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Showing papers in "School Science and Mathematics in 2013"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of the combination of intensive professional development and the use of inquiry-based science instruction in the elementary classroom, including the benefits of using rigorous science curriculum with general education students, were documented.
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to assess elementary students' science process skills, content knowledge, and concept knowledge after one year of participation in an elementary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program. This study documented the effects of the combination of intensive professional development and the use of inquiry-based science instruction in the elementary classroom, including the benefits of using rigorous science curriculum with general education students. The results of the study revealed a statistically significant gain in science process skills, science concepts, and science-content knowledge by general education students in the experimental group when compared with students in the comparison group. Moreover, teacher participation in the STEM program had a statistically significant impact on students' variability in posttest scores. These interim student performance data support the implementation of rigorous differentiated science curriculum focused on improving science concept, content knowledge, and process skills.

114 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the Guskey framework to examine teachers' perceptions of the impact of the professional development that they received; their perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning; and how elements of professional development translated into practice.
Abstract: Reforms in mathematics education call for K-12 teachers to employ standards-based pedagogies, which embody the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics' principles and standards. In order to effectively support teachers' implementation of standards-based curricula, professional development must be provided that meets teachers' needs. The professional development program in this study focused on the implementation of a standards-based mathematics curriculum entitled Investigations in Number, Data, and Space (Investigations). This study uses Guskey's framework as a guide to examining teachers' perceptions of the impact of the professional development that they received; their perceptions of mathematics teaching and learning; and how elements of the professional development translated into practice. Twenty-two participants were randomly selected from the 53 professional development participants to be interviewed and observed during their mathematics teaching. Using a constant comparison method, the data sources in this study highlighted themes surrounding teachers' experiences with professional development and the implementation of the curricula. The analysis of the data sources in this study highlighted themes surrounding teachers' experiences with professional development: teachers as learners, teachers as self-evaluators, shifting paradigms, enactment of professional development content into practice, and the influence of the state standardized mathematics test. The results of this study have several implications for future professional development and also highlight some of the more general issues that teachers face when attempting to enact new knowledge and skills into their practice.

63 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a concurrent exploratory mixed methods study was conducted to examine prospective middle grades teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry and the connections made while completing open and closed card sort tasks meant to probe mathematical connections.
Abstract: Effective competition in a rapidly growing global economy places demands on a society to produce individuals capable of higher-order critical thinking, creative problem solving, connection making, and innovation. We must look to our teacher education programs to help prospective middle grades teachers build the mathematical habits of mind that promote a conceptually indexed, broad-based foundation of mathematics knowledge for teaching which encompasses the establishment and strengthening of mathematical connections. The purpose of this concurrent exploratory mixed methods study was to examine prospective middle grades teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry and the connections made while completing open and closed card sort tasks meant to probe mathematical connections. Although prospective middle grades teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry was below average, they were able to make over 280 mathematical connections during the card sort tasks. Curricular connections made had a statistically significant positive impact on mathematics knowledge for teaching geometry.

56 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Practices of Science Observation Protocol (P-SOP) as mentioned in this paper was developed to investigate essential features of inquiry and scientific practices in which early learners engage in elementary classrooms, as well as establish the SOP as a valid and reliable observation protocol.
Abstract: Within the field of science education, there remains little agreement as to the definition and characteristics of classroom inquiry. The emerging emphasis on scientific practices in science education reform discourse is underpinned by a need to better articulate the constituent elements of inquiry-based science. While a small number of observation-based instruments have been developed to characterize science learning environments, few are explicitly aligned with theoretical constructs articulated by the National Research Council and/or have been substantially field-tested. We employ a newly developed instrument, the Practices of Science Observation Protocol (P-SOP), to investigate essential features of inquiry and scientific practices in which early learners engage in elementary classrooms. This research is part of a multiyear professional development program designed to support elementary teachers (K-5) in a large, urban school district to learn to better engage students in scientific practices. Project teachers video-recorded enacted science lessons (n = 124) which were used as data. Findings illustrate both essential features of inquiry and scientific practices observed in elementary classrooms, as well as establish the P-SOP as a valid and reliable observation protocol. These findings have important implications for the design of elementary science learning environments and associated research and development efforts in the field.

46 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire as discussed by the authors ) is an instrument that can be used to assess teachers' beliefs about science teaching and learning.
Abstract: This article describes the development and the initial validation of an instrument that can be used to assess teachers' beliefs about science teaching and learning. The instrument, which is called the Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL) questionnaire, draws on the current national science education reform efforts in order to define a traditional-reformed teaching and learning belief continuum that can be used to map teachers' beliefs. The reliability and validity of the instrument were examined using a multiple perspective approach. The psychometric properties of the BARSTL suggest that it is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring prospective elementary teachers' beliefs about science education.

35 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore potential areas of relatedness between pedagogical factors and manifestations of student creativity in science and identify potential areas in which teachers would have to explicitly plan for creativity.
Abstract: Concerns with the ability of U.S. classrooms to develop learners who will become the next generation of innovators, particularly given the present climate of standardized testing, warrants a closer look at creativity in science classrooms. The present study explored these concerns associated with teachers' classroom practice by addressing the following research question: What pedagogical factors, and related teacher conceptions, are potentially related to the demonstration of creativity among science students? Seventeen middle-level, high school, and introductory-level college science teachers from a variety of school contexts participated in the study. A questionnaire developed for this study, interviews, and classroom observations were used in order to explore potential areas of relatedness between pedagogical factors and manifestations of student creativity in science. Five categories ultimately emerged and described potential areas in which teachers would have to explicitly plan for creativity. These areas could inform the pedagogical considerations that teachers would have to make within their lesson plans and activities in order to support its manifestation among students. These provide a starting point for science teachers and science teacher educators to consider how to develop supportive environments for student creative thinking.

35 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the consistencies among the participants' experiences as mathematics learners and the events that are identified as being the impetus for a transition from a negative to a positive attitude toward mathematics.
Abstract: Mathematics autobiographies have the potential to help teachers reflect on their identities as mathematics learners and to understand their role in the development of their students' mathematics identities. This paper reports on a professional development project for K-2 teachers (n = 41), in which participants were asked to write mathematics autobiographies. Using an adaptation of an existing framework for characterizing teachers' mathematics stories, we describe the consistencies among the participants' experiences as mathematics learners and the events that are identified as being the impetus for a transition from a negative to a positive attitude toward mathematics. Implications for both teachers and teacher educators are presented.

32 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a synthesis of empirical research about instructional coaches, in both literacy and mathematics, as well as the neo-Vygotskian construct of assisted performance.
Abstract: In recent years, national organizations, mathematics educators, and policy makers have called for the development of elementary school mathematics coaches to improve mathematics teaching and learning in elementary schools. The literacy field has found success and promise in the work of instructional coaches, and the mathematics education community can benefit from what professionals in literacy have learned and practiced. This article presents a synthesis of empirical research about instructional coaches, in both literacy and mathematics, as well as the neo-Vygotskian construct of assisted performance. Following the synthesis, implications are presented regarding how to develop the essential skills and knowledge needed for elementary school mathematics coaches as well as how to examine the impact of their efforts in schools.

31 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a three-level hierarchical linear model was employed to examine individual predictors of student achievement in mathematics, and significant differences were found between students of different ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses (SES), and parental education levels.
Abstract: A variety of factors contributes to student achievement in mathematics, including but not limited to student behaviors and student, teacher, and school characteristics. The purpose of this study was to explore which of these factors have an impact on student mathematics achievement. The target population for this study was North Carolina Algebra II students. Analyses of variance models were examined for group differences and a Three-level Hierarchical Linear Modeling method was employed to examine individual predictors of student achievement in mathematics. Statistically, significant differences were found between students of different ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses (SES), and parental education levels. No gender effects were statistically significant. All teacher-level variables investigated were found to be statistically significant, impacting student achievement in mathematics. School size and SES were not found to significantly contribute to student achievement. More research on the relationships between these factors shown to make statistically significant differences on mathematics achievement is needed to further explain several phenomena that this research reveals.

30 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of secondary mathematics teachers examined the roles and conditions helpful in initiating, directing, and/or supporting teachers' own professional development and found that teachers served as brokers in their own development process and how attitude, attention, and awareness played important roles in teacher learning.
Abstract: Two related case studies of secondary mathematics teachers examine the roles and conditions helpful in initiating, directing, and/or supporting teachers' own professional development. Using multiple data sources from school-based and professional settings, we applied analytic induction to identify patterns of similarities and differences in teachers' experiences and developmental trajectories. Findings revealed how the teachers served as brokers in their own development process and how attitude, attention, and awareness played important roles in teacher learning. As the teachers initiated learning processes, they demonstrated awareness of broader educational contexts that support learning by identifying external policies and priorities that aligned with teachers' attitudes. They then used these external priorities as boundary objects to broker for teachers' learning, including other teachers' learning. They attended to learning needs in directing a plan for learning activities, rather than using externally mandated goals for changing practice (e.g., an external focus on improving students' tests scores). These cases suggest that in structuring professional learning, opportunities to self-identify learning needs should be part of the process, and external supports can become more powerful when teachers play a brokering role in relating these supports to their immediate contexts. Further implications for professional development processes are explored.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For instance, this article found that traditional teaching and major use of textbooks cause increasingly negative student attitudes about science while not producing major changes in their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives.
Abstract: This study focuses on two main issues concerning changes in student attitudes toward science study and their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives. Information has been gathered concerning how student attitudes toward science have changed for teachers and schools not involved with any funded professional development project. Pretesting and posttesting were administered with such “control” groups at the same intervals corresponding with the data collected from students with teachers enrolled in five funded Professional Development projects over the 1981–2008 interim. The grade levels used by the National Assessment of Education Progress in their 1977 assessment of science were used; it focused on students in grades 3, 7, and 11. The results indicate a steady decline in student positive attitudes concerning their science study as grade levels increase. Conversely, the student perceptions of the usefulness of their science study as related to daily living, further science study, and for potential careers remained much the same over the 30-year interim is a second focus. Generally, results indicate that traditional teaching and major use of textbooks cause increasingly negative student attitudes about science while not producing major changes in their perceptions of its usefulness in their lives.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the differences in preservice teachers' procedural knowledge in four areas of fraction operations in Taiwan and the United States, and correlation in preserve teachers' conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge of fractions in Taiwan, were examined.
Abstract: This study examined (a) the differences in preservice teachers’ procedural knowledge in four areas of fraction operations in Taiwan and the United States, (b) the differences in preservice teachers’ conceptual knowledge in four areas of fraction operations in Taiwan and the United States, and (c) correlation in preservice teachers’ conceptual knowledge and procedural knowledge of fractions in Taiwan and the United States. Participants were preservice teachers (N = 49) in a teacher education program in the United States and comparable Chinese preservice teachers (N = 47). Results indicated that Chinese preservice teachers performed better in procedural knowledge on fraction operations than American preservice teachers. No significant differences were found for conceptual knowledge on fraction division. Further, the correlation in this study showed that for Chinese and American preservice teachers, the relationship between conceptual and procedural knowledge of fraction operations was weak.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors investigated the conceptions and use of inquiry during classroom instruction among beginning secondary science teachers in their first year of teaching and found a consistent consistency between the way new teachers talked about inquiry and the way they practiced it in their classrooms.
Abstract: This study investigates the conceptions and use of inquiry during classroom instruction among beginning secondary science teachers The 44 participants were beginning secondary science teachers in their first year of teaching In order to capture the participants' conceptions of inquiry, the teachers were interviewed and observed during the school year The interviews consisted of questions about inquiry instruction, while the observations documented the teachers' use of inquiry All of the interviews were transcribed or coded in order to understand the conceptions of inquiry held by the teachers, and all of the observations were analyzed in order to determine the presence of inquiry during the lesson The standard for assessing inquiry came from the National Science Education Standards A quantitative analysis of the data indicated that the teachers frequently talked about implementing “scientific questions” and giving “priority to evidence” This study found a consistency between the way new teachers talked about inquiry and the way they practiced it in their classrooms Overall, our observations and interviews revealed that the beginning secondary science teachers tended to enact teacher-centered forms of inquiry, and could benefit from induction programs focused on inquiry instruction

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article utilized an interpretive methodological design to generate assertions regarding career choice made by highly qualified science teachers in the deep, rural South through analysis of documents, interviews, focus groups, and observation.
Abstract: Science teacher retention, attrition, and migration continue to perplex educational scholars, political entities, as well as the general public. This study utilized an interpretive methodological design to generate assertions regarding career choice made by highly qualified science teachers in the deep, rural South through analysis of documents, interviews, focus groups, and observation. Generally considered “difficult to staff” because of location, socioeconomics, and demographics, Wilson County High School is an exemplar in science teacher retention and student achievement. Findings presented include how the science department at Wilson County improved student learning outcomes as well as the reasons why two of the highly qualified science teachers at this school were considering leaving the profession they love.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors investigated the within-subject effects and contrasts of poverty, rurality, and location within a Katrina distance impact zone on mathematics achievement in fifth-grade, eighth-grade and Algebra I schools in Mississippi during the 2004-2007 school years.
Abstract: Hurricane Katrina caused severe physical damage to the Gulf Coast states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama Homes and businesses were destroyed Natural habitats were annihilated, and many Americans were displaced for days, weeks, and even years This study investigated the within-subject effects and contrasts of poverty, rurality, and location within a Katrina distance impact zone on mathematics achievement in fifth-grade, eighth-grade, and Algebra I schools in Mississippi during the 2004–2007 school years Through an analysis of publicly available school data, all school groups were found to have been impacted by Katrina, but the nonpoor/nonrural Algebra I schools within a 90-mile radius of Katrina's point of landfall were affected the greatest Interesting patterns in eighth-grade mathematics achievement results were additionally found Rural schools were impacted to a greater extent than their nonrural counterparts Several findings in this study were startling and counterintuitive, but this initial analysis into the impact of Katrina on mathematics achievement in Mississippi illustrated that catastrophic natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina can cause more than just physical damage

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of metacognitive reflective assessment instruction on student achievement in mathematics were investigated by conducting one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and nonparametric procedures.
Abstract: The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of metacognitive reflective assessment instruction on student achievement in mathematics. The study compared the performance of 141 students who practiced reflective assessment strategies with students who did not. A posttest-only control group design was employed, and results were analyzed by conducting one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and nonparametric procedures. On both a posttest and a retention test, students who practiced reflective strategies performed significantly higher than students who did not use the strategies. A within-subjects ANOVA was also conducted six weeks following the intervention to assess how the factor of time affected retention levels. No significant difference was found between the posttest and retention test results for the experimental groups or the control group.

Journal ArticleDOI
Bing Wei1, Yue Li1, Bo Chen1
TL;DR: In this paper, the representations of nature of science (NOS) in the eight histories of science selected from three series of integrated science textbooks used in junior high school in China were examined.
Abstract: This study aimed to examine the representations of nature of science (NOS) in the eight histories of science selected from three series of integrated science textbooks used in junior high school in China. Ten aspects of NOS were adopted in the analytical framework. It was found that NOS had not been well treated in the selected histories of science in the three series of science textbooks. Specifically, it was found that the empirical and inferential aspects were treated better than other aspects, and discrepancies existed among the three series of science textbooks and among the eight histories of science in terms of dealing with the target NOS aspects. Implications for addressing NOS in historical materials in science textbooks were discussed in the final part of this paper.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the changes in beliefs and practices of an early career science teacher who taught high numbers of English language learners in an urban setting and found that with the support of the Alternative Support for Induction Science Teachers (ASIST) program, Victoria implemented inquiry lessons and utilized instructional materials that promoted language and science competencies for her ELLs.
Abstract: Early career science teachers are often assigned to classrooms with high numbers of English language learners (ELLs). For the underprepared early career science teacher, these circumstances are challenging. This study examines the changes in beliefs and practices of an early career science teacher who taught high numbers of ELLs in an urban setting. Victoria participated in the Alternative Support for Induction Science Teachers (ASIST) program during her initial two years of teaching. Our research team followed her over a three-year period, and the data collected included classroom observations and interviews about her beliefs and practices. In addition, documents such as teacher evaluations and classroom artifacts were collected periodically for the purpose of triangulation. The analysis of the data revealed that with the support of the ASIST program, Victoria implemented inquiry lessons and utilized instructional materials that promoted language and science competencies for her ELLs. Conversely, standardized testing and her teaching assignment played a role in constraining the implementation of inquiry-based practices. The results of this study call for collaborative efforts between university science educators and school administrators to provide professional development opportunities and support to build the capacity of early career science teachers of ELLs.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a study focused on three elementary science classrooms where students were using a series of written scaffolds to guide explanation building, finding that some types of verbal scaffolds, such as navigational guidance, were universal and therefore cut across all three grade levels.
Abstract: Scaffolding is a complicated construct that can take many forms, including both written and verbal forms. This research study focused on three elementary science classrooms where students were using a series of written scaffolds to guide explanation building. In each classroom, data were collected to document and study an additional type of scaffold, verbal scaffolds that the teachers provided to complement the written scaffolds. Findings suggested that some types of verbal scaffolds, such as navigational guidance, were universal and therefore cut across all three grade levels. On balance, other verbal scaffolds were more common with younger students in association with their first explanation-building science unit, such as a verbal scaffold that turned an open-ended question into a few multiple-choice options. Through the characterization of the types and range of verbal scaffolds that teachers say, both in general and in response to audience, we can gain insights to inform both curricular design and professional development toward supported explanation building across target audience, time, and topic.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare changes in beliefs of two groups of preservice teachers involved in two types of opportunities to immediately apply methods for teaching accompanying an elementary mathematics methods course, one group applied the methods learned in class through weekly 30-minute peer-teaching sessions, while the other group worked for 45 minutes weekly with elementary students in public school classrooms where traditional pedagogy was normally practiced.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare changes in beliefs of two groups of preservice teachers involved in two types of opportunities to immediately apply methods for teaching accompanying an elementary mathematics methods course. Students in one group applied the methods learned in class through weekly 30-minute peer-teaching sessions, while students in the other group worked for 45 minutes weekly with elementary students in public school classrooms where traditional pedagogy was normally practiced. The intensity of the beliefs about the nature of mathematics and of mathematical work held by these methods students was measured using the Integrating Mathematics and Pedagogy Web-Based Beliefs Survey (created on December 4, 2012 1:57PM) as a pre- and postassessment. While both groups saw significant change in belief intensity across measurement occasions favoring a reform perspective, a significantly greater change was experienced by the group who applied methods in classrooms, despite the traditional practice that usually occurred in them. The authors hypothesize this greater change resulted from the benefits associated with working with children and from the instructor support that may have tended to nullify the effects of teaching in a classroom where traditional pedagogy was the norm.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the 2009 Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair, the role gender played in students' participation, choice of science field, award of prizes, and mentioning inspiring teachers as mentioned in this paper, finding that females made up 62% of the participants and were more likely to enter projects in biology and in earth/space/environmental sciences.
Abstract: This study of students competing in the 2009 Massachusetts State Science & Engineering Fair investigates the role gender played in students' participation, choice of science field, award of prizes, and mentioning inspiring teachers. Females made up 62% of the participants and were more likely to enter projects in biology and in earth/space/environmental sciences, whereas males were more heavily represented in engineering. Girls and boys were equally likely to receive an award. Nearly half of both the girls and the boys reported having an inspiring teacher, but this was not associated with greater student success. Furthermore, for girls, the gender of the inspiring teacher did not influence the chances of winning an award.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Integration of Science, Mathematics and Reflective Teaching (iSMART) as mentioned in this paper is an online graduate program for middle school science and mathematics teachers in Texas, which is based on an online program for teacher education.
Abstract: This paper is based on an online graduate program for middle school science and mathematics teachers in Texas titled Integration of Science, Mathematics and Reflective Teaching (iSMART). Launching the program for its first cohort in fall 2010, the authors attempted to answer the following two questions in this paper: (a) How do the members of the iSMART design team and the first cohort of teacher participants define science and mathematics integration with similar and different emphases? and (b) How would these definitions and concerns impact the ongoing design of the program? The iSMART design team members and the participating cohort teachers had a shared view regarding the importance of integration and its possible impact on student motivation. The findings also revealed that the two groups showed some different points of emphasis in their definitions of integration. These issues will be addressed in the ongoing design of the program in the following three areas: (a) design of the second summer meeting activities, (b) greater emphasis on teacher as researcher and action research, and (c) administrative support for teacher collaboration.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Mathematics Integrated into Science: Classroom Observation Protocol (MISCOP) as mentioned in this paper is an instrument for measuring the degree to which mathematics is integrated into student-centered learning of science.
Abstract: It has long been noted in research literature that there does not exist a shared definition of integration of science and mathematics Classifying a particular set of integration practices by one of many labels has limited value Moving past the definition debate, this study describes the development and testing of the Mathematics Integrated into Science: Classroom Observation Protocol (MISCOP) The MISCOP consists of 20 items separated into five constructs The instrument was found to be internally consistent and has strong construct-to-total correlations Factor analyses revealed five factors that, while not completely aligned with the five designed categories, did have notable correspondence The pilot testing and analyses reveal the MISCOP to be a useful instrument for measuring the degree to which mathematics is integrated into student-centered learning of science

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on two sources of efficacy, mastery experiences, and social persuasion, and examined how these sources were structured for three students with different levels of mathematics achievement and self-efficacy within a sixth grade mathematics classroom.
Abstract: Research and theory suggest several instructional practices that could enhance student self-efficacy. However, little is known about the ways these instructional practices interact with individual students to create opportunities or challenges for developing adaptive self-efficacy. In this study, we focused on two sources of efficacy, mastery experiences, and social persuasion, and examined how these sources were structured for three students with different levels of mathematics achievement and self-efficacy within a sixth-grade mathematics classroom. Analyses within each case showed that each student experienced success and received social persuasion differently. On the other hand, analyses across the cases suggest that not only the amount but also the form (i.e., with and without assistance) of successful experiences and the type of performances (e.g., stating definitions, explaining solution procedures, sharing problem-solving strategies, and making comments on others' ideas) through which the student experienced mastery may have played important role in developing self-efficacy. Consistently, the amount and form of teacher feedback was different for each focal student. Examining these differences provide insight into each student's self-efficacy assessed over the course of the study as well as the kind of support each student needed to develop adaptive self-efficacy.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that teachers had varied conceptions of what the term integrated meant in reference to mathematics curricula and these varied conceptions led to the development of the Conceptions of Integrated Mathematics Curricula Framework describing the different conceptions of integrated mathematics held by the teachers.
Abstract: In this qualitative research study, we sought to understand teachers' conceptions of integrated mathematics. The participants were teachers in the first year of implementation of a state-mandated, high school integrated mathematics curriculum. The primary data sources for this study included focus group and individual interviews. Through our analysis, we found that the teachers had varied conceptions of what the term integrated meant in reference to mathematics curricula. These varied conceptions led to the development of the Conceptions of Integrated Mathematics Curricula Framework describing the different conceptions of integrated mathematics held by the teachers. The four conceptions—integration by strands, integration by topics, interdisciplinary integration, and contextual integration—refer to the different ideas teachers connect as well as the time frame over which these connections are emphasized. The results indicate that even when teachers use the same integrated mathematics curriculum, they may have varying conceptions of which ideas they are supposed to connect and how these connections can be emphasized. These varied conceptions of integration among teachers may lead students to experience the same adopted curriculum in very different ways.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article explored the cognitive and metacognitive processes of mathematics problem-solving discourse of 10-year-old students in Russia, Spain, Hungary, and the United States and explored the patterns of social interactions during small group work.
Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study was: (a) to explore the cognitive and metacognitive processes of mathematics problem-solving discourse of 10-year-old students in Russia, Spain, Hungary, and the United States; and (b) to explore the patterns of social interactions during small group work. Data were analyzed using a cognitive/metacognitive framework adopted from Artzt and Armour-Thomas. The analysis of think-aloud transcripts, students' reflective journals, and field observation notes revealed similar patterns of cognitive/metacognitive processes of the problem-solving discourse at the four research sites and distinct patterns of social interactions. Implications of how children used metacognition to impact learning during mathematics problem solving are discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that measuring change at the item level (rather than the person level) on the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) can provide a more detailed insight into the observed change in students' Newtonian thinking.
Abstract: In order to evaluate the effectiveness of curricular or instructional innovations, researchers often attempt to measure change in students' conceptual understanding of the target subject matter. The measurement of change is therefore a critical endeavor. Often, this is accomplished through pre–post testing using an assessment such as a concept inventory, and aggregate test scores are compared from pre to post-test in order to characterize gains. These comparisons of raw or normalized scores are most often made under the assumptions of Classical Test Theory (CTT). This study argues that measuring change at the item level (rather than the person level) on the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) can provide a more detailed insight into the observed change in students' Newtonian thinking. Further, such an approach is more warranted under the assumptions of Item Response Theory (IRT). In comparing item-level measures of change under CTT and IRT measurement models, it was found that the inferences drawn from each analysis are similar, but those derived from IRT modeling stand on a stronger foundation statistically. Second, the IRT approach leads to analyzing common item groupings which provide further information about change at the item and topic level.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that there exists a gender bias with prospective teachers expecting girls to have negative attitudes toward mathematics and boys more likely to have positive attitudes towards mathematics, and these expectations do change with the completion of a mathematics methods course and classroom experiences.
Abstract: Prospective elementary teachers hold preconceived ideas about elementary school students' attitudes toward mathematics. We found that there exists a gender bias with prospective teachers expecting girls to have negative attitudes toward mathematics and boys more likely to have positive attitudes toward mathematics. We found that these expectations exist for both prospective teachers in a traditional undergraduate degree program and prospective teachers in an alternative licensure graduate degree program. We also found that these expectations do change with the completion of a mathematics methods course and classroom experiences.