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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Developmental Education Repeaters: Stories about Repetition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Dell, Jade J.

2012-01-01

Developmental education students make up almost half of the community college population in the United States (Bettinger & Long, 2005). Approximately 42% of first-time freshmen at community colleges must enroll in at least one developmental education course in English, reading and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

The impact of a developmental science course on college success for underprepared health science students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Candace A.

Developmental education for the academically underprepared college student has been aimed at helping students succeed in college. However, developmental education courses have traditionally focused on reading, writing and math. This quantitative study examined the relationship between a developmental science course for underprepared health science students on grades achieved in college level medical terminology courses. The effect was measured by analyzing student grades retrieved from a college database of official school records through the use of correlation research methodology during a previous 2-year academic period at a selected independent 4-year right-to-try college. The results yielded a weakly positive correlation, but not statistically significant coefficient of 0.325 between grades for students who successfully completed the developmental science course and their subsequent success in a college-level science course. The study added to the gap in knowledge in terms of the effect a developmental science course has on grades in college-level science courses.

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…

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;…

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.

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.

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…

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…

Latinas/os in Community College Developmental Education: Increasing Moments of Academic and Interpersonal Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acevedo-Gil, Nancy; Solorzano, Daniel G.; Santos, Ryan E.

2014-01-01

This qualitative study examines the experiences of Latinas/os in community college English and math developmental education courses. Critical race theory in education and the theory of validation serve as guiding frameworks. The authors find that institutional agents provide academic validation by emphasizing high expectations, focusing on social…

Evaluating the Effects of Mastery Learning in Postsecondary Developmental Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Kirk

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine which academic and affective student factors were significant to student success in a mastery learning program in developmental mathematics and to determine if the mastery learning program led to increased mathematical knowledge retention and success in the subsequent math course. The first phase of the…

Effectiveness of a Corequisite Delivery Model for Developmental Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fair, Katherine Eileen

2017-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study is to determine the effectiveness of a corequisite delivery model for developmental math students at a 4-year public institution. Nationally, close to fifty percent of incoming college students are placed in non-credit bearing remedial courses (Complete College America, 2012). Students must…

Latinas/os in Community College Developmental Education: Increasing Moments of Academic and Interpersonal Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acevedo-Gil, Nancy; Santos, Ryan E.; Alonso, LLuliana; Solorzano, Daniel G.

2015-01-01

This qualitative study examines the experiences of Latinas/os in community college English and math developmental education courses. Critical race theory in education and the theory of validation serve as guiding frameworks. The authors find that institutional agents provide academic validation by emphasizing high expectations, focusing on social…

Enhancing Faculty Pedagogy and Student Outcomes in Developmental Math and English through an Online Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khoule, Alioune; Pacht, Michelle; Schwartz, Jesse W.; van Slyck, Phyllis

2015-01-01

One of the most important topics for faculty in public higher education, especially at community colleges, is how to help developmental students succeed. Students requiring basic mathematics and English courses are the most at-risk college students in public education today. The authors received a grant from the Kresge Foundation that funded the…

Predictors of Persistence for Developmental Math Students in a Community and Technical College System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, J. Cody; Petrosko, Joseph M.

2015-01-01

At two-year public community colleges, the 2011 three-year persistence rate was 23.9%. From 1988 to 2006, between 40% and 60% of all first-time community college students were referred to and enrolled in at least one developmental education course. More students begin college underprepared in mathematics than any other subject area, and only about…

Students' Agency in an In-Class Computer-Centered Developmental Mathematics Classroom: The Best Laid Plans of Math and (Wo)men

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aly, Geillan Dahab

2016-01-01

Community colleges are tasked with helping all students regardless of their academic background to receive a degree, certificate, or other form of education. Many of these students need support in learning the mathematical content necessary to take college-level courses. Since a large proportion of students in these developmental classes are…

[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).

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,…

Determining Developmental Education Effectiveness in Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Joseph E.

2017-01-01

One of the most problematic issues facing community colleges is developmental education. In the last decade, more research has been conducted examining developmental education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of developmental math in a rural community college setting. Is developmental math an effective intervention?…

Arts-Infused Learning in Middle Level Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorimer, Maureen Reilly

2011-01-01

To address arts education disparities in middle level schools, this paper explores evidence that infusing the visual and performing arts into language arts, math, science, and history/social studies courses is a pedagogical approach that meets the developmental needs of early adolescents and fosters a relevant, challenging, integrative, and…

Changing State Policy in Texas for Remedial/Developmental Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Charles M.

The Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP), implemented in 1989, requires student assessment in reading, writing, and math prior to regular college course work. Students undergo continuous remediation until they are able to pass the assessment test. Though TASP advocates argue that the program helps maintain academic standards and provides students…

Assessment of Tutoring Laboratories in a Learning Assistance Center

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fullmer, Patricia

2012-01-01

The Learning Resource Center at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, provides tutoring laboratories that are required for developmental reading, writing, and math courses. This article reviews the processes used to plan and determine the effectiveness of the tutoring laboratories, including logic models, student learning outcomes, and the results of…

Increasing Success Rates in Developmental Math: The Complementary Role of Individual and Institutional Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fong, Kristen E.; Melguizo, Tatiana; Prather, George

2015-01-01

This study tracks students' progression through developmental math sequences and defines progression as both attempting and passing each level of the sequence. A model of successful progression in developmental education was built utilizing individual-, institutional-, and developmental math-level factors. Employing step-wise logistic regression…

A Comparison between a Traditional and an Accelerated, Online, Adaptive Approach to Developmental Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGee, Daniel; Vasquez, Pedro; Cajigas, Jesus

2014-01-01

The University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez (UPRM) has found that there are disadvantages to a semester long remedial mathematics course that is administered during the freshmen year to students with mathematics deficiencies in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs. Correspondingly, the UPRM designed and implemented an…

Is Learning in Developmental Math Associated with Community College Outcomes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quarles, Christopher L.; Davis, Mickey

2017-01-01

Objective: Remedial mathematics courses are widely considered a barrier to student success in community college, and there has been a significant amount of work recently to reform them. Yet, there is little research that explicitly examines whether increasing learning in remedial classes improves grades or completion rates. This study examines the…

How Extending Time in Developmental Math Impacts Student Persistence and Success: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngo, Federick; Kosiewicz, Holly

2017-01-01

Improving the outcomes of students in developmental or remedial math remains a puzzle in higher education. Concerns with low persistence and completion rates have motivated proponents of reform to reconsider the delivery of developmental math. Lengthening the amount of time in math is thought to be an intervention that improves academic…

Predicting Success of Developmental Math Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martinez, Isaac

2017-01-01

Addressing the needs of developmental math students has been one of the most challenging problems in higher education. Administrators at a private university were concerned about poor academic performance of math-deficient students and sought to identify factors that influenced students' successful progression from developmental to college-level…

An Examination of Factors Affecting Organizational Commitment of Developmental Math Faculty at Florida Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin-Hickey, Rachel

2013-01-01

Community colleges play an important role in the accessibility of higher education to the American population and developmental coursework is of vital importance to college degree attainment. The large demand for student remediation in math requires optimal commitment of developmental math faculty members. Increased organizational commitment has…

Academic interventions for students in introductory biology while concurrently enrolled in developmental courses: An action research study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnes, William D.

Each fall semester, approximately half of the students enrolled in the introductory biology course of a small rural college are concurrently enrolled in at least one developmental education math or English course. The resulting grades of D, F and Withdraw for this cohort will be as high as 50% for those enrolled in one developmental course and 65% for those enrolled in two. The purpose of this study was to provide academic interventions such as use of online supplemental learning materials and resources, as well as to emphasize the Campus Tutoring and Learning Center (CTLC) as a resource, for students in the introductory biology course in order to analyze the impact on the learning outcomes of the developmental students. The approach used was an action research model utilizing a pretest-posttest experimental design with the treatment group receiving weekly reminders regarding the availability and value of utilizing the CTLC and the control group receiving only an initial invitation to visit the CTLC. The results found a statistically significant effect ( p < .05) on student use of the CTLC in the treatment group as compared to the control. This suggests that faculty emphasis of campus learning resources can have a positive impact on student behavior. The effect of online supplemental learning materials and resources, including use of the CTLC, on student learning outcomes was found to be statistically insignificant ( p > .05).

Developmental Math Students and College-Level Coursework. Data Notes. Volume 1, Number 8, November/December 2006

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clery, Sue

2006-01-01

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue examines the percentages and numbers of students who attempted and completed both developmental and college-level math. The analysis reveals that a large portion of students either do not attempt or do not complete developmental math coursework. Furthermore, the data show…

Why Students Do Not Prepare for Math Placement Exams: Student Perspectives. CCRC Research Brief. Number 57

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fay, Maggie P.; Bickerstaff, Susan; Hodara, Michelle

2013-01-01

Drawn from surveys completed by 122 students enrolled in developmental math at four community colleges and from seven student focus groups with a total of 34 developmental math students at those same colleges, this research brief illuminates student experiences with and perspectives on the math assessment and placement process. Findings suggest…

An Application of Double-Loop Learning to Community College Remedial Education: A New Model of Integrated Supports for Ongoing Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doren, Andrew T.

2013-01-01

Community colleges have multiple missions and one of them is to provide open access services to those seeking to further their education. Community colleges provide remedial courses in math, reading, and writing because many of their students do not meet entrance requirements in these core subjects. However, the usual developmental education track…

Raising the Floor: New Approaches to Serving the Lowest-Skilled Students at Community Colleges in Texas and Beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Visher, Mary; Cerna, Oscar; Diamond, John; Rutschow, Elizabeth Zachry

2017-01-01

Faced with many applicants with very low math skills, community colleges are responding with a variety of reforms, including restricting developmental courses to students with high-school-level skills. This brief provides context for the policy changes and describes the alternatives two colleges offer to those who don't make the cut. [This brief…

Stepping Stones to a Degree: The Impact of Enrollment Pathways and Milestones on Older Community College Student Outcomes. CCRC Brief Number 32

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calcagno, Juan Carlos; Crosta, Peter; Bailey, Thomas; Jenkins, Davis

2006-01-01

This Brief reports on a new study that begins to fill this research gap. Using longitudinal unit record transcript data on a cohort of first-time community college students in Florida, the study sought to determine whether remedial pathways, such as enrolling in a developmental math course, and enrollment milestones, such as completing a certain…

Impact of Delivery Modality, Student GPA, and Time-Lapse since High School on Successful Completion of College-Level Math after Taking Developmental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Acosta, Diane; North, Teresa Lynn; Avella, John

2016-01-01

This study considered whether delivery modality, student GPA, or time since high school affected whether 290 students who had completed a developmental math series as a community college were able to successfully complete college-level math. The data used in the study was comprised of a 4-year period historical student data from Odessa College…

Multivariate Latent Change Modeling of Developmental Decline in Academic Intrinsic Math Motivation and Achievement: Childhood through Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Adele Eskeles; Marcoulides, George A.; Gottfried, Allen W.; Oliver, Pamella H.; Guerin, Diana Wright

2007-01-01

Research has established that academic intrinsic motivation, enjoyment of school learning without receipt of external rewards, significantly declines across childhood through adolescence. Math intrinsic motivation evidences the most severe decline compared with other subject areas. This study addresses this developmental decline in math intrinsic…

Developmental Math: What's the Answer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cafarella, Brian

2016-01-01

Developmental mathematics has been under the radar within higher education for some time. The reality is that there are many proven best practices in developmental math. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles that prevent student success. Moreover, the high rates of attrition and failure have led state legislators and college administrators to…

Investigating Meaning in Learning: A Case Study of Adult Developmental Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Glasser, Tim

2011-01-01

The objective of this article is to investigate meaning and relevance in the context of adult developmental math learning and instruction. In this case study, at the Art Institute of San Francisco, 12 vocational instructors and four math learners are interviewed on their early and current math experiences. During the semi-structured interviews,…

Evaluating Number Sense in Community College Developmental Math Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinke, Dorothea A.

2017-01-01

Community college developmental math students (N = 657) from three math levels were asked to place five whole numbers on a line that had only endpoints 0 and 20 marked. How the students placed the numbers revealed the same three stages of behavior that Steffe and Cobb (1988) documented in determining young children's number sense. 23% of the…

Math Readiness of Texas Community College Developmental Education Students: A Multiyear Statewide Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abraham, Reni A.; Slate, John R.; Saxon, D. Patrick; Barnes, Wally

2014-01-01

In this investigation, we examined the college readiness in math of Texas community college students using archival data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Data analyzed were the rate of all first-time in college (FTIC) developmental education students who scored below the Texas college readiness standards in math and the rates of…

Learning Communities for Students in Developmental Math: Impact Studies at Queensborough and Houston Community Colleges. Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weissman, Evan; Butcher, Kristin F.; Schneider, Emily; Teres, Jedediah; Collado, Herbert; Greenberg, David

2011-01-01

Queensborough Community College and Houston Community College are two large, urban institutions that offer learning communities for their developmental math students, with the goals of accelerating students' progress through the math sequence and of helping them to perform better in college and ultimately earn degrees or certificates. They are…

Learning Communities for Students in Developmental Math: Impact Studies at Queensborough and Houston Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weissman, Evan; Butcher, Kristin F.; Schneider, Emily; Teres, Jedediah; Collado, Herbert; Greenberg, David

2011-01-01

Queensborough Community College and Houston Community College are two large, urban institutions that offer learning communities for their developmental math students, with the goals of accelerating students' progress through the math sequence and of helping them to perform better in college and ultimately earn degrees or certificates. They are…

Advanced Math Course Taking: Effects on Math Achievement and College Enrollment

PubMed Central

Byun, Soo-yong; Irvin, Matthew J.; Bell, Bethany A.

2014-01-01

Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002–2006 (ELS:02/06), this study investigated the effects of advanced math course taking on math achievement and college enrollment and how such effects varied by socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity. Results from propensity score matching and sensitivity analyses showed that advanced math course taking had positive effects on math achievement and college enrollment. Results also demonstrated that the effect of advanced math course taking on math achievement was greater for low SES students than for high SES students, but smaller for Black students than for White students. No interaction effects were found for college enrollment. Limitations, policy implications, and future research directions are discussed. PMID:26508803

Transmitting Success: Comprehensive Peer Mentoring for At-Risk Students in Developmental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morales, Erik E.; Ambrose-Roman, Sarah; Perez-Maldonado, Rosa

2016-01-01

This study presents and assesses a developmental math focused peer mentoring program at a public urban university. Over three semesters 45 mentees participated in the program. Results include substantive increases in developmental pass rates as well as increases in self-efficacy and social integration. Other noteworthy findings include the…

Maximizing Gender Equality by Minimizing Course Choice Options? Effects of Obligatory Coursework in Math on Gender Differences in STEM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hübner, Nicolas; Wille, Eike; Cambria, Jenna; Oschatz, Kerstin; Nagengast, Benjamin; Trautwein, Ulrich

2017-01-01

Math achievement, math self-concept, and vocational interests are critical predictors of STEM careers and are closely linked to high school coursework. Young women are less likely to choose advanced math courses in high school, and encouraging young women to enroll in advanced math courses may therefore bring more women into STEM careers. We…

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…

All Students Need Advanced Mathematics. Math Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

This fact sheet explains that to thrive in today's world, all students will need to graduate with very strong math skills. That can only mean one thing: advanced math courses are now essential math courses. Highlights of this paper include: (1) Advanced math equals college success; (2) Advanced math equals career opportunity; and (3) Advanced math…

Cognitive consistency and math-gender stereotypes in Singaporean children.

PubMed

Cvencek, Dario; Meltzoff, Andrew N; Kapur, Manu

2014-01-01

In social psychology, cognitive consistency is a powerful principle for organizing psychological concepts. There have been few tests of cognitive consistency in children and no research about cognitive consistency in children from Asian cultures, who pose an interesting developmental case. A sample of 172 Singaporean elementary school children completed implicit and explicit measures of math-gender stereotype (male=math), gender identity (me=male), and math self-concept (me=math). Results showed strong evidence for cognitive consistency; the strength of children's math-gender stereotypes, together with their gender identity, significantly predicted their math self-concepts. Cognitive consistency may be culturally universal and a key mechanism for developmental change in social cognition. We also discovered that Singaporean children's math-gender stereotypes increased as a function of age and that boys identified with math more strongly than did girls despite Singaporean girls' excelling in math. The results reveal both cultural universals and cultural variation in developing social cognition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban Underrepresented Minority Students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math: An Analysis of the Differences between Developmental Assets and Academic Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wells, Jovan Grant

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between the developmental assets and academic achievement of urban underrepresented minority male and female students in a specialized science, technology, engineering, and math program, and the developmental assets and academic achievement of urban underrepresented minority male and…

The Effect of Math Anxiety on the Academic Success of Developmental Mathematics Students at a Texas Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fannin-Carroll, Kristen D.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between math anxiety and academic success of developmental mathematics students at a Texas community college based on age, gender, and level of developmental mathematics program. A quantitative, casual-comparative design was used to determine relationships. A total of 185 developmental…

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

Advanced Math Course Taking: Effects on Math Achievement and College Enrollment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byun, Soo-yong; Irvin, Matthew J.; Bell, Bethany A.

2015-01-01

Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002-2006, the authors investigated the effects of advanced math course taking on math achievement and college enrollment and how such effects varied by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Results from propensity score matching and sensitivity analyses showed that advanced math course…

College and Career Readiness: Course Taking Of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Secondary School Students.

PubMed

Nagle, Katherine; Newman, Lynn A; Shaver, Debra M; Marschark, Marc

2016-01-01

Research shows that deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students frequently enter college and the workplace relatively unprepared for success in math, science, and reading. Based on data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), the present study focused on DHH students' college and career readiness by investigating their opportunities in secondary school to acquire college and career skills. DHH students earned more credits overall than hearing peers; both groups earned a similar number of credits in academic courses. However, DHH students took more vocational and nonacademic courses and fewer courses in science, social science, and foreign languages. There was evidence that DHH students' academic courses in math lacked the rigor of those taken by hearing peers, as DHH students earned more credits in basic math and fewer credits in midlevel math courses, and even fewer in advanced math courses, than hearing peers.

Selected Studies on Math Placement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akst, Geoffrey; Hirsch, Lewis

1991-01-01

Drawing from a review of the literature and direct experience, this paper discusses key issues in developmental mathematics placement. First, the controversial practice of mandatory placement is examined, citing research results that support the practice and those that do not. Next, the diversity of developmental math placement standards is…

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…

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…

Development of brain systems for nonsymbolic numerosity and the relationship to formal math academic achievement.

PubMed

Haist, Frank; Wazny, Jarnet H; Toomarian, Elizabeth; Adamo, Maha

2015-02-01

A central question in cognitive and educational neuroscience is whether brain operations supporting nonlinguistic intuitive number sense (numerosity) predict individual acquisition and academic achievement for symbolic or "formal" math knowledge. Here, we conducted a developmental functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of nonsymbolic numerosity task performance in 44 participants including 14 school age children (6-12 years old), 14 adolescents (13-17 years old), and 16 adults and compared a brain activity measure of numerosity precision to scores from the Woodcock-Johnson III Broad Math index of math academic achievement. Accuracy and reaction time from the numerosity task did not reliably predict formal math achievement. We found a significant positive developmental trend for improved numerosity precision in the parietal cortex and intraparietal sulcus specifically. Controlling for age and overall cognitive ability, we found a reliable positive relationship between individual math achievement scores and parietal lobe activity only in children. In addition, children showed robust positive relationships between math achievement and numerosity precision within ventral stream processing areas bilaterally. The pattern of results suggests a dynamic developmental trajectory for visual discrimination strategies that predict the acquisition of formal math knowledge. In adults, the efficiency of visual discrimination marked by numerosity acuity in ventral occipital-temporal cortex and hippocampus differentiated individuals with better or worse formal math achievement, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that two different brain systems for nonsymbolic numerosity acuity may contribute to individual differences in math achievement and that the contribution of these systems differs across development. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of brain systems for nonsymbolic numerosity and the relationship to formal math academic achievement

PubMed Central

Haist, Frank; Wazny, Jarnet H.; Toomarian, Elizabeth; Adamo, Maha

2015-01-01

A central question in cognitive and educational neuroscience is whether brain operations supporting non-linguistic intuitive number sense (numerosity) predict individual acquisition and academic achievement for symbolic or “formal” math knowledge. Here, we conducted a developmental functional MRI study of nonsymbolic numerosity task performance in 44 participants including 14 school age children (6–12 years-old), 14 adolescents (13–17 years-old), and 16 adults and compared a brain activity measure of numerosity precision to scores from the Woodcock-Johnson III Broad Math index of math academic achievement. Accuracy and reaction time from the numerosity task did not reliably predict formal math achievement. We found a significant positive developmental trend for improved numerosity precision in the parietal cortex and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) specifically. Controlling for age and overall cognitive ability, we found a reliable positive relationship between individual math achievement scores and parietal lobe activity only in children. In addition, children showed robust positive relationships between math achievement and numerosity precision within ventral stream processing areas bilaterally. The pattern of results suggests a dynamic developmental trajectory for visual discrimination strategies that predict the acquisition of formal math knowledge. In adults, the efficiency of visual discrimination marked by numerosity acuity in ventral occipital-temporal cortex and hippocampus differentiated individuals with better or worse formal math achievement, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that two different brain systems for nonsymbolic numerosity acuity may contribute to individual differences in math achievement and that the contribution of these systems differs across development. PMID:25327879

Trajectories of Self-Perceived Math Ability, Utility Value and Interest across Middle School as Predictors of High School Math Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petersen, Jennifer Lee; Hyde, Janet Shibley

2017-01-01

Although many studies have documented developmental change in mathematics motivation, little is known about how these trends predict math performance. A sample of 288 participants from the United States reported their perceived math ability, math utility value and math interest in 5th, 7th and 9th grades. Latent growth curve models estimated…

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…

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…

Mapping Success: Performance-Based Scholarships, Student Services, and Developmental Math at Hillsborough Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommo, Colleen; Boynton, Melissa; Collado, Herbert; Diamond, John; Gardenhire, Alissa; Ratledge, Alyssa; Rudd, Timothy; Weiss, Michael J.

2014-01-01

In 2010, Hillsborough Community College (HCC), a large multicampus institution in Tampa, Florida, worked with MDRC to create the Mathematics Access Performance Scholarship (MAPS) program to help academically underprepared community college students succeed in developmental math. MAPS provides an incentive for low-income students referred to…

The Efficacy of Instructional Strategy on Mathematics Achievement, Attitudes, and Anxiety Levels of Developmental Math Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas-Browne, Carmen G.

2009-01-01

This dissertation investigated three instructional strategies in developmental math classes to determine if instructional strategy had a positive effect on student achievement, attitude towards mathematics, and anxiety level towards mathematics at a college in western Pennsylvania for students majoring in applied arts. The significance of this…

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…

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

PubMed Central

Degol, Jessica L.

2016-01-01

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 in cognitive capacity and motivation are also influenced by broader sociocultural factors. After reviewing research from the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, and education over the past 30 years, we summarize six explanations for US women’s underrepresentation in math-intensive STEM fields: (a) cognitive ability, (b) relative cognitive strengths, (c) occupational interests or preferences, (d) lifestyle values or work-family balance preferences, (e) field-specific ability beliefs, and (f) gender-related stereotypes and biases. We then describe the potential biological and sociocultural explanations for observed gender differences on cognitive and motivational factors and demonstrate the developmental period(s) during which each factor becomes most relevant. We then propose evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice to improve STEM diversity and recommendations for future research directions. PMID:28458499

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

PubMed

Wang, Ming-Te; Degol, Jessica L

2017-03-01

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 in cognitive capacity and motivation are also influenced by broader sociocultural factors. After reviewing research from the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, and education over the past 30 years, we summarize six explanations for US women's underrepresentation in math-intensive STEM fields: (a) cognitive ability, (b) relative cognitive strengths, (c) occupational interests or preferences, (d) lifestyle values or work-family balance preferences, (e) field-specific ability beliefs, and (f) gender-related stereotypes and biases. We then describe the potential biological and sociocultural explanations for observed gender differences on cognitive and motivational factors and demonstrate the developmental period(s) during which each factor becomes most relevant. We then propose evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice to improve STEM diversity and recommendations for future research directions.

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.

Advanced Math: Closing the Equity Gap. Math Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

Minority and low-income students are less likely to have access to, enroll in and succeed in higher-level math courses in high school than their more advantaged peers. Under these circumstances, higher-level math courses function not as the intellectual and practical boost they should be, but as a filter that screens students out of the pathway to…

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…

Improving Mathematics Learning by Integrating Curricular Activities with Innovative and Developmentally Appropriate Digital Apps: Findings from the Next Generation Preschool Math Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Presser, Ashley Lewis; Vahey, Philip; Dominguez, Ximena

2015-01-01

This paper describes findings from a blocked randomized design (BRD) field study conducted to examine the "Next Generation Preschool Math" (NGPM) program's implementation in preschool classrooms and promise in improving young children's mathematic learning. NGPM integrates traditional preschool activities with developmentally appropriate…

Creating an Alternative Developmental Math Pathway at Delaware Technical Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, John Patrick, Jr.

2017-01-01

Developmental mathematics pass rates at Delaware Technical Community College (DTCC) have remained the same or decreased for a number of years despite two different math curriculum redesigns. They hover around 50 percent or below at each campus, even after the implementation of a second redesign this past Fall 2016 semester. The first redesign…

The Developmental Dynamics of Task-Avoidant Behavior and Math Performance in Kindergarten and Elementary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirvonen, Riikka; Tolvanen, Asko; Aunola, Kaisa; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2012-01-01

Besides cognitive factors, children's learning at school may be influenced by more dynamic phenomena, such as motivation and achievement-related task-avoidant behavior. The present study examined the developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance from kindergarten to Grade 4. A total of 225 children were tested for their…

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…

Variation in Content Coverage by Classroom Composition: An Analysis of Advanced Math Course Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Covay, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Everyone knows that there is racial inequality in achievement returns from advanced math; however, they do not know why black students and white students taking the same level of math courses are not leaving with the same or comparable skill levels. To find out, the author examines variation in course coverage by the racial composition of the…

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…

Mathematics anxiety in children with developmental dyscalculia.

PubMed

Rubinsten, Orly; Tannock, Rosemary

2010-07-15

Math anxiety, defined as a negative affective response to mathematics, is known to have deleterious effects on math performance in the general population. However, the assumption that math anxiety is directly related to math performance, has not yet been validated. Thus, our primary objective was to investigate the effects of math anxiety on numerical processing in children with specific deficits in the acquisition of math skills (Developmental Dyscalculia; DD) by using a novel affective priming task as an indirect measure. Participants (12 children with DD and 11 typically-developing peers) completed a novel priming task in which an arithmetic equation was preceded by one of four types of priming words (positive, neutral, negative or related to mathematics). Children were required to indicate whether the equation (simple math facts based on addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) was true or false. Typically, people respond to target stimuli more quickly after presentation of an affectively-related prime than after one that is unrelated affectively. Participants with DD responded faster to targets that were preceded by both negative primes and math-related primes. A reversed pattern was present in the control group. These results reveal a direct link between emotions, arithmetic and low achievement in math. It is also suggested that arithmetic-affective priming might be used as an indirect measure of math anxiety.

Advanced placement math and science courses: Influential factors and predictors for success in college STEM majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoepner, Cynthia Colon

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. Although research studies offer several contributing factors that point to a higher attrition rate of women in STEM than their male counterparts, no study has investigated the role that high school advanced placement (AP) math and science courses play in preparing students for the challenges of college STEM courses. The purpose of this study was to discover which AP math and science courses and/or influential factors could encourage more students, particularly females, to consider pursuing STEM fields in college. Further, this study examined which, if any, AP math or science courses positively contribute to a student's overall preparation for college STEM courses. This retrospective study combined quantitative and qualitative research methods. The survey sample consisted of 881 UCLA female and male students pursuing STEM majors. Qualitative data was gathered from four single-gender student focus groups, two female groups (15 females) and two male groups (16 males). This study examined which AP math and science courses students took in high school, who or what influenced them to take those courses, and which particular courses influenced student's choice of STEM major and/or best prepared her/him for the challenges of STEM courses. Findings reveal that while AP math and science course-taking patterns are similar of female and male STEM students, a significant gender-gap remains in five of the eleven AP courses. Students report four main influences on their choice of AP courses; self, desire for math/science major, higher grade point average or class rank, and college admissions. Further, three AP math and science courses were highlighted throughout the study. First, AP Chemistry was described as a foundational course necessary for the challenges of STEM courses. AP Calculus was considered a course with practical benefits across STEM majors. Finally, AP Biology was found to be a gateway course, which inspired students to continue to pursue STEM majors in college. All three courses were strongly recommended to high school students considering a STEM major. The findings will help grow a larger and equally prepared pool of females and males and help sustain a more even distribution of women across STEM fields.

The Impact of an Online, Mastery, and Project-Based Developmental Math Curriculum on Student Achievement and Attitude

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zollinger, Steven R.

2017-01-01

Due to anxiety, low confidence, and inadequate content knowledge, many college students struggle to complete their developmental math coursework. As colleges redesign their programs to address these issues, careful research is imperative to determine the factors that best meet the needs of these struggling students. The purpose of this study was…

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.…

Engaging High School Students in Advanced Math and Science Courses for Success in College: Is Advanced Placement the Answer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelley-Kemple, Thomas; Proger, Amy; Roderick, Melissa

2011-01-01

The current study provides an in-depth look at Advanced Placement (AP) math and science course-taking in one school district, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Using quasi-experimental methods, this study examines the college outcomes of students who take AP math and science courses. Specifically, this study asks whether students who take AP math…

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…

How Are Community College Students Assessed and Placed in Developmental Math? Grounding Our Understanding in Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melguizo, Tatiana; Kosiewicz, Holly; Prather, George; Bos, Johannes

2014-01-01

The study's main objective was to provide a detailed description of math Assessment and Placement (A&P) policies in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). The study was focused on math because a larger proportion of students place into remedial math than remedial reading or English (Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010; Parsad, Lewis,…

How a Networked Improvement Community Improved Success Rates for Struggling College Math Students. Improvement Vignette

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2017

2017-01-01

The Carnegie Foundation launched its Math Pathways initiative nearly six years ago at 29 colleges across the country with the aim of improving success rates in developmental math. Tens of thousands of students a year, who need additional preparation for college-level math, are shut out of earning degrees and fulfilling careers due to the huge…

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

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.

Improving Success in Developmental Mathematics: An Interview with Paul Nolting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boylan, Hunter R.

2011-01-01

This article presents an interview with Dr. Paul Nolting, a national expert in assessing individual math learning problems, developing effective student learning strategies, and assessing institutional variables that affect math success. Since his dissertation in 1986 on improving math success with study skills Dr. Nolting has consulted with over…

Math-related career aspirations and choices within Eccles et al.'s expectancy-value theory of achievement-related behaviors.

PubMed

Lauermann, Fani; Tsai, Yi-Miau; Eccles, Jacquelynne S

2017-08-01

Which occupation to pursue is one of the more consequential decisions people make and represents a key developmental task. Yet the underlying developmental processes associated with either individual or group differences in occupational choices are still not well understood. This study contributes toward filling this gap, focusing in particular on the math domain. We examined two aspects of Eccles et al.'s (1983) expectancy-value theory of achievement-related behaviors: (a) the reciprocal associations between adolescents' expectancy and subjective task value beliefs and adolescents' career plans and (b) the multiplicative association between expectancies and values in predicting occupational outcomes in the math domain. Our analyses indicate that adolescents' expectancy and subjective task value beliefs about math and their math- or science-related career plans reported at the beginning and end of high school predict each other over time, with the exception of intrinsic interest in math. Furthermore, multiplicative associations between adolescents' expectancy and subjective task value beliefs about math predict math-related career attainment approximately 15 years after graduation from high school. Gender differences emerged regarding career-related beliefs and career attainment, with male students being more likely than female to both pursue and attain math-related careers. These gender differences could not be explained by differences in beliefs about math as an academic subject. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Mathematics anxiety in children with developmental dyscalculia

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Math anxiety, defined as a negative affective response to mathematics, is known to have deleterious effects on math performance in the general population. However, the assumption that math anxiety is directly related to math performance, has not yet been validated. Thus, our primary objective was to investigate the effects of math anxiety on numerical processing in children with specific deficits in the acquisition of math skills (Developmental Dyscalculia; DD) by using a novel affective priming task as an indirect measure. Methods Participants (12 children with DD and 11 typically-developing peers) completed a novel priming task in which an arithmetic equation was preceded by one of four types of priming words (positive, neutral, negative or related to mathematics). Children were required to indicate whether the equation (simple math facts based on addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) was true or false. Typically, people respond to target stimuli more quickly after presentation of an affectively-related prime than after one that is unrelated affectively. Result Participants with DD responded faster to targets that were preceded by both negative primes and math-related primes. A reversed pattern was present in the control group. Conclusion These results reveal a direct link between emotions, arithmetic and low achievement in math. It is also suggested that arithmetic-affective priming might be used as an indirect measure of math anxiety. PMID:20633269

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)…

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.

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…

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…

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…

Developmental Changes in Working Memory, Updating, and Math Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Kerry; Bull, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Children with higher working memory or updating (WMU) capacity perform better in math. What is less clear is whether and how this relation varies with grade. Children (N = 673, kindergarten to Grade 9) participated in a 4-year cross-sequential study. Data from 3 WMU (Listening Recall, Mr. X, and an updating task) and a standardized math task…

Using a Regression Discontinuity Design to Estimate the Impact of Placement Decisions in Developmental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melguizo, Tatiana; Bos, Johannes M.; Ngo, Federick; Mills, Nicholas; Prather, George

2016-01-01

This study evaluates the effectiveness of math placement policies for entering community college students on these students' academic success in math. We estimate the impact of placement decisions by using a discrete-time survival model within a regression discontinuity framework. The primary conclusion that emerges is that initial placement in a…

National Association for the Education of Young Children

MedlinePlus

... families — from child development to reading, writing, music, math, and more! Higher Education Search an ECE degree ... childhood topics such Developmentally Appropriate Practice, play, and math. Blog Stay up-to-date on issues in ...

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…

Working memory, math performance, and math anxiety.

PubMed

Ashcraft, Mark H; Krause, Jeremy A

2007-04-01

The cognitive literature now shows how critically math performance depends on working memory, for any form of arithmetic and math that involves processes beyond simple memory retrieval. The psychometric literature is also very clear on the global consequences of mathematics anxiety. People who are highly math anxious avoid math: They avoid elective coursework in math, both in high school and college, they avoid college majors that emphasize math, and they avoid career paths that involve math. We go beyond these psychometric relationships to examine the cognitive consequences of math anxiety. We show how performance on a standardized math achievement test varies as a function of math anxiety, and that math anxiety compromises the functioning of working memory. High math anxiety works much like a dual task setting: Preoccupation with one's math fears and anxieties functions like a resource-demanding secondary task. We comment on developmental and educational factors related to math and working memory, and on factors that may contribute to the development of math anxiety.

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…

Relation Between Mathematical Performance, Math Anxiety, and Affective Priming in Children With and Without Developmental Dyscalculia.

PubMed

Kucian, Karin; Zuber, Isabelle; Kohn, Juliane; Poltz, Nadine; Wyschkon, Anne; Esser, Günter; von Aster, Michael

2018-01-01

Many children show negative emotions related to mathematics and some even develop mathematics anxiety. The present study focused on the relation between negative emotions and arithmetical performance in children with and without developmental dyscalculia (DD) using an affective priming task. Previous findings suggested that arithmetic performance is influenced if an affective prime precedes the presentation of an arithmetic problem. In children with DD specifically, responses to arithmetic operations are supposed to be facilitated by both negative and mathematics-related primes (= negative math priming effect ).We investigated mathematical performance, math anxiety, and the domain-general abilities of 172 primary school children (76 with DD and 96 controls). All participants also underwent an affective priming task which consisted of the decision whether a simple arithmetic operation (addition or subtraction) that was preceded by a prime (positive/negative/neutral or mathematics-related) was true or false. Our findings did not reveal a negative math priming effect in children with DD. Furthermore, when considering accuracy levels, gender, or math anxiety, the negative math priming effect could not be replicated. However, children with DD showed more math anxiety when explicitly assessed by a specific math anxiety interview and showed lower mathematical performance compared to controls. Moreover, math anxiety was equally present in boys and girls, even in the earliest stages of schooling, and interfered negatively with performance. In conclusion, mathematics is often associated with negative emotions that can be manifested in specific math anxiety, particularly in children with DD. Importantly, present findings suggest that in the assessed age group, it is more reliable to judge math anxiety and investigate its effects on mathematical performance explicitly by adequate questionnaires than by an affective math priming task.

Relation Between Mathematical Performance, Math Anxiety, and Affective Priming in Children With and Without Developmental Dyscalculia

PubMed Central

Kucian, Karin; Zuber, Isabelle; Kohn, Juliane; Poltz, Nadine; Wyschkon, Anne; Esser, Günter; von Aster, Michael

2018-01-01

Many children show negative emotions related to mathematics and some even develop mathematics anxiety. The present study focused on the relation between negative emotions and arithmetical performance in children with and without developmental dyscalculia (DD) using an affective priming task. Previous findings suggested that arithmetic performance is influenced if an affective prime precedes the presentation of an arithmetic problem. In children with DD specifically, responses to arithmetic operations are supposed to be facilitated by both negative and mathematics-related primes (=negative math priming effect).We investigated mathematical performance, math anxiety, and the domain-general abilities of 172 primary school children (76 with DD and 96 controls). All participants also underwent an affective priming task which consisted of the decision whether a simple arithmetic operation (addition or subtraction) that was preceded by a prime (positive/negative/neutral or mathematics-related) was true or false. Our findings did not reveal a negative math priming effect in children with DD. Furthermore, when considering accuracy levels, gender, or math anxiety, the negative math priming effect could not be replicated. However, children with DD showed more math anxiety when explicitly assessed by a specific math anxiety interview and showed lower mathematical performance compared to controls. Moreover, math anxiety was equally present in boys and girls, even in the earliest stages of schooling, and interfered negatively with performance. In conclusion, mathematics is often associated with negative emotions that can be manifested in specific math anxiety, particularly in children with DD. Importantly, present findings suggest that in the assessed age group, it is more reliable to judge math anxiety and investigate its effects on mathematical performance explicitly by adequate questionnaires than by an affective math priming task. PMID:29755376

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…

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…

Changing the Developmental Trajectory in Early Math through a Two-Year Preschool Math Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starkey, Prentice; Klein, Alice; DeFlorio, Lydia

2013-01-01

There is a national need for effective interventions to improve school readiness and subsequent achievement in mathematics for students from low-income families. The purpose of this study was to implement and evaluate a 2-year preschool math intervention that began at preschool entry when children were 3 years of age and continued through the end…

The Effects of Requiring Study Group Participation Associated with Students' Attitudes and Achievements in Developmental Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Clayton D.

2012-01-01

It is widely publicized that student attitudes and achievement in math in the United States require improvement. U.S. students have shown lackluster mathematics achievement scores compared to their international peers in other developed countries. As a former high school math instructor, this author observed that the attitude of many high school…

Do Teachers' Perceptions of Children's Math and Reading Related Ability and Effort Predict Children's Self-Concept of Ability in Math and Reading?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Upadyaya, Katja; Eccles, Jacquelynne

2015-01-01

This study investigated to what extent primary school teachers' perceptions of their students' ability and effort predict developmental changes in children's self-concepts of ability in math and reading after controlling for students' academic performance and general intelligence. Three cohorts (N?=?849) of elementary school children and their…

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.

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…

Impacts of a Summer Bridge Program in Engineering on Student Retention and Graduation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cançado, Luciana; Reisel, John R.; Walker, Cindy M.

2018-01-01

A summer bridge program was developed in an engineering program to advance the preparation of incoming freshmen students, particularly with respect to their math course placement. The program was intended to raise the initial math course placement of students who otherwise would begin their engineering studies in courses below Calculus I. One…

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

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…

Differentiating anxiety forms and their role in academic performance from primary to secondary school

PubMed Central

Devine, Amy; Hill, Francesca; Szűcs, Dénes

2017-01-01

Introduction Individuals with high levels of mathematics anxiety are more likely to have other forms of anxiety, such as general anxiety and test anxiety, and tend to have some math performance decrement compared to those with low math anxiety. However, it is unclear how the anxiety forms cluster in individuals, or how the presence of other anxiety forms influences the relationship between math anxiety and math performance. Method We measured math anxiety, test anxiety, general anxiety and mathematics and reading performance in 1720 UK students (year 4, aged 8–9, and years 7 and 8, aged 11–13). We conducted latent profile analysis of students’ anxiety scores in order to examine the developmental change in anxiety profiles, the demographics of each anxiety profile and the relationship between profiles and academic performance. Results Anxiety profiles appeared to change in specificity between the two age groups studied. Only in the older students did clusters emerge with specifically elevated general anxiety or academic anxiety (test and math anxiety). Our findings suggest that boys are slightly more likely than girls to have elevated academic anxieties relative to their general anxiety. Year 7/8 students with specifically academic anxiety show lower academic performance than those who also have elevated general anxiety. Conclusions There may be a developmental change in the specificity of anxiety and gender seems to play a strong role in determining one’s anxiety profile. The anxiety profiles present in our year 7/8 sample, and their relationships with math performance, suggest a bidirectional relationship between math anxiety and math performance. PMID:28350857

Differentiating anxiety forms and their role in academic performance from primary to secondary school.

PubMed

Carey, Emma; Devine, Amy; Hill, Francesca; Szűcs, Dénes

2017-01-01

Individuals with high levels of mathematics anxiety are more likely to have other forms of anxiety, such as general anxiety and test anxiety, and tend to have some math performance decrement compared to those with low math anxiety. However, it is unclear how the anxiety forms cluster in individuals, or how the presence of other anxiety forms influences the relationship between math anxiety and math performance. We measured math anxiety, test anxiety, general anxiety and mathematics and reading performance in 1720 UK students (year 4, aged 8-9, and years 7 and 8, aged 11-13). We conducted latent profile analysis of students' anxiety scores in order to examine the developmental change in anxiety profiles, the demographics of each anxiety profile and the relationship between profiles and academic performance. Anxiety profiles appeared to change in specificity between the two age groups studied. Only in the older students did clusters emerge with specifically elevated general anxiety or academic anxiety (test and math anxiety). Our findings suggest that boys are slightly more likely than girls to have elevated academic anxieties relative to their general anxiety. Year 7/8 students with specifically academic anxiety show lower academic performance than those who also have elevated general anxiety. There may be a developmental change in the specificity of anxiety and gender seems to play a strong role in determining one's anxiety profile. The anxiety profiles present in our year 7/8 sample, and their relationships with math performance, suggest a bidirectional relationship between math anxiety and math performance.

An integrated model of academic self-concept development: Academic self-concept, grades, test scores, and tracking over 6 years.

PubMed

Marsh, Herbert W; Pekrun, Reinhard; Murayama, Kou; Arens, A Katrin; Parker, Philip D; Guo, Jiesi; Dicke, Theresa

2018-02-01

Our newly proposed integrated academic self-concept model integrates 3 major theories of academic self-concept formation and developmental perspectives into a unified conceptual and methodological framework. Relations among math self-concept (MSC), school grades, test scores, and school-level contextual effects over 6 years, from the end of primary school through the first 5 years of secondary school (a representative sample of 3,370 German students, 42 secondary schools, 50% male, M age at grade 5 = 11.75) support the (1) internal/external frame of reference model: Math school grades had positive effects on MSC, but the effects of German grades were negative; (2) reciprocal effects (longitudinal panel) model: MSC was predictive of and predicted by math test scores and school grades; (3) big-fish-little-pond effect: The effects on MSC were negative for school-average achievement based on 4 indicators (primary school grades in math and German, school-track prior to the start of secondary school, math test scores in the first year of secondary school). Results for all 3 theoretical models were consistent across the 5 secondary school years: This supports the prediction of developmental equilibrium. This integration highlights the robustness of support over the potentially volatile early to middle adolescent period; the interconnectedness and complementarity of 3 ASC models; their counterbalancing strengths and weaknesses; and new theoretical, developmental, and substantive implications at their intersections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

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 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…

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,…

Is There a Causal Effect of High School Math on Labor Market Outcomes?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joensen, Juanna Schroter; Nielsen, Helena Skyt

2009-01-01

In this paper, we exploit a high school pilot scheme to identify the causal effect of advanced high school math on labor market outcomes. The pilot scheme reduced the costs of choosing advanced math because it allowed for a more flexible combination of math with other courses. We find clear evidence of a causal relationship between math and…

The relation between space and math: developmental and educational implications.

PubMed

Mix, Kelly S; Cheng, Yi-Ling

2012-01-01

There is a well-known relation between spatial ability and mathematics dating back to the work of early twentieth century factor analysts. This connection is a ripe opportunity for educators, who might use spatial training to improve math learning. However, a closer look at the literature reveals gaps that impede direct application. The primary problem is that although this relation is well established in older children and adults, its emergence in early development and subsequent developmental interactions are not well documented. Moreover, there is a need for more mechanistic explanations that might be leveraged to improve math education. In this chapter, we attempt to address these issues by reviewing the existing literature to identify instances where answers are available and others where further research is needed.

Factors related to student performance in statistics courses in Lebanon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naccache, Hiba Salim

The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that may contribute to business students in Lebanese universities having difficulty in introductory and advanced statistics courses. Two statistics courses are required for business majors at Lebanese universities. Students are not obliged to be enrolled in any math courses prior to taking statistics courses. Drawing on recent educational research, this dissertation attempted to identify the relationship between (1) students’ scores on Lebanese university math admissions tests; (2) students’ scores on a test of very basic mathematical concepts; (3) students’ scores on the survey of attitude toward statistics (SATS); (4) course performance as measured by students’ final scores in the course; and (5) their scores on the final exam. Data were collected from 561 students enrolled in multiple sections of two courses: 307 students in the introductory statistics course and 260 in the advanced statistics course in seven campuses across Lebanon over one semester. The multiple regressions results revealed four significant relationships at the introductory level: between students’ scores on the math quiz with their (1) final exam scores; (2) their final averages; (3) the Cognitive subscale of the SATS with their final exam scores; and (4) their final averages. These four significant relationships were also found at the advanced level. In addition, two more significant relationships were found between students’ final average and the two subscales of Effort (5) and Affect (6). No relationship was found between students’ scores on the admission math tests and both their final exam scores and their final averages in both the introductory and advanced level courses. On the other hand, there was no relationship between students’ scores on Lebanese admissions tests and their final achievement. Although these results were consistent across course formats and instructors, they may encourage Lebanese universities to assess the effectiveness of prerequisite math courses. Moreover, these findings may lead the Lebanese Ministry of Education to make changes to the admissions exams, course prerequisites, and course content. Finally, to enhance the attitude of students, new learning techniques, such as group work during class meetings can be helpful, and future research should aim to test the effectiveness of these pedagogical techniques on students’ attitudes toward statistics.

Three Accelerated Developmental Education Programs: Features, Student Outcomes, and Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaggars, Shanna Smith; Hodara, Michelle; Cho, Sung-Woo; Xu, Di

2015-01-01

To support the long-term success of underprepared students, many community colleges are experimenting with accelerated developmental education models, which allow students to complete remediation and enroll in college-level math and English within a shorter time frame. This study examines three developmental acceleration programs, including two in…

Sexism in Developmental Education: Tackling the Demon.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Sharon

1994-01-01

Discusses the effects of sexism in education and the means by which educators can reduce it. Indicates that developmental educators are in a unique position to counteract sexism. Contains suggestions for overcoming sexism in five areas of developmental education (math, reading, writing, counseling, and administration) and in the classroom. (35…

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…

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.

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.

The Relationship of Drawing and Mathematical Problem Solving: "Draw for Math" Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edens, Kellah; Potter, Ellen

2007-01-01

This study examines a series of children's drawings ("Draw for Math" tasks) to determine the relationship of students' spatial understanding and mathematical problem solving. Level of spatial understanding was assessed by applying the framework of central conceptual structures suggested by Case (1996), a cognitive developmental researcher.…

Stereotype Threat? Male and Female Students in Advanced High School Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corra, Mamadi

Propositions of stereotype threat theory imply that the social consequences of academic distinction in advanced quantitative areas (such as math and the physical sciences) for women may promote the under representation of female students in advanced quantitative academic courses. The hypothesis that female students will be underrepresented in advanced quantitative (honors and advanced placement math and physical science) courses is tested using academic performance and enrollment data for high school students in a "Student/Parent Informed Choice" (open registration) school district in North Carolina. Results show female students to be overrepresented in both advanced verbal/writing intensive (honors and advanced placement English, foreign language, and social science) and advanced quantitative (honors and advanced placement math and physical science) courses compared to their proportion of the student body. More surprisingly, results also indicate female students (compared to male students) to be overrepresented in advanced courses compared to their proportion of high-performing students. Furthermore, as with patterns observed at the district level, additional analysis of enrollment data for the entire state reveals similar results. Taken together, the findings call into question the prevailing presumption that female students continue to be underrepresented in math and physical science courses. Instead, the changing social context within which females and males experience schooling may provide an explanation for the findings.

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

Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wathington, Heather D.; Barnett, Elisabeth A.; Weissman, Evan; Teres, Jedediah; Pretlow, Joshua; Nakanishi, Aki

2011-01-01

In 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) funded 22 colleges to establish developmental summer bridge programs. Aimed at providing an alternative to traditional developmental education, these programs involve intensive remedial instruction in math, reading, and/or writing and college preparation content for students entering…

The Myths of Redesign in Developmental Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cafarella, Brian V.

2016-01-01

Due to poor student success rates in developmental mathematics, many institutions have implemented various forms of redesign into their developmental math curricula. Since the goal of redesign is to increase student success, it is salient to explore all aspects of the redesign process. Many studies have focused on the positive outcomes of redesign…

Advanced Math Equals Career Readiness. Math Works

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Achieve, Inc., 2013

2013-01-01

The equation is simple: No matter their background, students who take challenging math courses in high school get better jobs and earn more money throughout their entire lives. This paper stresses that: (1) Higher-level math opens doors for any and all postsecondary programs and keeps it open for advancement beyond entry-level jobs; and (2)…

Relation of Opportunity to Learn Advanced Math to the Educational Attainment of Rural Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irvin, Matthew; Byun, Soo-yong; Smiley, Whitney S.; Hutchins, Bryan C.

2017-01-01

Our study examined the relation of advanced math course taking to the educational attainment of rural youth. We used data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Regression analyses demonstrated that when previous math achievement is accounted for, rural students take advanced math at a significantly lower rate than urban students.…

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...

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)

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.

Mathematically Gifted Children: Developmental Brain Characteristics and Their Prognosis for Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Boyle, Michael W.

2008-01-01

Research in cognitive neuroscience suggests that the brains of mathematically gifted children are quantitatively and qualitatively different from those of average math ability. Math-gifted children exhibit signs of enhanced right-hemisphere development, and when engaged in the thinking process, tend to rely on mental imagery. They further manifest…

A Researcher-Practitioner Partnership on Remedial Math Contextualization in Career and Technical Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Xueli; Wang, Yan; Prevost, Amy

2017-01-01

This chapter documents a partnership between university-based researchers and community college instructors and practitioners in their collective pursuit to improve student success in manufacturing programs at a large urban 2-year technical college, presenting an example of a contextualized instructional approach to teaching developmental math,…

Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs. Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wathington, Heather D.; Barnett, Elisabeth A.; Weissman, Evan; Teres, Jedediah; Pretlow, Joshua; Nakanishi, Aki

2011-01-01

In 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) funded 22 colleges to establish developmental summer bridge programs. Aimed at providing an alternative to traditional developmental education, these programs involve intensive remedial instruction in math, reading, and/or writing and college preparation content for students entering…

Doom and Resistance: Perspectives of Developmental Math Students at a Midwestern Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimura, Keiko

2012-01-01

The role and function of developmental education at the American community college has been a source of controversy for many years. One primary source of conflict is the role that remedial education plays. One view supports the notion that developmental education promotes a meritocratic system of rewards, whereby even the most unprepared are…

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

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…

Racial-Ethnic Differences at the Intersection of Math Course-Taking and Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Grodsky, Eric

2010-01-01

Despite increases in the representation of African American and Hispanic youth in advanced math courses in high school over the past two decades, recent national reports indicate that substantial inequality in achievement remains. These inequalities can temper one's optimism about the degree to which the United States has made real progress toward…

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…

A Longitudinal Examination of African American Adolescents’ Attributions about Achievement Outcomes

PubMed Central

Swinton, Akilah D.; Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Rowley, Stephanie J.; Okeke-Adeyanju, Ndidi

2011-01-01

Developmental, gender, and academic domain differences in causal attributions and the influence of attributions on classroom engagement were explored longitudinally in 115 African American adolescents. In Grades 8 and 11, adolescents reported attributions for success and failure in math, English and writing, and science. In Grade 11, English and mathematics teachers rated students’ classroom engagement. Boys were more likely than girls to attribute math successes to high ability and to attribute English failures to low ability. Both genders’ ability attributions for math became more negative from eighth to eleventh grade. Grade 8 attributions of math failure to lack of ability were negatively related to Grade 11 math classroom engagement. Results illustrate the gendered nature of motivational beliefs among Black youth. PMID:21793818

Achievement, motivation, and educational choices: A longitudinal study of expectancy and value using a multiplicative perspective.

PubMed

Guo, Jiesi; Parker, Philip D; Marsh, Herbert W; Morin, Alexandre J S

2015-08-01

Drawing on the expectancy-value model, the present study explored individual and gender differences in university entry and selection of educational pathway (e.g., science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM] course selection). In particular, we examined the multiplicative effects of expectancy and task values on educational outcomes during the transition into early adulthood. Participants were from a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 15-year-old Australian youths (N = 10,370). The results suggest that (a) both math self-concept and intrinsic value interact in predicting advanced math course selection, matriculation results, entrance into university, and STEM fields of study; (b) prior reading achievement has negative effects on advanced math course selection and STEM fields through math motivational beliefs; and (c) gender differences in educational outcomes are mediated by gender differences in motivational beliefs and prior academic achievement, while the processes underlying choice of educational pathway were similar for males and females. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

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)

Math College-Readiness of Texas Community College Students: A Multi-Year Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abraham, Reni A.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the college-readiness in math of Texas community college students using archival data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Data analyzed were the rate of all first-time in college (FTIC) developmental education students who scored below the Texas college-readiness standards…

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…

Guiding Math Students to Campus Services: An Impact Evaluation of the Beacon Program at South Texas College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Visher, Mary; Butcher, Kristin F.; Cerna, Oscar S.

2011-01-01

This research rigorously evaluates whether a low-cost intervention can improve students' performance in developmental math. The "Beacon Mentoring Program" was developed at South Texas College by professors, administrators, and staff at the college. Surveys of students revealed that many did not have someone on campus whom they felt they…

How Can Placement Policy Improve Math Remediation Outcomes? Evidence from Experimentation in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ngo, Federick; Melguizo, Tatiana

2016-01-01

Changing placement policy may help to improve developmental education student outcomes in community colleges, but there is little understanding of the impacts of these reforms. We take advantage of heterogeneous placement policy in a large urban community college district in California to compare the effects of math remediation under different…

A Latent Curve Model of Parental Motivational Practices and Developmental Decline in Math and Science Academic Intrinsic Motivation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottfried, Adele Eskeles; Marcoulides, George A.; Gottfried, Allen W.; Oliver, Pamella H.

2009-01-01

A longitudinal approach was used to examine the effects of parental task-intrinsic and task-extrinsic motivational practices on academic intrinsic motivation in the subject areas of math and science. Parental task-intrinsic practices comprise encouragement of children's pleasure and engagement in the learning process, whereas task-extrinsic…

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…

An Out-of-Math Experience: Einstein, Relativity, and the Developmental Mathematics Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fiore, Greg

2000-01-01

Discusses Einstein's special relativity theory and some of the developmental mathematics involved. Presents motivational classroom materials used in discussing relative-motion problems, evaluating a radical expression, graphing with asymptotes, interpreting a graph, studying variation, and solving literal and radical equations. (KHR)

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

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…

Why Aren't More Minorities Taking Advanced Math?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Erica N.

2007-01-01

Black and Latino students are still underepresented in upper-level math classes in the United States, a fact which has serious implications for their academic achievement and futures. Walker provides six suggestions for how educators can encourage more black and Latino students to successfully take higher level math courses: (1) Expand our…

Pathways Post-Participation Outcomes: Preliminary Findings. Carnegie Math Pathways Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norman, Jon

2017-01-01

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's Math Pathways seek to improve outcomes for community college students who take remedial math courses. The Pathways include two comprehensive instructional systems--Statway® and Quantaway® and are described in this report. They are designed to support students to achieve the necessary math…

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.

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…

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 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

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).

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.

More than Math: On the Affective Domain in Developmental Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guy, G. Michael; Cornick, Jonathan; Beckford, Ian

2015-01-01

Students at a large urban community college enrolled in fourteen sections of a developmental algebra class. While cognitive variables are often used to place students, affective characteristics may also influence their success. To explore the impact of affective variables, students took ACT's Engage survey measuring motivation, academic-related…

Working Memory and Mathematics: A Review of Developmental, Individual Difference, and Cognitive Approaches

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raghubar, Kimberly P.; Barnes, Marcia A.; Hecht, Steven A.

2010-01-01

Working memory refers to a mental workspace, involved in controlling, regulating, and actively maintaining relevant information to accomplish complex cognitive tasks (e.g. mathematical processing). Despite the potential relevance of a relation between working memory and math for understanding developmental and individual differences in…

Alternative Models to Deliver Developmental Math: Issues of Use and Student Access

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kosiewicz, Holly; Ngo, Federick; Fong, Kristen

2016-01-01

Objective: Changing how community colleges deliver developmental education has become a key policy lever to increase student achievement. Alternative development education models reduce the amount of time a student spends in remediation, provide students with supplemental instruction and support, and contextualize content to align with student…

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.

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…

"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

Specific features of after-school program quality: associations with children's functioning in middle childhood.

PubMed

Pierce, Kim M; Bolt, Daniel M; Vandell, Deborah Lowe

2010-06-01

This longitudinal study examined associations between three after-school program quality features (positive staff-child relations, available activities, programming flexibility) and child developmental outcomes (reading and math grades, work habits, and social skills with peers) in Grade 2 and then Grade 3. Participants (n = 120 in Grade 2, n = 91 in Grade 3) attended after-school programs more than 4 days per week, on average. Controlling for child and family background factors and children's prior functioning on the developmental outcomes, positive staff-child relations in the programs were positively associated with children's reading grades in both Grades 2 and 3, and math grades in Grade 2. Positive staff-child relations also were positively associated with social skills in Grade 2, for boys only. The availability of a diverse array of age-appropriate activities at the programs was positively associated with children's math grades and classroom work habits in Grade 3. Programming flexibility (child choice of activities) was not associated with child outcomes.

Executive Functioning and School Adjustment: The Mediational Role of Pre-kindergarten Learning-related Behaviors

PubMed Central

Sasser, Tyler R.; Bierman, Karen L.; Heinrichs, Brenda

2016-01-01

164 four-year-old children (14% Latino American, 30% African American, 56% European American; 57% girls) in 22 Head Start classrooms were followed through third grade. Growth curve models were used to estimate the predictive associations between pre-kindergarten executive function (EF) skills and trajectories of academic skill development (math, literacy, overall academic functioning) and social-emotional adjustment at school (social competence, aggression), controlling for child sex, race, verbal IQ, and pre-kindergarten baseline scores. Direct developmental pathways were examined, along with indirect pathways, in which the association between preschool EF and elementary school adjustment was mediated by classroom learning behaviors. Preschool EF significantly predicted later math skills, academic functioning, and social competence, and marginally predicted later literacy skills. Preschool learning behaviors fully mediated the association between EF and later literacy skills and social competence, but did not mediate associations between EF and later math skills or academic functioning. Implications for developmental theory and early education are discussed. PMID:27231409

Developmental dynamics between mathematical performance, task motivation, and teachers' goals during the transition to primary school.

PubMed

Aunola, Kaisa; Leskinen, Esko; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2006-03-01

It has been suggested that children's learning motivation and interest in a particular subject play an important role in their school performance, particularly in mathematics. However, few cross-lagged longitudinal studies have been carried out to investigate the prospective relationships between academic achievement and task motivation. Moreover, the role that the classroom context plays in this development is largely unknown. The aim of the study was to investigate the developmental dynamics of maths-related motivation and mathematical performance during children's transition to primary school. The role of teachers' pedagogical goals and classroom characteristics on this development was also investigated. A total of 196 Finnish children were examined four times: (0) in October during their preschool year; (1) in October and (2) April during their first grade of primary school; and (3) in October during their second grade. Children's mathematical performance was tested at each measurement point. Task motivation was examined at measurement points 2, 3, and 4 using the Task-value scale for children. First-grade teachers were interviewed in November about their pedagogical goals and classroom characteristics. The results showed that children's mathematical performance and related task motivation formed a cumulative developmental cycle: a high level of maths performance at the beginning of the first grade increased subsequent task motivation towards mathematics, which further predicted a high level of maths performance at the beginning of the second grade. The level of maths-related task motivation increased in those classrooms where the teachers emphasized motivation or self-concept development as their most important pedagogical goal.

A longitudinal examination of African American adolescents' attributions about achievement outcomes.

PubMed

Swinton, Akilah D; Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Rowley, Stephanie J; Okeke-Adeyanju, Ndidi

2011-01-01

Developmental, gender, and academic domain differences in causal attributions and the influence of attributions on classroom engagement were explored longitudinally in 115 African American adolescents. In Grades 8 and 11, adolescents reported attributions for success and failure in math, English and writing, and science. In Grade 11, English and mathematics teachers rated students' classroom engagement. Boys were more likely than girls to attribute math successes to high ability and to attribute English failures to low ability. Both genders' ability attributions for math became more negative from eighth to eleventh grades. Grade 8 attributions of math failure to lack of ability were negatively related to Grade 11 math classroom engagement. Results illustrate the gendered nature of motivational beliefs among Black youth. © 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

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

Number Line Estimation: The Use of Number Line Magnitude Estimation to Detect the Presence of Math Disability in Postsecondary Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonald, Steven A.

2010-01-01

This study arose from an interest in the possible presence of mathematics disabilities among students enrolled in the developmental math program at a large university in the Mid-Atlantic region. Research in mathematics learning disabilities (MLD) has included a focus on the construct of working memory and number sense. A component of number sense…

Language, reading, and math learning profiles in an epidemiological sample of school age children.

PubMed

Archibald, Lisa M D; Oram Cardy, Janis; Joanisse, Marc F; Ansari, Daniel

2013-01-01

Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment (SLI) are relatively specific developmental learning disabilities in math, reading, and oral language, respectively, that occur in the context of average intellectual capacity and adequate environmental opportunities. Past research has been dominated by studies focused on single impairments despite the widespread recognition that overlapping and comorbid deficits are common. The present study took an epidemiological approach to study the learning profiles of a large school age sample in language, reading, and math. Both general learning profiles reflecting good or poor performance across measures and specific learning profiles involving either weak language, weak reading, weak math, or weak math and reading were observed. These latter four profiles characterized 70% of children with some evidence of a learning disability. Low scores in phonological short-term memory characterized clusters with a language-based weakness whereas low or variable phonological awareness was associated with the reading (but not language-based) weaknesses. The low math only group did not show these phonological deficits. These findings may suggest different etiologies for language-based deficits in language, reading, and math, reading-related impairments in reading and math, and isolated math disabilities.

Language, Reading, and Math Learning Profiles in an Epidemiological Sample of School Age Children

PubMed Central

Archibald, Lisa M. D.; Oram Cardy, Janis; Joanisse, Marc F.; Ansari, Daniel

2013-01-01

Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and specific language impairment (SLI) are relatively specific developmental learning disabilities in math, reading, and oral language, respectively, that occur in the context of average intellectual capacity and adequate environmental opportunities. Past research has been dominated by studies focused on single impairments despite the widespread recognition that overlapping and comorbid deficits are common. The present study took an epidemiological approach to study the learning profiles of a large school age sample in language, reading, and math. Both general learning profiles reflecting good or poor performance across measures and specific learning profiles involving either weak language, weak reading, weak math, or weak math and reading were observed. These latter four profiles characterized 70% of children with some evidence of a learning disability. Low scores in phonological short-term memory characterized clusters with a language-based weakness whereas low or variable phonological awareness was associated with the reading (but not language-based) weaknesses. The low math only group did not show these phonological deficits. These findings may suggest different etiologies for language-based deficits in language, reading, and math, reading-related impairments in reading and math, and isolated math disabilities. PMID:24155959

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.

Situating Teachers' Developmental Engineering Experiences in an Inquiry-Based, Laboratory Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardré, Patricia L.; Ling, Chen; Shehab, Randa L.; Nanny, Mark A.; Nollert, Matthias U.; Refai, Hazem; Ramseyer, Christopher; Herron, Jason; Wollega, Ebisa D.; Huang, Su-Min

2017-01-01

Many secondary math and science teachers don't understand the nature and application of engineering adequately to transfer that understanding to their students. Research is needed that investigates and illuminates the process and characteristics of development that addresses this gap. This mixed-method study examines the developmental experiences…

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…

Specific learning disability in mathematics: a comprehensive review.

PubMed

Soares, Neelkamal; Evans, Teresa; Patel, Dilip R

2018-01-01

Math skills are necessary for success in the childhood educational and future adult work environment. This article reviews the changing terminology for specific learning disabilities (SLD) in math and describes the emerging genetics and neuroimaging studies that relate to individuals with math disability (MD). It is important to maintain a developmental perspective on MD, as presentation changes with age, instruction, and the different models (educational and medical) of identification. Intervention requires a systematic approach to screening and remediation that has evolved with more evidence-based literature. Newer directions in behavioral, educational and novel interventions are described.

Specific learning disability in mathematics: a comprehensive review

PubMed Central

Evans, Teresa; Patel, Dilip R.

2018-01-01

Math skills are necessary for success in the childhood educational and future adult work environment. This article reviews the changing terminology for specific learning disabilities (SLD) in math and describes the emerging genetics and neuroimaging studies that relate to individuals with math disability (MD). It is important to maintain a developmental perspective on MD, as presentation changes with age, instruction, and the different models (educational and medical) of identification. Intervention requires a systematic approach to screening and remediation that has evolved with more evidence-based literature. Newer directions in behavioral, educational and novel interventions are described. PMID:29441282

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…

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…

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…

Project-Based Learning Communities in Developmental Education: A Case Study of Lessons Learned

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Alison; Christofili, Monica

2014-01-01

This case study tracks the application of project-based learning (PBL) during four separate college terms at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. Each term follows a different learning community of first-term college students enrolled in a program of developmental education (DE), reading, writing, math, and college survival and success…

Outcome Trajectories of Developmental Students in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremer, Christine D.; Center, Bruce A.; Opsal, Christen L.; Medhanie, Amanuel; Jang, Yoo Jeong; Geise, Aaron C.

2013-01-01

This analysis explores student outcomes related to taking developmental English (i.e., reading and/or writing) and math classes in three community colleges in three different states, using institutional data from 7,898 students who began college in the fall of 2009 (Cohort 1) or fall 2010 (Cohort 2). We examine the outcome trajectories of students…

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

Early developmental trajectories of number knowledge and math achievement from 4 to 10 years: Low-persistent profile and early-life predictors.

PubMed

Garon-Carrier, Gabrielle; Boivin, Michel; Lemelin, Jean-Pascal; Kovas, Yulia; Parent, Sophie; Séguin, Jean R; Vitaro, Frank; Tremblay, Richard E; Dionne, Ginette

2018-06-01

Little is known about the development of number knowledge (NK) and the antecedents of low-persistent NK profiles in early childhood. We documented the developmental trajectories of NK across the transition from preschool to elementary school, their predictive validity with respect to later math achievement, and the child and family early-life factors associated with low NK profiles. Children's NK was assessed four times at regular intervals between the ages 4 and 7 years in a large, representative population-based sample. Developmental trajectories of NK were established for 1597 children. These children were also assessed with respect to several features of their family environment at 5, 17, and 29 months, as well as their cognitive skills at age 41 months. Analyses revealed a best-fitting 4-trajectory model, characterized by Low-Increasing (10% of the children), Moderate-Increasing (39%), Moderate-Fast Increasing (32%) and High-Increasing (19%) groups. Children of these trajectory groups differed significantly with respect to math achievement at ages 8 and 10 years, with the Low-Increasing group persistently scoring lower than the other groups throughout these years. Children of Low-Increasing NK group were from household of lower income and father with low educational background, poorer early cognitive development, and more importantly, reduced visual-spatial skills and memory-span. Children displaying reduced cognitive abilities and impoverished living conditions early in life are at greater risk of low NK throughout late preschool and school entry, with ensuing difficulties in math achievement. They deserve early preventive attention to help alleviate later mathematic difficulties. Copyright © 2018 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Math Anxiety in Second and Third Graders and Its Relation to Mathematics Achievement

PubMed Central

Wu, Sarah S.; Barth, Maria; Amin, Hitha; Malcarne, Vanessa; Menon, Vinod

2012-01-01

Although the detrimental effects of math anxiety in adults are well understood, few studies have examined how it affects younger children who are beginning to learn math in a formal academic setting. Here, we examine the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in second and third graders. In response to the need for a grade-appropriate measure of assessing math anxiety in this group we first describe the development of Scale for Early Mathematics Anxiety (SEMA), a new measure for assessing math anxiety in second and third graders that is based on the Math Anxiety Rating Scale. We demonstrate the construct validity and reliability of the SEMA and use it to characterize the effect of math anxiety on standardized measures of math abilities, as assessed using the Mathematical Reasoning and Numerical Operations subtests of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-II). Math achievement, as measured by the WIAT-II Math Composite score, was significantly and negatively correlated with SEMA but not with trait anxiety scores. Additional analyses showed that SEMA scores were strongly correlated with Mathematical Reasoning scores, which involves more complex verbal problem solving. SEMA scores were weakly correlated with Numerical Operations which assesses basic computation skills, suggesting that math anxiety has a pronounced effect on more demanding calculations. We also found that math anxiety has an equally detrimental impact on math achievement regardless of whether children have an anxiety related to numbers or to the situational and social experience of doing math. Critically, these effects were unrelated to trait anxiety, providing the first evidence that the specific effects of math anxiety can be detected in the earliest stages of formal math learning in school. Our findings provide new insights into the developmental origins of math anxiety, and further underscore the need to remediate math anxiety and its deleterious effects on math achievement in young children. PMID:22701105

Math anxiety in second and third graders and its relation to mathematics achievement.

PubMed

Wu, Sarah S; Barth, Maria; Amin, Hitha; Malcarne, Vanessa; Menon, Vinod

2012-01-01

Although the detrimental effects of math anxiety in adults are well understood, few studies have examined how it affects younger children who are beginning to learn math in a formal academic setting. Here, we examine the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in second and third graders. In response to the need for a grade-appropriate measure of assessing math anxiety in this group we first describe the development of Scale for Early Mathematics Anxiety (SEMA), a new measure for assessing math anxiety in second and third graders that is based on the Math Anxiety Rating Scale. We demonstrate the construct validity and reliability of the SEMA and use it to characterize the effect of math anxiety on standardized measures of math abilities, as assessed using the Mathematical Reasoning and Numerical Operations subtests of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-II). Math achievement, as measured by the WIAT-II Math Composite score, was significantly and negatively correlated with SEMA but not with trait anxiety scores. Additional analyses showed that SEMA scores were strongly correlated with Mathematical Reasoning scores, which involves more complex verbal problem solving. SEMA scores were weakly correlated with Numerical Operations which assesses basic computation skills, suggesting that math anxiety has a pronounced effect on more demanding calculations. We also found that math anxiety has an equally detrimental impact on math achievement regardless of whether children have an anxiety related to numbers or to the situational and social experience of doing math. Critically, these effects were unrelated to trait anxiety, providing the first evidence that the specific effects of math anxiety can be detected in the earliest stages of formal math learning in school. Our findings provide new insights into the developmental origins of math anxiety, and further underscore the need to remediate math anxiety and its deleterious effects on math achievement in young children.

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

What Is a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician?

MedlinePlus

... dyslexia, writing diffi culties, math disorders, and other school-related learning problems Attention and behavioral disorders including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and associated conditions including oppositional-defiant behavior, conduct ...

Specific Features of After-School Program Quality: Associations with Children’s Functioning in Middle Childhood

PubMed Central

Bolt, Daniel M.; Vandell, Deborah Lowe

2010-01-01

This longitudinal study examined associations between three after-school program quality features (positive staff–child relations, available activities, programming flexibility) and child developmental outcomes (reading and math grades, work habits, and social skills with peers) in Grade 2 and then Grade 3. Participants (n = 120 in Grade 2, n = 91 in Grade 3) attended after-school programs more than 4 days per week, on average. Controlling for child and family background factors and children’s prior functioning on the developmental outcomes, positive staff–child relations in the programs were positively associated with children’s reading grades in both Grades 2 and 3, and math grades in Grade 2. Positive staff–child relations also were positively associated with social skills in Grade 2, for boys only. The availability of a diverse array of age-appropriate activities at the programs was positively associated with children’s math grades and classroom work habits in Grade 3. Programming flexibility (child choice of activities) was not associated with child outcomes. PMID:20336364

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

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.

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-Related Career Aspirations and Choices within Eccles Et Al.'s Expectancy--Value Theory of Achievement-Related Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lauermann, Fani; Tsai, Yi-Miau; Eccles, Jacquelynne S.

2017-01-01

Which occupation to pursue is one of the more consequential decisions people make and represents a key developmental task. Yet the underlying developmental processes associated with either individual or group differences in occupational choices are still not well understood. This study contributes toward filling this gap, focusing in particular on…

Probing the Nature of Deficits in the "Approximate Number System" in Children with Persistent Developmental Dyscalculia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bugden, Stephanie; Ansari, Daniel

2016-01-01

In the present study we examined whether children with Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) exhibit a deficit in the so-called "Approximate Number System" (ANS). To do so, we examined a group of elementary school children who demonstrated persistent low math achievement over 4 years and compared them to typically developing (TD), aged-matched…

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…

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

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.

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.

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 impact of behavioural executive functioning and intelligence on math abilities in children with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Dekker, M C; Ziermans, T B; Swaab, H

2016-11-01

Little is known about the role of behavioural executive functioning (EF) skills and level of intelligence (IQ) on math abilities in children with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities. Teachers of 63 children attending a school for special education (age: 10 to 13 years; IQ: 50 to 85) filled out a Behaviour Rating Inventory for Executive Function for each student. Furthermore, students took a standardised national composite math test and a specific math test on measurement and time problems. Information on level of intelligence was gathered through school records. Multiple regression analyses were performed to test direct, moderating and mediating effects of EF and IQ on math performance. Behavioural problems with working memory and flexibility had a direct negative effect on math outcome, while concurrently, level of intelligence had a positive effect. The effect of IQ on math skills was moderated by problems with inhibition: in children with a clinical level of inhibition problems, there was no effect of level of intelligence on math performance. Findings suggest that in students with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities and math difficulties, it is important to address their strengths and weaknesses with respect to EF and adjust instruction and remedial intervention accordingly. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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.

Math and numeracy in young adults with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Dennis, Maureen; Barnes, Marcia

2002-01-01

The developmental stability of poor math skill was studied in 31 young adults with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH), a neurodevelopmental disorder involving malformations of the brain and spinal cord. Longitudinally, individuals with poor math problem solving as children grew into adults with poor problem solving and limited functional numeracy. As a group, young adults with SBH had poor computation accuracy, computation speed, problem solving, a ndfunctional numeracy. Computation accuracy was related to a supporting cognitive system (working memory for numbers), and functional numeracy was related to one medical history variable (number of lifetime shunt revisions). Adult functional numeracy, but not functional literacy, was predictive of higher levels of social, personal, and community independence.

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

A Mixed Methods Study: The Examination of a Developmental Education Program at an Urban Public Maryland Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moorer, Charles Daniel

2009-01-01

This was a mixed methods study that examined the developmental education program at an urban public Maryland community college. The data were collected from interviews with a former English Chair, a former Math Chair, and the Director of Institutional Research. Each was selected because of his and her expertise. Data were also collected from one…

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

Students' Perceptions of Effective Teaching Strategies in a Developmental Writing Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorsey, Carrie S.

2014-01-01

This dissertation explores student perceptions of effective teaching strategies in a developmental writing course and their perspectives of how well the course prepared them for the freshman college composition course. Three research questions guided the study. Research Question 1 asked which teaching strategies developmental writing students…

Research-Based Integrated Reading and Writing Course Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Calisa A.

2017-01-01

With the continuing national emphases on acceleration and completion, an integrated reading and writing course (a combined developmental reading and developmental writing course, with all levels compressed into a single course) is one way to move students more quickly and efficiently through the developmental sequence while still maintaining…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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;…

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%.

The effect of cognitive education on the performance of students with neurological developmental disabilities.

PubMed

Jepsen, Ruthanne H; VonThaden, Karen

2002-01-01

A cognitive education program was developed to facilitate acquisition of cognitive skills and address the learning deficits of adolescent students with neurological, developmental disabilities, and autism. This study examined the outcomes of incorporating mediated cognitive education into special education classrooms. Cognitive education provided cognitive training utilizing REHABIT materials through mediated teaching. Following a matched pair model, forty-six students were assigned to either a treatment or a control group. All students received weekly instruction in Individual Educational Program (IEP) goals. Curriculum areas included IEP objectives in reading, math, social skills, health, science and social studies. Students in the control group received regular classroom instruction. Students in the treatment group participated in cognitive educated one hour per week replacing thirty minutes of reading and thirty minutes of math. Pre and posttest comparisons on measures of intelligence, achievement and adaptive behavior showed those students in the treatment group attained higher scores across measures.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Student Success in Developmental Mathematics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zientek, Linda Reichwein; Yetkiner Ozel, Z. Ebrar; Fong, Carlton J.; Griffin, Mel

2013-01-01

Mathematics is a particular stumbling block for community college students in developmental course work. The present study empirically investigated student-level and teacher-level factors that influence the success of community college students enrolled in developmental mathematics courses. Specifically, numerous variables in one statistical model…

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

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.

Investigating Developmental and College-Level Course Enrollment and Passing before and after Florida's Developmental Education Reform. REL 2017-203

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Shouping; Park, Toby J.; Woods, Chenoa S.; Tandberg, David A.; Richard, Keith; Hankerson, Dava

2016-01-01

Developmental education courses in college--defined as classes taken in college that are below college level (Bautsch, 2013)--have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. Concerns focus on the large number of students enrolled in developmental education courses, the high cost of providing them, and the low success rates among students who…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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.

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

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.

Developmental Performance as a Predictor of Academic Success in Entry-Level College Mathematics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Laurence F.

1996-01-01

Discusses a study examining the relationship between student academic performance in an exit-level, developmental mathematics course and subsequent academic performance in a college-level mathematics course. Finds that developmental course performance and student age were significantly and positively related to academic success, while length of…

Faculty Impact on Persistence and Success in Developmental Writing Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bixler, L. Ann.

2012-01-01

In the next decade, community college English departments will expand their developmental course offerings. The students who take these developmental courses generally have higher incidence of diagnosed learning disabilities, bleak economic circumstances that require them to work full time, greater dependence on public transportation, and some…

The Effect of Project-Based Learning on Student Self-Efficacy in a Developmental Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deutsch, Melissa

2017-01-01

Each year, post-secondary institutions across the nation enroll thousands of students into developmental mathematics courses. Success rates are low for students placed in developmental mathematics courses employing traditional teaching practices. Secondary institutions utilizing more engaging pedagogies and high impact practices, such as…

Tracking Developmental Students into Their First College Level Mathematics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waycaster, Pansy

2011-01-01

A recent SACS review at the author's institution prompted an assessment of the school's developmental mathematics program. The author needed to examine the effectiveness of the developmental mathematics courses in preparing students for their first college level mathematics course. Rather than just examine success rates in developmental…

Feasibility and validity of the structured attention module among economically disadvantaged preschool-age children.

PubMed

Bush, Hillary H; Eisenhower, Abbey; Briggs-Gowan, Margaret; Carter, Alice S

2015-01-01

Rooted in the theory of attention put forth by Mirsky, Anthony, Duncan, Ahearn, and Kellam (1991), the Structured Attention Module (SAM) is a developmentally sensitive, computer-based performance task designed specifically to assess sustained selective attention among 3- to 6-year-old children. The current study addressed the feasibility and validity of the SAM among 64 economically disadvantaged preschool-age children (mean age = 58 months; 55% female); a population known to be at risk for attention problems and adverse math performance outcomes. Feasibility was demonstrated by high completion rates and strong associations between SAM performance and age. Principal Factor Analysis with rotation produced robust support for a three-factor model (Accuracy, Speed, and Endurance) of SAM performance, which largely corresponded with existing theorized models of selective and sustained attention. Construct validity was evidenced by positive correlations between SAM Composite scores and all three SAM factors and IQ, and between SAM Accuracy and sequential memory. Value-added predictive validity was not confirmed through main effects of SAM on math performance above and beyond age and IQ; however, significant interactions by child sex were observed: Accuracy and Endurance both interacted with child sex to predict math performance. In both cases, the SAM factors predicted math performance more strongly for girls than for boys. There were no overall sex differences in SAM performance. In sum, the current findings suggest that interindividual variation in sustained selective attention, and potentially other aspects of attention and executive function, among young, high-risk children can be captured validly with developmentally sensitive measures.

[The impact of precursors on reading, spelling, and arithmetic at school 2nd grade].

PubMed

Daseking, M; Petermann, F

2011-10-01

The aim of this study was to determine the role of precursors in the prediction of school achievement. 372 children were followed from health examination for school entry to the second grade. Preschool skills assessed by a screening of developmental stage (SOPESS) were related to second-grade reading (ELFE 1-6), spelling (DERET 1-2+), and arithmetic (DEMAT 1+) by correlation and regression analyses. Correlations between numeracy and math abilities (r=0,340) met with our expectations as also did those between verbal abilities and spelling (r=0,276). The subtests of attention and counting (SOPESS) contribute significantly to an explanation of the variance in school achievement. Numeracy predicts math achievement, and verbal memory contributes to school achievement in math and spelling. Our findings support the contribution of visual selective attention, phonological memory, and verbal abilities to the development of reading, spelling, and math at primary school. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A Comparison of Centralized and Decentralized Developmental Education Courses in Four Public Appalachian Community Colleges and Students' Perceptions regarding the Seven Principles for Good Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keith, Philip M.

2011-01-01

Developmental education courses have become a standard in community colleges in the United States. An overwhelming majority of these public two-year schools offer developmental courses to a wide array of students. At the same time, developmental programs are under a constant barrage of attacks from a variety of stakeholder organizations that view…

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…

Advanced Course Offerings and Completion in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in Texas Public High Schools. REL 2018-276

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garland, Marshall; Rapaport, Amie

2017-01-01

Taking advanced high school courses predicts such postsecondary outcomes as enrolling in college, persisting in college courses, and completing a degree. In Texas, where Hispanic students make up 51 percent of the student population, their access to and enrollment in advanced courses is an ongoing concern despite recent gains. In particular,…

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…

Success Rates for Students Taking Compressed and Regular Length Developmental Courses in the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheldon, Caroline Q.; Durdella, Nathan R.

2010-01-01

In recent years, developmental education in the community colleges has received much attention. However, there has been little research examining the relationship between course length and course success in developmental education. Using historical enrollment data from a large, suburban community college in southern California, this study examines…

College Online Developmental Reading Instruction: Creating a Path to Independent and Active Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, E. Janet

2010-01-01

Online courses require students to be independent readers and efficient learners. College students who need developmental reading lack these qualities; consequently, faculty do not generally view developmental reading courses as appropriate for an online format. However, an effectively designed online course based on best practices can engage less…

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…

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…

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

Mathematics intervention for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: A replication and extension of the math interactive learning experience (MILE) program.

PubMed

Kully-Martens, Katrina; Pei, Jacqueline; Kable, Julie; Coles, Claire D; Andrew, Gail; Rasmussen, Carmen

2018-07-01

Individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) experience deficits in behavior, cognition, and academic functioning resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). Although receiving intervention for developmental disabilities is a strong protective factor against negative outcomes in FASD, intervention research in this population is in its infancy. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend a mathematics intervention, the Math Interactive Learning Experience (MILE) program, which was developed in the USA specifically for children with FASD. Twenty-eight Canadian children aged 4-10 years with confirmed PAE or an FASD diagnosis were assigned to either the MILE intervention or a contrast intervention. Following a relatively brief, individualized, one-on-one intervention, children in the MILE group demonstrated significantly greater changes in math achievement compared to the contrast group. Significant changes in other cognitive functions were not observed. Older age, lower IQ, and confirmed PAE but no FASD diagnosis were associated with greater math achievement change in the MILE group. The replication and extension of the math intervention appears to have significant, positive impact on mathematics achievement scores of children with PAE and FASD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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…

Are College Student Success Courses Effective Corequisites to Developmental Mathematics in Community Colleges?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reilly, Karen L.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the achievement rates of developmental mathematics students when a student success course was taken in combination with mathematics. The study investigated changes that occurred in the developmental mathematics completion rates of the learners by examining age and the course sequence of…

Allied Health Applications Integrated into Developmental Mathematics Using Problem Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shore, Mark; Shore, JoAnna; Boggs, Stacey

2004-01-01

For this FIPSE funded project, mathematics faculty attended allied health classes and allied health faculty attended developmental mathematics courses to incorporate health examples into the developmental mathematics curriculum. Through the course of this grant a 450-page developmental mathematics book was written with many problems from a variety…

Listening to Students and Faculty: The Value to Developmental Education Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clifton, Connie J.

2013-01-01

Helping students complete developmental course sequences and graduate from college is one of the biggest challenges facing community college leaders and educators. The majority of entering students need one or more developmental courses yet most of these students never finish the developmental sequence. Colleges are continuously developing new…

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.…

Redesigning the Basics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mills, Kay

2010-01-01

This article discusses the successful use of technology, rather than lectures, by Tennessee's community colleges to teach developmental reading and math. The redesign occurred with the support of the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT). In fall 2007, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) staff convened meetings to familiarize its…

Computer-based training for improving mental calculation in third- and fifth-graders.

PubMed

Caviola, Sara; Gerotto, Giulia; Mammarella, Irene C

2016-11-01

The literature on intervention programs to improve arithmetical abilities is fragmentary and few studies have examined training on the symbolic representation of numbers (i.e. Arabic digits). In the present research, three groups of 3rd- and 5th-grade schoolchildren were given training on mental additions: 76 were assigned to a computer-based strategic training (ST) group, 73 to a process-based training (PBT) group, and 71 to a passive control (PC) group. Before and after the training, the children were given a criterion task involving complex addition problems, a nearest transfer task on complex subtraction problems, two near transfer tasks on math fluency, and a far transfer task on numerical reasoning. Our results showed developmental differences: 3rd-graders benefited more from the ST, with transfer effects on subtraction problems and math fluency, while 5th-graders benefited more from the PBT, improving their response times in the criterion task. Developmental, clinical and educational implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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...

Patterns of Self-Efficacy among College Students in Developmental Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cantrell, Susan Chambers; Correll, Pamela; Clouse, Jane; Creech, Kimberly; Bridges, Sharon; Owens, Danielle

2013-01-01

In this study, we investigated the self-efficacy beliefs and sources of self-efficacy among first-year college students placed in developmental reading courses. Students enrolled in developmental reading were compared to students who were not placed in developmental reading courses in terms of self-efficacy in various contexts and sources of…

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…

Penicillin for Education: How Cognitive Science Can Contribute to Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruer, John T.

1995-01-01

Education can benefit from knowledge derived from cognitive and developmental psychology. Family demographics have actually improved between 1970 and 90 and so have NAEP scores. Three innovative programs demonstrating cognitive science applications include the Teaching Number Sense elementary math program, reciprocal teaching (reading strategy),…

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.

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.

Goal 5, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: Exploring the Professional Development of Faculty Who Teach Underserved Learners in Developmental Courses at a Two-Year Post-Secondary Institution in Southwest Texas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodson, Billy Ray

2016-01-01

Using a quantitative method, this study explored the professional development activities, educational levels of faculty teaching developmental courses, and demographic profiles of faculty and students in developmental courses at a Southwestern community college. This study was framed around Malcom Knowles' Adult Learning Theory. Data were…

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…

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…

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…

A Writing Course Designed for Developmental College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malinowski, Patricia A.; Huard, Susan D.

This description of "Introduction to College Composition," a credit-bearing developmental writing course offered by the Community College of the Finger Lakes, provides an overview of the writing, grammar skills, and reading components of the course. Introductory information indicates that the course adopts a process-oriented approach to…

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…

Famous Threesomes: Uncommon Uses for Common Stories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spears, Jo Ann Lohl

2003-01-01

This article presents a unit of fun and developmentally satisfying activities, using familiar folk stories focusing on threesomes. Each example involves story time, block center, art center, dramatic play, listening area, math and manipulatives center, folder game, group times, cooking, writing center, discovery center, and the music and movement…

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…

Numerosity but not texture-density discrimination correlates with math ability in children.

PubMed

Anobile, Giovanni; Castaldi, Elisa; Turi, Marco; Tinelli, Francesca; Burr, David C

2016-08-01

Considerable recent work suggests that mathematical abilities in children correlate with the ability to estimate numerosity. Does math correlate only with numerosity estimation, or also with other similar tasks? We measured discrimination thresholds of school-age (6- to 12.5-years-old) children in 3 tasks: numerosity of patterns of relatively sparse, segregatable items (24 dots); numerosity of very dense textured patterns (250 dots); and discrimination of direction of motion. Thresholds in all tasks improved with age, but at different rates, implying the action of different mechanisms: In particular, in young children, thresholds were lower for sparse than textured patterns (the opposite of adults), suggesting earlier maturation of numerosity mechanisms. Importantly, numerosity thresholds for sparse stimuli correlated strongly with math skills, even after controlling for the influence of age, gender and nonverbal IQ. However, neither motion-direction discrimination nor numerosity discrimination of texture patterns showed a significant correlation with math abilities. These results provide further evidence that numerosity and texture-density are perceived by independent neural mechanisms, which develop at different rates; and importantly, only numerosity mechanisms are related to math. As developmental dyscalculia is characterized by a profound deficit in discriminating numerosity, it is fundamental to understand the mechanism behind the discrimination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

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.

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…

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…

The Influence of Self-Efficacy on Reading Achievement of General Educational Development (GED) and High School Graduates Enrolled in Developmental Reading Skills Courses in an Urban Community College System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Martha J.

2010-01-01

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of self-efficacy on the performance of General Educational Development (GED) and high school graduates enrolled in developmental reading skills courses. The sample for the study consisted of 100 high school and 31 GED graduates enrolled in developmental reading courses in a midwestern community…

Developmental Course(s) of Lifetime Cigarette Use and Panic Attack Comorbidity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernstein, Amit; Zvolensky, Michael J.; Schmidt, Norman B.; Sachs-Ericcson, Natalie

2007-01-01

The present investigation examined the developmental course(s) of lifetime cigarette use and panic attack comorbidity. Participants included 4,409 adults, ages 15 to 54 years of age (M[Age] = 33.1, SD = 10.7, N (females) = 2,221) from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS). The primary objective of the present investigation was to better understand…

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.

Can Group Discussions and Individualized Assignments Help More Students Succeed in Developmental Mathematics?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jaafar, Reem

2015-01-01

Students taking developmental mathematics courses resist attempting word problems when they are presented to them. Although word problems can help students contextualize learning, develop better understanding of the concepts and apply world knowledge, they constitute an impediment to students' progress in developmental mathematics courses. A…

Perceptions of Community College Students and Faculty on Persistence in Developmental Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aofrate, Lisa H.

2016-01-01

Attrition for entry-level, non-traditional college students taking developmental reading courses is a concern for higher education institutions. Students need to complete basic developmental reading courses in order to progress in their vocational or collegiate studies. This phenomenological study followed a social constructivist approach to…

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.

Communication Skills for OMRDD Direct Care Workers: Distance Learning Study Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denny, Verna Haskins

This self-directed, self-paced adult distance education program provides developmental aides and transitional employees with practice in job-related reading, writing, math, and problem solving. Participants use e-mail, print materials, and videotapes to do assignments. An introductory brochure precedes materials for 12 theme areas and 105 units…

For Parents Particularly: Saving with Dough and Other Inexpensive Activities for the Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Rita

1995-01-01

Encourages parents to be aware of how natural exploration and play can facilitate learning in their children. Gives activities, adjustable in difficulty depending on developmental age of child, such as cooking that can be used to develop readiness for reading, writing, and math. Includes suggestions for inexpensive materials. (ET)

Biological Gender Differences in Students' Errors on Mathematics Achievement Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Christie; Root, Melissa M.; Koriakin, Taylor; Choi, Dowon; Luria, Sarah R.; Bray, Melissa A.; Sassu, Kari; Maykel, Cheryl; O'Rourke, Patricia; Courville, Troy

2017-01-01

This study investigated developmental gender differences in mathematics achievement, using the child and adolescent portion (ages 6-19 years) of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement-Third Edition (KTEA-3). Participants were divided into two age categories: 6 to 11 and 12 to 19. Error categories within the Math Concepts & Applications…

Predicting Child Outcomes from Preschool Quality in Portugal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abreu-Lima, Isabel M. P.; Leal, Teresa B.; Cadima, Joana; Gamelas, Ana Madalena

2013-01-01

The main purpose of this study is to analyze whether quality of preschool classrooms relates to 4- and 5-year-old children developmental outcomes. The study was conducted in 60 classrooms in Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal. Children (N = 215) were evaluated in the literacy, math, and behavior domains. Preschool quality was assessed through…

Activating & Engaging Habits of Mind. A Developmental Series, Book 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costa, Arthur L., Ed.; Kallick, Bena, Ed.

This book is the second in a four-book series on habits of mind. It translates a habits of mind approach to education into action using classroom-tested advice. Contributions come from practitioners in literature, math, music, foreign language, reading, character education, and social science. After "Series Foreword: Thinking on the Road of…

Teachers Learning to Prepare Future Engineers: A Systemic Analysis Through Five Components of Development and Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardré, Patricia L.; Ling, Chen; Shehab, Randa L.; Nanny, Mark A.; Refai, Hazem; Nollert, Matthias U.; Ramseyer, Christopher; Wollega, Ebisa D.; Huang, Su-Min; Herron, Jason

2018-01-01

This study used a systemic perspective to examine a five-component experiential process of perceptual and developmental growth, and transfer-to-teaching. Nineteen secondary math and science teachers participated in a year-long, engineering immersion and support experience, with university faculty mentors. Teachers identified critical shifts in…

The Development of Cognitive Skills and Gains in Academic School Readiness for Children from Low-Income Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welsh, Janet A.; Nix, Robert L.; Blair, Clancy; Bierman, Karen L.; Nelson, Keith E.

2010-01-01

This study examined developmental associations between growth in domain-general cognitive processes (working memory and attention control) and growth in domain-specific skills (emergent literacy and numeracy) across the prekindergarten year and their relative contributions to kindergarten reading and math achievement. One hundred sixty-four Head…

Using Research-Based Instruction to Improve Math Outcomes with Underprepared Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearce, Lee R.; Pearce, Kristi L.; Siewert, Daluss J.

2017-01-01

The authors used a mixed-methods research design to evaluate a multi-tiered system of supports model to address the disturbing failure rates of underprepared college students placed in developmental mathematics at a small state university. While qualitative data gathered from using Participatory Action Research methods directed the two-year…

Left Brain/Right Brain Theory: Implications for Developmental Math Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitchens, Anita N.; And Others

1991-01-01

Perhaps the most dramatic failure in postsecondary education has been in the teaching of mathematical skills. The different functions of the right and left hemispheres of the brain require different approaches to education. Due to their emphasis on language and verbal processing, schools have failed to give adequate stimulation to the right side…

Math anxiety and developmental dyscalculia: A study on working memory processes.

PubMed

Mammarella, Irene C; Hill, Francesca; Devine, Amy; Caviola, Sara; Szűcs, Dénes

2015-01-01

Although many children encounter difficulties in arithmetic, the underlying cognitive and emotive factors are still not fully understood. This study examined verbal and visuospatial short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) performance in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD) and high mathematics anxiety (MA) compared with typically developing (TD) children. Groups were matched on reading comprehension performance and IQ as well as on general anxiety. We aimed to test whether children with DD and MA were differently impaired in verbal and visuospatial STM and WM. Children were individually tested with four computerized tasks: two STM tasks (forward verbal and visuospatial recall) and two WM tasks (backward verbal and visuospatial recall). Relative to children with TD, those with DD did not show impairments on the forward or backward verbal tasks, but showed specific impairments in the visuospatial WM task. In contrast, children with MA were particularly impaired in the verbal WM task. Knowing the underlying cognitive processes that differentiate why children with DD and MA fail in math could have both educational and clinical implications.

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.

Risky business: Correlation and causation in longitudinal studies of skill development.

PubMed

Bailey, Drew H; Duncan, Greg J; Watts, Tyler; Clements, Doug H; Sarama, Julie

2018-01-01

Developmental theories often posit that changes in children's early psychological characteristics will affect much later psychological, social, and economic outcomes. However, tests of these theories frequently yield results that are consistent with plausible alternative theories that posit a much smaller causal role for earlier levels of these psychological characteristics. Our article explores this issue with empirical tests of skill-building theories, which predict that early boosts to simpler skills (e.g., numeracy or literacy) or behaviors (e.g., antisocial behavior or executive functions) support the long-term development of more sophisticated skills or behaviors. Substantial longitudinal associations between academic or socioemotional skills measured early and then later in childhood or adolescence are often taken as support of these skill-building processes. Using the example of skill-building in mathematics, we argue that longitudinal correlations, even if adjusted for an extensive set of baseline covariates, constitute an insufficiently risky test of skill-building theories. We first show that experimental manipulation of early math skills generates much smaller effects on later math achievement than the nonexperimental literature has suggested. We then conduct falsification tests that show puzzlingly high cross-domain associations between early math and later literacy achievement. Finally, we show that a skill-building model positing a combination of unmeasured stable factors and skill-building processes can reproduce the pattern of experimental impacts on children's mathematics achievement. Implications for developmental theories, methods, and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Making developmental biology relevant to undergraduates in an era of economic rationalism in Australia.

PubMed

Key, Brian; Nurcombe, Victor

2003-01-01

This report describes the road map we followed at our university to accommodate three main factors: financial pressure within the university system; desire to enhance the learning experience of undergraduates; and motivation to increase the prominence of the discipline of developmental biology in our university. We engineered a novel, multi-year undergraduate developmental biology program which was "student-oriented," ensuring that students were continually exposed to the underlying principles and philosophy of this discipline throughout their undergraduate career. Among its key features are introductory lectures in core courses in the first year, which emphasize the relevance of developmental biology to tissue engineering, reproductive medicine, therapeutic approaches in medicine, agriculture and aquaculture. State-of-the-art animated computer graphics and images of high visual impact are also used. In addition, students are streamed into the developmental biology track in the second year, using courses like human embryology and courses shared with cell biology, which include practicals based on modern experimental approaches. Finally, fully dedicated third-year courses in developmental biology are undertaken in conjunction with stand-alone practical courses where students experiencefirst-hand work in a research laboratory. Our philosophy is a "cradle-to-grave" approach to the education of undergraduates so as to prepare highly motivated, enthusiastic and well-educated developmental biologists for entry into graduate programs and ultimately post-doctoral research.

Mentor Texts Squared: Helping Students Explore Voice through Readings That Promote Critical Consciousness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molina, Sarina Chugani; Manasse, Mark

2015-01-01

Much research has been conducted documenting the reading and writing challenges students in pre-college courses face (Crosby, 2007; Masterson, 2007). Some colleges label these courses "developmental," "remedial," or "basic skills" courses. These "developmental" students comprise both US-born and immigrant…

Autism and parents' education. New data from the developing world.

PubMed

Al-Eithan, Muwafak H; Balkhi, Sohair H; Al-Bluwi, Amal M

2010-04-01

To investigate the link between autism disorders and engineering training of parents. All Autistic-Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) children that were diagnosed on the bases of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), and met the required criteria for autism, over a defined period (March 2006 to June 2007) were included. We then took all non-PDD developmental disorders cases seen during the same time frame as the autistic children as a control; these included speech delay, mental retardation, and Down's syndrome. Our data covered demographic data, parents and grandparents' education, and profession. Parents' education/professions were classified into 2 groups only, 1-engineering or mathematician; and 2-humanities, neither engineering nor math. The children were divided into 2 groups, autism (57 cases), and developmental disorders (40 cases). Regarding the main question of this study (hypothesized engineering link), the data showed some differences between the 2 groups (x2 = 2.503, degrees of freedom [df] = 1; p = 0.093), but not of major significance. There was no significant difference (x2 = 0.370; df = 2; p = 0.831) between the 2 groups on the variable of consanguinity. We have found that the Saudi Arabian sample, though relatively small, has considerable similarities with both the UK and USA data. There is a possibility of an association between autism and the engineering/math training of fathers. The implication is briefly discussed.

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