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- Creators: Arizona State University
- Creators: Thomas, Heck
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The research indicated effective mathematics teaching to be more complex than assuming the best predictor of student achievement in mathematics is the mathematical content knowledge of a teacher. This dissertation took a novel approach to addressing the idea of what it means to examine how a teacher's knowledge of mathematics impacts student achievement in elementary schools. Using a multiple case study design, the researcher investigated teacher knowledge as a function of the Mathematics Teaching Cycle (NCTM, 2007). Three cases (of two teachers each) were selected using a compilation of Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) measures (LMT, 2006) and Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) measures (Higgins, Bell, Wilson, McCoach, & Oh, 2007; Bell, Wilson, Higgins, & McCoach, 2010) and student scores on the Arizona Assessment Collaborative (AzAC). The cases included teachers with: a) high knowledge & low student achievement v low knowledge & high student achievement, b) high knowledge & average achievement v low knowledge & average achievement, c) average knowledge & high achievement v average knowledge & low achievement, d) two teachers with average achievement & very high student achievement. In the end, my data suggested that MKT was only partially utilized across the contrasting teacher cases during the planning process, the delivery of mathematics instruction, and subsequent reflection. Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching was utilized differently by teachers with high student gains than those with low student gains. Because of this insight, I also found that MKT was not uniformly predictive of student gains across my cases, nor was it predictive of the quality of instruction provided to students in these classrooms.
ContributorsBurke, Margaret Kathleen (Author) / Middleton, James A. (Thesis advisor) / Sloane, Finbarr (Thesis advisor) / Battey, Daniel S (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The critical-thinking skill of problem solving needs to be part of the curriculum for all students, including those with learning disabilities living in poverty; yet, too often this is not the case. Too often students in poverty and students with learning disabilities are provided a curriculum that is watered down, focused on the basics, and aimed at managing their behaviors instead of helping them learn to think critically about their world. Despite their challenges, these students can learn to problem solve. Educators need to help students make connections between the critical-thinking skills learned in school and the problem-solving skills needed for life. One solution might be to use literature with characters facing similar problems, hold grand conversations, and teach them a problem solving method. Together, these three parts have the potential to motivate and lead students to better thinking. This action research study explored whether literature with characters facing similar problems to the study's participants, grand conversations, and the I SOLVE problem solving method would help students with disabilities living in poverty in the Southwestern United States develop the problem-solving skills they need to understand and successfully navigate their world. Data were collected using a mixed methods approach. The Motivation to Read Profile, I SOLVE problem-solving survey, thought bubbles, student journals, transcripts from grand conversations, and researcher's journal were tools used. To understand fully how and to what extent literature and grand conversations helped students gain the critical thinking skill of problem solving, data were mixed in a convergence model. Results show the I SOLVE problem-solving method was an effective way to teach problem-solving steps. Scores on the problem-solving survey rose pre- to post-test. Grand conversations focused on literature with character's facing problems led to an increase in students' motivation to read, and this population of students were able to make aesthetic connections and interpretations to the texts read. From these findings implications for teachers are provided.
ContributorsWells, Sheila (Author) / Zambo, Debby (Thesis advisor) / Hansen, Cory (Committee member) / Davidson, Carter (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this study is to impact the teaching and learning of math of 2nd through 4th grade math students at Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary School. The Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI) model serves as the independent variable for this study. Its intent is to promote math instruction that emphasizes problem-solving to a greater degree and facilitates higher level questioning of teachers during their instructional dialogue with students. A mixed methods approach is being employed to see how the use of the CGI model of instruction impacts the math achievement of 2nd through 4th grade students on quarterly benchmark assessments administered at this school, to see how students problem-solving abilities progress over the duration of the study, and to see how teacher practices in questioning progress. Quantitative methods are used to answer the first of these research questions using archival time series (Amrein & Berliner, 2002) to view trends in achievement before and after the implementation of the CGI model. Qualitative methods are being used to answer questions around students' progression in their problem-solving abilities and teacher questioning to get richer descriptions of how these constructs evolve over the course of the study.
ContributorsMedrano Cotito, Juan (Author) / Ann, Keith (Thesis advisor) / David, Carlson L (Committee member) / Thomas, Heck (Committee member) / Reynaldo, Rivera (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The primary purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge for teaching mathematics and teaching practice on student mathematics achievement growth. Thirty two teachers and 299 fourth grade students in three elementary schools from one school district in urban area participated in the study. Most of them are Hispanic in origin and about forty percent is English Language Learners (ELLs). The two level Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) was used to investigate repeated measures of teaching practice measured by Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) instrument. Also, linear regression and a multiple regression to examine the relationship between teacher knowledge measured by Learning for Mathematics Teaching (LMT) and Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) items and teaching practice were employed. In addition, a three level HLM was employed to analyze repeated measures of student mathematics achievement measured by Arizona Assessment Consortium (AzAC) instruments. Results showed that overall teaching practice did not change weekly although teachers' emotional support for their students improved by week. Furthermore, a statistically significant relationship between teacher knowledge and teaching practice was not found. In terms of student learning, ELLs have significantly lower initial status in mathematics achievement than non-ELLs, as were growth rates for these two groups. Lastly, teaching practice significantly predicted students' monthly mathematics achievement growth but teacher knowledge did not. The findings suggest that school systems and education policy makers need to provide teachers with the chance to reflect on their teaching and change it within themselves in order to better support student mathematics learning.
ContributorsKim, Seong Hee (Author) / Sloane, Finbarr (Thesis advisor) / Middleton, James (Committee member) / Flores, Alfinio (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of individualized afterschool tutoring, under federal Supplemental Educational Services (SES), on mathematical and general academic intrinsic motivation and mathematical achievement of at-risk students. The population of this study consisted of two third graders and five fourth graders from an elementary school in the Reynolds School District in Portland, Oregon. One participant was male. The other six were female. Six of the students were Hispanic, and one student was multiethnic. Students' parents enrolled their children in free afterschool tutoring with Mobile Minds Tutoring, an SES provider in the state of Oregon. The participants were given pre- and post-assessments to measure their intrinsic motivation and achievement. The third graders took the Young Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (Y-CAIMI) and the fourth graders took the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI). All students took the Group Mathematics Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GMADE) according to their grade level. The findings from this study are consistent with the literature review, in that individualized tutoring can help increase student motivation and achievement. Six out of the seven students who participated in this study showed an increase in mathematical achievement, and four out of the seven showed an increase in intrinsic motivation.
ContributorsBallou, Cherise (Author) / Middleton, James (Thesis advisor) / Kinach, Barbara (Committee member) / Bitter, Gary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011