assistants in the lab, making the online nature of the modules and minimal required involvement of the teaching assistants even more valuable. Students completed three selected modules before encountering associated topics in lab, as well as a pre and post-test to gauge improvement. This presentation will review lessons learned and changes made in the first two years of TMYN at Baylor. Results indicate continued increases in mean pre to post test scores (e.g. 3.2% in fall 2012 to 11.9% in spring 2014), percentage of student pre to post- test improvement (59% in fall 2012 to 72% in spring 2014) and student participation (95 in fall 2012 to 186 in spring 2014). Continued use of these modules is anticipated.

Project- versus Lecture-Based Courses: Assessing the Role of Course Structure on Perceived Utility, Anxiety, Academic Performance, and Satisfaction in the Undergraduate Research Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubenking, Bridget; Dodd, Melissa

2018-01-01

Previous research suggests that undergraduate research methods students doubt the utility of course content and experience math and research anxiety. Research also suggests involving students in hands-on, applied research activities, although empirical data on the scope and nature of these activities are lacking. This study compared academic…

Comparing Enrollment, Characteristics, and Academic Outcomes of Students in Developmental Courses and Those in Credit-Bearing Courses at Northern Marianas College. REL 2017-269

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Phillip; Scanlan, Spencer; Carreon, Daisy

2017-01-01

Many students graduate from high school academically unprepared for college. When such students enroll in college as first-time freshmen, they are commonly placed in non-credit-bearing developmental English and math courses to develop the skills necessary to complete freshman-level credit-bearing courses. Understanding students' college readiness…

Real Estate Course Outlines--Principles, Appraisal, Finance, Law, Math, Property Management, Investments, Marketing, Brokerage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, Robert

This series of course outlines was developed by the Texas Real Estate Research Center to help instructors in developing courses in compliance with the Texas Real Estate License Act Section 7(a). The outlines are general in nature and designed to serve as the basis for the development of a comprehensive course outline based on the texts and…

Use of Multimedia in an Introductory College Biology Course to Improve Comprehension of Complex Material

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhodes, Ashley; Rozell, Tim; Shroyer, Gail

2014-01-01

Many students who have the ability to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines are often alienated by the traditional instructional methods encountered within introductory courses; as a result, attrition from STEM fields is highest after completion of these courses. This is especially true for females. The present…

Using Performance Tasks to Improve Quantitative Reasoning in an Introductory Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kruse, Gerald; Drews, David

2013-01-01

A full-cycle assessment of our efforts to improve quantitative reasoning in an introductory math course is described. Our initial iteration substituted more open-ended performance tasks for the active learning projects than had been used. Using a quasi-experimental design, we compared multiple sections of the same course and found non-significant…

IT0: Discrete Math and Programming Logic Topics as a Hybrid Alternative to CS0

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Nancy L.

2015-01-01

This paper describes the development of a hybrid introductory course for students in their first or second year of an information systems technologies degree program at a large Midwestern university. The course combines topics from discrete mathematics and programming logic and design, a unique twist on most introductory courses. The objective of…

Geometric Probability. New Topics for Secondary School Mathematics. Materials and Software.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc., Reston, VA.

These materials on geometric probability are the first unit in a course being developed by the Mathematics Department at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. This course is designed to prepare high school students who have completed Algebra 2 for the variety of math courses they will encounter in college. Assuming only a knowledge…

Determining College Readiness in California's Community Colleges: A Survey of Assessment and Placement Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Olga; Mejia, Marisol Cuellar; Johnson, Hans

2016-01-01

Every year, California's community colleges identify hundreds of thousands of students as not ready for transfer-level courses in math and English. Since these courses are required to transfer to a four-year college, students deemed underprepared are placed in developmental (also known as remedial or basic-skills) courses to prepare for college…

A College-Level Foundational Mathematics Course: Evaluation, Challenges, and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maciejewski, Wes

2012-01-01

Recently in Ontario, Canada, the College Math Project brought to light startling data on the achievement of students in Ontario's College of Applied Arts and Technology System related to their performance in first-year mathematics courses: one-third of the students had failed their first-year mathematics course or were at risk of not completing…

A Quantitative Study of the Use of "DreamBox Learning" and Its Effectiveness in Improving Math Achievement of Elementary Students with Math Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grams, Devonee

2018-01-01

Math underachievement is of grave concern with 42% of 4th grade and 36% of 8th grade students achieving at a proficient or advanced level in mathematics, and schools are continually searching for interventions to implement with struggling students. The problem addressed in this study is recently an elementary school purchased access to…

Preadmission Predictors of On-time Graduation in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program.

PubMed

Allen, Rondall E; Diaz, Carroll; Gant, Kisha; Taylor, Ashley; Onor, Ifeanyi

2016-04-25

Objective. To determine which preadmission variables or combination of variables are able to predict on-time graduation in a doctor of pharmacy program. Methods. Transcripts and student files were reviewed for 460 students who entered the college between 2007 and 2009. Results. The preadmission variables with significant correlations to on-time graduation included having a prior degree, student type, the number of unsatisfactory grades (nonscience and math-science courses, and the combination), prepharmacy cumulative grade point average (GPA), and math-science GPA. Of these variables, the significant predictors of on-time graduation were prior degree, the presence of no unsatisfactory grades in nonscience courses, and prepharmacy cumulative GPA. Conclusion. Having a prior degree, lack of unsatisfactory grades in nonscience courses, and prepharmacy GPA were identified as significant predictors of on-time graduation.

Preadmission Predictors of On-time Graduation in a Doctor of Pharmacy Program

PubMed Central

Diaz, Carroll; Gant, Kisha; Taylor, Ashley; Onor, Ifeanyi

2016-01-01

Objective. To determine which preadmission variables or combination of variables are able to predict on-time graduation in a doctor of pharmacy program. Methods. Transcripts and student files were reviewed for 460 students who entered the college between 2007 and 2009. Results. The preadmission variables with significant correlations to on-time graduation included having a prior degree, student type, the number of unsatisfactory grades (nonscience and math-science courses, and the combination), prepharmacy cumulative grade point average (GPA), and math-science GPA. Of these variables, the significant predictors of on-time graduation were prior degree, the presence of no unsatisfactory grades in nonscience courses, and prepharmacy cumulative GPA. Conclusion. Having a prior degree, lack of unsatisfactory grades in nonscience courses, and prepharmacy GPA were identified as significant predictors of on-time graduation. PMID:27170814

Undergraduate-postgraduate astronomy in Cambridge - a student's perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, Robin

1991-01-01

This article describes the astronomical scene at Cambridge University from the point of view of a one-time graduate there: I'm now a first-year postgraduate. I progressed from an interest in Maths and Physics at sixth-form level to a degree in Physics and Theoretical Physics, a postgraduate Applied Maths and Theoretical Physics course (Part III) and now to the Institute of Astronomy.

Investigations of Stability in Junior High School Math and English Classes: The Texas Junior High School Study. Research and Development Report No. 77-3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evertson, Carolyn M.; And Others

The stability of classroom behavior is examined from several perspectives: (1) the relative consistency of teacher behavior in two different sections of the same course taught concurrently; (2) the relative consistency of student behavior in math and English classes attended concurrently; and (3) differences in student and teacher behavior in math…

Students' Confidence in the Ability to Transfer Basic Math Skills in Introductory Physics and Chemistry Courses at a Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinn, Reginald

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the confidence levels that community college students have in transferring basic math skills to science classes, as well as any factors that influence their confidence levels. This study was conducted with 196 students at a community college in central Mississippi. The study was conducted during the month…

The Returns to Educational Training in Math and Science for American Women.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hills, Stephen M.; De Souza, Gita

The economic returns of taking math and science courses in high school are estimated for women who do not go on to college and for women entrepreneurs. A human capital model is used to estimate returns for respondents drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey's New Youth Cohort. Wage rates in 1990 of women who were ages 14-21 in 1979 were…

Does Self-Regulated Learning-Skills Training Improve High-School Students' Self-Regulation, Math Achievement, and Motivation While Using an Intelligent Tutor?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barrus, Angela

2013-01-01

This study empirically evaluated the effectiveness of the instructional design, learning tools, and role of the teacher in three versions of a semester-long, high-school remedial Algebra I course to determine what impact self-regulated learning skills and learning pattern training have on students' self-regulation, math achievement, and…

An Exploration of Preference for Numerical Information in Relation to Math Self-Concept and Statistics Anxiety in a Graduate Statistics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Amanda

2014-01-01

The purpose of the current research was to investigate the relationship between preference for numerical information (PNI), math self-concept, and six types of statistics anxiety in an attempt to establish support for the nomological validity of the PNI. Correlations indicate that four types of statistics anxiety were strongly related to PNI, and…

Subsequent Success in a Mathematics Course by Students Who Received a Grade in Intermediate Algebra (Math 253) for the Fall, 2002 Semester at Saddleback College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sworder, Steve

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a typical California community college Intermediate Algebra course in preparing students for success in the transfer level mathematics courses for which Intermediate Algebra was the prerequisite. The subsequent mathematics course taken by each of the 986 students who received a grade…

Integrated STEM in secondary education: A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Meester, Jolien; Knipprath, Heidi; Thielemans, Jan; De Cock, Mieke; Langie, Greet; Dehaene, Wim

2016-05-01

Despite many opportunities to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) in Flemish secondary education, only a minority of pupils are actually pursuing STEM fields in higher education and jobs. One reason could be that they do not see the relevance of science and mathematics. In order to draw their pupils' interest in STEM, a Belgian school started a brand new initiative: the school set up and implemented a first year course that integrates various STEM disciplines, hoping to provide an answer to the question pupils often ask themselves about the need to study math and science. The integrated curriculum was developed by the school's teachers and a STEM education research group of the University of Leuven. To examine the pupils' attitude towards STEM and STEM professions and their notion of relevance of STEM at the end of this one-year course, a post-test was administered to the group of pupils who attended the integrated STEM course (the experimental group) and to a group of pupils that took traditional, non-integrated STEM courses (the control group). The results reveal that attending the integrated STEM course is significantly related to pupils' interest in STEM and notion of relevance of STEM. Another post-test was administered only to the experimental group to investigate pupils' understanding of math and physics concepts and their relation when taught in an integrated way. The results reveal that the pupils have some conceptual understanding and can, to a certain extent, make a transfer of concepts across different STEM disciplines. However, the test results did point out that some additional introductory training in pure math context is needed.

The Language of the Pharaohs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treat, Marcia

1991-01-01

This article describes a course in ancient Egyptian studies for gifted elementary students. The course incorporates social studies, science, math, language, reading/writing, and art activities. Students study history and development of Egyptian culture, reading and writing with glyphs, and analyzing and evaluating Egyptian hieroglyphic writing.…

The Effectiveness of Accelerated Learning on Student Achievement in Developmental Courses Offered at a Rural Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Floyd, Anika Z.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the accelerated course learning format on student achievement in developmental English and math courses offered at a rural community college. Due to a rise in the number of underprepared students who enroll in community college, some college officials implemented the accelerated course…

Participation in Kentucky's College Preparatory Transition Courses: An Update. REL 2017-211

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flory, Michael; Cramer, Eric

2017-01-01

Kentucky offers college preparatory transition courses in math, reading, and English to grade 12 students. The courses are designed as one possible intervention for students who do not meet state college readiness benchmarks in one or more of those subjects on the ACT in grade 11. This study updates a previous Regional Educational Laboratory (REL)…

Factors Affecting Student Academic Success in Gateway Courses at Northern Arizona University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benford, Russell; Gess-Newsome, Julie

2006-01-01

Students in gateway business, math, and science courses at Northern Arizona University receive non-passing grades (grades of D, F, and W) at high rates. To identify possible trends in demographic groups that receive DFWs and to investigate why students receive DFWs in these courses, a student survey was administered to 719 students in 7 gateway…

Teaching biology through statistics: application of statistical methods in genetics and zoology courses.

PubMed

Colon-Berlingeri, Migdalisel; Burrowes, Patricia A

2011-01-01

Incorporation of mathematics into biology curricula is critical to underscore for undergraduate students the relevance of mathematics to most fields of biology and the usefulness of developing quantitative process skills demanded in modern biology. At our institution, we have made significant changes to better integrate mathematics into the undergraduate biology curriculum. The curricular revision included changes in the suggested course sequence, addition of statistics and precalculus as prerequisites to core science courses, and incorporating interdisciplinary (math-biology) learning activities in genetics and zoology courses. In this article, we describe the activities developed for these two courses and the assessment tools used to measure the learning that took place with respect to biology and statistics. We distinguished the effectiveness of these learning opportunities in helping students improve their understanding of the math and statistical concepts addressed and, more importantly, their ability to apply them to solve a biological problem. We also identified areas that need emphasis in both biology and mathematics courses. In light of our observations, we recommend best practices that biology and mathematics academic departments can implement to train undergraduates for the demands of modern biology.

75 FR 79350 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-20

... postsecondary world; and what courses, majors, first job, and careers students decide to pursue when, why, and how, especially, but not solely, in regards to science, technology, engineering, and math courses, majors, and careers. This study includes a new student assessment in algebraic skills, reasoning, and...

Meeting Oregon's New High School Math Graduation Requirements: Examining Student Enrollment and Teacher Availability. Issues & Answers. REL 2012-No. 126

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raphael, Jacqueline; Sage, Nicole; Ishimaru, Ann

2012-01-01

Disaggregating the data across four school variables--size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch--this study examines the extent to which Oregon grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math courses during 2006/07 and 2007/08 would not have been on track to graduate had the new…

Meeting Oregon's New High School Math Graduation Requirements: Examining Student Enrollment and Teacher Availability. Summary. Issues & Answers. REL 2012-No. 126

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raphael, Jacqueline; Sage, Nicole; Ishimaru, Ann

2012-01-01

Disaggregating the data across four school variables--size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch--this study examines the extent to which Oregon grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math courses during 2006/07 and 2007/08 would not have been on track to graduate had the new…

An "Elective Replacement" Approach to Providing Extra Help in Math: The Talent Development Middle Schools' Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration (CATAMA) Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mac Iver, Douglas J.; Balfanz, Robert; Plank, Stephan B.

1999-01-01

Two studies evaluated the Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration course (CATAMA) in Talent Development Middle Schools. The first study compared growth in math achievement for 96 seventh-graders (48 of whom participated in CATAMA and 48 of whom did not); the second study gathered data from interviews with, and observations of, CATAMA…

An investigation into whether nursing student alter their attitudes and knowledge levels regarding HIV infection and AIDS following a 3-year programme leading to registration as a qualified nurse.

PubMed

Snowden, L

1997-06-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a 3-year programme of nursing studies enabled nursing students to graduate from the course with greater knowledge and more positive attitudes towards HIV infection and AIDS than when they began the course. Students on a maths and information technology course were used as controls. The study involved the use of a questionnaire which gathered information about students' experience, knowledge, attitudes and moral judgement regarding HIV infection and AIDS. The experimental hypothesis stated that nursing students would show a greater increase in knowledge and positive attitude change towards HIV infection and AIDS than maths students. The results showed significant differences between third year nursing students' knowledge about HIV and AIDS when compared with other groups but it was noted that knowledge levels for all groups was quite low. There was no difference between first and third year nursing students' attitudes and moral judgement about HIV and AIDS but there was a significant difference between nursing students and maths students. It was suggested that there is a need to modify nurse education programmes in order to have greater impact on this topic area.

Academic performance: A case study of mathematics and science educators from rural Washington high schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hancock, Tira K.

A qualitative descriptive case study explored courses of action for educators and leaders of math and science educators to implement to help students achieve state assessment standard and postsecondary success. The problem focused on two demographically similar rural high schools in Southwest Washington that demonstrated inadequate rates of student achievement in mathematics and science. The research question investigated courses of action that may assist educators and leaders of secondary math and science educators to help students achieve WASL standards and postsecondary success in compliance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. Senge's learning organization theory (1990, 2006) and Fullan's (2001) contributions to leading and learning in times of change provided the theoretical framework for the study. Twenty study participant responses analyzed with qualitative analysis software QSR NVivo 7 revealed six themes. Triangulation of responses with secondary data from WASL assessment scores and case study school assessment data identified 14 courses of action and three recommendations for educators and leaders of math and science educators to help students meet state standards and postsecondary success. Critical factors identified in the study as needed to assist educators to help students succeed included professional development, collaboration, teaching practices, funding, student accountability, and parental involvement.

The role of social support in students' perceived abilities and attitudes toward math and science.

PubMed

Rice, Lindsay; Barth, Joan M; Guadagno, Rosanna E; Smith, Gabrielle P A; McCallum, Debra M

2013-07-01

Social cognitive models examining academic and career outcomes emphasize constructs such as attitude, interest, and self-efficacy as key factors affecting students' pursuit of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses and careers. The current research examines another under-researched component of social cognitive models: social support, and the relationship between this component and attitude and self-efficacy in math and science. A large cross-sectional design was used gathering data from 1,552 participants in four adolescent school settings from 5th grade to early college (41 % female, 80 % white). Students completed measures of perceived social support from parents, teachers and friends as well as their perceived ability and attitudes toward math and science. Fifth grade and college students reported higher levels of support from teachers and friends when compared to students at other grade levels. In addition, students who perceived greater social support for math and science from parents, teachers, and friends reported better attitudes and had higher perceptions of their abilities in math and science. Lastly, structural equation modeling revealed that social support had both a direct effect on math and science perceived abilities and an indirect effect mediated through math and science attitudes. Findings suggest that students who perceive greater social support for math and science from parents, teachers, and friends have more positive attitudes toward math and science and a higher sense of their own competence in these subjects.

Expanding Girls' Horizons: Strengthening Persistence in the Early Math and Science Education Pipeline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virnoche, Mary E.

Little longitudinal or follow-up data is available on the impact of Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) conferences. The purpose of the conferences is to encourage girls to take more math and science in high school by exposing them to hands-on activities and role models in math and science professions. This paper is based on 2005 and 2006 one-to-one and small-group interview data from 22 high school girls who attended an EYH conference during their middle school years. The data suggests that EYH strengthens girls' persistence in math and science pathways. Most girls came to the conferences already interested in math and science and at the urging of parents or teachers. Most felt empowered through the shared experience with hundreds of other girls and women, and relayed detailed and enthusiastic descriptions of hands-on activities. Many of the girls also drew connections between EYH and their course-taking actions and career goals. This paper highlights examples of these experiences and makes recommendations for future math and science early pipeline diversity work.

Teaching Math to the Talented

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanushek, Eric A.; Peterson, Paul E.; Woessmann, Ludger

2011-01-01

Maintaining America's productivity as a nation depends importantly on developing a highly qualified cadre of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals. To realize that objective requires a system of schooling that produces students with advanced math and science skills. To see how well schools in the United States do at…

Motivational Predictors of Math Course Persistence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Marcela

2014-01-01

Given the growing economic returns to education (Psacharopoulos & Patrinos, 2004) and the overwhelmingly high educational expectations of American high school students (Domina et al., 2011; Goyette, 2008), one might expect nearly all U.S. high school students to take as many academic courses as they can. Consistent with this expectation, much…

Integration of CAI into a Freshmen Liberal Arts Math Course in the Community College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCall, Michael B.; Holton, Jean L.

1982-01-01

Discusses four computer-assisted-instruction programs used in a college-level mathematics course to introduce computer literacy and improve mathematical skills. The BASIC programs include polynomial functions, trigonometric functions, matrix algebra, and differential calculus. Each program discusses mathematics theory and introduces programming…

Mathematical Modeling Projects: Success for All Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shelton, Therese

2018-01-01

Mathematical modeling allows flexibility for a project-based experience. We share details of our regular capstone course, successful for virtually 100% of our math majors for almost two decades. Our research-like approach in this course accommodates a variety of student backgrounds and interests, and has produced some award-winning student…

Business Math at the College Level: Pretesting for Course Sectioning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swartz, Rose Ann; Swartz, Fred

1981-01-01

An investigation into the effectiveness of pretesting using a departmental business mathematics test and the ACT mathematics test was conducted at Ferris State College. Both students and faculty seemed to benefit from the decision to use the ACT mathematics score in sectioning the business mathematics course. (CT)

Math Skills Curriculum Binder. Workplace Training Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane Community Coll., Eugene, OR.

This document, which is intended for workplace trainers, contains materials for conducting five workplace mathematics courses that were developed through the Workplace Training Project, a partnership involving Lane Community College in Oregon and five area businesses. The five courses, which were developed by project staff based on the business…

Machine Operator Training Program and Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. Cyr, David; And Others

This curriculum contains materials for use in duplicating the 11-week course for machine operators that was implemented at New Hampshire Vocational-Technical College in Nashua, New Hampshire. Addressed in the course, which is designed to prepare entry-level employees, are the following topics: basic math, blueprint reading, layout tools and…

Laboratory-Tutorial Activities for Teaching Probability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wittmann, Michael C.; Morgan, Jeffrey T.; Feeley, Roger E.

2006-01-01

We report on the development of students' ideas of probability and probability density in a University of Maine laboratory-based general education physics course called "Intuitive Quantum Physics". Students in the course are generally math phobic with unfavorable expectations about the nature of physics and their ability to do it. We…

Math anxiety and exposure to statistics in messages about genetically modified foods: effects of numeracy, math self-efficacy, and form of presentation.

PubMed

Silk, Kami J; Parrott, Roxanne L

2014-01-01

Health risks are often communicated to the lay public in statistical formats even though low math skills, or innumeracy, have been found to be prevalent among lay individuals. Although numeracy has been a topic of much research investigation, the role of math self-efficacy and math anxiety on health and risk communication processing has received scant attention from health communication researchers. To advance theoretical and applied understanding regarding health message processing, the authors consider the role of math anxiety, including the effects of math self-efficacy, numeracy, and form of presenting statistics on math anxiety, and the potential effects for comprehension, yielding, and behavioral intentions. The authors also examine math anxiety in a health risk context through an evaluation of the effects of exposure to a message about genetically modified foods on levels of math anxiety. Participants (N = 323) were randomly assigned to read a message that varied the presentation of statistical evidence about potential risks associated with genetically modified foods. Findings reveal that exposure increased levels of math anxiety, with increases in math anxiety limiting yielding. Moreover, math anxiety impaired comprehension but was mediated by perceivers' math confidence and skills. Last, math anxiety facilitated behavioral intentions. Participants who received a text-based message with percentages were more likely to yield than participants who received either a bar graph with percentages or a combined form. Implications are discussed as they relate to math competence and its role in processing health and risk messages.

The Effect of a Math Emporium Course Redesign in Developmental and Introductory Mathematics Courses on Student Achievement and Students' Attitudes toward Mathematics at a Two-Year College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bishop, Amy Renee

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of computer-based instruction on student mathematics achievement and students' attitudes toward mathematics in developmental and introductory mathematics courses, namely Elementary Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, and College Algebra, at a community college. The researcher also examined the…

Physics First: Impact on SAT Math Scores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouma, Craig E.

Improving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has become a national priority and the call to modernize secondary science has been heard. A Physics First (PF) program with the curriculum sequence of physics, chemistry, and biology (PCB) driven by inquiry- and project-based learning offers a viable alternative to the traditional curricular sequence (BCP) and methods of teaching, but requires more empirical evidence. This study determined impact of a PF program (PF-PCB) on math achievement (SAT math scores) after the first two cohorts of students completed the PF-PCB program at Matteo Ricci High School (MRHS) and provided more quantitative data to inform the PF debate and advance secondary science education. Statistical analysis (ANCOVA) determined the influence of covariates and revealed that PF-PCB program had a significant (p < .05) impact on SAT math scores in the second cohort at MRHS. Statistically adjusted, the SAT math means for PF students were 21.4 points higher than their non-PF counterparts when controlling for prior math achievement (HSTP math), socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity/race.

Effects of a Math Intervention Program on Math Academic Performance among African American Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Willie F., Jr.

2013-01-01

In the United States, an academic achievement gap has prevented many African American students from advancement and educational empowerment. Guided by Bandura's theoretical belief, which posits a relationship between social factors and an individual's perception, this non-experimental, causal comparative, control treatment group design study…

Math Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oguntoyinbo, Lekan

2012-01-01

Many experts give the nation's schools a poor grade for their approach to teaching mathematics and for their preparation of mathematics teachers. While many policymakers make much of data that suggest children in the United States lag behind many other advanced countries in math, many experts call for a change in mathematics education,…

Math Interventions for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Best-Evidence Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Seth A.; Lemons, Christopher J.; Davidson, Kimberly A.

2016-01-01

Educators need evidence-based practices to assist students with disabilities in meeting increasingly rigorous standards in mathematics. Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are increasingly expected to demonstrate learning of basic and advanced mathematical concepts. This review identifies math intervention studies involving children and…

A Mohawk Vision of Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Mary

1996-01-01

Discusses the Ahkwesahsne Science and Math Project, a holistic bioregional curriculum designed to help students of the Mohawk culture in Canada. The program aimed to stress the local ecosystem and develop a curriculum based in Mohawk culture while encouraging the students to also pursue the advanced levels of math and science. (AIM)

Assessing learning outcomes in middle-division classical mechanics: The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caballero, Marcos D.; Doughty, Leanne; Turnbull, Anna M.; Pepper, Rachel E.; Pollock, Steven J.

2017-06-01

Reliable and validated assessments of introductory physics have been instrumental in driving curricular and pedagogical reforms that lead to improved student learning. As part of an effort to systematically improve our sophomore-level classical mechanics and math methods course (CM 1) at CU Boulder, we have developed a tool to assess student learning of CM 1 concepts in the upper division. The Colorado Classical Mechanics and Math Methods Instrument (CCMI) builds on faculty consensus learning goals and systematic observations of student difficulties. The result is a 9-question open-ended post test that probes student learning in the first half of a two-semester classical mechanics and math methods sequence. In this paper, we describe the design and development of this instrument, its validation, and measurements made in classes at CU Boulder and elsewhere.

Students Achieve More in New York Integrated Math AB with TI Graphing Calculators and the TI-Navigator[TM] System. Case Study 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morse, Dana F.

2007-01-01

This study took place at Skaneateles High School in Skaneateles, New York in a grade 10 Integrated Math AB course with 52 students in 3 sections using the TI-84 Plus family graphing calculators and the TI-Navigator classroom learning system with a projector and interactive whiteboard. New York State is phasing in a new curriculum that integrates…

The Math You Need, When You Need It: Student-Centered Web Resources Designed to Decrease Math Review and Increase Quantitative Geology in the Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wenner, J. M.; Baer, E. M.

2007-12-01

Introductory geoscience courses are rife with quantitative concepts from graphing to rates to unit conversions. Recent research suggests that supplementary mathematical instruction increases post-secondary students' retention and performance in science courses. Nonetheless, many geoscience faculty feel that they do not have enough time to cover all the geoscience content, let alone covering the math they often feel students should have learned before reaching their classes. We present our NSF-funded effort to create web modules for students that address these concerns. Our web resources focus on both student performance and faculty time issues by building students' quantitative skills through web-based, self-paced modular tutorials. Each module can be assigned to individual students who have demonstrated on a pre-test that they are in need of supplemental instruction. The pre-test involves problems that place mathematical concepts in a geoscience context and determines the students who need the most support with these skills. Students needing support are asked to complete a three-pronged web-based module just before the concept is needed in class. The three parts of each tutorial include: an explanation of the mathematics, a page of practice problems and an on-line quiz that is graded and sent to the instructor. Each of the modules is steeped in best practices in mathematics and geoscience education, drawing on multiple contexts and utilizing technology. The tutorials also provide students with further resources so that they can explore the mathematics in more depth. To assess the rigor of this program, students are given the pre-test again at the end of the course. The uniqueness of this program lies in a rich combination of mathematical concepts placed in multiple geoscience contexts, giving students the opportunity to explore the way that math relates to the physical world. We present several preliminary modules dealing with topics common in introductory geoscience courses. We seek feedback from faculty teaching all levels of geoscience addressing several questions: In what math/geoscience topics do you feel students need supplemental instruction? Where do students come up against quantitative topics that make them drop the class or perform poorly? Would you be willing to review or help us to test these modules in your class?

Deliberation as Communication Instruction: A Study of a Climate Change Deliberation in an Introductory Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drury, Sara A. Mehltretter

2015-01-01

The author argues that deliberation is an innovative method for teaching communication skills, particularly group communication, in the undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. A case study using a deliberation activity on global climate change in an introductory biology course demonstrates how deliberative…

An Interactive Environmental Science Course for Education Science Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lunsford, Suzanne K.; Slattery, William

2006-01-01

An interactive environmental science course was designed to provide a set of learning experiences that connect chemistry, geology, biology, physics, and math with the future careers as teachers. The environment deals with many factors contributing with the quality of life, such as the air, the water and the protective shelter of the atmosphere.

In Praise of the Catenary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Behroozi, F.

2018-01-01

When a chain hangs loosely from its end points, it takes the familiar form known as the catenary. Power lines, clothes lines, and chain links are familiar examples of the catenary in everyday life. Nevertheless, the subject is conspicuously absent from current introductory physics and calculus courses. Even in upper-level physics and math courses,…

A Comparison of Constructivist and Traditional Instruction in Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alsup, John

2004-01-01

The researcher in this study theorized that preservice elementary teachers who had taken a semester-long mathematics course emphasizing a constructivist approach to instruction would realize a decreased level of math anxiety and gains in perceived teaching efficacy and autonomy over those who had taken a teacher-centered course based on a more…

Are Face-to-Face Classes More Effective than Online Classes? An Empirical Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganesh, Gopala; Paswan, Audhesh; Sun, Qin

2015-01-01

Using data from a unique undergraduate marketing math course offered in both traditional and online formats, this study looks at four dimensions of course evaluation: overall evaluation, perceived competence, perceived communication, and perceived challenge. Results indicate that students rate traditional classes better on all four dimensions.…

Design and Assessment of an "Engineering" Course for Non-Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sorby, Sheryl A.; Oppliger, Douglas E.; Boersma, Norma

2006-01-01

As a profession, engineering is not well understood by the general public. Engineers are perceived as "geeks" who love math and who have few interests outside of technical work. In short, the engineering profession has an image problem. In order to counteract this negative stereotyping, an engineering course for non-majors was developed…

The Risks and Opportunities Associated with Weak Arithmatic Skills of Accounting Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kerr, Stephen; Krull, George

2017-01-01

This paper explored the authors' concerns about students enrolled in their introductory accounting course. Anecdotal evidence suggested that students struggle with basic arithmetic concepts that underlie basic business transactions even though their math placement and ACT scores are high. A survey of 125 students in a first accounting course was…

Changes in Teachers' Adaptive Expertise in an Engineering Professional Development Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Taylor; Peacock, Stephanie Baker; Ko, Pat; Rudolph, Jennifer J.

2015-01-01

Although the consensus seems to be that high-school-level introductory engineering courses should focus on design, this creates a problem for teacher training. Traditionally, math and science teachers are trained to teach and assess factual knowledge and closed-ended problem-solving techniques specific to a particular discipline, which is unsuited…

The Academic Training of Two-Year College Mathematics Faculty.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Calvin T.

The academic training needs of two-year college mathematics faculty are discussed in this paper and appropriate courses of study are proposed. After introductory comments on the diversity of two-year college students' needs for mathematics education, an undergraduate course of study appropriate for two-year college math faculty is proposed. This…

Geometry: Career Related Units. Teacher's Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierro, Mike; And Others

Using six geometry units as resource units, the document explores 22 math-related careers. The authors intend the document to provide senior high school students with career orientation and exploration experiences while they learn geometry skills. The units are to be considered as a part of a geometry course, not a course by themselves. The six…

Using E-mail in a Math/Computer Core Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurwitz, Chaya

This paper notes the advantages of using e-mail in computer literacy classes, and discusses the results of incorporating an e-mail assignment in the "Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning and Computer Programming" core course at Brooklyn College (New York). The assignment consisted of several steps. The students first read and responded…

Investigating the Effects of a Math-Enhanced Agricultural Teaching Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stripling, Christopher T.; Roberts, T. Grady

2013-01-01

Numerous calls have been made for agricultural education to support core academic subject matter including mathematics. Previous research has shown that the incorporation of mathematics content into a teaching methods course had a positive effect on preservice teachers' mathematics content knowledge. The purpose of this study was to investigate…

An Introductory Course: The Vector Space Theory of Matter

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsen, F. A.

1972-01-01

A course for superior freshmen for both science and liberal arts majors that satisfies the freshman chemistry requirement is discussed. It has been taught for six years and utilizes the new math'' which is based on the elementary concept of a set. A syllabus for the two semesters is included. (DF)

Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs about Knowledge, Mathematics, and Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cady, Jo Ann; Rearden, Kristin

2007-01-01

This study examines the beliefs of K-8 preservice teachers during a content methods course. The goals of this course included exposing the preservice teachers to student-centered instructional methods for math and science and encouraging the development of lessons that would integrate mathematics and science. Prior research suggested that one must…

Gum chewing improves adolescents’ math performance in an SAT preparatory course

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of gum chewing on students’ performance in a preparatory course for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). A total of 182 adolescents enrolled in an SAT preparatory class were randomized into one of two treatments: 1) gum chewing condition (G...

Closing the Gap. SREB Program Blends Academic Standards, Vocational Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottoms, Gene

1992-01-01

Southern Regional Education Board's State Vocational Education Consortium developed a model for integrating vocational and academic education that includes at least three credits each in math and science; four English courses; and four credits in a vocational major and two in related fields. Eight sites implementing the model have narrowed gap…

Teaching Technology with Technology. An Off-the-Shelf Robotics Course Builds Technical Center Enrollment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hannemann, Jim; Rice, Thomas R.

1991-01-01

At the Oakland Technical Center, which provides vocational programs for nine Michigan high schools, a one-semester course in Foundations of Technology Systems uses a computer-simulated manufacturing environment to teach applied math, science, language arts, communication skills, problem solving, and teamwork in the context of technology education.…

A Comprehensive Probability Project for the Upper Division One-Semester Probability Course Using Yahtzee

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Jason; Lawman, Joshua; Murphy, Rachael; Nelson, Marissa

2011-01-01

This article describes a probability project used in an upper division, one-semester probability course with third-semester calculus and linear algebra prerequisites. The student learning outcome focused on developing the skills necessary for approaching project-sized math/stat application problems. These skills include appropriately defining…

Math Task Force's Bad Calculation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winders, Mike; Bisk, Richard

2014-01-01

The number of incoming college students who require development mathematics coursework is a national problem. This is an enormous area of concern for a number of reasons--such as the monetary cost to students who must take courses for which they are not granted credit, and colleges and universities who must pay instructors to teach such courses.…

Effect of Task Presentation on Students' Performances in Introductory Statistics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomasetto, Carlo; Matteucci, Maria Cristina; Carugati, Felice; Selleri, Patrizia

2009-01-01

Research on academic learning indicates that many students experience major difficulties with introductory statistics and methodology courses. We hypothesized that students' difficulties may depend in part on the fact that statistics tasks are commonly viewed as related to the threatening domain of math. In two field experiments which we carried…

Self-regulated learning and science achievement in a community college

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maslin, (Louisa) Lin-Yi L.

Self-regulated learning involves students' use of strategies and skills to adapt and adjust towards achievement in school. This research investigates the extent to which self-regulated learning is employed by community college students, and also the correlates of self-regulated learning: Is it used more by students in advanced science classes or in some disciplines? Is there a difference in the use of it by students who complete a science course and those who do not? How does it relate to GPA and basic skills assessments and science achievement? Does it predict science achievement along with GPA and assessment scores? Community college students (N = 547) taking a science course responded to the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The scales measured three groups of variables: (1) cognitive strategies (rehearsal, elaboration, organization, and critical thinking); (2) metacognitive self-regulation strategies (planning, monitoring, and self-regulation); and (3) resource management strategies (time and study environment, effort regulation, peer learning, and help-seeking). Students' course scores, college GPA, and basic skills assessment scores were obtained from faculty and college records. Students who completed a science course were found to have higher measures on cumulative college GPAs and assessment scores, but not on self-regulated learning. Self-regulated learning was found not to be used differently between students in the advanced and beginning science groups, or between students in different disciplines. The exceptions were that the advanced group scored higher in critical thinking but lower in effort regulation than the beginning group. Course achievement was found to be mostly unrelated to self-regulated learning, except for several significant but very weak and negative relationships in elaboration, self-regulation, help-seeking, and effort regulation. Cumulative GPA emerged as the only significant predictor of science achievement, accounting for roughly one-third of the variance. The basic skills assessments and self-regulated learning were not significant predictors. English and reading assessments were more highly significant predictors in the biology than in the physical science groups, while math assessment was not related to science achievement.

Classroom Composition and Racial Differences in Opportunities to Learn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minor, Elizabeth Covay

2015-01-01

Black and White advanced math students leave high school with disparate math skills. One possible explanation is that minority students are exposed to different learning opportunities, even when they are taking classes with the same title. Using a convenience sample of the Mathematics Survey of the Enacted Curriculum (SEC), this study found that…

Math-Science Bills Advance in Congress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoff, David J.; Cavanagh, Sean

2007-01-01

Improving K-12 instruction and student achievement in mathematics and science is at the heart of separate bills intended to bolster America's economic standing that won overwhelming approval in both houses of Congress last week. The House on April 24 approved the 10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Science and Math Scholarship Act by a vote of…

Building Interest in Math and Science for Rural and Underserved Elementary School Children Using Robots

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matson, Eric; DeLoach, Scott; Pauly, Robyn

2004-01-01

The "Robot Roadshow Program" is designed to increase the interest of elementary school children in technical disciplines, specifically math and science. The program focuses on children from schools categorized as rural or underserved, which often have limited access to advanced technical resources. We developed the program using robots…

Evaluation of the Rural Math Excel Partnership Project Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nagle, Katherine; Pratt-Williams, Jaunelle; Schmidt, Rebecca; Swantek, Cara; Lyulchenko, Marianna; McGhee, Raymond

2016-01-01

This is the final external evaluation report prepared by SRI International for the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) project, an investing in innovation (i3) development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Operated by Virginia Advanced Study Strategies, Inc. (VASS), the RMEP project included six rural school districts (LEAs) in…

Magic SEED? A New Approach to Teaching Math Produces Some Eye-Popping Results.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shore, Debra

1991-01-01

Project SEED is a successful program that teaches elementary school students advanced math. Specialists conduct 45-minute lessons, asking questions designed to help students discover mathematical logic. Students respond with a system of SEED hand signals which allow everyone to participate and be monitored at once. (SM)

Grading A-Level Double Subject Mathematicians and the Implications for Selection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newbould, Charles A.

1981-01-01

Test data were used to compare the grading of two forms of double mathematics: pure and applied math, and regular and advanced math. Results confirm expectations that in the former system, the grading is comparable, and in the latter, it is not necessarily comparable. Implications for student admission are discussed. (MSE)

Can Financial Aid Help to Address the Growing Need for STEM Education? The Effects of Need-Based Grants on the Completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses and Degrees

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castleman, Benjamin L.; Long, Bridget Terry; Mabel, Zachary

2018-01-01

Although workers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields earn above-average wages, the number of college graduates prepared for STEM jobs lags behind employer demand. A key question is how to recruit and retain college students in STEM majors. We offer new evidence on the role of financial aid in supporting STEM attainment.…

Catalog of Resources for Education in Ada (Trade Name) and Software Engineering (CREASE). Version 5.0.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-04-01

are eligible to participate in this course. This course is not offered for graduate credit. This course is taught by Timothy J. Fullam. For more...information on this course, contact Timothy J. Fullman at the above address and phone number. University of Alaska Southeast CREASE Version 5.0 13 CS 202...259 DATA STRUCTURES USING Ada University Offeror: Gallaudet University Department of Math/Computer Science Washington, DC 20002 (202) 651-5315 The

In Brief: Improving science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2010-09-01

Over the course of the next decade, 100,000 science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teachers should be recruited in the United States, and 1000 new STEM-focused schools should be created, according to a 16 September report, “Prepare and inspire: K-12 education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for America's future.” Noting that the United States lags behind other nations in STEM education at the elementary and secondary levels, the report, prepared by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, also recommends improving federal coordination and leadership on STEM education and supporting a state-led movement for shared standards in math and science. The release of the report coincides with President Barack Obama's announcement of the launch of Change the Equation, an organization that aims to help with math and science education. More information is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp and http://www.changetheequation.org/.

Examining Student Attitudes in Introductory Physics via the Math Attitude and Expectations Survey (MAX)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hemingway, Deborah; Eichenlaub, Mark; Losert, Wolfgang; Redish, Edward F.

2017-01-01

Student often face difficulties with using math in science, and this exploratory project seeks to address the underlying mechanisms that lead to these difficulties. This mixed-methods project includes the creation of two novel assessment surveys, the Mathematical Epistemic Games Survey (MEGS) and the Math Attitude and Expectations Survey (MAX). The MAX, a 30-question Likert-scale survey, focuses on the attitudes towards using mathematics of the students in a reformed introductory physics course for the life sciences (IPLS) which is part of the National Experiment in Undergraduate Education (NEXUS/Physics) developed at the University of Maryland (UMD). Preliminary results from the MAX are discussed with specific attention given to students' attitudes towards math and physics, opinions about interdisciplinarity, and the usefulness of physics in academic settings as well as in professional biological research and modern medicine settings.

Videoconferencing in Math and Science Preservice Elementary Teachers' Field Placements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plonczak, Irene

2010-03-01

This study was designed to examine benefits and challenges of teaching through videoconferencing in the context of students’ field placement experiences, particularly as it relates to an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning math and science. In the context of mathematics and science methods courses, preservice teachers, with the supervision of professors, field placement supervisors and cooperating teachers, taught a series of math and science lessons via video conferencing to 5th grade classes in a major urban public school. Two major results of this study indicate that: (1) teaching through videoconferencing highlights strengths and weaknesses in questioning skill techniques that are at the heart of an inquiry-based approach; (2) teaching through videoconferencing raises the intellectual challenge of teaching and allows preservice teachers to look face to face into their limited understanding of the content matter in math and science.

Physics career intentions: The effect of physics identity, math identity, and gender

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lock, Robynne M.; Hazari, Zahra; Potvin, Geoff

2013-01-01

Although nearly half of high school physics students are female, only 21% of physics bachelor's degrees are earned by women. Using data from a national survey of college students in introductory English courses (on science-related experiences, particularly in high school), we examine the influence of students' physics and math identities on their choice to pursue a physics career. Males have higher math and physics identities than females in all three dimensions of our identity framework. These dimensions include: performance/competence (perceptions of ability to perform/understand), recognition (perception of recognition by others), and interest (desire to learn more). A regression model predicting students' intentions to pursue physics careers shows, as expected, that males are significantly more likely to choose physics than females. Surprisingly, however, when physics and math identity are included in the model, females are shown to be equally likely to choose physics careers as compared to males.

Predicting course performance in freshman and sophomore physics courses: Women are more predictable than men

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCammon, Susan; Golden, Jeannie; Wuensch, Karl L.

This study investigated the extent to which thinking skills and mathematical competency would predict the course performance of freshman and sophomore science majors enrolled in physics courses. Multiple-regression equations revealed that algebra and critical thinking skills were the best overall predictors across several physics courses. Although arithmetic skills, math anxiety, and primary mental abilities scores also correlated with performance, they were redundant with the algebra and critical thinking. The most surprising finding of the study was the differential validity by sex; predictor variables were successful in predicting course performance for women but not for men.

Women's underrepresentation in science: sociocultural and biological considerations.

PubMed

Ceci, Stephen J; Williams, Wendy M; Barnett, Susan M

2009-03-01

The underrepresentation of women at the top of math-intensive fields is controversial, with competing claims of biological and sociocultural causation. The authors develop a framework to delineate possible causal pathways and evaluate evidence for each. Biological evidence is contradictory and inconclusive. Although cross-cultural and cross-cohort differences suggest a powerful effect of sociocultural context, evidence for specific factors is inconsistent and contradictory. Factors unique to underrepresentation in math-intensive fields include the following: (a) Math-proficient women disproportionately prefer careers in non-math-intensive fields and are more likely to leave math-intensive careers as they advance; (b) more men than women score in the extreme math-proficient range on gatekeeper tests, such as the SAT Mathematics and the Graduate Record Examinations Quantitative Reasoning sections; (c) women with high math competence are disproportionately more likely to have high verbal competence, allowing greater choice of professions; and (d) in some math-intensive fields, women with children are penalized in promotion rates. The evidence indicates that women's preferences, potentially representing both free and constrained choices, constitute the most powerful explanatory factor; a secondary factor is performance on gatekeeper tests, most likely resulting from sociocultural rather than biological causes. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

The Social Dynamics of Mathematics Coursetaking in High School1

PubMed Central

Frank, Kenneth A.; Muller, Chandra; Schiller, Kathryn S.; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Mueller, Anna Strassmann; Crosnoe, Robert; Pearson, Jennifer

2010-01-01

This study examines how high school boys’ and girls’ academic effort, in the form of math coursetaking, is influenced by members of their social contexts. The authors argue that adolescents’ social contexts are defined, in part, by clusters of students (termed “local positions”) who take courses that differentiate them from others. Using course transcript data from the recent Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study, the authors employ a new network algorithm to identify local positions in 78 high schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Incorporating the local positions into multilevel models of math coursetaking, the authors find that girls are highly responsive to the social norms in their local positions, which contributes to homogeneity within and heterogeneity between local positions. PMID:21031147

Relationship between Active Learning Methodologies and Community College Students' STEM Course Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lesk, Cherish Christina Clark

2017-01-01

Active learning methodologies (ALM) are associated with student success, but little research on this topic has been pursued at the community college level. At a local community college, students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses exhibited lower than average grades. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use…

Designing Social Online Math Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gedeborg, Samuel

2016-01-01

One of the major benefits of the face-to-face teaching environment is that social interaction opportunities are a natural part of the course: Learners meet in the same room for the same allotted period of time each week. This social opportunity is not organic to online courses; therefore, to have this social interaction as a part of online classes…

Addressing Negative Math Attitudes with Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henrich, Allison; Sloughter, J. McLean; Anderson, Jeffrey; Bahuaud, Eric

2016-01-01

In this paper, we share the results of our recent study of a quantitative literacy course with a service-learning component. Our study aims to answer the question: How did student attitudes shift as a result of participating in this course? We present and analyze statistics from pre- and post-surveys in five classes (N = 78) taught by two…

A Real-Life Data Project for an Interdisciplinary Math and Politics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weyhaupt, Adam G.

2012-01-01

We describe a non-statistics, data-based activity developed by the author for an interdisciplinary course on mathematics and politics that uses actual ballot data from the City of San Francisco, California. The assignment is appropriate for a general education audience and develops students' ability to work with data, improves their understanding…

Instructional Systems of Practice: A Multidimensional Analysis of Math and Science Undergraduate Course Planning and Classroom Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hora, Matthew Tadashi; Ferrare, Joseph J.

2013-01-01

Descriptions of faculty practice that illuminate nuances of how course planning and classroom instruction occur in specific contexts are important to inform pedagogical interventions. The study reported in this article draws on systems-of-practice theory to focus on the dynamic interplay among actors, artifacts, and tasks that constrains…

Developing Quantitative Reasoning: Will Taking Traditional Math Courses Suffice? An Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agustin, Ma Zenia; Agustin, Marcus; Brunkow, Paul; Thomas, Susan

2012-01-01

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a postbaccalaureate comprehensive university in the Midwest. In 2005, SIUE embarked on a challenging journey of general education reform. A review of the current general education program revealed that it is possible for a student to graduate from SIUE without taking a quantitative course. Hence,…

Textbook and Course Materials for 21-127 "Concepts of Mathematics"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Brendan W.

2013-01-01

Concepts of Mathematics (21-127 at CMU) is a course designed to introduce students to the world of abstract mathematics, guiding them from more calculation-based math (that one learns in high school) to higher mathematics, which focuses more on abstract thinking, problem solving, and writing "proofs." This transition tends to be a shock:…

College Completion and Participation in a Developmental Math Course for Hispanic and White Non-Hispanic Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glazier, Stephen Gene

2011-01-01

Purpose, Scope, and Method of Study. The population of interest in the study consisted of white and Hispanic high school graduates in the United States who attended college and completed a college developmental mathematics course. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 were employed, and a longitudinal, quasi-experimental…

A Follow-up Study of Two Methods of Teaching Mathematics: Traditional versus New Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walton, Gene A.; And Others

1977-01-01

When high school mathematics grades and test scores were analyzed, findings showed that high- and middle-ability students who had a modern mathematics course in the seventh grade received significantly higher grades in Algebra I, II, III, and Geometry than did students who had a traditional seventh grade mathematics course. (DT)

Instructional Strategies and Course Design for Teaching Statistics Online: Perspectives from Online Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Dazhi

2017-01-01

Background: Teaching online is a different experience from that of teaching in a face-to-face setting. Knowledge and skills developed for teaching face-to-face classes are not adequate preparation for teaching online. It is even more challenging to teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses completely online because these…

A Case Study: Teaching Engineering Concepts in Science. Research in Engineering and Technology Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stricker, David R.

2010-01-01

This study was conducted to describe a teacher developed high school engineering course, to identify teaching strategies used in the process of delivering math and science literacy through this course, to identify challenges and constraints that occurred during its development and delivery, and to describe the strategies that were used to overcome…

The Pipeline and Student Perceptions of Schooling: Good News and Bad News.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Michele S.; And Others

The existence of a math/science "ipieline" in public schooling is well documented in which the number of female students, students with lower socioeconomic status, and students of color in proportion to white males in advanced math and science progressively shrinks during high school. As part of an ongoing gender equity project, separate versions…

Earth Observing System (EOS)/Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) Structural Math Model - A1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ely, W.

1996-01-01

This report presents the description for the NASTRAN finite element for the AMSU-A1 module. The purpose of this report is to document the NASTRAN bulk data deck, transmitted under separate cover. The structural Math Model is to be used by the spacecraft contractor for dynamic loads analysis.

The Common Core Math Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wurman, Ze'ev; Wilson, W. Stephen

2012-01-01

More than 40 states have now signed onto the Common Core standards in English language arts and math, which have been both celebrated as a tremendous advance and criticized as misguided and for bearing the heavy thumbprint of the federal government. This article presents an interview with Ze'ev Wurman and W. Stephen Wilson. Wurman, who was a U.S.…

Influence of a Mathematics Teachers' Circle on Elementary Teachers' Use of Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Mary L.; Watson, Virginia; Rogers, Beth; Head, Catherine

2017-01-01

Math teachers' circles are a form of professional development that is recommended by the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in their publication Mathematical Education of Teachers II (2012). However, little research has been published on how effective math teachers' circles are in advancing the mathematical knowledge of teachers and…

Southmoreland Middle School: A Model of True Collaboration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Principal Leadership, 2013

2013-01-01

In 2003, Southmoreland was a seventh- and eighth-grade junior high school in the warning category under NCLB for failing to make adequate yearly progress. Scores on state tests were grim--only 39% of the students were proficient or advanced in math and 55% in reading. Two years later, the combined improvement in reading and math scores resulted in…

Mathematics Instruction and Behavior Problems: Making the Connection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mancil, G. Richmond; Maynard, Katrina L.

2007-01-01

According to the National Center for Education Statistics' latest data on cross-national differences in math, science, and reading literacy among fourth- and eighth-graders and 15-year-olds, U.S. students rank close to the bottom in math. Just teaching more advanced subjects and forcing students to take more classes and do more homework, however,…

Community College Pathways' Program Success: Assessing the First Two Years' Effectiveness of Statway®

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yamada, Hiroyuki

2014-01-01

Statway® is one of the Community College Pathways initiatives developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to promote students' progress beginning in developmental math to and through college math credit. Early descriptive results suggested that the Statway program has tripled the success rate for students in half the time…

Advancing the Math Skills of Middle School Students in Technology Education Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bottge, Brian A.; Grant, Timothy S.; Stephens, Ana C.; Rueda, Enrique

2010-01-01

While curriculum specialists and committees often decide how mathematics is taught, it is ultimately principals who influence the extent to which these initiatives are carried out. The overall goal of this article is to provide school leaders with classroom-based research that describes one way of improving the math skills of middle school…

Subgroup Achievement and Gap Trends: Hawaii

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center on Education Policy, 2010

2010-01-01

Hawaii showed improvement in reading and math in grade 8 at the basic, proficient, and advanced levels for Asian and white students, low income students, and boys and girls. Gains in math tended to be larger than in reading. Trends in closing achievement gaps were mixed. Comparable data were available from 2007 through 2009. (Contains 9 tables.)…

Quantum Mechanics for Everybody: An autonomous MOOC on EdX for nonscientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freericks, James; Cutler, Dylan; Vieira-Barbosa, Lucas

2017-01-01

We have launched a MOOC for nonscientists that teaches quantum mechanics using the Feynman methodology as outlined in his QED book and in a similar book by Daniel Styer. Using a combination of videos, voice-over powerpoint animations, computer simulations and interactive tutorials, we teach the fundamentals of quantum mechanics employing a minimum of math (high school algebra, square roots, and a little trigonometry) but going into detail on a number of complex quantum ideas. We begin with the Stern-Gerlach experiment, including delayed choice and Bell's inequality variants. Then we focus on light developing the quantum theory for partial reflection and diffraction. At this point we demonstrate the complexity of quantum physics by showing how watched and unwatched two-slit experiments behave differently and how quantum particles interfere. The four week course ends with advanced topics in light where we cover the idea of an interaction free measurement, the quantum Zeno effect and indistinguishable particles via the Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment. We hope this MOOC will reach thousands of students interesting in learning quantum mechanics without any dumbing down or the need to learn complex math. It can also be used with undergraduates to help with conceptual understanding. Funded by the National Science Foundation under grants numbered PHY-1620555 and PHY-1314295 and by Georgetown University.

First Results from the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Stephanie

2009-01-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing astronomy as a sub-discipline of physics education research, allowing researchers to establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt to measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Before now, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. Moving beyond the 10-year old Astronomy Diagnostics Test, we have developed and validated a new assessment instrument that is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. Researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science and Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this multiple-choice instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for undergraduate science survey courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of the astronomy education community.

Scaling Up: Adapting a Phage-Hunting Course to Increase Participation of First-Year Students in Research.

PubMed

Staub, Nancy L; Poxleitner, Marianne; Braley, Amanda; Smith-Flores, Helen; Pribbenow, Christine M; Jaworski, Leslie; Lopatto, David; Anders, Kirk R

2016-01-01

Authentic research experiences are valuable components of effective undergraduate education. Research experiences during the first years of college are especially critical to increase persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES) model provides a high-impact research experience to first-year students but is usually available to a limited number of students, and its implementation is costly in faculty time and laboratory space. To offer a research experience to all students taking introductory biology at Gonzaga University (n = 350/yr), we modified the traditional two-semester SEA-PHAGES course by streamlining the first-semester Phage Discovery lab and integrating the second SEA-PHAGES semester into other courses in the biology curriculum. Because most students in the introductory course are not biology majors, the Phage Discovery semester may be their only encounter with research. To discover whether students benefit from the first semester alone, we assessed the effects of the one-semester Phage Discovery course on students' understanding of course content. Specifically, students showed improvement in knowledge of bacteriophages, lab math skills, and understanding experimental design and interpretation. They also reported learning gains and benefits comparable with other course-based research experiences. Responses to open-ended questions suggest that students experienced this course as a true undergraduate research experience. © 2016 N. L. Staub et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Academic pharmacy administrators' perceptions of core requirements for entry into professional pharmacy programs.

PubMed

Broedel-Zaugg, Kimberly; Buring, Shauna M; Shankar, Nathan; Soltis, Robert; Stamatakis, Mary K; Zaiken, Kathy; Bradberry, J Chris

2008-06-15

To determine which basic and social science courses academic pharmacy administrators believe should be required for entry into the professional pharmacy program and what they believe should be the required length of preprofessional study. An online survey was sent to deans of all colleges and schools of pharmacy in the United States. Survey respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement as to whether the basic and social science courses listed in the survey instrument should be required for admission to the professional program. The survey instrument also included queries regarding the optimal length of preprofessional study, whether professional assessment testing should be part of admission requirements, and the respondents' demographic information. The majority of respondents strongly agreed that the fundamental coursework in the basic sciences (general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry) and English composition should be required for entrance into the professional program. Most respondents also agreed that public speaking, ethics, and advanced basic science and math courses (physiology, biochemistry, calculus, statistics) should be completed prior to entering the professional program. The preprofessional requirements that respondents suggested were not necessary included many of the social science courses. Respondents were evenly divided over the ideal length for preprofessional pharmacy education programs. Although requirements for preprofessional admission have been changing, there is no consistent agreement on the content or length of the preprofessional program.

Why Do Students Drop Advanced Mathematics?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horn, Ilana

2004-01-01

Students, especially black, Latino and Native American youth and students of low socio-economic status drop out of advanced mathematics. Teachers must coordinate their expectations, their knowledge of students and their teaching practices in order to stop struggling students from dropping out of advanced math classes.

76 FR 57721 - Notice of Submission for OMB Review

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-16

... for HSLS:09, especially, but not solely, in regards to science, technology, engineering, and math courses, majors, and careers. This study includes a new student assessment in algebraic skills, reasoning...

Advanced Math? Write!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brandenburg, Sister M. Luka

2002-01-01

High-school mathematics teacher in Rock Island, Illinois, describes plan for using writing assignment to improve student understanding of advanced mathematics. Plan includes the following elements: Start small, be firm with students, make writing assignments count, and inform colleagues. (PKP)

Comparing Differences in Math Achievement and Attitudes toward Math in a Sixth Grade Mathematics Enrichment Pilot Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tow, Tamara

2011-01-01

High-stakes assessments have encouraged educators to ignore the needs of the top performers. Therefore, the Oakwood School District decided to implement a mathematics pilot enrichment program in order to meet the needs of the advanced mathematics students. As a result, this study used quantitative data to determine if there was a significant…

The Relation between Students' Math and Reading Ability and Their Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry Examination Grades in Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korpershoek, Hanke; Kuyper, Hans; van der Werf, Greetje

2015-01-01

Word problems are math- or science-related problems presented in the context of a story or real-life scenario. Literature suggests that, to solve these problems, advanced reading skills are required, in addition to content-related skills in, for example, mathematics. In the present study, we investigated the relation between students' reading…

Using Automatic Speech Recognition to Dictate Mathematical Expressions: The Development of the "TalkMaths" Application at Kingston University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wigmore, Angela; Hunter, Gordon; Pflugel, Eckhard; Denholm-Price, James; Binelli, Vincent

2009-01-01

Speech technology--especially automatic speech recognition--has now advanced to a level where it can be of great benefit both to able-bodied people and those with various disabilities. In this paper we describe an application "TalkMaths" which, using the output from a commonly-used conventional automatic speech recognition system,…

Use of GeoGebra in Primary Math Education in Lithuania: An Exploratory Study from Teachers' Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Žilinskiene, Inga; Demirbilek, Muhammet

2015-01-01

With the advance of information and communications technologies, new teaching tools are becoming more pervasive. These tools can be utilized in a variety of ways to improve and enhance math teaching. Considering the integration of technology in teaching mathematics, it is clear that the replacement of board and chalk with digital presentation…

Constructivism in Synchronous and Asynchronous Virtual Learning Environments for a Research Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strang, Kenneth David

2011-01-01

Virtual learning is a popular teaching modality, and it has been reported in research that there is no significant difference in academic outcome as compared with face-to-face courses. Not all researchers agree with this assertion and some claim it is more difficult to teach math-oriented subjects online. Given that educational psychology theories…

News clippings for introductory astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobrowsky, Matthew

1999-09-01

Most students entering our introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors arrive not merely lacking scientific facts-they also have misconceptions about the nature of science, and many have a handicapping ``science anxiety'' (in addition to math anxiety). So I have added a ``current science'' requirement to our introductory course. Each student must compile a file of five astronomy news articles taken from readily available sources.

Using High School Data to Understand College Readiness in the Northern Mariana Islands. REL 2017-268

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herman, Phillip; Carreon, Daisy; Scanlan, Spencer; Dandapani, Nitara

2017-01-01

Over the period 2010-14 more than 80 percent of public high school graduates in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands were placed in non-credit-bearing developmental English courses and more than 92 percent were placed in developmental math courses when they enrolled at Northern Marianas College, the commonwealth's only public…

Assessment of Factors Impacting Success for Incoming College Engineering Students in a Summer Bridge Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reisel, John R.; Jablonski, Marissa; Hosseini, Hossein; Munson, Ethan

2012-01-01

A summer bridge program for incoming engineering and computer science freshmen has been used at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2007 to 2010. The primary purpose of this program has been to improve the mathematics course placement for incoming students who initially place into a course below Calculus I on the math placement examination.…

Pursuit of STEM Enrollment in High School and Higher Education for Latino and Caucasian Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Laurel Ann

2017-01-01

This study examined course enrollments for female and male Latino and Caucasian students with disabilities (SWD) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) to establish baseline data in one region of the state of Washington. The study analyzed five academic years of STEM course enrollment in one high school Career and Technical Education…

The Effects of Blue Ink Print on Students' Memory Retention of Math Terms and Definitions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Din, Feng S.; Barnes, Kahlon

This study investigated whether students' memory retention rate improved when they were provided with blue ink printed material. A pretest, treatment, posttest with control group design was used. The participants were 93 10th and 11th grade students in algebra and geometry courses, and there were 2 classes in each course. The treatment lasted for…

The Relationship between Student's Quantitative Skills, Application of Math, Science Courses, and Science Marks at Single-Sex Independent High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cambridge, David

2012-01-01

For independent secondary schools who offer rigorous curriculum to attract students, integration of quantitative skills in the science courses has become an important definition of rigor. However, there is little research examining students' quantitative skills in relation to high school science performance within the single-sex independent school…

Investigating Mathematics Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers in a Reform-Based Mathematics Methods Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Setra, Abdelghani

2017-01-01

For the last thirty years research has unfailingly shown that teacher efficacy has a positive impact on student outcomes, making teacher efficacy an critical element in quality mathematics instruction. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of a math methods course on the mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs of elementary pre-service…

A Technology Leader's Role in Initiating a Flipped Classroom in a High School Math Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caverly, Gregg

2017-01-01

A mixed methods study was conducted to measure the effectiveness of a flipped classroom in a high school discrete mathematics course. In the flipped classroom, students watched videos of the teacher's lesson for homework while completing problems during class. Two sections of the course were involved in the study, with one group receiving the…

Does Applied STEM Course Taking Link to STEM Outcomes for High School Students with Learning Disabilities?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Michael A.; Sublett, Cameron

2018-01-01

Over the most recent two decades, federal policy has urged high schools to embed applied science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses into the curriculum to reinforce concepts learned in traditional math and science classes as well as to motivate students' interests and long-term pursuits in STEM areas. While prior research has…

Motivational, Parental, and Cultural Influences on Achievement and Persistence in Basic Skills Mathematics at the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nordstrom, Donna E.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to address the gap in the current literature on community college students in basic math courses by examining motivational, parental and cultural factors as predictors of achievement and persistence of students enrolled in basic skills mathematics courses at a community college. More specifically, this study…

Instructor Use of Tablet PCs in a College Pre-Calculus Course: Implementation & Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connelly Stockton, Julianna; Gregory, Peter

2012-01-01

A group of six math instructors used tablet PCs to teach their individual sections of a high enrollment gateway Pre-Calculus course in a diverse urban four-year college. Student performance in the experimental sections were compared to those in 31 other sections in terms of student retention, pass rates, and score on the department-wide…

Conditions That Promote the Academic Performance of College Students in a Remedial Mathematics Course: Academic Competence, Academic Resilience, and the Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foshee, Cecile Mary

2013-01-01

Researchers have postulated that math academic achievement increases student success in college (Lee, 2012; Silverman & Seidman, 2011; Vigdor, 2013), yet 80% of universities and 98% of community colleges require many of their first-year students to be placed in remedial courses (Bettinger & Long, 2009). Many high school graduates are…

Copyfitting Instructor: A Computer-Assisted Instructional Aid for the Dirtiest Job in Advertising Design and Production Courses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wesson, David A.

Copyfitting is probably the least exciting portion of any course that deals with design and production of print advertising. Students find the transformation of manuscript copy into set type difficult to visualize. The math, though no more than multiplication and division, seems insurmountable to some--probably because the entities such as points,…

Developing a Questionnaire on Technology-Integrated Mathematics Instruction: A Case Study of the AMA Training Course in Xinjiang and Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Chun-Yi; Chen, Ming-Jang

2016-01-01

This study describes the development of a questionnaire to evaluate how teachers perceive technology-integrated math instruction. Following an AMA (Activate Mind Attention) training course, we surveyed 322 teachers to understand their views on the implantation of AMA in the classroom. We also analyzed differences in viewpoints between teachers…

Time to Proficiency for Hispanic English Learner Students in Texas. REL 2018-280

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slama, Rachel; Molefe, Ayrin; Gerdeman, Dean; Herrera, Angelica; Brodziak de los Reyes, Iliana; August, Diane; Cavazos, Linda

2017-01-01

English learner students are challenged by the difficult task of learning English concurrently with learning content in areas such as reading and math. English learner students who have not attained proficiency in English or learned core course content by the middle and upper grades may not have the requisite skills to enroll in courses required…

75 FR 10631 - Women's History Month, 2010

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-09

... A Proclamation Countless women have steered the course of our history, and their stories are ones of..., technology, engineering, and math. By increasing women's participation in these fields, we will foster a new...

The achievement impact of the inclusion model on the standardized test scores of general education students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrett-Rainey, Syrena

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of general education students within regular education classes to the achievement of general education students in inclusion/co-teach classes to determine whether there was a significant difference in the achievement between the two groups. The school district's inclusion/co-teach model included ongoing professional development support for teachers and administrators. General education teachers, special education teachers, and teacher assistants collaborated to develop instructional strategies to provide additional remediation to help students to acquire the skills needed to master course content. This quantitative study reviewed the end-of course test (EoCT) scores of Grade 10 physical science and math students within an urban school district. It is not known whether general education students in an inclusive/co-teach science or math course will demonstrate a higher achievement on the EoCT in math or science than students not in an inclusive/co-teach classroom setting. In addition, this study sought to determine if students classified as low socioeconomic status benefited from participating in co-teaching classrooms as evidenced by standardized tests. Inferential statistics were used to determine whether there was a significant difference between the achievements of the treatment group (inclusion/co-teach) and the control group (non-inclusion/co-teach). The findings can be used to provide school districts with optional instructional strategies to implement in the diverse classroom setting in the modern classroom to increase academic performance on state standardized tests.

The elements of a comprehensive education for future architectural acousticians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lily M.

2005-04-01

Curricula for students who seek to become consultants of architectural acoustics or researchers in the field are few in the United States and in the world. This paper will present the author's opinions on the principal skills a student should obtain from a focused course of study in architectural acoustics. These include: (a) a solid command of math and wave theory, (b) fluency with digital signal processing techniques and sound measurement equipment, (c) expertise in using architectural acoustic software with an understanding of its limitations, (d) knowledge of building mechanical systems, (e) an understanding of human psychoacoustics, and (f) an appreciation for the artistic aspects of the discipline. Additionally, writing and presentation skills should be emphasized and participation in professional societies encouraged. Armed with such abilities, future architectural acousticians will advance the field significantly.

[German version of the math anxiety questionnaire (FRA) for 6- to 9-year-old children].

PubMed

Krinzinger, Helga; Kaufmann, Liane; Dowker, Ann; Thomas, Gemma; Graf, Martina; Nuerk, Hans-Christoph; Willmes, Klaus

2007-09-01

Is the FRA a reliable and valid instrument? Are there any gender differences concerning math anxiety? Are there any developmental changes in this regard in the course of the early grades? Together with the dyscalculia test TEDI-MATH, the FRA was presented to a total of 450 children from the first to the third grade of primary school (at least 40 girls and 40 boys per semester). The total scale has an internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) between 0.83 and 0.91. Correlations between arithmetic skills and the FRA scales were mostly significant. The significantly higher negative scores for girls were taken into account by providing standard scores corrected for gender. No systematic developmental changes could be observed. The FRA is the first German math anxiety questionnaire for primary school children. High reliability, standard scores corrected for gender, and economic handling make it an instrument well suited for use in clinical settings (e.g., dyscalculia diagnostics and intervention).

Preventing the storm from gathering? A case study of the California State University Math and Science Teacher Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moss, Kirran Jane

This study was performed on the initial systemwide response by the California State University (CSU) to California's Math and Science Teacher Initiative (CMSTI). The data collected tracked, measured, and reported the scope and range of recruitment and programmatic strategies developed and implemented among the first cohort of campuses funded with MSTI dollars with the intent to attract and increase the number of mathematic and science teachers produced. These findings suggest that the California State University Math and Science Teacher Initiative displays early signs of system effectiveness. These data collected indicate that MSTI funds have resulted in an increased number of diverse credentialing pathways being introduced that may operate to attract and recruit increased numbers of candidates into the math and science credentialing programs. Additionally, findings produced indicate that MSTI funds have resulted in new relationships being established with local Community Colleges, an increase in hybrid online subject-matter courses being offered, and new strategies that expedite the credentialing process.

Reviews

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-11-01

CD-ROM REVIEW (551) Essential Physics BOOK REVIEWS (551) Collins Advanced Science: Physics, 2nd edition Quarks, Leptons and the Big Bang, 2nd edition Do Brilliantly: A2 Physics IGCSE Physics Geophysics in the UK Synoptic Skills in Advanced Physics Flash! The hunt for the biggest explosions in the universe Materials Maths for Advanced Physics

Designing Studies to Test Causal Questions About Early Math: The Development of Making Pre-K Count.

PubMed

Mattera, Shira K; Morris, Pamela A; Jacob, Robin; Maier, Michelle; Rojas, Natalia

2017-01-01

A growing literature has demonstrated that early math skills are associated with later outcomes for children. This research has generated interest in improving children's early math competencies as a pathway to improved outcomes for children in elementary school. The Making Pre-K Count study was designed to test the effects of an early math intervention for preschoolers. Its design was unique in that, in addition to causally testing the effects of early math skills, it also allowed for the examination of a number of additional questions about scale-up, the influence of contextual factors and the counterfactual environment, the mechanism of long-term fade-out, and the role of measurement in early childhood intervention findings. This chapter outlines some of the design considerations and decisions put in place to create a rigorous test of the causal effects of early math skills that is also able to answer these questions in early childhood mathematics and intervention. The study serves as a potential model for how to advance science in the fields of preschool intervention and early mathematics. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

What the World Needs Now: More Women in Mathematics and Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Joy

1989-01-01

"Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics" conferences in Berkeley, California, are designed to nurture girls' interest in science and math courses and encourage them to consider nontraditional career options. (TE)

Seeking an African Einstein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durrani, Matin

2008-07-01

A new postgraduate centre for maths and computer science is set to open in the Nigerian capital of Abuja this month as part of an ambitious plan to find the "next Einstein" in Africa. The centre will provide advanced training to graduate students from across Africa in maths and related fields. It will seek to attract the best young African scientists and nurture their talents as problem-solvers and teachers.

Middle School A/B Block and Traditional Scheduling: An Analysis of Math and Reading Performance by Race

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Willie Wallicia Allen

2011-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether a difference existed in the percentage performance of students earning a pass/advanced score on the Standards of Learning (SOL) Test in math and reading in Virginia's Region IV for schools using an A/B block schedule and those using a traditional schedule. The research also examined if…

Development of multiple regression analysis instruments to predict success in advanced placement chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Kurt Collins

2001-10-01

This research asks the fundamental question: "What is the profile of the successful AP chemistry student?" Two populations of students are studied. The first population is comprised of students who attend or attended the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, a specialized high school for high ability students, and who have taken the Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry examination in the past five years. The second population is comprised of the 581 South Carolina public school students at 46 high schools who took the AP chemistry examination in 2000. The first part of the study is intended to be useful in recruitment and placement decisions for schools in the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology. The second part of the study is intended to facilitate AP chemistry recruitment in South Carolina public schools. The first part of the study was conducted by ex post facto searches of teacher and school records at the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics. The second part of the study was conducted by obtaining school participation information from the SC Department of Education and soliciting data from the public schools. Data were collected from 440 of 581 (75.7%) of students in 35 of 46 (76.1%) of schools. Intercorrelational and Multiple Regression Analyses (MRA) have yielded different results for these two populations. For the specialized school population, the significant predictors for success in AP chemistry are PSAT Math, placement test, and PSAT Writing. For the population of SC students, significant predictors for success are PSAT Math, count of prior science courses, and PSAT Writing. Multiple Regressions have been successfully developed for the two populations studied. Recommendations for their application are made.

DoD Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program for High School Students, 1995-󈨤 Activities

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-06-01

University of Florida Sports Medicine Honor Roll Weightlifting , Swimming NAME: RACE: SEX: HIGH SCHOOL: ANTICIPATED COLLEGE: ANTICIPATED MAJOR...program. Three of the students took a Psychology course, one took a Nutritional Science class, one a Math course and two of them took a Meteorology...Awards and Scholarships: Honor Roll 13. Activities/Hobbies: Weightlifting , Swimming (Suggested Form) INFORMATION FOR EACH APPRENTICE

What's in a Teacher Test? Assessing the Relationship between Teacher Licensure Test Scores and Student STEM Achievement and Course-Taking. Working Paper 158

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhaber, Dan; Gratz, Trevor; Theobald, Roddy

2016-01-01

We investigate the relationship between teacher licensure test scores and student test achievement and high school course-taking. We focus on three subject/grade combinations--middle school math, ninth-grade algebra and geometry, and ninth-grade biology--and find evidence that a teacher's basic skills test scores are modestly predictive of student…

The Great Debate: Should All 8th Graders Take Algebra?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKibben, Sarah

2009-01-01

While 8th grade algebra was once reserved as a course for the gifted, today, more U.S. 8th graders take algebra than any other math course. This article discusses a report from the Brookings Institution which chronicles the history of the 8th-grade algebra surge and its impact on today's low-performing students. The report indicates that many of…

Improving Basic Skills in the Workplace. A Core Course for the Catering and Hospitality Industries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Lorraine

This training pack is designed for use with employees in the catering and hospitality industries. The material takes common workplace procedures and terminology and uses these as the basis for improving reading, writing, oral communication, and math skills. The pack is designed as a complete course of 13 modules over a period of 32-48 hours, but…

Examining the Gender Gap in Introductory Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kost, Lauren; Pollock, Steven; Finkelstein, Noah

2009-05-01

Our previous research[1] showed that despite the use of interactive engagement techniques in the introductory physics course, the gap in performance between males and females on a mechanics conceptual learning survey persisted from pre- to post-test, at our institution. Such findings were counter to previously published work[2]. Follow-up studies[3] identified correlations between student performance on the conceptual learning survey and students' prior physics and math knowledge and their incoming attitudes and beliefs about physics and learning physics. The results indicate that the gender gap at our institution is predominantly associated with differences in males' and females' previous physics and math knowledge, and attitudes and beliefs. Our current work extends these results in two ways: 1) we look at the gender gap in the second semester of the introductory sequence and find results similar to those in the first semester course and 2) we identify ways in which males and females differentially experience several aspects of the introductory course. [1] Pollock, et al, Phys Rev: ST: PER 3, 010107. [2] Lorenzo, et al, Am J Phys 74, 118. [3] Kost, et al, PERC Proceedings 2008.

Middle school students' attitudes toward math and STEM career interests: A 4-year follow-up study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, Madalyn R.

The purpose of the current study is to examine middle school students' attitudes toward math, intent to pursue STEM-related education and occupations, and STEM interest from middle school to high school. The data used in this study are from a larger, on-going National Science Foundation (NSF) grant-funded study that is investigating middle school students' disengagement while using the Assistments system (Baker, Heffernan & San Pedro, 2012), a computer-based math tutoring system. The NSF grant study aims to explore how disengagement with STEM material can aid in the prediction of students' college enrollment as well as how it may interact with other factors affecting students' career choices (San Pedro, Baker, Bowers, Heffernan, 2013). Participants are students from urban and suburban schools in Massachusetts measured first in middle school and again four years later. Measures at Time 1 included: various items related to attitudes toward mathematics, occupations they could see themselves doing as adults, and the Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney, Baumeister, & Luzio Boone, 2004). Measures at Time 2 included: items requesting the students' current mathematics and science courses and intended majors or occupations following high school graduation. Exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression and logistic regression analyses were used to test the following four hypotheses: I. There will be several distinct factors that emerge to provide information about middle school students' attitudes toward math; II. Students' attitudes toward math will correlate positively and significantly with students' intent to pursue STEM-related careers at Time 1 with a medium effect; III. Middle school attitudes toward mathematics will relate positively and significantly to level of high school mathematics and science courses with a medium effect; IV. Middle school intent to pursue STEM will correlate positively and significantly with high school intent to pursue STEM majors/careers with a medium effect. Results supported a 2-factor model of Attitudes toward Mathematics consisting of Math Self-Concept and Attitudes toward Assistments. Other significant findings include: a positive relationship between students' Attitudes toward Assistments and level of math class taken in high school; a positive relationship between students' Math Self-Concept and Self Control; a positive relationship between Self Control and students' endorsement of STEM careers while in middle school, and discrepancy between male and female students' endorsement of STEM careers as early as middle school. Although many of the study's primary hypotheses were not supported, the present study provides a framework and baseline for several important considerations. Limitations, including those related to the present study's small sample size, and future implications of the present study, which add to career development literature in STEM, are discussed in regard to both research and practice. Keywords: career development, middle school, attitudes, math, STEM, self-concept

A Partnership between English Language Learners and a Team of Rocket Scientists: EPO for the NASA SDO Extreme-Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buhr, S. M.; Eparvier, F.; McCaffrey, M.; Murillo, M.

2007-12-01

Recent immigrant high school students were successfully engaged in learning about Sun-Earth connections through a partnership with the NASA SDO Extreme-Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) project. The students were enrolled in a pilot course as part of the Math, Engineering and Science Achievement MESA) program. For many of the students, this was the only science option available to them due to language limitations. The English Language Learner (ELL) students doubled their achievement on a pre- and post-assessment on the content of the course. Students learned scientific content and vocabulary in English with support in Spanish, attended field trips, hosted scientist speakers, built and deployed space weather monitors as part of the Stanford SOLAR project, and gave final presentations in English, showcasing their new computer skills. Teachers who taught the students in other courses noted gains in the students' willingness to use English in class and noted gains in math skills. The MESA-EVE course won recognition as a Colorado MESA Program of Excellence and is being offered again in 2007-08. The course has been broken into modules for use in shorter after-school environments, or for use by EVE scientists who are outside of the Boulder area. Other EVE EPO includes professional development for teachers and content workshops for journalists.

Development of the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST) Assessment Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slater, Timothy F.; Slater, S. J.

2008-05-01

Considerable effort in the astronomy education research (AER) community over the past several years has focused on developing assessment tools in the form of multiple-choice conceptual diagnostics and content knowledge surveys. This has been critically important in advancing the AER discipline so that researchers could establish the initial knowledge state of students as well as to attempt measure some of the impacts of innovative instructional interventions. Unfortunately, few of the existing instruments were constructed upon a solid list of clearly articulated and widely agreed upon learning objectives. This was not done in oversight, but rather as a result of the relative youth of AER as a discipline. Now that several important science education reform documents exist and are generally accepted by the AER community, we are in a position to develop, validate, and disseminate a new assessment instrument which is tightly aligned to the consensus learning goals stated by the American Astronomical Society - Chair's Conference on ASTRO 101, the American Association of the Advancement of Science's Project 2061 Benchmarks, and the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards. In response, researchers from the Cognition in Astronomy, Physics and Earth sciences Research (CAPER) Team at the University of Wyoming's Science & Math Teaching Center (UWYO SMTC) have designed a criterion-referenced assessment tool, called the Test Of Astronomy STandards (TOAST). Through iterative development, this instrument has a high degree of reliability and validity for instructors and researchers needing information on students’ initial knowledge state at the beginning of a course and can be used, in aggregate, to help measure the impact of course-length duration instructional strategies for courses with learning goals tightly aligned to the consensus goals of our community.

Use of a Survival Analysis Technique in Understanding Game Performance in Instructional Games. CRESST Report 812

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jinok; Chung, Gregory K. W. K.

2012-01-01

In this study we compared the effects of two math game designs on math and game performance, using discrete-time survival analysis (DTSA) to model players' risk of not advancing to the next level in the game. 137 students were randomly assigned to two game conditions. The game covered the concept of a unit and the addition of like-sized fractional…

Acute Effect of Intermittent Exercise and Action-Based Video Game Breaks on Math Performance in Preadolescent Children.

PubMed

Block, Shannon S; Tooley, Trevor R; Nagy, Matthew R; O'Sullivan, Molly P; Robinson, Leah E; Colabianchi, Natalie; Hasson, Rebecca E

2018-02-27

The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of video game breaks and intermittent exercise breaks, performed at varying intensities, on math performance in preadolescent children. A total of 39 children (18 males and 21 females; aged 7-11 y) completed 4 experimental conditions in random order: 8 hours of sitting interrupted with 20 two-minute low-, moderate-, or high-intensity exercise breaks or 20 two-minute sedentary computer game breaks. The intensity of exercise breaks for the low-, moderate-, and high-intensity conditions corresponded with 25%, 50%, and 75% of heart rate reserve, respectively. Math performance was assessed 3 times throughout each condition day using a 90-second math test consisting of 40 single-digit addition and subtraction questions. There were no significant differences in percent change in math scores (correct answers out of attempted) by condition [low: -1.3 (0.8), moderate: 0.1 (1.3), high: -1.8 (0.7), and computer: -2.5 (0.8); P > .05]. There were significant differences in percent change in math scores over the course of the condition days with lower math scores reported at end-of-day test compared with midday test [-2.4 (0.5) vs -0.4 (0.3); P = .01]. There were no significant condition × time, time × age, condition × age, or condition × time × age interactions (all Ps > .05). Action-based video game and exercise breaks elicit the same level of math performance in children; however, time of day may impact this relationship. These findings may have important implications for instructional time in elementary classrooms.

Two-year colleges, Physics, and Teacher Preparation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clay, Keith

2002-05-01

In the midst of a teacher shortage no field suffers more than physics. Half of our secondary physics teachers have less than a minor in physics. Meanwhile half of our future teachers start out at two-year colleges with physicists on staff. The opportunity for community colleges to have an impact on K-12 teaching is tremendous. Project TEACH has been honored as an outstanding teacher preparation program. It is a collaboration of colleges and K-12 schools dedicated to the improvement of teacher preparation, especially in science and math. Based at Green River Community College, Project TEACH unites certification institutions, community colleges, and K-12 school districts in the pre-service and in-service training of teachers. Activities of Project TEACH include recruitment and advising of future teachers, field experience for education students, creation of pre-teaching and para-educator degrees, tutoring from elementary school through college, in-service courses for current teachers, and special math and science courses aimed at future teachers. The yearlong interdisciplinary science sequence blends chemistry, physics, geology, and biology in a hands-on inquiry-based environment. The yearlong math sequence covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and probability with inquiry-based pedagogy. The programs developed by Project TEACH are being disseminated to colleges across Washington State and beyond.

What's in a Teacher Test? Assessing the Relationship between Teacher Licensure Test Scores and Student STEM Achievement and Course-Taking. CEDR Working Paper. WP #2016-11

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldhaber, Dan; Gratz, Trevor; Theobald, Roddy

2016-01-01

We investigate the relationship between teacher licensure test scores and student test achievement and high school course-taking. We focus on three subject/grade combinations-- middle school math, ninth-grade algebra and geometry, and ninth-grade biology--and find evidence that a teacher's basic skills test scores are modestly predictive of…

A Partnership between English Language Learners and a Team of Rocket Scientists: EPO for the NASA SDO Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buhr, S. M.; McCaffrey, M. S.; Eparvier, F.; Murillo, M.

2008-05-01

Recent immigrant high school students were successfully engaged in learning about Sun-Earth connections through a partnership with the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) project. The students were enrolled in a pilot course as part of the Math, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program. The English Language Learner (ELL) students doubled their achievement on a pre- and post- assessment on the content of the course. Students learned scientific content and vocabulary in English with support in Spanish, attended field trips, hosted scientist speakers, built antenna and deployed space weather monitors as part of the Stanford SOLAR project, and gave final presentations in English, showcasing their new computer skills. Teachers who taught the students in other courses noted gains in the students' willingness to use English in class and noted gains in math skills. The course has been broken into modules for use in shorter after-school environments, or for use by EVE scientists who are outside of the Boulder area. Video footage of "The Making of a Satellite", and "All About EVE" is completed for use in the kits. Other EVE EPO includes upcoming professional development for teachers and content workshops for journalists.

TECHcitement: Advances in Technological Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Association of Community Colleges, Washington, DC.

This publication includes seven articles. "ATE Grants Generate Life-Changing Experiences" discusses the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grants, which provide seed money and other support that community college educators use to enhance technical training and improve math and science instruction. "Phone…

In Praise of the Catenary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behroozi, F.

2018-04-01

When a chain hangs loosely from its end points, it takes the familiar form known as the catenary. Power lines, clothes lines, and chain links are familiar examples of the catenary in everyday life. Nevertheless, the subject is conspicuously absent from current introductory physics and calculus courses. Even in upper-level physics and math courses, the catenary equation is usually introduced as an example of hyperbolic functions or discussed as an application of the calculus of variations. We present a new derivation of the catenary equation that is suitable for introductory physics and mathematics courses.

QR-STEM: Energy and Environment as a Context for Improving QR and STEM Understandings of 6-12 Grade Teachers I. The Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyford, M. E.; Myers, J. D.; Mayes, R. L.

2009-12-01

Numerous educational studies have documented serious shortcomings in student's quantitative reasoning (QR), understanding of science and ability to connect these to their daily lives. These have driven many reform efforts in teacher professional development. Historically, most of these efforts have focused on science or math and rarely on the science-society connection. For the past two years, a Wyoming Department of Education funded Math-Science Partnership (MSP) professional development program has created a collaboration of university and community college faculty and middle and high school teachers to address QR, science and social relevance in the context of energy and the environment. This professional development project is designed to: 1) improve teacher content knowledge (both in the sciences and math); 2) demonstrate the many social contexts in which science and QR are relevant and can be taught; 3) model effective science and QR classroom activities for teachers; 4) provide teachers with the opportunity to develop and test their own classroom materials; 5) foster the development of professional learning communities across the state; and 6) initiate discussions about curriculum across disciplinary boundaries. Over the course of four summer meetings, participants investigate a series of issues centered on energy and the environment, including transportation, electricity, biogeochemical cycles, Peak Oil, carbon sequestration and climate change. Each issue is approached in an interdisciplinary manner, where relevant aspects from the life sciences, earth sciences, chemistry and physics are addressed. An introductory presentation on the general theme kicks off each meeting to introduce the problem. Subsequent sessions are lead by faculty from the various scientific disciplines as well as math. During their sessions, university and community college faculty model active learning exercises for each issue. These activities weave together the relevant disciplinary scientific concepts, societal connections, and the quantitative skills students need to understand the issues from the perspective of an engaged but questioning citizen of a democracy. The project encourages multidisciplinary teams of teachers (science and math) from a school or district to work together to develop curricula that may span across courses and across grade levels within a school. During the meetings, teachers work in teams to develop activities tied to energy and the environment which they present to the entire group for feedback. During the course of the school year, teachers implement their activities and share their experiences with the whole group through online-meetings. To date, the program has worked with three teacher cohorts of 25-30 teachers each. Teachers in the program are drawn from both the math and science areas thereby initiating cross-disciplinary discourses that are rarely accommodated by current school organizational structures.

77 FR 12823 - Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Committee

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-02

... Exascale ARRA projects--Magellan final report, Advanced Networking update Status from Computer Science COV Early Career technical talks Summary of Applied Math and Computer Science Workshops ASCR's new SBIR..., Office of Science. ACTION: Notice of Open Meeting. SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the...

ACC Effectiveness Review, 1999-2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Roslyn, Ed.

2002-01-01

These newsletters on Institutional Effectiveness (IE) at Austin Community College (ACC) in Texas include the following articles: (1) "The 'Fast Track'...Students Say It Works!" (2) "Are Students Successfully Completing Distance Learning Courses at ACC?" (3) "Tracking Transfers"; (4) "Math Pilot: Study Skills…

What Mathematical Competencies Are Needed for Success in College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garofalo, Joe

1990-01-01

Identifies requisite math skills for a microeconomics course, offering samples of supply curves, demand curves, equilibrium prices, elasticity, and complex graph problems. Recommends developmental mathematics competencies, including problem solving, reasoning, connections, communication, number and operation sense, algebra, relationships,…

Effects of 8th Grade Algebra on High School Course-Taking and Math Achievement: Evidence from Changing Practices in a Large Urban District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rickles, Jordan; Phillips, Meredith; Yamashiro, Kyo

2014-01-01

Between 1990 and 2012, the percentage of 13-year-olds (most of whom are 8th graders) taking algebra more than doubled, from 15% to 34% (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). Yet recent education policy changes suggest that this movement to encourage algebra-taking in 8th grade has begun to reverse course. Existing research suggests that…

How Do Algebra I Course Repetition Rates Vary among English Learner Students by Length of Time to Reclassification as English Proficient? REL 2017-222

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaquet, Karina; Fong, Anthony B.

2017-01-01

Research has found high repetition rates for students in Algebra I, with one study finding a repetition rate of 44 percent for students in a large urban high school district. Less is known about how math performance and Algebra I course repetition rates vary among students with different levels of English proficiency. This report examines Algebra…

The effects of calculator-based laboratories on standardized test scores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevens, Charlotte Bethany Rains

Nationwide, the goal of providing a productive science and math education to our youth in today's educational institutions is centering itself around the technology being utilized in these classrooms. In this age of digital technology, educational software and calculator-based laboratories (CBL) have become significant devices in the teaching of science and math for many states across the United States. Among the technology, the Texas Instruments graphing calculator and Vernier Labpro interface, are among some of the calculator-based laboratories becoming increasingly popular among middle and high school science and math teachers in many school districts across this country. In Tennessee, however, it is reported that this type of technology is not regularly utilized at the student level in most high school science classrooms, especially in the area of Physical Science (Vernier, 2006). This research explored the effect of calculator based laboratory instruction on standardized test scores. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of traditional teaching methods versus graphing calculator teaching methods on the state mandated End-of-Course (EOC) Physical Science exam based on ability, gender, and ethnicity. The sample included 187 total tenth and eleventh grade physical science students, 101 of which belonged to a control group and 87 of which belonged to the experimental group. Physical Science End-of-Course scores obtained from the Tennessee Department of Education during the spring of 2005 and the spring of 2006 were used to examine the hypotheses. The findings of this research study suggested the type of teaching method, traditional or calculator based, did not have an effect on standardized test scores. However, the students' ability level, as demonstrated on the End-of-Course test, had a significant effect on End-of-Course test scores. This study focused on a limited population of high school physical science students in the middle Tennessee Putnam County area. The study should be reproduced in various school districts in the state of Tennessee to compare the findings.

CIMAC: A Coordinated Introduction to Calculus and Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fathe, Laurie; Quinn, Jennifer; McDonald, Michael A.

1997-04-01

CIMAC, new course incorporating Mechanics, Precalculus, and Calculus, targets the growing number of motivated but underprepared students who wish to pursue a major in science or mathematics. Team-taught by a Physicist and a Mathematician, CIMAC, a new course incorporating Mechanics, Precalculus, and Calculus, targets the growing number of motivated but underprepared students who wish to pursue a major in science or mathematics. Team-taught by a Physicist and a Mathematician, the class contains specific content while exploiting the substantial commonality of these subjects. CIMAC also addresses variety of non-content areas, including supplementing basic mathematics and communication skills, accommodating various learning styles, and building student confidence. Specific approaches include class formats; gateway exams; group assignments; emphasis on writing and reading; use of computers and graphing calculators for comprehension, data acquisition, analysis, and modeling; student-led help sessions; and use of the Web http://www.oxy.edu/ departments/math/cimac/ This talk highlights the development of the course and teaching insights and innovations which have arisen from it, and addresses benefits and difficulties of coordinating material and team teaching across disciplinary lines. Finally, it presents data on student success and retention.

The Math You Need at Trinity College, Hartford CT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geiss, C. E.

2011-12-01

Trinity College is a small, private, highly selective liberal arts college with approximately 2400 students. Most students have relatively well developed quantitative skills, but many are nevertheless insecure about their abilities and reluctant to engage in courses that stress quantitative content. I have used The Math You Need (TMYN) modules in an introductory geology course which serves both majors and non-majors in Trinity's Environmental Science Program. This dual audience makes the introduction of quantitative exercises labor intensive and challenging for both students and instructor. TMYN was introduced to a) offer the students an independent support structure outside of class and to b) free up some class and office hour time that would have been spent on mathematical background information. THMY was added to the course as a set of homework assignments preceding related laboratory exercises and homework assignments. During the semester most feedback regarding TMYN was negative. Some outspoken students either saw it as additional busywork or generally disliked "being taught by a computer". A review of pre- and post-test data, however, revealed that the exercises improved students' quantitative skills. Furthermore, in the assignments most students ranked the exercises as useful and rewarding. These positive results were relatively independent of student skill levels.

Using a flipped classroom in an algebra-based physics course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Leigh

2013-03-01

The algebra-based physics course is taken by Biology students, Pre-Pharmacy, Pre-Medical, and other health related majors such as medical imaging, physical therapy, and so on. Nearly 500 students take the course each Semester. Student learning is adversely impacted by poor math backgrounds as well as extensive work schedules outside of the classroom. We have been researching the use of an intensive flipped-classroom approach where students spend one to two hours each week preparing for class by reading the book, completing a series of conceptual problems, and viewing videos which describe the material. In class, the new response system Learning Catalytics is used which allows much richer problems to be posed in class and includes sketching figures, numerical or symbolic entries, short answers, highlighting text, etc in addition to the standard multiple choice questions. We make direct comparison of student learning for 1200 sudents who have taken the same tests, 25% of which used the flipped classroom approach, and 75% who took a more standard lecture. There is significant evidence of improvements in student learning for students taking the flipped classroom approach over standard lectures. These benefits appear to impact students at all math backgrounds.

Voices-Scary though it may sound, the introduction of nursing metrics is a good thing.

PubMed

Cook, Rosemary

2009-02-13

Afraid of maths? Not really a figures person? Join the club. For many nurses, acquiring just enough mathematical knowledge to get onto a nursing course and pass the calculations assessment was the pinnacle of our achievement.

The relationship between preadmission indicators and basic math skills at a new school of pharmacy.

PubMed

Grillo, J A; Latif, D A; Stolte, S K

2001-02-01

To examine the relationship between preadmission indicators of 49 PharmD students entering their first professional year at a new school of pharmacy and their scores on a Basic Math Skills Test (BMST). A secondary objective was to determine what factors, if any, contributed to the successful completion of the BMST. This cross-sectional investigation used a convenience sample of PharmD students entering the first professional year at a three-year-old, private, southeastern school of pharmacy. All first-year students who took the mandatory BMST, as part of a math mentor plot program, were eligible for enrollment. The BMST covered nine different competencies and was validated at the grade-8 level. Math test scores, the student's Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT), and other demographic and scholastic information was obtained from the student's application file in a retrospective manner. All identifiers were removed before the data were submitted to the investigators. Statistical analysis suggested that two preadmission indicators strongly influenced BMST performance: percentile scores on the quantitative section of the PCAT (POAT-OP) and whether the student attended a private or public university prior to admission to the pharmacy school. In addition, four factors significantiy contributed to successful completion of the BMST: math/science grade point average (MS-GPA), PCAT percentile scores, PCAT-QP percentile scores, and the number of BMST Items left blank. A relationship exists between preadmission indicators of PharmD students entering their first professional year and their BMST score. In addition, certain identifiable factors impact BMST scores of first-year PharmD students. Admissions committees may find this useful in identifying students who may need remedial math assistance prior to beginning math-intensive courses such as pharmaceutical calculations and pharmacokinetics.

Making STEM Accessible and Effective through NASA Robotics Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Jonathan; Vadiee, Nader; Sutherland, Emery; Kaye, Bradley; Baker, Kyle

2018-01-01

There is no question that Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) education is critical to the future of our students and workforce. As technology advances, computer programming skills are becoming a necessity in almost all fields. However, teaching programming and other advanced technologies is very difficult, especially in…

Building Community and Fostering Success in STEM Through the Women in Science & Engineering (WiSE) Program at the University of Nevada, Reno

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langus, T. C.; Tempel, R. N.

2017-12-01

The Women in Science & Engineering (WiSE) program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) aims to recruit and retain a diverse population of women in STEM fields. During the WiSE Program's 10 years in service, we have primarily functioned as a resource for 364 young women to expand their pre-professional network by building valuable relationships with like-minded women. More recently, we have introduced key changes to better benefit our WiSE scholars, establishing a new residence hall, the Living Learning Community (LLC). The introduction of the LLC, resident assistants, and academic mentors helped to provide support to a diverse culture of women with varying thoughts, values, attitudes, and identities. To evaluate the progress of our program, demographic data was statistically analyzed using SPSS to identify correlations between math preparation, performance in foundational courses, average time to graduation, and retention in STEM majors. Initial programmatic assessment indicates that students participating in WiSE are provided a more well-rounded experience while pursuing higher education. We have maintained a 90% retention rate of females graduating with bachelor's degrees in STEM disciplines (n=187), with many graduates completing advanced masters and doctoral degrees and seamlessly entering into post-graduate internships, professional, and industry careers. The success of the WiSE program is attributed to a focused initiative in fostering supportive classroom environments through common course enrollment, professional development, and engaging women in their community through service learning. As a continued focus, we aim to increase the inclusivity and representation of women at UNR in underrepresented fields such as physics, math, and the geosciences. Further program improvements will be based on ongoing research, including a qualitative approach to explore how providing gender equitable resources influences the persistence of women in STEM.

Computer-Based Instruction's (CBI) Rediscovered Role in K-12: An Evaluation Case Study of One High School's Use of CBI to Improve Pass Rates on High-Stakes Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hannafin, Robert D.; Foshay, Wellesley R.

2008-01-01

Patriot High School (PHS) adopted a remediation strategy to help its 10th-grade students at risk of failing the Math portion of MCAS, the state's end of year competency exam. The centerpiece of that strategy was a computer-based instructional (CBI) course. PHS used a commercially available CBI product to align the course content with the…

Astronomy stories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berenson, Rhoda

2015-03-01

For many years I have taught physics and astronomy courses to liberal arts students. I have found most of my students to be intelligent and diligent, but not anxious to study science. They typically take the class only because their degree requires a science course. Many arrive having already decided they will not be able to do the math or understand the scientific concepts, and have essentially built a wall between themselves and science. In the 1990s, in an effort to help break down that wall, as part of an NSF-supported course, "The Evolution of the Universe, Earth and Life," I began using creative writing assignments.

Alpena Community College Workplace Partnership Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alpena Community Coll., MI.

These materials include a report, evaluation, and book written about a workplace literacy project involving education (Alpena Community College), business and industry (Besser Company and Alpena Power Company), and labor (Thunder Bay Labor Council). The report specifies objectives; accomplishments, including development of eight courses in math,…

Gifted and Talented Students' Perceptions on Their Schooling: A Survey Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahveci, Nihat Gürel; Akgül, Savas

2014-01-01

This study provides elementary gifted and talented students: Social Studies, Math, Turkish, Science, and Foreign Language courses in terms of differentiation, challenging activities and classroom climate. Research studies contend the significance of differentiation, challenging curriculum and instruction, suitable classroom climate to provide…

Charting a Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Donnelly, Laura

2006-01-01

In this article, students learn math through boat-building and navigation, music through sea-shanty-singing, literature and history through the study of nautically themed writings, and physical education by rowing traditional dories at Sound School Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center. The school also teaches plenty of modern chemistry,…

TEACHING "MATH-LITE" CONSERVATION (BOOK REVIEW OF CONSERVATION BIOLOGY WITH RAMAS ECOLAB)

EPA Science Inventory

This book is designed to serve as a laboratory workbook for an undergraduate course in conservation biology, environmental science, or natural resource management. By integrating with RAMAS EcoLab software, the book provides instructors with hands-on computer exercises that can ...

Encouraging Equitable Enrollment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Stan

1997-01-01

Describes Project JUST (Join Underrepresented in Science and Technology), an initiative whose goal is to create an atmosphere of systemic change within an urban school district that results in minority students excelling in upper level math and science courses. Discusses leadership, governance, and management; a standards-based curriculum;…

Integrating the Learning of Mathematics and Science Using Interactive Teaching and Learning Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holmes, Mark H.

2006-10-01

To help students grasp the intimate connections that exist between mathematics and its applications in other disciplines a library of interactive learning modules was developed. This library covers the mathematical areas normally studied by undergraduate students and is used in science courses at all levels. Moreover, the library is designed not just to provide critical connections across disciplines but to also provide longitudinal subject reinforcement as students progress in their studies. In the process of developing the modules a complete editing and publishing system was constructed that is optimized for automated maintenance and upgradeability of materials. The result is a single integrated production system for web-based educational materials. Included in this is a rigorous assessment program, involving both internal and external evaluations of each module. As will be seen, the formative evaluation obtained during the development of the library resulted in the modules successfully bridging multiple disciplines and breaking down the disciplinary barriers commonly found in their math and non-math courses.

Improving Student Achievement in Math and Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sullivan, Nancy G.; Hamsa, Irene Schulz; Heath, Panagiota; Perry, Robert; White, Stacy J.

1998-01-01

As the new millennium approaches, a long anticipated reckoning for the education system of the United States is forthcoming, Years of school reform initiatives have not yielded the anticipated results. A particularly perplexing problem involves the lack of significant improvement of student achievement in math and science. Three "Partnership" projects represent collaborative efforts between Xavier University (XU) of Louisiana, Southern University of New Orleans (SUNO), Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Stennis Space Center (SSC), to enhance student achievement in math and science. These "Partnerships" are focused on students and teachers in federally designated rural and urban empowerment zones and enterprise communities. The major goals of the "Partnerships" include: (1) The identification and dissemination of key indices of success that account for high performance in math and science; (2) The education of pre-service and in-service secondary teachers in knowledge, skills, and competencies that enhance the instruction of high school math and science; (3) The development of faculty to enhance the quality of math and science courses in institutions of higher education; and (4) The incorporation of technology-based instruction in institutions of higher education. These goals will be achieved by the accomplishment of the following objectives: (1) Delineate significant ?best practices? that are responsible for enhancing student outcomes in math and science; (2) Recruit and retain pre-service teachers with undergraduate degrees in Biology, Math, Chemistry, or Physics in a graduate program, culminating with a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction; (3) Provide faculty workshops and opportunities for travel to professional meetings for dissemination of NASA resources information; (4) Implement methodologies and assessment procedures utilizing performance-based applications of higher order thinking via the incorporation of Global Learning Observations To Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), Mission to Planet Earth and the use of Geographic Imaging Systems into the K-12th grade curriculum.

Tour Through the Solar System: A Hands-On Planetary Geology Course for High School Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherman, S. B.; Gillis-Davis, J. J.

2011-09-01

We have developed a course in planetary geology for high school students, the primary goals of which are to help students learn how to learn, to reduce the fear and anxiety associated with learning science and math, and to encourage an interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Our emphasis in this course is on active learning in a learner-centered environment. All students scored significantly higher on the post-knowledge survey compared with the pre-knowledge survey, and there is a good correlation between the post-knowledge survey and the final exam. Student evaluations showed an increased interest in STEM fields as a result of this course.

Self-Contained Math Manual. Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Shelia I.

This instructional manual consists of 11 competency-based units for a mathematics course for trade and industrial programs in Texas. Each instructional unit includes the following basic components: unit and specific objectives, notes to the instructor (outline of steps to follow in accomplishing specific objectives), information sheets,…

Celebrate Mathematical Curiosity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redford, Christine

2011-01-01

Children's mathematical questions are often based in real-world experiences, as they instinctively make connections to the world around them. In teaching math methods courses, this author recently started to emphasize the importance of fostering curiosity in, and activating the thinking of, the students. In this article, she describes how to tap…

Fraction Representation: The Not-So-Common Denominator among Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, Thomas E.; Cady, JoAnn; Collins, Lee

2008-01-01

Three widely used sixth-grade textbooks were studied to see how fraction concepts were represented. The textbooks selected were "Connected Mathematics," "Middle Grades MathThematics," and Glencoe's "Mathematics: Applications and Concepts Course 1." Three specific areas were examined: representation mode, model, and problem context. Results of…

Exploring Culture. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for Literacy, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

This document reports on a project conducted to develop a curriculum to enable adult learners to explore their own and others' cultures while participating in reading, writing, math, English-as-a-Second-Language, or social studies course offered by adult basic education providers throughout Pennsylvania. The curriculum manual in this report…