Development and validity of mathematical learning assessment instruments based on multiple intelligence

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Helmiah Suryani

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study was aimed to develop and produce an assessment instrument of mathematical learning results based on multiple intelligence. The methods in this study used Borg & Gall-Research and Development approach (Research & Development. The subject of research was 289 students. The results of research: (1 Result of Aiken Analysis showed 58 valid items were between 0,714 to 0,952. (2 Result of the Exploratory on factor analysis indicated the instrument consist of three factors i.e. mathematical logical intelligence-spatial intelligence-and linguistic intelligence. KMO value was 0.661 df 0.780 sig. 0.000 with valid category. This research succeeded to developing the assessment instrument of mathematical learning results based on multiple intelligence of second grade in elementary school with characteristics of logical intelligence of mathematics, spatial intelligence, and linguistic intelligence.

Accessing and assessing young learner’s mathematical dispositions

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mellony Graven

2012-07-01

Full Text Available It is argued in this paper that there is an absence of literature relating to research on learner mathematical dispositions, particularly with young learners. Drawing on Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell’s (2001 five interrelated strands of mathematical proficiency, which include: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, strategic competence, adaptive reasoning and productive disposition, it is argued that there has been little engagement with productive disposition in the field of mathematics education and how we might access and assess this strand. Despite competence in all strands being essential for mathematical proficiency, literature and assessments that seek to establish learner levels of mathematical proficiency have tended to focus on the first four and have neglected the last; productive disposition. Finding ways in which to access student mathematical learning dispositions can be challenging, especially with young learners who struggle to articulate their views. An instrument is shared that the author has designed with doctoral fellow, Debbie Stott, in order to access and assess the productive disposition of learners participating in maths clubs run within the South African Numeracy Chair. The findings that emerge in one Grade 3 club with six learners is shared. These findings are related to the data collected through instruments that assess the other four strands of mathematical proficiency. This enables a holistic picture of learner’s mathematical proficiency as intended in the conceptualisation of the interrelated five strands of proficiency.

ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS’ PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES – THE FUTURE TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS

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Mariya B. Shashkina

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the investigation is to describe the authors’ approach to the assessment of the professional competence of the future teacher of mathematics.Methods. The methods involve comparative analysis of the Professional Standard of the teacher and the Federal State Educational Standards in teacher education, as well as the method of predictive analysis of modern educational situation.Results. Qualimetric approach to the structuring of the professional competencies of students is described; it allows concretizing the assessment object, to select the criteria and levels of its formedness, to trace the dynamics of development in the medium of profile preparation of a bachelor. The methodology of assessment a professional-profile competence of the future mathematics teachers is proposed; examples of the competence-assessment tools are provided.Scientific novelty. The study gives a detailed analysis of developing the innovative approach to competencies assessment as metasubject learning outcomes.Practical significance. The proposed method of competencies assessment can be used in the mathematical preparation of the future mathematics teacher, and can serve as a basis for monitoring the professional competencies of students.

Mathematics Placement Test: Typical Results with Unexpected Outcomes

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Ingalls, Victoria

2011-01-01

Based on the results of a prior case-study analysis of mathematics placement at one university, the mathematics department developed and piloted a mathematics placement test. This article describes the implementation process for a mathematics placement test and further analyzes the test results for the pilot group. As an unexpected result, the…

The Relationship between Students' Performance on Conventional Standardized Mathematics Assessments and Complex Mathematical Modeling Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Kartal, Ozgul; Dunya, Beyza Aksu; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.; Zawojewski, Judith S.

2016-01-01

Critical to many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career paths is mathematical modeling--specifically, the creation and adaptation of mathematical models to solve problems in complex settings. Conventional standardized measures of mathematics achievement are not structured to directly assess this type of mathematical…

A synthesis of mathematics writing: Assessments, interventions, and surveys

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Sarah R. Powell

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Mathematics standards in the United States describe communication as an essential part of mathematics. One outlet for communication is writing. To understand the mathematics writing of students, we conducted a synthesis to evaluate empirical research about mathematics writing. We identified 29 studies that included a mathematics-writing assessment, intervention, or survey for students in 1st through 12th grade. All studies were published between 1991 and 2015. The majority of assessments required students to write explanations to mathematical problems, and fewer than half scored student responses according to a rubric. Approximately half of the interventions involved the use of mathematics journals as an outlet for mathematics writing. Few intervention studies provided explicit direction on how to write in mathematics, and a small number of investigations provided statistical evidence of intervention efficacy. From the surveys, the majority of students expressed enjoyment when writing in mathematics settings but teachers reported using mathematics writing rarely. Across studies, findings indicate mathematics writing is used for a variety of purposes, but the quality of the studies is variable and more empirical research is needed.

The Role of Self-Assessment in Foundation of Mathematics Learning

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Masriyah

2018-01-01

This research is motivated by the low performance of students who took Foundations of Mathematics course. This study was aimed to describe (1) the learning outcomes of students who learned Mathematics Foundation after learning axiomatic applying self-assessment; (2) the difficulty of students and the alternative solutions; and (3) the response of students toward Foundation of Mathematics learning taught by applying self-assessment. This research was a descriptive research. The subjects were 25 mathematics students who studied Foundation of Mathematics in odd semester of the 2015/2016 academic year. Data collection was done using questionnaires, and testing methods. Based on the results of data analysis, it can be concluded that the learning outcomes of students were categorized as “good.” Student responses were positive; the difficulties lied in the sub material: Classification of Axiom Systems and the requirements, Theorem and how the formation, and finite geometry. The alternatives deal with these difficulties are to give emphasis and explanation as needed on these materials, as well as provide some more exercises to reinforce their understanding.

DEVELOPING PISA-LIKE MATHEMATICS TASK WITH INDONESIA NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE AS CONTEXT TO ASSESS STUDENTS MATHEMATICAL LITERACY

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Wuli Oktiningrum

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is produce a set of PISA-like mathematics task with Indonesia natural and cultural heritage as context which are valid, practical, to assess students’ mathematics literacy. This is design research using type of development research with formative evaluation. A total of 20 students of SMP Negeri 1 Palembang. Beside, 10 experts were involved in this research to assess the feasibility of prototyping in terms of content, context and language. Walk through, documentation, questionnaire, test result, and interviews are way to collect the data. This research produced a PISA-like math task is as many 12 category of content, context, and process valid, practical and has potential effect. The validity came empirical evaluation of validation and reliability testing during small group. From the field test, we conclude that the tasks also potentially effect to the students’ mathematical literacy in activating the indicators of each Fundamental Mathematical Capabilities.Keywords: development research, PISA task, mathematics literacy, fundamental mathematical capabilities DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.7.1.2812.1-8

TIMSS 2011 International Results in Mathematics

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Mullis, Ina V. S.; Martin, Michael O.; Foy, Pierre; Arora, Alka

2012-01-01

The "TIMSS 2011 International Results in Mathematics" summarizes fourth and eighth grade student achievement in each of the 63 countries and 14 benchmarking entities which participated in TIMSS 2011. The report includes trends in mathematics achievement over time for participants in the previous TIMSS 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007…

DEVELOPING PISA-LIKE MATHEMATICS TASK WITH INDONESIA NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE AS CONTEXT TO ASSESS STUDENTS MATHEMATICAL LITERACY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wuli Oktiningrum

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this research is produce a set of PISA-like mathematics task with Indonesia natural and cultural heritage as context which are valid, practical, to assess students’ mathematics literacy. This is design research using type of development research with formative evaluation. A total of 20 students of SMP Negeri 1 Palembang. Beside, 10 experts were involved in this research to assess the feasibility of prototyping in terms of content, context and language. Walk through, documentation, questionnaire, test result, and interviews are way to collect the data. This research produced a PISA-like math task is as many 12 category of content, context, and process valid, practical and has potential effect. The validity came empirical evaluation of validation and reliability testing during small group. From the field test, we conclude that the tasks also potentially effect to the students’ mathematical literacy in activating the indicators of each Fundamental Mathematical Capabilities.

The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2011. Trial Urban District Assessment Results at Grades 4 and 8. NCES 2012-452

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National Center for Education Statistics, 2011

2011-01-01

Representative samples of fourth- and eighth-grade public school students from 21 urban districts participated in the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Eighteen of the districts participating in the 2011 NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) participated in earlier assessment years, while three districts…

Math Self-Assessment, but Not Negative Feelings, Predicts Mathematics Performance of Elementary School Children

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Vitor Geraldi Haase

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Mathematics anxiety has been associated to performance in school mathematics. The association between math anxiety and psychosocial competencies as well as their specific contribution to explain school mathematics performance are still unclear. In the present study, the impact of sociodemographic factors, psychosocial competencies, and math anxiety on mathematics and spelling performance was examined in school children with and without mathematics difficulties. The specific contributions of psychosocial competencies (i.e., general anxiety and attentional deficits with hyperactivity and math anxiety (i.e., self-assessment in mathematics to school mathematics performance were found to be statistically independent from each other. Moreover, psychosocial competencies—but not math anxiety—were related also to spelling performance. These results suggest that psychosocial competencies are more related to general mechanisms of emotional regulation and emotional response towards academic performance, while mathematics anxiety is related to the specific cognitive aspect of self-assessment in mathematics.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE An Assessment of Mathematics Classroom ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bdu

ORIGINAL ARTICLE. An Assessment of Mathematics Classroom Teaching- ... the study was to assess whether the learning classroom environment was compliant with constructivism. ... of our education system. Applefield ... share control of the design, management, and evaluation ..... development of formative assessment.

The effects of a digital formative assessment tool on mathematics achievement and student motivation : Results of a randomized experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faber, Janke; Luyten, Johannes W.; Visscher, Arend J.

2017-01-01

In this study a randomized experimental design was used to examine the effects of a digital formative assessment tool on mathematics achievement and motivation in grade three primary education (n schools = 79, n students = 1808). Experimental schools used a digital formative assessment tool whereas

Developing non-routine problems for assessing students’ mathematical literacy

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Murdiyani, N. M.

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study is to develop non-routine problems for assessing the mathematics literacy skills of students, which is valid, practical, and effective. It is based on the previous research said that Indonesian students’ mathematical literacy is still low. The results of this study can be used as a guide in developing the evaluation questions that can train students to improve the ability of solving non-routine problems in everyday life. This research type is formative evaluation that consists of preliminary, self evaluation, expert reviews, one-to-one, small group, and field test. The sample of this research is grade 8 students at one of Junior High School in Yogyakarta. This study results in mathematics literacy problems prototype consisting of level 1 to level 6 problems similar to PISA problems. This study also discusses the examples of students’ answer and their reasoning.

Alignment between South African mathematics assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment frameworks

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Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu

2012-12-01

Full Text Available South Africa’s performance in international benchmark tests is a major cause for concern amongst educators and policymakers, raising questions about the effectiveness of the curriculum reform efforts of the democratic era. The purpose of the study reported in this article was to investigate the degree of alignment between the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics assessment frameworks and the Revised National Curriculum Statements (RNCS assessment standards for Grade 8 Mathematics, later revised to become the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS. Such an investigation could help to partly shed light on why South African learners do not perform well and point out discrepancies that need to be attended to. The methodology of document analysis was adopted for the study, with the RNCS and the TIMSS 2003 Grade 8 Mathematics frameworks forming the principal documents. Porter’s moderately complex index of alignment was adopted for its simplicity. The computed index of 0.751 for the alignment between the RNCS assessment standards and the TIMSS assessment objectives was found to be significantly statistically low, at the alpha level of 0.05, according to Fulmer’s critical values for 20 cells and 90 or 120 standard points. The study suggests that inadequate attention has been paid to the alignment of the South African mathematics curriculum to the successive TIMSS assessment frameworks in terms of the cognitive level descriptions. The study recommends that participation in TIMSS should rigorously and critically inform ongoing curriculum reform efforts.

Mathematics authentic assessment on statistics learning: the case for student mini projects

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Fauziah, D.; Mardiyana; Saputro, D. R. S.

2018-03-01

Mathematics authentic assessment is a form of meaningful measurement of student learning outcomes for the sphere of attitude, skill and knowledge in mathematics. The construction of attitude, skill and knowledge achieved through the fulfilment of tasks which involve active and creative role of the students. One type of authentic assessment is student mini projects, started from planning, data collecting, organizing, processing, analysing and presenting the data. The purpose of this research is to learn the process of using authentic assessments on statistics learning which is conducted by teachers and to discuss specifically the use of mini projects to improving students’ learning in the school of Surakarta. This research is an action research, where the data collected through the results of the assessments rubric of student mini projects. The result of data analysis shows that the average score of rubric of student mini projects result is 82 with 96% classical completeness. This study shows that the application of authentic assessment can improve students’ mathematics learning outcomes. Findings showed that teachers and students participate actively during teaching and learning process, both inside and outside of the school. Student mini projects also provide opportunities to interact with other people in the real context while collecting information and giving presentation to the community. Additionally, students are able to exceed more on the process of statistics learning using authentic assessment.

Students' Perceptions of Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics

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Iannone, Paola; Simpson, Adrian

2013-01-01

A consistent message emerges from research on undergraduate students' perceptions of assessment which describes traditional assessment as detrimental to learning. However this literature has not included students in the pure sciences. Mathematics education literature advocates the introduction of innovative assessment at university. In this…

Investigating Gender Differences in Mathematics and Science: Results from the 2011 Trends in Mathematics and Science Survey

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Reilly, David; Neumann, David L.; Andrews, Glenda

2017-06-01

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields remains a concern for educators and the scientific community. Gender differences in mathematics and science achievement play a role, in conjunction with attitudes and self-efficacy beliefs. We report results from the 2011 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a large international assessment of eighth grade students' achievement, attitudes, and beliefs among 45 participating nations (N = 261,738). Small- to medium-sized gender differences were found for most individual nations (from d = -.60 to +.31 in mathematics achievement, and d = -.60 to +.26 for science achievement), although the direction varied and there were no global gender differences overall. Such a pattern cross-culturally is incompatible with the notion of immutable gender differences. Additionally, there were different patterns between OECD and non-OECD nations, with girls scoring higher than boys in mathematics and science achievement across non-OECD nations. An association was found between gender differences in science achievement and national levels of gender equality, providing support for the gender segregation hypothesis. Furthermore, the performance of boys was more variable than that of girls in most nations, consistent with the greater male variability hypothesis. Boys reported more favorable attitudes towards mathematics and science, and girls reported lower self-efficacy beliefs. While the gender gap in STEM achievement may be closing, there are still large sections of the world where differences remain.

Students' Preferences in Undergraduate Mathematics Assessment

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Iannone, P.; Simpson, A.

2015-01-01

Existing research into students' preferences for assessment methods has been developed from a restricted sample: in particular, the voice of students in the 'hard-pure sciences' has rarely been heard. We conducted a mixed method study to explore mathematics students' preferences of assessment methods. In contrast to the message from the general…

Assessing Student Learning in Gender Inclusive Tertiary Mathematics and Physics Education.

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Wistedt, Inger

1998-01-01

The merits and limitations of an alternative assessment method implemented in an inclusive university education program are discussed based on data from a study in which 24 Swedish university students presented mathematics and physics project results. The study shows how an interdisciplinary approach to assessment can promote critical reflection…

Cognitive assessment in mathematics with the least squares distance method.

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Ma, Lin; Çetin, Emre; Green, Kathy E

2012-01-01

This study investigated the validation of comprehensive cognitive attributes of an eighth-grade mathematics test using the least squares distance method and compared performance on attributes by gender and region. A sample of 5,000 students was randomly selected from the data of the 2005 Turkish national mathematics assessment of eighth-grade students. Twenty-five math items were assessed for presence or absence of 20 cognitive attributes (content, cognitive processes, and skill). Four attributes were found to be misspecified or nonpredictive. However, results demonstrated the validity of cognitive attributes in terms of the revised set of 17 attributes. The girls had similar performance on the attributes as the boys. The students from the two eastern regions significantly underperformed on the most attributes.

towards a theory-based multi-dimensional framework for assessment in mathematics: The "SEA" framework

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Anku, Sitsofe E.

1997-09-01

Using the reform documents of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) (NCTM, 1989, 1991, 1995), a theory-based multi-dimensional assessment framework (the "SEA" framework) which should help expand the scope of assessment in mathematics is proposed. This framework uses a context based on mathematical reasoning and has components that comprise mathematical concepts, mathematical procedures, mathematical communication, mathematical problem solving, and mathematical disposition.

Motivational Qualities of Instructional Strategies and Computer Use for Mathematics Teaching in Japan and the United States: Results from the Timss 1999 Assessment.

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House, J. Daniel

2005-01-01

Recent mathematics assessments have indicated that students in several Asian countries have tended to score above international averages. Research findings indicate that there are cultural differences in expectations for student achievement in mathematics and in classroom practices and instructional strategies. The importance of the motivational…

An assessment experiment for Mathematics at the University of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Formative assessment in distance teaching is a complex issue, particularly when diverse students are involved. At Unisa many students from previously disadvantage backgrounds need to be accommodated in tertiary mathematics and science. However, many such students have limited entry-level mathematical knowledge

Making instruction and assessment responsive to diverse students' progress: group-administered dynamic assessment in teaching mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeltova, Ida; Birney, Damian; Fredine, Nancy; Jarvin, Linda; Sternberg, Robert J; Grigorenko, Elena L

2011-01-01

This study entailed a 3 (instructional intervention) × 2 (assessment-type) between-subjects experimental design employing a pretest-intervention-posttest methodology. The instructional interventions were administered between subjects in three conditions: (a) dynamic instruction, (b) triarchic or theory of successful intelligence-control instruction, and (c) standard-control instruction. The assessment-type consisted between subjects of either (a) a group-administered dynamic posttest or (b) the same group-administered posttest interspersed with a control filler activity. Performance in different mathematics content areas taught in fourth grade was investigated. In total, 1,332 students and 63 classroom teachers in 24 schools across six school districts participated in the study. The results indicate the advantages of using dynamic instruction and assessment in regular classrooms while teaching mathematics, especially when the student body is highly ethnically diverse.

Improving mathematical problem solving ability through problem-based learning and authentic assessment for the students of Bali State Polytechnic

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Darma, I. K.

2018-01-01

This research is aimed at determining: 1) the differences of mathematical problem solving ability between the students facilitated with problem-based learning model and conventional learning model, 2) the differences of mathematical problem solving ability between the students facilitated with authentic and conventional assessment model, and 3) interaction effect between learning and assessment model on mathematical problem solving. The research was conducted in Bali State Polytechnic, using the 2x2 experiment factorial design. The samples of this research were 110 students. The data were collected using a theoretically and empirically-validated test. Instruments were validated by using Aiken’s approach of technique content validity and item analysis, and then analyzed using anova stylistic. The result of the analysis shows that the students facilitated with problem-based learning and authentic assessment models get the highest score average compared to the other students, both in the concept understanding and mathematical problem solving. The result of hypothesis test shows that, significantly: 1) there is difference of mathematical problem solving ability between the students facilitated with problem-based learning model and conventional learning model, 2) there is difference of mathematical problem solving ability between the students facilitated with authentic assessment model and conventional assessment model, and 3) there is interaction effect between learning model and assessment model on mathematical problem solving. In order to improve the effectiveness of mathematics learning, collaboration between problem-based learning model and authentic assessment model can be considered as one of learning models in class.

The Development of the Assessment for Learning Model of Mathematics for Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin

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Wannaree Pansiri

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this research were 1 to develop the assessment for learning model of Mathematics for Rajamangala University 2 to study the effectivness of assessment for learning model of Mathematics for Rajamagala University of Technology Rattanakosin. The research target group consisted of 72 students from 3 classes and 3 General Mathematics teachers. The data was gathered from observation, worksheets, achievement test and skill of assessment for learning, questionnaire of the assessment for learning model of Mathematics. The statistics that used in this research were Frequency, Percentage, Mean, Standard Deviation, and Growth Score. The results of this research were 1. The assessment of learning model of Mathematics for Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin consisted of 3 components ; 1. Pre-assessment which consisted of 4 activities ; a Preparation b Teacher development c Design and creation the assessment plan and instrument for assessment and d Creation of the learning experience plan 2. The component for assessment process consisted of 4 steps which were a Identifying the learning objectives and criteria b Identifying the learning experience plan and assessment follow the plan c Learning reflection and giving feedback and d Learner development based on information and improve instruction and 3. Giving feedback component. 2. The effective of assessment for learning model found that most students had good score in concentration, honest, responsibilities, group work, task presentation, worksheets, and doing exercises. The development knowledge of learning and knowledge and skill of assessment for learning of lecturers were fairly good. The opinion to the assessment for learning of learners and assessment for learning model of Mathematics of teachers found that was in a good level.

Exact penalty results for mathematical programs with vanishing constraints

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hoheisel, T.; Kanzow, Ch.; Outrata, Jiří

2010-01-01

Roč. 72, č. 5 (2010), s. 2514-2526 ISSN 0362-546X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100750802 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Mathematical programs with vanishing constraints * Mathematical programs with equilibrium constraints * Exact penalization * Calmness * Subdifferential calculus * Limiting normal cone Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 1.279, year: 2010 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2010/MTR/outrata-exact penalty results for mathematical programs with vanishing constraints.pdf

Classroom Assessment in Malawi: Teachersâ Perceptions and Practices in Mathematics

OpenAIRE

Susuwele-Banda, William John

2005-01-01

This study investigated teachersâ perceptions of classroom assessment in mathematics and their current classroom assessments practices. Specifically, the study sought to gain an understanding of the extent to which teachers use different classroom assessment methods and tools to understand and to support both the learning and teaching processes. The following three questions guided the study: 1) How do primary school teachers perceive classroom assessment in mathematics? 2) What kinds of a...

Developing teaching material based on realistic mathematics andoriented to the mathematical reasoning and mathematical communication

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Fitria Habsah

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This research aims to produce mathematics textbook for grade VII junior high school students based on realistic mathematics and oriented to the mathematical reasoning and mathematical communication. The quality is determined based on Nieveen criteria, including validity, practicality, and effectiveness.This study was a research and development and used Borg & Gall model. The subject of this research were the students of SMPN 2 Pujon-Kabupaten Malang, that is 30 students in an experimental class (using the developed textbook and 29 students in a control class (using BSE book from the government. The teaching material was categorized valid if the expert's judgment at least is categorized as “good”. The teaching material was categorized practical if both of teachers and students assessment at least categorized as “good”. The teaching material was categorized effectively if minimum 75% of student scores at least is categorized as “good” for the mathematical reasoning test and mathematical communication test. This research resulted in a valid, practical, and effective teaching material. The resulted of the validation show that material teaching is valid. The resulted of teachers and students assessment show that the product is practical. The tests scores show that the product is effective. Percentage of students who categorized at least as “good” is 83,33% for the mathematical reasoning and 86,67% for the mathematical communication. The resulted of statistic test shows that the product more effective than the BSE book from the government in terms of mathematical reasoning and mathematical communication.

Modeling Student Motivation and Students’ Ability Estimates From a Large-Scale Assessment of Mathematics

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Carlos Zerpa

2011-09-01

Full Text Available When large-scale assessments (LSA do not hold personal stakes for students, students may not put forth their best effort. Low-effort examinee behaviors (e.g., guessing, omitting items result in an underestimate of examinee abilities, which is a concern when using results of LSA to inform educational policy and planning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between examinee motivation as defined by expectancy-value theory, student effort, and examinee mathematics abilities. A principal components analysis was used to examine the data from Grade 9 students (n = 43,562 who responded to a self-report questionnaire on their attitudes and practices related to mathematics. The results suggested a two-component model where the components were interpreted as task-values in mathematics and student effort. Next, a hierarchical linear model was implemented to examine the relationship between examinee component scores and their estimated ability on a LSA. The results of this study provide evidence that motivation, as defined by the expectancy-value theory and student effort, partially explains student ability estimates and may have implications in the information that get transferred to testing organizations, school boards, and teachers while assessing students’ Grade 9 mathematics learning.

Formative assessment in mathematics for engineering students

Science.gov (United States)

Ní Fhloinn, Eabhnat; Carr, Michael

2017-07-01

In this paper, we present a range of formative assessment types for engineering mathematics, including in-class exercises, homework, mock examination questions, table quizzes, presentations, critical analyses of statistical papers, peer-to-peer teaching, online assessments and electronic voting systems. We provide practical tips for the implementation of such assessments, with a particular focus on time or resource constraints and large class sizes, as well as effective methods of feedback. In addition, we consider the benefits of such formative assessments for students and staff.

Classroom assessment in Chinese primary school mathematics education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, X.

2018-01-01

In mainland China, where there exists a deeply-rooted examination culture, an assessment reform promoting the use of assessment to support teaching and learning has been carried out since 2001. After a decade, however, only a few studies have been done that focus on primary school mathematics

MATHEMATICAL SUPPORT OF THE INTELLIGENT INFORMATION SYSTEM OF ASSESSING THE OBJECT STATE

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Sofiia Yakubovska

2017-11-01

Full Text Available At present, information technologies (IT are intensively used all over the world in various sectors, and today medical institutions cannot do without them when organizing the process of medical diagnostic. The IT efficiency is determined by the degree of their intellectualization that is by including knowledge bases as their component and by the transition from data processing to the processing of knowledge. The efficiency of making decisions in various areas of activity is determined by the quality and quick delivery of information. Medicine constitutes no exception in this sense. The advanced level of computer technology, applied tools, diagnostics on the basis of automated systems of decision support made it possible to solve the tasks of assessing the state of the object at a qualitatively new level. The subject matter of this study is to ensure the mathematical support of the intelligent information system (IS of assessing the state of the object. The object is understood as a patient who came through a myocardial infarction (MI. The goal of the study is to develop mathematical support of the intelligent IS of assessing and predicting a patient’s condition. To achieve the stated goal, the following tasks were solved: statistically valid and uncorrelated signs were specified; these signs enable distinguishing the group of patients who survived from those who died, “decisive rules” were formulated for predicting the MI clinical outcome. In the process of the study, the mathematical IT of assessing the state of the object was developed. The following result was obtained: the suggested mathematical models for predicting the outcome of myocardial infarction that were developed with the use of the method of discriminant function and took into account human blood values can prevent sudden coronary death and improve the diagnostic efficiency. Conclusions. Mathematical models were developed to predict the state of the object in the event of

Ability Of Mathematical Reasoning in SMK 10th Grade with LAPS- Heuristic using Performance Assessment

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Aulia Nur Arivina

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purposes of this research are: (1 Test the learning with LAPS-Heuristic model using performance assessment on 10th grade of Trigonometry material is complete, (2 to test the difference of students' mathematical reasoning ability on 10th grade of Trigonometry material between the learning model of LAPS-Heuristic using performance assessment, LAPS-Heuristic learning model with Expository learning model, (3 test the ability of mathematical reasoning with learning model of LAPS-Heuristik on Trigonometry material of SMK on 10th grade using performance assessment is increase. This is a quantitative research. The population is students of 10th grade of SMK 10 Semarang academic year 2016/2017 and the subject of research is selected by clustering random sampling. The results show that (1 Learning by model LAPS-Heuristic using performance assessment on 10th grade of Trigonometry material is complete (2 there are differences in students' mathematical reasoning ability on 10th grade of Trigonometry materials between LAPS-Heuristic learning model using performance assessment, LAPS-Heuristic learning model, and Expository learning model, (3 The ability of mathematical reasoning with learning model of LAPS-Heuristic on Trigonometry material of SMK class X using performance assessment increased.

Helping Early Childhood Educators to Understand and Assess Young Children's Mathematical Minds

Science.gov (United States)

Ginsburg, Herbert P.

2016-01-01

This issue of "ZDM Mathematics Education" focuses on the formative assessment of young children's mathematical thinking, with an emphasis on computer-based approaches drawing upon on cognitive and educational research. The authors discuss several different assessment methods, including clinical interviewing, observation, and testing,…

Getting Real: Implementing Assessment Alternatives in Mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Martha H.

1997-01-01

Recounts experiences of a university professor who returned to the elementary classroom and attempted to implement the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards and appropriate assessment methods, including nontraditional paper-and-pencil tasks, journal-like writing assignments, focused observations, and performance-based assessments…

An analysis of mathematical connection ability based on student learning style on visualization auditory kinesthetic (VAK) learning model with self-assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Apipah, S.; Kartono; Isnarto

2018-03-01

This research aims to analyze the quality of VAK learning with self-assessment toward the ability of mathematical connection performed by students and to analyze students’ mathematical connection ability based on learning styles in VAK learning model with self-assessment. This research applies mixed method type with concurrent embedded design. The subject of this research consists of VIII grade students from State Junior High School 9 Semarang who apply visual learning style, auditory learning style, and kinesthetic learning style. The data of learning style is collected by using questionnaires, the data of mathematical connection ability is collected by performing tests, and the data of self-assessment is collected by using assessment sheets. The quality of learning is qualitatively valued from planning stage, realization stage, and valuation stage. The result of mathematical connection ability test is analyzed quantitatively by mean test, conducting completeness test, mean differentiation test, and mean proportional differentiation test. The result of the research shows that VAK learning model results in well-qualified learning regarded from qualitative and quantitative sides. Students with visual learning style perform the highest mathematical connection ability, students with kinesthetic learning style perform average mathematical connection ability, and students with auditory learning style perform the lowest mathematical connection ability.

Assessing the Potential of Mathematics Textbooks to Promote Deep Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Shield, Malcolm; Dole, Shelley

2013-01-01

Curriculum documents for mathematics emphasise the importance of promoting depth of knowledge rather than shallow coverage of the curriculum. In this paper, we report on a study that explored the analysis of junior secondary mathematics textbooks to assess their potential to assist in teaching and learning aimed at building and applying deep…

An Early Mathematical Patterning Assessment: identifying young Australian Indigenous children's patterning skills

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Papic, Marina

2015-12-01

This paper presents an Early Mathematical Patterning Assessment (EMPA) tool that provides early childhood educators with a valuable opportunity to identify young children's mathematical thinking and patterning skills through a series of hands-on and drawing tasks. EMPA was administered through one-to-one assessment interviews to children aged 4 to 5 years in the year prior to formal school. Two hundred and seventeen assessments indicated that the young low socioeconomic and predominantly Australian Indigenous children in the study group had varied patterning and counting skills. Three percent of the study group was able to consistently copy and draw an ABABAB pattern made with coloured blocks. Fifty percent could count to six by ones and count out six items with 4 % of the total group able to identify six items presented in regular formations without counting. The integration of patterning into early mathematics learning is critical to the abstraction of mathematical ideas and relationships and to the development of mathematical reasoning in young children. By using the insights into the children's thinking that the EMPA tool provides, early childhood educators can better inform mathematics teaching and learning and so help close the persistent gap in numeracy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

Technological pedagogical content knowledge of prospective mathematics teachers regarding evaluation and assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ercan Atasoy

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The ‘technology integrated assessment process’ is an innovative method to capture and determine students’ understanding of mathematics. This assessment process is claimed to provide a singular dynamism for teaching and learning activities and it is also claimed to be of the most important elements of instruction in the educational system. In this sense, this study aims to investigate technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK of prospective mathematics teachers regarding the ‘evaluation’ and ‘assessment’ process. To achieve this aim, the method of qualitative research was conducted with 20 teachers. Video records and lesson plans were collected and a Mathematics Teacher TPACK Development Model was utilized to reveal themes and key features of the data. The findings revealed that, although the majority of teachers stated that they would like to use technology-integrated tools in the assessment and evaluation processes, they strongly preferred to use traditional assessment and evaluation techniques, such as pen and paper activities, multiple-choice questions in virtual environments, etc. Hence, the evidence suggests that teachers would be unable to use appropriately the technological assessment process in order to reveal students’ understanding of mathematics. As seen from the teachers’ lectures, they perceived that technology would be suitable for evaluation and assessment but in a limited way.

Assessment of the Assessment Tool: Analysis of Items in a Non-MCQ Mathematics Exam

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Khoshaim, Heba Bakr; Rashid, Saima

2016-01-01

Assessment is one of the vital steps in the teaching and learning process. The reported action research examines the effectiveness of an assessment process and inspects the validity of exam questions used for the assessment purpose. The instructors of a college-level mathematics course studied questions used in the final exams during the academic…

Teachers’ learning and assessing of mathematical processes with emphasis on representations, reasoning and proof

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Satsope Maoto

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This article focuses mainly on two key mathematical processes (representation, and reasoning and proof. Firstly, we observed how teachers learn these processes and subsequently identify what and how to assess learners on the same processes. Secondly, we reviewed one teacher’s attempt to facilitate the learning of the processes in his classroom. Two interrelated questions were pursued: ‘what are the teachers’ challenges in learning mathematical processes?’ and ‘in what ways are teachers’ approaches to learning mathematical processes influencing how they assess their learners on the same processes?’ A case study was undertaken involving 10 high school mathematics teachers who enrolled for an assessment module towards a Bachelor in Education Honours degree in mathematics education. We present an interpretive analysis of two sets of data. The first set consisted of the teachers’ written responses to a pattern searching activity. The second set consisted of a mathematical discourse on matchstick patterns in a Grade 9 class. The overall finding was that teachers rush through forms of representation and focus more on manipulation of numerical representations with a view to deriving symbolic representation. Subsequently, this unidirectional approach limits the scope of assessment of mathematical processes. Interventions with regard to the enhancement of these complex processes should involve teachers’ actual engagements in and reflections on similar learning.

International note: Are Emirati parents' attitudes toward mathematics linked to their adolescent children's attitudes toward mathematics and mathematics achievement?

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Areepattamannil, Shaljan; Khine, Myint Swe; Melkonian, Michael; Welch, Anita G; Al Nuaimi, Samira Ahmed; Rashad, Fatimah F

2015-10-01

Drawing on data from the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and employing multilevel modeling as an analytic strategy, this study examined the relations of adolescent children's perceptions of their parents' attitudes towards mathematics to their own attitudes towards mathematics and mathematics achievement among a sample of 5116 adolescents from 384 schools in the United Arab Emirates. The results of this cross-sectional study revealed that adolescents who perceived that their parents liked mathematics and considered mathematics was important for their children not only to study but also for their career tended to report higher levels of intrinsic and instrumental motivation to learn mathematics, mathematics self-concept and self-efficacy, and mathematics work ethic. Moreover, adolescents who perceived that their parents liked mathematics and considered mathematics was important for their children's career tended to report positive intentions and behaviors toward mathematics. However, adolescents who perceived that their parents considered mathematics was important for their children's career tended to report higher levels of mathematics anxiety. Finally, adolescents who perceived that their parents considered mathematics was important for their children to study performed significantly better on the mathematics assessment than did their peers whose parents disregarded the importance of learning mathematics. Copyright © 2015 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

African Americans and Mathematics Outcomes on National Assessment of Educational Progress: Parental and Individual Influences

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Noble, Richard, III; Morton, Crystal Hill

2013-01-01

This study investigated within group differences between African American female and male students who participated in the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessment. Using results from participating states, we compare average scale scores of African American students based on home regulatory environment and interest…

Assessing the Relation between Seventh-Grade Students' Engagement and Mathematical Problem Solving Performance

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Lein, Amy E.; Jitendra, Asha K.; Starosta, Kristin M.; Dupuis, Danielle N.; Hughes-Reid, Cheyenne L.; Star, Jon R.

2016-01-01

In this study, the authors assessed the contribution of engagement (on-task behavior) to the mathematics problem-solving performance of seventh-grade students after accounting for prior mathematics achievement. A subsample of seventh-grade students in four mathematics classrooms (one high-, two average-, and one low-achieving) from a larger…

Meeting the requirements of both classroom-based and systemic assessment of mathematics proficiency: The potential of Rasch measurement theory

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Tim Dunne

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The challenges inherent in assessing mathematical proficiency depend on a number of factors, amongst which are an explicit view of what constitutes mathematical proficiency, an understanding of how children learn and the purpose and function of teaching. All of these factors impact on the choice of approach to assessment. In this article we distinguish between two broad types of assessment, classroom-based and systemic assessment. We argue that the process of assessment informed by Rasch measurement theory (RMT can potentially support the demands of both classroom-based and systemic assessment, particularly if a developmental approach to learning is adopted, and an underlying model of developing mathematical proficiency is explicit in the assessment instruments and their supporting material. An example of a mathematics instrument and its analysis which illustrates this approach, is presented. We note that the role of assessment in the 21st century is potentially powerful. This influential role can only be justified if the assessments are of high quality and can be selected to match suitable moments in learning progress and the teaching process. Users of assessment data must have sufficient knowledge and insight to interpret the resulting numbers validly, and have sufficient discernment to make considered educational inferences from the data for teaching and learning responses.

Dynamic Assessment, Potential Giftedness and Mathematics Achievement in Elementary School

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Popa, Nicoleta Laura; Pauc, Ramona Loredana

2015-01-01

Dynamic assessment is currently discussed in educational literature as one of the most promising practices in stimulating learning among various groups of students, including gifted and potentially gifted students. The present study investigates effects of dynamic assessment on mathematics achievement among elementary school students, with…

Examining Fourth-Grade Mathematics Writing: Features of Organization, Mathematics Vocabulary, and Mathematical Representations

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Hebert, Michael A.; Powell, Sarah R.

2016-01-01

Increasingly, students are expected to write about mathematics. Mathematics writing may be informal (e.g., journals, exit slips) or formal (e.g., writing prompts on high-stakes mathematics assessments). In order to develop an effective mathematics-writing intervention, research needs to be conducted on how students organize mathematics writing and…

Mathematics, curriculum and assessment: The role of taxonomies in the quest for coherence

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Caroline Long

2014-12-01

Full Text Available A challenge encountered when monitoring mathematics teaching and learning at high school is that taxonomies such as Bloom’s, and variations of this work, are not entirely adequate for providing meaningful feedback to teachers beyond very general cognitive categories that are difficult to interpret. Challenges of this nature are also encountered in the setting of examinations, where the requirement is to cover a range of skills and cognitive domains. The contestation as to the cognitive level is inevitable as it is necessary to analyse the relationship between the problem and the learners’ background experience. The challenge in the project described in this article was to find descriptive terms that would be meaningful to teachers. The first attempt at providing explicit feedback was to apply the assessment frameworks that include a content component and a cognitive component, namely knowledge, routine procedures, complex procedures and problem solving, currently used in the South African curriculum documents. The second attempt investigated various taxonomies, including those used in international assessments and in mathematics education research, for constructs that teachers of mathematics might find meaningful. The final outcome of this investigation was to apply the dimensions required to understand a mathematical concept proposed by Usiskin (2012: the skills-algorithm, property-proof, use-application and representation-metaphor dimension. A feature of these dimensions is that they are not hierarchical; rather, within each of the dimensions, the mathematical task may demand recall but may also demand the highest level of creativity. For our purpose, we developed a two-way matrix using Usiskin’s dimensions on one axis and a variation of Bloom’s revised taxonomy on the second axis. Our findings are that this two-way matrix provides an alternative to current taxonomies, is more directly applicable to mathematics and provides the

What Is the Basis for Self-Assessment of Comprehension When Reading Mathematical Expository Texts?

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Österholm, Magnus

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to characterize students' self-assessments when reading mathematical texts, in particular regarding what students use as a basis for evaluations of their own reading comprehension. A total of 91 students read two mathematical texts, and for each text, they performed a self-assessment of their comprehension and…

Enhancing Formative Assessment Practice and Encouraging Middle School Mathematics Engagement and Persistence

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Beesley, Andrea D.; Clark, Tedra F.; Dempsey, Kathleen; Tweed, Anne

2018-01-01

In the transition to middle school, and during the middle school years, students' motivation for mathematics tends to decline from what it was during elementary school. Formative assessment strategies in mathematics can help support motivation by building confidence for challenging tasks. In this study, the authors developed and piloted a…

Contrasts in Mathematical Challenges in A-Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics, and Undergraduate Mathematics Examinations

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Darlington, Ellie

2014-01-01

This article describes part of a study which investigated the role of questions in students' approaches to learning mathematics at the secondary-tertiary interface, focussing on the enculturation of students at the University of Oxford. Use of the Mathematical Assessment Task Hierarchy taxonomy revealed A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics…

[Joint application of mathematic models in assessing the residual risk of hepatitis C virus transmitted through blood transfusion].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xun; Jia, Yao; Xie, Yun-zheng; Li, Xiu-mei; Liu, Xiao-ying; Wu, Xiao-fei

2011-09-01

The practicable and effective methods for residual risk assessment on transfusion-transmitted disease was to establish the mathematic models. Based on the characteristics of the repeat donors which donated their blood on a regular base, a model of sero-conversion during the interval of donations was established to assess the incidence of the repeat donors. Based on the characteristics of the prevalence in the population, a model of 'prevalence increased with the age of the donor' was established to assess the incidence of those first-time donors. And based on the impact of the windows period through blood screening program, a model of residual risk associated with the incidence and the length of the windows period was established to assess the residual risk of blood transfusion. In this paper, above said 3 kinds of mathematic models were jointly applied to assess the residual risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) which was transmitted through blood transfusion in Shanghai, based on data from the routine blood collection and screening program. All the anti-HCV unqualified blood donations were confirmed before assessment. Results showed that the residual risk of HCV transmitted through blood transfusion during Jan. 1(st), 2007 to Dec. 31(st), 2008 in Shanghai was 1:101 000. Data showed that the results of residual risk assessment with mathematic models was valuable. The residual risk of transfusion-transmitted HCV in Shanghai was at a safe level, according to the results in this paper.

Developing classroom formative assessment in dutch primary mathematics education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, M.; Harskamp, E.G.; Suhre, C.J.M.

2016-01-01

In the last two decades Dutch primary school students scored below expectation in international mathematics tests. An explanation for this may be that teachers fail to adequately assess their students’ understanding of learning goals and provide timely feedback. To improve the teachers’ formative

Core skills assessment to improve mathematical competency

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Carr, Michael; Bowe, Brian; Fhloinn, Eabhnat Ní

2013-12-01

Many engineering undergraduates begin third-level education with significant deficiencies in their core mathematical skills. Every year, in the Dublin Institute of Technology, a diagnostic test is given to incoming first-year students, consistently revealing problems in basic mathematics. It is difficult to motivate students to address these problems; instead, they struggle through their degree, carrying a serious handicap of poor core mathematical skills, as confirmed by exploratory testing of final year students. In order to improve these skills, a pilot project was set up in which a 'module' in core mathematics was developed. The course material was basic, but 90% or higher was required to pass. Students were allowed to repeat this module throughout the year by completing an automated examination on WebCT populated by a question bank. Subsequent to the success of this pilot with third-year mechanical engineering students, the project was extended to five different engineering programmes, across three different year-groups. Full results and analysis of this project are presented, including responses to interviews carried out with a selection of the students involved.

Open-Start Mathematics Problems: An Approach to Assessing Problem Solving

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Monaghan, John; Pool, Peter; Roper, Tom; Threlfall, John

2009-01-01

This article describes one type of mathematical problem, open-start problems, and discusses their potential for use in assessment. In open-start problems how one starts to address the problem can vary but they have a correct answer. We argue that the use of open-start problems in assessment could positively influence classroom mathematics…

Mathematical models of cancer and their use in risk assessment. Technical report No. 27

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whittemore, A.S.

1979-08-01

The sensitivity of risk predictions to certain assumptions in the underlying mathematical model is illustrated. To avoid the misleading and erroneous predictions that can result from the use of models incorporating assumptions whose validity is questionable, the following steps should be taken. First, state the assumptions used in a proposed model in terms that are clear to all who will use the model to assess risk. Second, assess the sensitivity of predictions to changes in model assumptions. Third, scrutinize pivotal assumptions in light of the best available human and animal data. Fourth, stress inconsistencies between model assumptions and experimental or epidemiological observations. The model fitting procedure will yield the most information when the data discriminates between theories because of their inconsistency with one or more assumptions. In this sense, mathematical theories are most successful when they fail. Finally, exclude value judgments from the quantitative procedures used to assess risk; instead include them explicitly in that part of the decision process concerned with cost-benefit analysis

Mathematics achievement of Serbian eighth grade students and characteristics of mathematics curriculum

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Antonijević Radovan M.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the main results and some educational implications of the TIMSS 2003 assessment conducted in Serbia, in the fields of mathematics achievement of Serbian eighth grade students and the mathematics curriculum context of their achievement. It was confirmed that Serbian eighth graders have made average scale score of 477 points, and with this achievement they are placed in the zone of intermediate international benchmarking level. The average mathematics achievement of the Serbian eighth graders is somewhat above the average international mathematics achievement. The best result was achieved in the content domain of "algebra", and the lower result in the content domains of "measurement" and "data". In the defined cognitive domains the Serbian students have achieved the best results in "solving routine problems" and "knowing facts and procedures", and the weaker result in "reasoning". Statistically significant difference was found in the mathematics achievement between girls and boys in the Serbian TIMSS 2003 sample, so the girls’ average scale score was 480 points and the same value for the boys was 473 points. The achieved results raise many questions about the contents of mathematics curriculum in Serbia, its quality and basic characteristics of its implementation. These results can be eligibly used to improve the mathematics curriculum and teaching in Serbian primary school.

Self-Assessment in Mathematics as Correlate of Performance of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between students self assessment in Mathematics and academic performance in Senior Secondary School Physics. The research is descriptive and of the survey type as there was no treatment and manipulation of subjects. Instead it involves the use of questionnaire ...

Use of mathematical modelling to assess the impact of vaccines on antibiotic resistance.

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Atkins, Katherine E; Lafferty, Erin I; Deeny, Sarah R; Davies, Nicholas G; Robotham, Julie V; Jit, Mark

2017-11-13

Antibiotic resistance is a major global threat to the provision of safe and effective health care. To control antibiotic resistance, vaccines have been proposed as an essential intervention, complementing improvements in diagnostic testing, antibiotic stewardship, and drug pipelines. The decision to introduce or amend vaccination programmes is routinely based on mathematical modelling. However, few mathematical models address the impact of vaccination on antibiotic resistance. We reviewed the literature using PubMed to identify all studies that used an original mathematical model to quantify the impact of a vaccine on antibiotic resistance transmission within a human population. We reviewed the models from the resulting studies in the context of a new framework to elucidate the pathways through which vaccination might impact antibiotic resistance. We identified eight mathematical modelling studies; the state of the literature highlighted important gaps in our understanding. Notably, studies are limited in the range of pathways represented, their geographical scope, and the vaccine-pathogen combinations assessed. Furthermore, to translate model predictions into public health decision making, more work is needed to understand how model structure and parameterisation affects model predictions and how to embed these predictions within economic frameworks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Authentic assessment based showcase portfolio on learning of mathematical problem solving in senior high school

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Sukmawati, Zuhairoh, Faihatuz

2017-05-01

The purpose of this research was to develop authentic assessment model based on showcase portfolio on learning of mathematical problem solving. This research used research and development Method (R & D) which consists of four stages of development that: Phase I, conducting a preliminary study. Phase II, determining the purpose of developing and preparing the initial model. Phase III, trial test of instrument for the initial draft model and the initial product. The respondents of this research are the students of SMAN 8 and SMAN 20 Makassar. The collection of data was through observation, interviews, documentation, student questionnaire, and instrument tests mathematical solving abilities. The data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of this research are authentic assessment model design based on showcase portfolio which involves: 1) Steps in implementing the authentic assessment based Showcase, assessment rubric of cognitive aspects, assessment rubric of affective aspects, and assessment rubric of skill aspect. 2) The average ability of the students' problem solving which is scored by using authentic assessment based on showcase portfolio was in high category and the students' response in good category.

Primary School Teachers’ Assessment Profiles in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Veldhuis, Michiel; van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to contribute to knowledge about classroom assessment by identifying profiles of teachers’ assessment of their students’ understanding of mathematics. For carrying out this study we used data of a nationwide teacher survey (N = 960) in the Netherlands. The data were collected by an online questionnaire. Through exploratory factor analyses the underlying structure of what is measured by this questionnaire was uncovered as consisting of five factors: Goal centeredness of assessment, Authentic nature of assessment, Perceived usefulness of assessment, Diversity of assessment problem format, and Allocated importance of assessing skills and knowledge. By using a latent class analysis four different assessment profiles of teachers were identified: Enthusiastic assessors, Mainstream assessors, Non-enthusiastic assessors, and Alternative assessors. The findings suggest that teachers with particular assessment profiles have qualitatively different assessment practices. The paper concludes with discussing theoretical implications of these assessment profiles and indications these profiles can offer both for designing material for professional development in classroom assessment and for evaluating changes in teachers’ classroom assessment practice. PMID:24466255

Primary school teachers' assessment profiles in mathematics education.

Science.gov (United States)

Veldhuis, Michiel; van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, Marja

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to contribute to knowledge about classroom assessment by identifying profiles of teachers' assessment of their students' understanding of mathematics. For carrying out this study we used data of a nationwide teacher survey (N = 960) in the Netherlands. The data were collected by an online questionnaire. Through exploratory factor analyses the underlying structure of what is measured by this questionnaire was uncovered as consisting of five factors: Goal centeredness of assessment, Authentic nature of assessment, Perceived usefulness of assessment, Diversity of assessment problem format, and Allocated importance of assessing skills and knowledge. By using a latent class analysis four different assessment profiles of teachers were identified: Enthusiastic assessors, Mainstream assessors, Non-enthusiastic assessors, and Alternative assessors. The findings suggest that teachers with particular assessment profiles have qualitatively different assessment practices. The paper concludes with discussing theoretical implications of these assessment profiles and indications these profiles can offer both for designing material for professional development in classroom assessment and for evaluating changes in teachers' classroom assessment practice.

Primary school teachers' assessment profiles in mathematics education.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michiel Veldhuis

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to contribute to knowledge about classroom assessment by identifying profiles of teachers' assessment of their students' understanding of mathematics. For carrying out this study we used data of a nationwide teacher survey (N = 960 in the Netherlands. The data were collected by an online questionnaire. Through exploratory factor analyses the underlying structure of what is measured by this questionnaire was uncovered as consisting of five factors: Goal centeredness of assessment, Authentic nature of assessment, Perceived usefulness of assessment, Diversity of assessment problem format, and Allocated importance of assessing skills and knowledge. By using a latent class analysis four different assessment profiles of teachers were identified: Enthusiastic assessors, Mainstream assessors, Non-enthusiastic assessors, and Alternative assessors. The findings suggest that teachers with particular assessment profiles have qualitatively different assessment practices. The paper concludes with discussing theoretical implications of these assessment profiles and indications these profiles can offer both for designing material for professional development in classroom assessment and for evaluating changes in teachers' classroom assessment practice.

Systematic Assessment Through Mathematical Model For Sustainability Reporting In Malaysia Context

Science.gov (United States)

Lanang, Wan Nurul Syahirah Wan; Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina

2017-08-01

Sustainability assessment have been studied and increasingly recognized as a powerful and valuable tool to measure the performance of sustainability in a company or industry. Nowadays, there are many existing tools that the users can use for sustainable development. There are various initiatives exists on tools for sustainable development, though most of the tools focused on environmental, economy and social aspects. Using the Green Project Management (GPM) P5 concept that suggests the firms not only needs to engage in mainly 3Ps principle: planet, profit, people responsible behaviours, but also, product and process need to be included in the practices, this study will introduce a new mathematical model for assessing the level of sustainability practice in the company. Based on multiple case studies, involving in-depth interviews with senior directors, feedback from experts, and previous engineering report, a systematic approach is done with the aims to obtain the respective data from the feedbacks and to be developed into a new mathematical model. By reviewing on the methodology of this research it comprises of several phases where it starts with the analyzation of the parameters and criteria selection according to the Malaysian context of industry. Moving on to the next step is data analysis involving regression and finally the normalisation process will be done to determine the result of this research either succeeded or not. Lastly, this study is expected to provide a clear guideline to any company or organization to assimilate the sustainability assessment in their development stage. In future, the better understanding towards the sustainability assessment is attained to be aligned unitedly in order to integrated the process approach into the systematic approach for the sustainability assessment.

The Relationship between Studying Music and Mathematics Performance on the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Prokop, Kristie L.

2011-01-01

On assessments such as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999) and Program for International Assessment (PISA) ("PISA 2006 Science Competencies for Tomorrow's World", 2007) students in the United States have not been performing as well in mathematics as students in other countries. In…

Increased environmental sensitivity in high mathematics performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schwabe, I.; Boomsma, D. I.; van den Berg, S. M.

2017-01-01

Results of international comparisons of students in studies such as PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) are often taken to indicate that mathematical education in Dutch schools is not appropriate for mathematically

Mathematics Beliefs, Instructional Strategies, and Algebra Achievement of Adolescent Students in Japan: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

House, J. Daniel

2006-01-01

An important area for the application of instructional design is the development of effective teaching strategies for mathematics. Activities that include the use of computers, cooperative learning, and active learning materials are associated with mathematics achievement. Student self-beliefs are also significantly related to mathematics…

Assessing the Internal Dynamics of Mathematical Problem Solving in Small Groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Artzt, Alice F.; Armour-Thomas, Eleanor

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the problem-solving behaviors and perceptions of (n=27) seventh-grade students as they worked on solving a mathematical problem within a small-group setting. An assessment system was developed that allowed for this analysis. To assess problem-solving behaviors within a small group a Group…

"Fair" Mathematics in Assessing Delictual Damages

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L Steynberg

2011-05-01

Full Text Available In assessing delictual damages the plaintiff is burdened with the duty to prove loss with a preponderance of probability, including uncertain future loss. In quantifying such a claim an actuary is often used to make actuarial calculations based on proven facts and realistic assumptions regarding the future. The role of the actuary is to guide the court in the calculations to be made. Relying on its wide judicial discretion the court will have the final say regarding the correctness of the assumptions on which these calculations are based. The court should give detailed reasons if any assumptions or parts of the calculations made by the actuary are rejected. It should preferably refrain from making its own calculations if an actuary is involved and should rather instruct the actuary to do recalculations if necessary. It does, however, fall within the wide discretion of the court to make a general contingency adjustment after the basic calculations have been accepted. In assessing delictual damages it is the duty of the court to ensure that both objective and subjective factors are considered in such a manner that the assessment may be regarded as an application of "fair" mathematics.

Results of Third-Grade Students in a Reform Curriculum on the Illinois State Mathematics Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, William M.

1997-01-01

Reports on the results of the reform curriculum of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project's elementary curriculum, Everyday Mathematics, for third-grade students. Results included the fact that only 2% of UCSMP students failed to meet state goals. UCSMP students also scored well in all mathematical areas including number skills and…

Ability Of Mathematical Reasoning in SMK 10th Grade with LAPS- Heuristic using Performance Assessment

OpenAIRE

Aulia Nur Arivina; Masrukan Masrukan; Ardhi Prabowo

2017-01-01

The purposes of this research are: (1) Test the learning with LAPS-Heuristic model using performance assessment on 10th grade of Trigonometry material is complete, (2) to test the difference of students' mathematical reasoning ability on 10th grade of Trigonometry material between the learning model of LAPS-Heuristic using performance assessment, LAPS-Heuristic learning model with Expository learning model, (3) test the ability of mathematical reasoning with learning model of LAPS-Heuristik o...

The implementation of skill assessment by the educators on the mathematics learning process in senior high school

Science.gov (United States)

Lestariani, I.; Sujadi, I.; Pramudya, I.

2018-03-01

The purpose of research to describe and know the implementation of skill assessment on the mathematics learning process with the high school mathematics teacher as the subject because it is less fully implemented. This research is the type of the descriptive qualitative method. The data was collecting observation method, interview and documentation. The result showed that on the planning stage of the implementation of skill assessment, there were many teachers who had not prepared all the completeness with various assessment techniques through performance, project and portfolio. The teacher was prepared the list of questions. On the implementation stage, there were many teachers who had not understand the stage of completing the assessment with the appropriate instrument method and development. On the reporting stage, discovered that teachers faced the difficulty on preparing scoring report with the range value. Aside from that, the teachers had not prepared the assessment instrument very well on the planning stage. It can be concluded that the implementation of skill assessment has been implemented but not maximally because educators don’t understand about the skill assessment and the number of instrument that must be prepared before the assessment.

Methodology and Results of Mathematical Modelling of Complex Technological Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Mokrova, Nataliya V.

2018-03-01

The methodology of system analysis allows us to draw a mathematical model of the complex technological process. The mathematical description of the plasma-chemical process was proposed. The importance the quenching rate and initial temperature decrease time was confirmed for producing the maximum amount of the target product. The results of numerical integration of the system of differential equations can be used to describe reagent concentrations, plasma jet rate and temperature in order to achieve optimal mode of hardening. Such models are applicable both for solving control problems and predicting future states of sophisticated technological systems.

An assessment of Mathematics self – efficacy of secondary school ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study examined an assessment of mathematics self-efficacy of secondary school students in Osun State. It drawn on 500 students comprising 250 males and 250 females randomly selected from 5 secondary schools in Osogbo. Their ages range between 11-17 years with a mean age of 14 years and a standard ...

Unfolding the assessment process in a whole class mathematics setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radišić Jelena

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Assessment activities in the class are an important aspect of classroom practice, while there is much debate with respect to the formative vs. summative assessment routines and the outcomes that each of them provides for students' learning. As classroom assessment does not occur in seclusion of other aspects of classroom life, the process is seen as rather complex. In this study we wished to explore how assessment serves the function of supporting students' learning and whether this evidence is used to adapt teacher's practices in meeting different learning needs in the mathematics classroom. The authors observed assessment practices of an experienced math teacher in a grammar school in Belgrade. Teacher's assessment practices were observed during a three week period. The analysis has shown the teacher to hold a somewhat complex perception of assessment, yet the perception is largely detached from teaching, which is in line with the previously reported results. However, the elements of formative assessment do emerge, thus contributing to the assessment being in service of learning. In spite of this, a narrow set of practices are visible when observing how the teacher keeps track of students' progress. A mismatch is visible between students' and teacher's perceptions of the assessment as a whole and some of the practices exercised in the process. The teacher struggled to verbalize some aspects of own assessment practices, especially those related to more formative aspects.

What Form of Mathematics Are Assessments Assessing? The Case of Multiplication and Division in Fourth Grade NAEP Items

Science.gov (United States)

Kosko Karl W.; Singh, Rashmi

2018-01-01

Multiplicative reasoning is a key concept in elementary school mathematics. Item statistics reported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment provide the best current indicator for how well elementary students across the U.S. understand this, and other concepts. However, beyond expert reviews and statistical analysis,…

Mainstreaming Remedial Mathematics Students in Introductory Statistics: Results Using a Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Logue, Alexandra W.; Watanabe-Rose, Mari

2014-01-01

This study used a randomized controlled trial to determine whether students, assessed by their community colleges as needing an elementary algebra (remedial) mathematics course, could instead succeed at least as well in a college-level, credit-bearing introductory statistics course with extra support (a weekly workshop). Researchers randomly…

Teachers' use of classroom assessment in primary school mathematics education in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldhuis, M.; van den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M.; Vermeulen, Jorine; Eggen, Theodorus Johannes Hendrikus Maria

2013-01-01

This paper reports on a survey of the classroom assessment practices of Dutch primary school teachers in mathematics education. We investigated, using an online questionnaire, how teachers collect information on their studentś progress and how teacherś assessment methods, purposes, and beliefs about

The Construction of Mathematical Literacy Problems for Geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Malasari, P. N.; Herman, T.; Jupri, A.

2017-09-01

The students of junior high school should have mathematical literacy ability to formulate, apply, and interpret mathematics in problem solving of daily life. Teaching these students are not enough by giving them ordinary mathematics problems. Teaching activities for these students brings consequence for teacher to construct mathematical literacy problems. Therefore, the aim of this study is to construct mathematical literacy problems to assess mathematical literacy ability. The steps of this study that consists of analysing, designing, theoretical validation, revising, limited testing to students, and evaluating. The data was collected with written test to 38 students of grade IX at one of state junior high school. Mathematical literacy problems consist of three essays with three indicators and three levels at polyhedron subject. The Indicators are formulating and employing mathematics. The results show that: (1) mathematical literacy problems which are constructed have been valid and practical, (2) mathematical literacy problems have good distinguishing characteristics and adequate distinguishing characteristics, (3) difficulty levels of problems are easy and moderate. The final conclusion is mathematical literacy problems which are constructed can be used to assess mathematical literacy ability.

Assessing Journal Quality in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Nivens, Ryan Andrew; Otten, Samuel

2017-01-01

In this Research Commentary, we describe 3 journal metrics--the Web of Science's Impact Factor, Scopus's SCImago Journal Rank, and Google Scholar Metrics' h5-index--and compile the rankings (if they exist) for 69 mathematics education journals. We then discuss 2 paths that the mathematics education community should consider with regard to these…

Becoming a Reflective Mathematics Teacher: A Guide for Observations and Self-Assessment. Studies in Mathematical Thinking and Learning Series.

Science.gov (United States)

Artzt, Alice F.; Armour-Thomas, Eleanor

This activity-oriented book for preservice mathematics teachers who are taking methods courses or who have been student teaching offers a framework for teacher reflection and self- assessment. It supplies detailed observation instruments for observing other teachers, reflective activities, and guidelines and instruments for supervisors. There are…

Mathematical simulation for safety assessment of nuclear waste repositories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandstetter, A.; Raymond, J.R.; Benson, G.L.

1979-01-01

Mathematical models are being developed as part of the Waste Isolation Safety Assessment Program (WISAP) for assessing the post-closure safety of nuclear waste storage in geologic formations. The objective of this program is to develop the methods and data necessary to determine potential events that might disrupt the integrity of a waste repository and provide pathways for radionuclides to reach the bioshpere, primarily through groundwater transport. Four categories of mathematical models are being developed to assist in the analysis of potential release scenarios and consequences: (1) release scenario analysis models; (2) groundwater flow models; (3) contaminant transport models; and (4) radiation dose models. The development of the release scenario models is in a preliminary stage; the last three categories of models are fully operational. The release scenario models determine the bounds of potential future hydrogeologic changes, including potentially disruptive events. The groundwater flow and contaminant transport models compute the flowpaths, travel times, and concentrations of radionuclides that might migrate from a repository in the event of a breach and potentially reach the biosphere. The dose models compute the radiation doses to future populations. Reference site analyses are in progress to test the models for application to different geologies, including salt domes, bedded salt, and basalt

Confidence in Mathematics and Algebra Achievement of Eighth-Grade Students in Japan: Findings from the TIMSS 2011 Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

House, J. Daniel; Telese, James A.

2014-01-01

There is continuing interest in the identification of student and instructional factors associated with the mathematics achievement of students in Japan. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments have provided opportunities to examine factors associated with mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study was…

Teaching mathematics to non-mathematicians

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Triantafyllou, Evangelia; Timcenko, Olga

2017-01-01

Over the past years, a number of engineering programs have arisen that transcend the division between technical, scientific and art-related disciplines. Media Technology at Aalborg University, Denmark is such an engineering program. In relation to mathematics education, this new development has...... changed the way mathematics is applied in practice and is taught in these disciplines. This paper discusses a doctoral dissertation that investigated and assessed interventions to increase student motivation and engagement in mathematics among Media Technology students. The results of this dissertation...

A Diagnostic Comparison of Turkish and Korean Students’ Mathematics Performances on the TIMSS 2011 Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sedat Şen

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present study was to analyze an international large-scale data set using a cognitive assessment approach. Although some researchers question the usefulness of international large-scale assessments (e.g., TIMSS, participating countries have continued to use the results from these large-scale assessments to improve their curricula and teaching methods. Despite the common reporting practice—single-score—in these large scale assessments gives useful insights about students’ overall performances, they still lack diagnostic information. Cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs were developed to provide more feedback on students’ cognitive strengths and weaknesses. This study retrofitted the TIMSS 2011 eighth grade mathematics assessment by applying a specific CDM called the DINA (the deterministic, inputs, noisy, “and” gate model to data from South Korea and Turkey. Results of the DINA model were used to make a detailed comparison between students of these two countries.

Using video games to combine learning and assessment in mathematics education

OpenAIRE

Kristian Juha Mikael Kiili; Keith Devlin; Arttu Perttula; Pauliina Tuomi; Antero Lindstedt

2015-01-01

One problem with most education systems is that learning and (summative) assessment are generally treated as quite separate things in schools. We argue that video games can provide an opportunity to combine these processes in an engaging and effective way. The present study focuses on investigating the effectiveness and the assessment power of two different mathematics video games, Semideus and Wuzzit Trouble. In the current study, we validated the Semideus game as a rational number test inst...

Silver release from nanocomposite Ag/alginate hydrogels in the presence of chloride ions: experimental results and mathematical modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kostic, Danijela, E-mail: dkostic@tmf.bg.ac.rs [Innovation Center of the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy (Serbia); Vidovic, Srđan, E-mail: srdjanhi@gmail.com; Obradovic, Bojana, E-mail: bojana@tmf.bg.ac.rs [University of Belgrade, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy (Serbia)

2016-03-15

A stepwise experimental and mathematical modeling approach was used to assess silver release from nanocomposite Ag/alginate microbeads in wet and dried forms into water and into normal saline solution chosen as a simplified model for certain biological fluids (e.g., blood plasma, wound exudates, sweat, etc). Three phenomena were connected and mathematically described: diffusion of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within the alginate hydrogel, AgNP oxidation/dissolution and reaction with chloride ions, and diffusion of the resultant silver-chloride species. Mathematical modeling results agreed well with the experimental data with the AgNP diffusion coefficient estimated as 1.3 × 10{sup −18} m{sup 2} s{sup −1}, while the first-order kinetic rate constant of AgNP oxidation/dissolution and diffusivity of silver-chloride species were shown to be inversely related. In specific, rapid rehydration and swelling of dry Ag/alginate microbeads induced fast AgNP oxidation/dissolution reaction with Cl{sup −} and AgCl precipitation within the microbeads with the lowest diffusivity of silver-chloride species compared to wet microbeads in normal saline. The proposed mathematical model provided an insight into the phenomena related to silver release from nanocomposite Ca-alginate hydrogels relevant for use of antimicrobial devices and established, at the same time, a basis for further in-depth studies of AgNP interactions in hydrogels in the presence of chloride ions.

Mathematics Objectives and Measurement Specifications 1986-1990. Exit Level. Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS).

Science.gov (United States)

Texas Education Agency, Austin. Div. of Educational Assessment.

This document lists the objectives for the Texas educational assessment program in mathematics. Eighteen objectives for exit level mathematics are listed, by category: number concepts (4); computation (3); applied computation (5); statistical concepts (3); geometric concepts (2); and algebraic concepts (1). Then general specifications are listed…

Mathematical modelling of the process of quality control of construction products

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Pogorelov Vadim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The study presents the results of years of research in the field of quality management of industrial production construction production, based on mathematical modelling techniques, process and results of implementing the developed programme of monitoring and quality control in the production process of the enterprise. The aim of this work is the presentation of scientific community of the practical results of mathematical modelling in application programs. In the course of the research addressed the description of the applied mathematical models, views, practical results of its application in the applied field to assess quality control. The authors used this mathematical model in practice. The article presents the results of applying this model. The authors developed the experimental software management and quality assessment by using mathematical modeling methods. The authors continue research in this direction to improve the diagnostic systems and quality management systems based on mathematical modeling methods prognostic and diagnostic processes.

Assessment Mathematics Teacher's Competencies

Science.gov (United States)

Alnoor, A. G.; Yuanxiang, Guo; Abudhuim, F. S.

2007-01-01

This paper aimed to identifying the professional efficiencies for the intermediate schools mathematics teachers and tries to know at what level the math teachers experience those competencies. The researcher used a descriptive research approach, the study data collected from specialist educators and teacher's experts and previous studies to…

Using the Mixture Rasch Model to Explore Knowledge Resources Students Invoke in Mathematic and Science Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Danhui; Orrill, Chandra; Campbell, Todd

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether mixture Rasch models followed by qualitative item-by-item analysis of selected Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) mathematics and science items offered insight into knowledge students invoke in mathematics and science separately and combined. The researchers administered an…

Behavioral Executive Functions Among Adolescents With Mathematics Difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Marja E; Aunio, Pirjo; Björn, Piia M; Klenberg, Liisa; Korhonen, Johan; Hannula, Markku S

2017-07-01

This study investigates behavioral executive functions (EFs) in the mathematics classroom context among adolescents with different mathematics performance levels. The EF problems were assessed by teachers using a behavioral rating inventory. Using cutoff scores on a standardized mathematics assessment, groups with mathematics difficulties (MD; n = 124), low mathematics performance (LA; n = 140), and average or higher scores (AC; n = 355) were identified. Results showed that the MD group had more problems with distractibility, directing attention, shifting attention, initiative, execution of action, planning, and evaluation than the LA group, whereas the differences in hyperactivity, impulsivity, and sustaining attention were not significant. Compared to the AC group, the MD group showed more problems with all behavioral EFs except hyperactivity and impulsivity, while the LA group showed more problems only with shifting attention. Male adolescents showed more behavioral EF problems than female adolescents, but this gender difference was negligible within the MD group. The practical implications of the results are discussed.

Assessment of Primary 5 Students' Mathematical Modelling Competencies

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Chun Ming Eric; Ng, Kit Ee Dawn; Widjaja, Wanty; Seto, Cynthia

2012-01-01

Mathematical modelling is increasingly becoming part of an instructional approach deemed to develop students with competencies to function as 21st century learners and problem solvers. As mathematical modelling is a relatively new domain in the Singapore primary school mathematics curriculum, many teachers may not be aware of the learning outcomes…

Why do early mathematics skills predict later reading? The role of mathematical language.

Science.gov (United States)

Purpura, David J; Logan, Jessica A R; Hassinger-Das, Brenna; Napoli, Amy R

2017-09-01

A growing body of evidence indicates that the development of mathematics and literacy skills is highly related. The importance of literacy skills-specifically language-for mathematics development has been well rationalized. However, despite several prominent studies indicating that mathematics skills are highly predictive of literacy development, the reason for this relation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify how and why early mathematics is predictive of early literacy development. Participants included 125 preschool children 3-5 years old (M = 4 years 3 months). Participants were assessed on mathematics, literacy, and cognitive measures in both the fall and spring of their preschool year. Mediation analyses indicated that the relation between early mathematics and literacy skills is mediated by children's mathematical language skills. These findings suggest that, in prior research identifying mathematical performance as a significant predictor of later literacy skills, mathematical performance may have acted only as a proxy measure for more complex language skills such as those assessed on a mathematical language measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Mathematical operations in cytogenetic dosimetry: Dosgen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia L, O.; Zequera J, T.

1996-01-01

Handling of formulas and mathematical procedures for fitting and using of dose-response relationships in cytogenetic dosimetry is often difficulted by the absence of collaborators specialized in mathematics and computation. DOSGEN program contains the main mathematical operations which are used in cytogenetic dosimetry. It is able to run in IBM compatible Pc's by non-specialized personnel.The program possibilities are: Poisson distribution fitting test for the number of aberration per cell, dose assessment for whole body irradiation, dose assessment for partial irradiation and determination of irradiated fraction. The program allows on screen visualization and printing of results. DOSGEN has been developed in turbo pascal and is 33Kb of size. (authors). 4 refs

Mathematical Safety Assessment Approaches for Thermal Power Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zong-Xiao Yang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available How to use system analysis methods to identify the hazards in the industrialized process, working environment, and production management for complex industrial processes, such as thermal power plants, is one of the challenges in the systems engineering. A mathematical system safety assessment model is proposed for thermal power plants in this paper by integrating fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, set pair analysis, and system functionality analysis. In the basis of those, the key factors influencing the thermal power plant safety are analyzed. The influence factors are determined based on fuzzy analytical hierarchy process. The connection degree among the factors is obtained by set pair analysis. The system safety preponderant function is constructed through system functionality analysis for inherence properties and nonlinear influence. The decision analysis system is developed by using active server page technology, web resource integration, and cross-platform capabilities for applications to the industrialized process. The availability of proposed safety assessment approach is verified by using an actual thermal power plant, which has improved the enforceability and predictability in enterprise safety assessment.

Mathematical modeling of ignition of woodlands resulted from accident on the pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Perminov, V. A.; Loboda, E. L.; Reyno, V. V.

2014-11-01

Accidents occurring at the sites of pipelines, accompanied by environmental damage, economic loss, and sometimes loss of life. In this paper we calculated the sizes of the possible ignition zones in emergency situations on pipelines located close to the forest, accompanied by the appearance of fireballs. In this paper, using the method of mathematical modeling calculates the maximum size of the ignition zones of vegetation as a result of accidental releases of flammable substances. The paper suggested in the context of the general mathematical model of forest fires give a new mathematical setting and method of numerical solution of a problem of a forest fire modeling. The boundary-value problem is solved numerically using the method of splitting according to physical processes. The dependences of the size of the forest fuel for different amounts of leaked flammable substances and moisture content of vegetation.

The measurement of enhancement in mathematical abilities as a result of joint cognitive trainings in numerical and visual- spatial skills: A preliminary study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agus, M; Mascia, M L; Fastame, M C; Melis, V; Pilloni, M C; Penna, M P

2015-01-01

A body of literature shows the significant role of visual-spatial skills played in the improvement of mathematical skills in the primary school. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of a combined visuo-spatial and mathematical training on the improvement of mathematical skills in 146 second graders of several schools located in Italy. Participants were presented single pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial or mathematical trainings, computerised version of the above mentioned treatments, as well as a combined version of computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings, respectively. Experimental groups were presented with training for 3 months, once a week. All children were treated collectively both in computer-assisted or pencil-and-paper modalities. At pre and post-test all our participants were presented with a battery of objective tests assessing numerical and visuo-spatial abilities. Our results suggest the positive effect of different types of training for the empowerment of visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. Specifically, the combination of computerised and pencil-and-paper versions of visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings are more effective than the single execution of the software or of the pencil-and-paper treatment

The measurement of enhancement in mathematical abilities as a result of joint cognitive trainings in numerical and visual- spatial skills: A preliminary study

Science.gov (United States)

Agus, M.; Mascia, M. L.; Fastame, M. C.; Melis, V.; Pilloni, M. C.; Penna, M. P.

2015-02-01

A body of literature shows the significant role of visual-spatial skills played in the improvement of mathematical skills in the primary school. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of a combined visuo-spatial and mathematical training on the improvement of mathematical skills in 146 second graders of several schools located in Italy. Participants were presented single pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial or mathematical trainings, computerised version of the above mentioned treatments, as well as a combined version of computer-assisted and pencil-and-paper visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings, respectively. Experimental groups were presented with training for 3 months, once a week. All children were treated collectively both in computer-assisted or pencil-and-paper modalities. At pre and post-test all our participants were presented with a battery of objective tests assessing numerical and visuo-spatial abilities. Our results suggest the positive effect of different types of training for the empowerment of visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. Specifically, the combination of computerised and pencil-and-paper versions of visuo-spatial and mathematical trainings are more effective than the single execution of the software or of the pencil-and-paper treatment.

Mathematics Teachers' Response to the Reform Agenda: Results of the 1993 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Iris R.

The NCTM Standards call for the introduction of challenging mathematics content for all students beginning in the early grades. If teachers are to guide students in their exploration of mathematics concepts, they must themselves have a firm grasp of powerful mathematics concepts. This paper uses data from the 1993 National Survey of Science and…

Competence with fractions predicts gains in mathematics achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Drew H; Hoard, Mary K; Nugent, Lara; Geary, David C

2012-11-01

Competence with fractions predicts later mathematics achievement, but the codevelopmental pattern between fractions knowledge and mathematics achievement is not well understood. We assessed this codevelopment through examination of the cross-lagged relation between a measure of conceptual knowledge of fractions and mathematics achievement in sixth and seventh grades (N=212). The cross-lagged effects indicated that performance on the sixth grade fractions concepts measure predicted 1-year gains in mathematics achievement (ß=.14, pmathematics achievement did not predict gains on the fractions concepts measure (ß=.03, p>.50). In a follow-up assessment, we demonstrated that measures of fluency with computational fractions significantly predicted seventh grade mathematics achievement above and beyond the influence of fluency in computational whole number arithmetic, performance on number fluency and number line tasks, central executive span, and intelligence. Results provide empirical support for the hypothesis that competence with fractions underlies, in part, subsequent gains in mathematics achievement. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Licensure tests for special education teachers: how well they assess knowledge of reading instruction and mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Stotsky, Sandra

2009-01-01

To determine the extent to which knowledge of evidence-based reading instruction and mathematics is assessed on licensure tests for prospective special education teachers, this study drew on information provided by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, and National Evaluation Systems (now Evaluation Systems group of Pearson). It estimated the percentage of test items on phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary knowledge and on mathematics content. It also analyzed descriptions of ETS's tests of "principles of teaching and learning." Findings imply that prospective special education teachers should be required to take both a dedicated test of evidence-based reading instructional knowledge, as in California, Massachusetts, and Virginia, and a test of mathematical knowledge, as in Massachusetts. States must design their own tests of teaching principles to assess knowledge of evidence-based educational theories.

Wind tunnel modeling of roadways: Comparison with mathematical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heidorn, K.; Davies, A.E.; Murphy, M.C.

1991-01-01

The assessment of air quality impacts from roadways is a major concern to urban planners. In order to assess future road and building configurations, a number of techniques have been developed including mathematical models, which simulate traffic emissions and atmospheric dispersion through a series of mathematical relationships and physical models. The latter models simulate emissions and dispersion through scaling of these processes in a wind tunnel. Two roadway mathematical models, HIWAY-2 and CALINE-4, were applied to a proposed development in a large urban area. Physical modeling procedures developed by Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc. (RWDI) in the form of line source simulators were also applied, and the resulting carbon monoxide concentrations were compared. The results indicated a factor of two agreement between the mathematical and physical models. The physical model, however, reacted to change in building massing and configuration. The mathematical models did not, since no provision for such changes was included in the mathematical models. In general, the RWDI model resulted in higher concentrations than either HIWAY-2 or CALINE-4. Where there was underprediction, it was often due to shielding of the receptor by surrounding buildings. Comparison of these three models with the CALTRANS Tracer Dispersion Experiment showed good results although concentrations were consistently underpredicted

Digital Educational Games and Mathematics. Results of a Case Study in Primary School Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Fokides, Emmanuel

2018-01-01

The study presents the results of a project in which a series of digital games were used for teaching Mathematics to first, fourth, and sixth-grade primary school students (ages 6-7, 8-9, and 11-12). Mathematics was selected as the teaching subject because of the difficulties students face in understanding basic math concepts. Although digital…

Online Mathematics Homework Increases Student Achievement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Roschelle

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In a randomized field trial with 2,850 seventh-grade mathematics students, we evaluated whether an educational technology intervention increased mathematics learning. Assigning homework is common yet sometimes controversial. Building on prior research on formative assessment and adaptive teaching, we predicted that combining an online homework tool with teacher training could increase learning. The online tool ASSISTments (a provides timely feedback and hints to students as they do homework and (b gives teachers timely, organized information about students’ work. To test this prediction, we analyzed data from 43 schools that participated in a random assignment experiment in Maine, a state that provides every seventh-grade student with a laptop to take home. Results showed that the intervention significantly increased student scores on an end-of-the-year standardized mathematics assessment as compared with a control group that continued with existing homework practices. Students with low prior mathematics achievement benefited most. The intervention has potential for wider adoption.

Examining the Relationships among Mathematics Coaches and Specialists, Student Achievement, and Disability Status: A Multilevel Analysis Using National Assessment of Educational Progress Data

Science.gov (United States)

Harbour, Kristin E.; Adelson, Jill L.; Pittard, Caroline M.; Karp, Karen S.

2018-01-01

Using restricted-use data from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessment, the current study examined the relationship between the presence of elementary mathematics coaches and specialists (MCSs) and the mathematics achievement of more than 190,000 fourth-grade students in more than 7,400 schools nationwide. In…

The Language Factor in Elementary Mathematics Assessments: Computational Skills and Applied Problem Solving in a Multidimensional IRT Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Hickendorff, Marian

2013-01-01

The results of an exploratory study into measurement of elementary mathematics ability are presented. The focus is on the abilities involved in solving standard computation problems on the one hand and problems presented in a realistic context on the other. The objectives were to assess to what extent these abilities are shared or distinct, and…

Caries assessment: establishing mathematical link of clinical and benchtop method

Science.gov (United States)

Amaechi, Bennett T.

2009-02-01

It is well established that the development of new technologies for early detection and quantitative monitoring of dental caries at its early stage could provide health and economic benefits ranging from timely preventive interventions to reduction of the time required for clinical trials of anti-caries agents. However, the new technologies currently used in clinical setting cannot assess and monitor caries using the actual mineral concentration within the lesion, while a laboratory-based microcomputed tomography (MCT) has been shown to possess this capability. Thus we envision the establishment of mathematical equations relating the measurements of each of the clinical technologies to that of MCT will enable the mineral concentration of lesions detected and assessed in clinical practice to be extrapolated from the equation, and this will facilitate preventitive care in dentistry to lower treatment cost. We utilize MCT and the two prominent clinical caries assessment devices (Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence [QLF] and Diagnodent) to longitudinally monitor the development of caries in a continuous flow mixed-organisms biofilm model (artificial mouth), and then used the collected data to establish mathematical equation relating the measurements of each of the clinical technologies to that of MCT. A linear correlation was observed between the measurements of MicroCT and that of QLF and Diagnodent. Thus mineral density in a carious lesion detected and measured using QLF or Diagnodent can be extrapolated using the developed equation. This highlights the usefulness of MCT for monitoring the progress of an early caries being treated with therapeutic agents in clinical practice or trials.

THE CASE STUDY TASKS AS A BASIS FOR THE FUND OF THE ASSESSMENT TOOLS AT THE MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS FOR THE DIRECTION 01.03.02 APPLIED MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Aleksandrovna Kirillova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The modern reform of the Russian higher education involves the implementation of competence-based approach, the main idea of which is the practical orientation of education. Mathematics is a universal language of description, modeling and studies of phenomena and processes of different nature. Therefore creating the fund of assessment tools for mathematical disciplines based on the applied problems is actual. The case method is the most appropriate mean of monitoring the learning outcomes, it is aimed at bridging the gap between theory and practice.The aim of the research is the development of methodical materials for the creating the fund of assessment tools that are based on the case-study for the mathematical analisis for direction «Applied Mathematics and Computer Science». The aim follows from the contradiction between the need for the introduction of case-method in the educational process in high school and the lack of study of the theoretical foundations of using of this method as applied to mathematical disciplines, insufficient theoretical basis and the description of the process of creating case-problems for use their in the monitoring of the learning outcomes.

Developing a Multi-Dimensional Early Elementary Mathematics Screener and Diagnostic Tool: The Primary Mathematics Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Brendefur, Jonathan L.; Johnson, Evelyn S.; Thiede, Keith W.; Strother, Sam; Severson, Herb H.

2018-01-01

There is a critical need to identify primary level students experiencing difficulties in mathematics to provide immediate and targeted instruction that remediates their deficits. However, most early math screening instruments focus only on the concept of number, resulting in inadequate and incomplete information for teachers to design intervention…

Implementing Computer Algebra Enabled Questions for the Assessment and Learning of Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Sangwin, Christopher J.; Naismith, Laura

2008-01-01

We present principles for the design of an online system to support computer algebra enabled questions for use within the teaching and learning of mathematics in higher education. The introduction of a computer algebra system (CAS) into a computer aided assessment (CAA) system affords sophisticated response processing of student provided answers.…

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ATTITUDES AND OUTCOMES OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN DEVELOPMENTAL BASIC MATHEMATICS CLASSES AT PRINCE GEORGE'S COMMUNITY COLLEGE

OpenAIRE

Bassette, Lorraine Pratt

2004-01-01

The purposes of this study were to assess the effect of the initial and exiting attitudes toward mathematics and academic outcomes of students placed in the Developmental Mathematics Basic Arithmetic course at a community college in Maryland. Major research questions included were: (1) What is the difference, if any, between the pretest and posttest attitudes toward mathematics of students placed in Basic Arithmetic as measured by the Aiken Mathematics Attitude Survey? (...

Mathematical model for water quality impact assessment and its computer application in coal mine water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundararajan, M.; Chakraborty, M.K.; Gupta, J.P.; Saxena, N.C.; Dhar, B.B.

1994-01-01

This paper presents a mathematical model to assess the Water Quality Impact in coal mine or in river system by accurate and rational method. Algorithm, flowchart and computer programme have been developed upon this model to assess the quality of coal mine water. 3 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

Theoretical Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Stöltzner, Michael

Answering to the double-faced influence of string theory on mathematical practice and rigour, the mathematical physicists Arthur Jaffe and Frank Quinn have contemplated the idea that there exists a `theoretical' mathematics (alongside `theoretical' physics) whose basic structures and results still require independent corroboration by mathematical proof. In this paper, I shall take the Jaffe-Quinn debate mainly as a problem of mathematical ontology and analyse it against the backdrop of two philosophical views that are appreciative towards informal mathematical development and conjectural results: Lakatos's methodology of proofs and refutations and John von Neumann's opportunistic reading of Hilbert's axiomatic method. The comparison of both approaches shows that mitigating Lakatos's falsificationism makes his insights about mathematical quasi-ontology more relevant to 20th century mathematics in which new structures are introduced by axiomatisation and not necessarily motivated by informal ancestors. The final section discusses the consequences of string theorists' claim to finality for the theory's mathematical make-up. I argue that ontological reductionism as advocated by particle physicists and the quest for mathematically deeper axioms do not necessarily lead to identical results.

Exploring mathematics anxiety and attitude: Mathematics students' experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Sahri, Nurul Ashikin; Kamaruzaman, Wan Nur Farahdalila Wan; Jamil, Jastini Mohd.; Shaharanee, Izwan Nizal Mohd.

2017-11-01

A quantitative and correlational, survey methods were used to investigate the relationships among mathematical anxiety and attitude toward student's mathematics performance. Participants were 100 students volunteer to enroll in undergraduate Industrial Statistics, Decision Sciences and Business Mathematics at one of northern university in Malaysia. Survey data consisted of demographic items and Likert scale items. The collected data was analyzed by using the idea of correlation and regression analysis. The results indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between students' attitude and mathematics anxiety. Results also indicated that a substantial positive effect of students' attitude and mathematics anxiety in students' achievement. Further study can be conducted on how mathematical anxiety and attitude toward mathematics affects can be used to predict the students' performance in the class.

The implementation of portfolio assessment by the educators on the mathematics learning process in senior high school

Science.gov (United States)

Lestariani, Ida; Sujadi, Imam; Pramudya, Ikrar

2018-05-01

Portfolio assessment can shows the development of the ability of learners in a period through the work so that can be seen progress monitored learning of each learner. The purpose of research to describe and know the implementation of portfolio assessment on the mathematics learning process with the Senior High school math teacher class X as the subject because of the importance of applying the assessment for the progress of learning outcomes of learners. This research includes descriptive qualitative research type. Techniques of data collecting is done by observation method, interview and documentation. Data collection then validated using triangulation technique that is observation technique, interview and documentation. Data analysis technique is done by data reduction, data presentation and conclusion. The results showed that the steps taken by teachers in applying portfolio assessment obtained focused on learning outcomes. Student learning outcomes include homework and daily tests. Based on the results of research can be concluded that the implementation of portfolio assessment is the form of learning results are scored. Teachers have not yet implemented other portfolio assessment techniques such as student work.

Assessing Teacher Change in Facilitating Mathematizing in Urban Middle Schools: Results of an Effective Professional Development Program

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Tarlow, Lynn D.

2014-01-01

This study documents the change in teaching practices of a group of mathematics teachers in urban middle schools as they participated in a program of professional development to promote standards-based learning environments. The teachers made a shift in their classroom practice from a traditional, didactic lecture approach towards a role of…

Mathematically aided risk assessment of crude oil contamination in Ogoni, Nigeria. Pt. 3. Spatial model of the multiple contamination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thiergaertner, Hannes [Free Univ. Berlin (Germany). Faculty of Geosciences; Holtzmann, Kay

2012-03-15

Mathematical modeling can support environmental risk assessment and decision making processes. Soil contamination caused by crude oil in the Ogoni region, Nigeria, is described in detail in part 1 to understand expected mathematical results. A mathematical-statistical analysis following in part 2 characterizes 33 contaminated sites as entire ecological complex. The sites are studied in part 3 by multivariate classifying models to derive precise information about kind and degree of contamination at every studied location. The 33 sites were studied by multivariate heuristic classifying methods (cluster analyses). Resulting classes or groups include all samples which are similar with respect to their pollution. The amount of 665 analyzed samples was reduced to 28 classes distinguishable by kind and degree of pollution. Mutual relationships between the classes were visualized by dendrograms. The calculated averaged properties of each class have been attached to any sample belonging to a class. Additionally, the geographic origin and depth of each sample was introduced to localize the pollution. The cluster membership of any sample can be marked by symbolic colors and visualized in mini-profiles which were drawn into geographic layers. Four sites in Ogoni have been selected to show and to discuss the result. (orig.)

Supplemental mathematical formulations, Atmospheric pathway: The Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Droppo, J.G.; Buck, J.W.

1996-03-01

The Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System (MEPAS) is an integrated software implementation of physics-based fate and transport models for health and environmental risk assessments of both radioactive and hazardous pollutants. This atmospheric component report is one of a series of formulation reports that document the MEPAS mathematical models. MEPAS is a ''multimedia'' model; pollutant transport is modeled within, through, and between multiple media (air, soil, groundwater, and surface water). The estimated concentrations in the various media are used to compute exposures and impacts to the environment, to maximum individuals, and to populations

Mathematical knowledge in teaching

CERN Document Server

Rowland, Tim

2011-01-01

This book examines issues of considerable significance in addressing global aspirations to raise standards of teaching and learning in mathematics by developing approaches to characterizing, assessing and developing mathematical knowledge for teaching.

Computational Technique for Teaching Mathematics (CTTM): Visualizing the Polynomial's Resultant

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Francisco Regis Vieira

2015-01-01

We find several applications of the Dynamic System Geogebra--DSG related predominantly to the basic mathematical concepts at the context of the learning and teaching in Brasil. However, all these works were developed in the basic level of Mathematics. On the other hand, we discuss and explore, with DSG's help, some applications of the polynomial's…

Assessing Mathematical Competencies: An Analysis of Swedish National Mathematics Tests

Science.gov (United States)

Boesen, Jesper; Lithner, Johan; Palm, Torulf

2018-01-01

Internationally, education reform has been directed towards describing educational goals that go beyond topic and content descriptions. The idea of mathematical competencies describes such goals. National tests have been seen as one way of communicating these goals and influence teaching. The present study analyses Swedish national tests in…

Effects of Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematical Metacognition on Word Problem Solving in Children with and without Mathematical Learning Difficulties

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Yinghui; Zhu, Xiaoshuang; Chen, Yinghe; Li, Yanjun

2015-01-01

Mathematics is one of the most objective, logical, and practical academic disciplines. Yet, in addition to cognitive skills, mathematical problem solving also involves affective factors. In the current study, we first investigated effects of mathematics anxiety (MA) and mathematical metacognition on word problem solving (WPS). We tested 224 children (116 boys, M = 10.15 years old, SD = 0.56) with the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Children, the Chinese Revised-edition Questionnaire of Pupil’s Metacognitive Ability in Mathematics, and WPS tasks. The results indicated that mathematical metacognition mediated the effect of MA on WPS after controlling for IQ. Second, we divided the children into four mathematics achievement groups including high achieving (HA), typical achieving (TA), low achieving (LA), and mathematical learning difficulty (MLD). Because mathematical metacognition and MA predicted mathematics achievement, we compared group differences in metacognition and MA with IQ partialled out. The results showed that children with MLD scored lower in self-image and higher in learning mathematics anxiety (LMA) than the TA and HA children, but not in mathematical evaluation anxiety (MEA). MLD children’s LMA was also higher than that of their LA counterparts. These results provide insight into factors that may mediate poor WPS performance which emerges under pressure in mathematics. These results also suggest that the anxiety during learning mathematics should be taken into account in mathematical learning difficulty interventions. PMID:26090806

Effects of Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematical Metacognition on Word Problem Solving in Children with and without Mathematical Learning Difficulties.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yinghui Lai

Full Text Available Mathematics is one of the most objective, logical, and practical academic disciplines. Yet, in addition to cognitive skills, mathematical problem solving also involves affective factors. In the current study, we first investigated effects of mathematics anxiety (MA and mathematical metacognition on word problem solving (WPS. We tested 224 children (116 boys, M = 10.15 years old, SD = 0.56 with the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Children, the Chinese Revised-edition Questionnaire of Pupil's Metacognitive Ability in Mathematics, and WPS tasks. The results indicated that mathematical metacognition mediated the effect of MA on WPS after controlling for IQ. Second, we divided the children into four mathematics achievement groups including high achieving (HA, typical achieving (TA, low achieving (LA, and mathematical learning difficulty (MLD. Because mathematical metacognition and MA predicted mathematics achievement, we compared group differences in metacognition and MA with IQ partialled out. The results showed that children with MLD scored lower in self-image and higher in learning mathematics anxiety (LMA than the TA and HA children, but not in mathematical evaluation anxiety (MEA. MLD children's LMA was also higher than that of their LA counterparts. These results provide insight into factors that may mediate poor WPS performance which emerges under pressure in mathematics. These results also suggest that the anxiety during learning mathematics should be taken into account in mathematical learning difficulty interventions.

Effects of Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematical Metacognition on Word Problem Solving in Children with and without Mathematical Learning Difficulties.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, Yinghui; Zhu, Xiaoshuang; Chen, Yinghe; Li, Yanjun

2015-01-01

Mathematics is one of the most objective, logical, and practical academic disciplines. Yet, in addition to cognitive skills, mathematical problem solving also involves affective factors. In the current study, we first investigated effects of mathematics anxiety (MA) and mathematical metacognition on word problem solving (WPS). We tested 224 children (116 boys, M = 10.15 years old, SD = 0.56) with the Mathematics Anxiety Scale for Children, the Chinese Revised-edition Questionnaire of Pupil's Metacognitive Ability in Mathematics, and WPS tasks. The results indicated that mathematical metacognition mediated the effect of MA on WPS after controlling for IQ. Second, we divided the children into four mathematics achievement groups including high achieving (HA), typical achieving (TA), low achieving (LA), and mathematical learning difficulty (MLD). Because mathematical metacognition and MA predicted mathematics achievement, we compared group differences in metacognition and MA with IQ partialled out. The results showed that children with MLD scored lower in self-image and higher in learning mathematics anxiety (LMA) than the TA and HA children, but not in mathematical evaluation anxiety (MEA). MLD children's LMA was also higher than that of their LA counterparts. These results provide insight into factors that may mediate poor WPS performance which emerges under pressure in mathematics. These results also suggest that the anxiety during learning mathematics should be taken into account in mathematical learning difficulty interventions.

Students’ Information Literacy: A Perspective from Mathematical Literacy

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Ariyadi Wijaya

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Information literacy is mostly seen from the perspective of library science or information and communication technology. Taking another point of view, this study was aimed to explore students’ information literacy from the perspective of mathematical literacy. For this purpose, a test addressing Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA mathematics tasks were administered to 381 eighth and ninth graders from nine junior high schools in the Province of Yogyakarta. PISA mathematics tasks which were used in this test had specific characteristics regarding information processing, i.e. containing superfluous information, having missing information, and requiring connection across information sources. An error analysis was performed to analyze students’ incorrect responses. The result of this study shows that students did not acquire three characteristics of information literacy; i.e. recognizing information needs, locating and evaluating the quality of information, and making effective and ethical use of information. This result indicates students’ low ability in information literacy.Keywords: information literacy, mathematical literacy, Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.7.2.3532.73-82

Exploring Differential Effects of Mathematics Courses on Mathematics Achievement

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Ma, Xin; McIntyre, Laureen J.

2005-01-01

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Mathematics Participation (N = 1,518 students from 34 schools), we investigated the effects of pure and applied mathematics courses on mathematics achievement, controlling for prior mathematics achievement. Results of multilevel modelling showed that the effects of pure mathematics were significant after…

Notes on the students’ solutions of Mathematical Olympiad problems

OpenAIRE

Veilande, Ingrida

2015-01-01

The quality of mathematics education in schools of Latvia can be evaluated by several criteria: on national level – by the results of centralized examination, by diagnostic tests, by students’ achievements in educational Olympiads, and in international comparison – by analysis of results of students’ assessment programs such as TIMSS and PISA. These statistics identify the major problems in mathematics education.

The Interactional Accomplishment of Not Knowing in Elementary School Science and Mathematics: Implications for Classroom Performance Assessment Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, Giuliano; Barwell, Richard

2013-01-01

The day-to-day business of being a science or mathematics teacher involves the continuous assessment of students. This, in turn, is an inherently discursive process. The aim of the present study is to examine some of the specific discursive practices through which science and mathematics knowing is jointly produced through classroom interaction.…

Mastering mathematics for Edexcel GCSE

CERN Document Server

Davis, Heather; Liggett, Linda

2015-01-01

Help students to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding so that they can reason mathematically, communicate mathematical information and apply mathematical techniques in solving problems; with resources developed specifically for the Edexcel GCSE 2015 specification with leading Assessment Consultant Keith Pledger and a team of subject specialists. - Supports you and your students through the new specifications, with topic explanations and new exam-style questions, to support the new assessment objectives. - Builds understanding and measures progress throughout the course with plenty

Usability of American Sign Language Videos for Presenting Mathematics Assessment Content.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Eric G; Loew, Ruth C; Laitusis, Cara C; Kushalnagar, Poorna; Pagliaro, Claudia M; Kurz, Christopher

2018-04-12

There is considerable interest in determining whether high-quality American Sign Language videos can be used as an accommodation in tests of mathematics at both K-12 and postsecondary levels; and in learning more about the usability (e.g., comprehensibility) of ASL videos with two different types of signers - avatar (animated figure) and human. The researchers describe the results of administering each of nine pre-college mathematics items in both avatar and human versions to each of 31 Deaf participants with high school and post-high school backgrounds. This study differed from earlier studies by obliging the participants to rely on the ASL videos to answer the items. While participants preferred the human version over the avatar version (apparently due largely to the better expressiveness and fluency of the human), there was no discernible relationship between mathematics performance and signed version.

Assessment of Training Programs for Elementary Mathematics Teachers on Developed Curricula and Attitudes towards Teaching in Najran-Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Aly, Hassan Shawky; Abdulhakeem, Hassan Daker

2016-01-01

This study aimed at assessing the training programs for Mathematics teachers at elementary stage on developed Curricula and attitudes toward teaching at Najran educational administration in Saudi Arabia. To achieve this objective, two instruments were developed, one of them measures the opinions of Mathematics teachers about the training programs…

Assessment of Students' Mathematical Competency, a case Study in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

*Department of mathematics, Dire-Dawa University Ethiopia, e-mail: ... Statistics. Unless the university mathematical competency of these students reaches the desired level, any effort to ..... Applications of Derivative. • Partial Derivatives.

Enhanced Assessment Technology and Neurocognitive Aspects of Specific Learning Disorder with Impairment in Mathematics.

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Marios A. Pappas

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Specific Learning Disorder with impairment in Mathematics (Developmental Dyscalculia is a complex learning disorder which affects arithmetic skills, symbolic magnitude processing, alertness, flexibility in problem solving and maintained attention. Neuro-cognitive studies revealed that such difficulties in children with DD could be related to poor Working Memory and attention deficits. Furthermore, neuroimaging studies indicate that brain structure differences in children with DD compared to typically developing children could affect mathematical performance. In this study we present the cognitive profile of Dyscalculia, as well as the neuropsychological aspects of the deficit, with special reference to the utilization of enhanced assessment technology such as computerized neuropsychological tools and neuroimaging techniques.

Berkeley's Philosophy of Mathematics

CERN Document Server

Jesseph, Douglas M

1993-01-01

In this first modern, critical assessment of the place of mathematics in Berkeley's philosophy and Berkeley's place in the history of mathematics, Douglas M. Jesseph provides a bold reinterpretation of Berkeley's work. Jesseph challenges the prevailing view that Berkeley's mathematical writings are peripheral to his philosophy and argues that mathematics is in fact central to his thought, developing out of his critique of abstraction. Jesseph's argument situates Berkeley's ideas within the larger historical and intellectual context of the Scientific Revolution. Jesseph begins with Berkeley's r

An Analysis of Mathematics Interventions: Increased Time-on-Task Compared with Computer-Assisted Mathematics Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Calhoun, James M., Jr.

2011-01-01

Student achievement is not progressing on mathematics as measured by state, national, and international assessments. Much of the research points to mathematics curriculum and instruction as the root cause of student failure to achieve at levels comparable to other nations. Since mathematics is regarded as a gate keeper to many educational…

Contributions of executive function and spatial skills to preschool mathematics achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Verdine, Brian N; Irwin, Casey M; Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick; Hirsh-Pasek, Kathryn

2014-10-01

Early mathematics achievement is highly predictive of later mathematics performance. Here we investigated the influence of executive function (EF) and spatial skills, two generalizable skills often overlooked in mathematics curricula, on mathematics performance in preschoolers. Children (N=44) of varying socioeconomic status (SES) levels were assessed at 3 years of age on a new assessment of spatial skill (Test of Spatial Assembly, TOSA) and a vocabulary measure (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, PPVT). The same children were tested at 4 years of age on the Beery Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) as well as on measures of EF and mathematics. The TOSA was created specifically as an assessment for 3-year-olds, allowing the investigation of links among spatial, EF, and mathematical skills earlier than previously possible. Results of a hierarchical regression indicate that EF and spatial skills predict 70% of the variance in mathematics performance without an explicit math test, EF is an important predictor of math performance as prior research suggested, and spatial skills uniquely predict 27% of the variance in mathematics skills. Additional research is needed to understand whether EF is truly malleable and whether EF and spatial skills may be leveraged to support early mathematics skills, especially for lower SES children who are already falling behind in these skill areas by 3 and 4 years of age. These findings indicate that both skills are part of an important foundation for mathematics performance and may represent pathways for improving school readiness for mathematics. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The use of mobile technologies for mathematical engagement in informal learning environments

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

M.Ed. (Ict in Education) South African learners are underperforming in Mathematics. Annual National Assessments for grade 9 and grade 12 results in Mathematics are shocking according to the Ministry of Education. This study investigates informal learning as an alternative method of addressing underperformance in Mathematics in South African schools. Informal learning with the use of mobile technology enhances engagement in Mathematics learning. The participants of this study had access to ...

Partial volume effect correction in nuclear medicine: assessment with a mathematical phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Murilo Collete da; Pozzo, Lorena

2009-01-01

Objective: assessment of Van Cittert partial volume effect correction method in nuclear medicine images, with a mathematical phantom. Material and method: we simulated an image of four circular sources of different diameters and intensity of 255 per pixel. The iterative algorithm was applied with 20 iterations and α = 1. We obtained the maximum and average counts on the entire image and in regions of interest placed on each of the sources. We also extracted count profiles plotted along the diameter of each of the sources. Results: the local convergence depends on the size of the source studied: the smaller the source, the greater the number of iterations required. It also depends on the information extracted: the use of average counts provides more homogeneous results than the maximum count. There is a significant improvement in image contrast. Conclusion: this study showed the possibility of qualitative and quantitative improvement in applying the bidimensional iterative Van Cittert method to images of simple geometry. (author)

Mathematics intervention for prevention of neurocognitive deficits in childhood leukemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Ida M; Hockenberry, Marilyn J; Anhalt, Cynthia; McCarthy, Kathy; Krull, Kevin R

2012-08-01

Despite evidence that CNS treatment is associated with cognitive and academic impairment, interventions to prevent or mitigate these problems are limited. The purpose was to determine if early intervention can prevent declines in mathematics abilities. Fifty-seven children with ALL were enrolled and randomized to a Mathematics Intervention or Standard Care. Subjects completed neurocognitive assessments prior to the intervention, post-intervention, and 1 year later. Parents received written results and recommendations for use with their school. The Mathematics Intervention was based on Multiple Representation Theory and delivered individually over 1 year. Thirty-two of 57 subjects completed the study and were included in data analyses. These 32 subjects completed all neurocognitive assessments and, for those in the Intervention Group, 40-50 hours of the Mathematics Intervention. There were no group differences on relevant demographic variables; risk stratification; number of intrathecal methotrexate injections; or high dose systemic methotrexate. Significant improvements in calculation and applied mathematics from Baseline to Post-Intervention (P = 0.003 and 0.002, respectively) and in visual working memory from Baseline to 1 year Follow-up (P = 0.02) were observed in the Intervention but not the Standard Care Group. Results from repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated significant between group differences for applied mathematics [F(2,29) = 12.47, P Mathematics Intervention improved mathematics abilities and visual working memory compared to standard care. Future studies are needed to translate the Mathematics Intervention into a "virtual" delivery method more readily available to parents and children. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The History of Mathematics and Mathematical Education

Science.gov (United States)

Grattan-Guinness, I.

1977-01-01

Answers to questions which were asked after the author's various lectures in Australia are gathered here. Topics touched upon include "new" mathematics, unknown constants and free variables, propositional functions, linear algebra, arithmetic and geometry, and student assessment. (MN)

Communicating Performance Assessments Results - 13609

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Layton, Mark [Savannah River Remediation LLC, Building 705-1C, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States)

2013-07-01

The F-Area Tank Farms (FTF) and H-Area Tank Farm (HTF) are owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and operated by Savannah River Remediation LLC (SRR), Liquid Waste Operations contractor at DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS). The FTF and HTF are active radioactive waste storage and treatment facilities consisting of 51 carbon steel waste tanks and ancillary equipment such as transfer lines, evaporators and pump tanks. Performance Assessments (PAs) for each Tank Farm have been prepared to support the eventual closure of the underground radioactive waste tanks and ancillary equipment. PAs provide the technical bases and results to be used in subsequent documents to demonstrate compliance with the pertinent requirements for final closure of the Tank Farms. The Tank Farms are subject to a number of regulatory requirements. The State regulates Tank Farm operations through an industrial waste water permit and through a Federal Facility Agreement approved by the State, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Closure documentation will include State-approved Tank Farm Closure Plans and tank-specific closure modules utilizing information from the PAs. For this reason, the State of South Carolina and the EPA must be involved in the performance assessment review process. The residual material remaining after tank cleaning is also subject to reclassification prior to closure via a waste determination pursuant to Section 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2005. PAs are performance-based, risk-informed analyses of the fate and transport of FTF and HTF residual wastes following final closure of the Tank Farms. Since the PAs serve as the primary risk assessment tools in evaluating readiness for closure, it is vital that PA conclusions be communicated effectively. In the course of developing the FTF and HTF PAs, several lessons learned have emerged regarding communicating PA results. When communicating PA results it is

Communicating Performance Assessments Results - 13609

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Layton, Mark

2013-01-01

The F-Area Tank Farms (FTF) and H-Area Tank Farm (HTF) are owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and operated by Savannah River Remediation LLC (SRR), Liquid Waste Operations contractor at DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS). The FTF and HTF are active radioactive waste storage and treatment facilities consisting of 51 carbon steel waste tanks and ancillary equipment such as transfer lines, evaporators and pump tanks. Performance Assessments (PAs) for each Tank Farm have been prepared to support the eventual closure of the underground radioactive waste tanks and ancillary equipment. PAs provide the technical bases and results to be used in subsequent documents to demonstrate compliance with the pertinent requirements for final closure of the Tank Farms. The Tank Farms are subject to a number of regulatory requirements. The State regulates Tank Farm operations through an industrial waste water permit and through a Federal Facility Agreement approved by the State, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Closure documentation will include State-approved Tank Farm Closure Plans and tank-specific closure modules utilizing information from the PAs. For this reason, the State of South Carolina and the EPA must be involved in the performance assessment review process. The residual material remaining after tank cleaning is also subject to reclassification prior to closure via a waste determination pursuant to Section 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2005. PAs are performance-based, risk-informed analyses of the fate and transport of FTF and HTF residual wastes following final closure of the Tank Farms. Since the PAs serve as the primary risk assessment tools in evaluating readiness for closure, it is vital that PA conclusions be communicated effectively. In the course of developing the FTF and HTF PAs, several lessons learned have emerged regarding communicating PA results. When communicating PA results it is

Mathematics learning on geometry for children with autism

Science.gov (United States)

Widayati, F. E.; Usodo, B.; Pamudya, I.

2017-12-01

The purpose of this research is to describe: (1) the mathematics learning process in an inclusion class and (2) the obstacle during the process of mathematics learning in the inclusion class. This research is a descriptive qualitative research. The subjects were a mathematics teacher, children with autism, and a teacher assistant. Method of collecting data was observation and interview. Data validation technique is triangulation technique. The results of this research are : (1) There is a modification of lesson plan for children with autism. This modification such as the indicator of success, material, time, and assessment. Lesson plan for children with autism is arranged by mathematics teacher and teacher assistant. There is no special media for children with autism used by mathematics teacher. (2) The obstacle of children with autism is that they are difficult to understand mathematics concept. Besides, children with autism are easy to lose their focus.

Obtaining mathematical models for assessing efficiency of dust collectors using integrated system of analysis and data management STATISTICA Design of Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Azarov, A. V.; Zhukova, N. S.; Kozlovtseva, E. Yu; Dobrinsky, D. R.

2018-05-01

The article considers obtaining mathematical models to assess the efficiency of the dust collectors using an integrated system of analysis and data management STATISTICA Design of Experiments. The procedure for obtaining mathematical models and data processing is considered by the example of laboratory studies on a mounted installation containing a dust collector in counter-swirling flows (CSF) using gypsum dust of various fractions. Planning of experimental studies has been carried out in order to reduce the number of experiments and reduce the cost of experimental research. A second-order non-position plan (Box-Bencken plan) was used, which reduced the number of trials from 81 to 27. The order of statistical data research of Box-Benken plan using standard tools of integrated system for analysis and data management STATISTICA Design of Experiments is considered. Results of statistical data processing with significance estimation of coefficients and adequacy of mathematical models are presented.

Mathematical bridges

CERN Document Server

Andreescu, Titu; Tetiva, Marian

2017-01-01

Building bridges between classical results and contemporary nonstandard problems, Mathematical Bridges embraces important topics in analysis and algebra from a problem-solving perspective. Blending old and new techniques, tactics and strategies used in solving challenging mathematical problems, readers will discover numerous genuine mathematical gems throughout that will heighten their appreciation of the inherent beauty of mathematics. Most of the problems are original to the authors and are intertwined in a well-motivated exposition driven by representative examples. The book is structured to assist the reader in formulating and proving conjectures, as well as devising solutions to important mathematical problems by making connections between various concepts and ideas from different areas of mathematics. Instructors and educators teaching problem-solving courses or organizing mathematics clubs, as well as motivated mathematics students from high school juniors to college seniors, will find Mathematical Bri...

Mathematical Modeling in the High School Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández, Maria L.; Levy, Rachel; Felton-Koestler, Mathew D.; Zbiek, Rose Mary

2016-01-01

In 2015, mathematics leaders and instructors from the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP), with input from NCTM, came together to write the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Mathematical Modeling Education" (GAIMME) report as a resource for…

Mathematics Self-Related Beliefs and Online Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Ichinose, Cherie; Bonsangue, Martin

2016-01-01

This study examined students' mathematical self-related beliefs in an online mathematics course. Mathematical self-related beliefs of a sample of high school students learning mathematics online were compared with student response data from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The treatment group reported higher levels…

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF FAMILIARITY WITH CONCEPTS MATHEMATICAL GEOGRAPHY OF COURSE UNDERGRADUATE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Alberto Martins Palhares de Melo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of the work described in this paper was to conduct a preliminary assessment about the familiarity with basic mathematical concepts by undergraduate students of Geography. This work assumed that the domain of basic concepts of mathematics is important for the students for the real understanding of quantification techniques applied to geography, used for better understanding about geographical space. Therefore, it was applied a questionnaire with six questions related to some basic mathematical concepts. 384 questionnaires were applied in undergraduate courses in geography, in six public institutions of higher education and a private college, located in the Federal District, Goias, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul in May / 2013 June / 2013 August / 2013 and April / 2014. The results showed that the 384 respondents answered correctly on average 2,3 questions of an amount of six questions. This may mean that a priori there is little familiarity of undergraduate Geography students with basic concepts of mathematics. O objetivo do trabalho descrito neste artigo foi realizar uma avaliação preliminar a respeito da familiaridade com conceitos matemáticos em nível de Educação Básica por parte de graduandos de cursos de Geografia. Essa investigação partiu do princípio de que o domínio de conceitos básicos de Matemática é importante para a capacitação em técnicas de quantificação em Geografia, que por sua vez auxiliam o geógrafo, bacharel ou licenciado, a entender melhor o espaço geográfico. Para tanto foi utilizado o instrumento questionário com seis questões versando sobre alguns conceitos matemáticos básicos em nível de Educação Básica. Foram aplicados 384 questionários em cursos de graduação em Geografia, em seis instituições públicas de ensino superior e uma faculdade particular, localizadas no Distrito Federal, Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná e Rio Grande do

Assessment for Learning in Norway and Portugal: The Case of Primary School Mathematics Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Nortvedt, Guri A.; Santos, Leonor; Pinto, Jorge

2016-01-01

In this study, we aim to understand the forces driving assessment for learning (AfL) in primary school teaching. By applying a case study design, including the two cases of Norway and Portugal and using mathematics teaching as an example, available policy documents and research reports are analysed to identify the differences and similarities that…

Interest in mathematics and science among students having high mathematics aptitude

Science.gov (United States)

Ely, Jane Alice

The study investigates why men and women differ in their interest in mathematics and science and in the pursuit of careers in mathematics and science. The most persistent gender differential in educational standard testing is the scores in mathematics achievement. The mean Scholastic Aptitude Test (Mathematics) scores for women are consistently below that of men by about 40 points. One result of this gender differential in mathematics is that few women entertain a career requiring a robust knowledge of higher mathematics (i.e. engineering, computing, or the physical sciences). A large body of literature has been written attempting to explain why this is happening. Biological, cultural, structural and psychological explanations have been suggested and empirically examined. Controlling for mathematical ability is one method of sorting out these explanations. Eliminating mathematical ability as a factor, this dissertation reports the results of a study of men and women college students who all had high mathematics ability. Thus, any differences we found among them would have to be a result of other variables. Using a Mathematics Placement Exam and the SAT-M, forty-two students (12 males and 30 females) with high scores in both were interviewed. Student were asked about their experiences in high school and college mathematics, their career choices, and their attitudes toward mathematics. The findings, that there were no gender differences in the course selection, attitudes towards mathematics, and career choice, differed from my initial expectations. This negative finding suggests that women with high ability in mathematics are just as likely as men to pursue interests in mathematics and related courses in college and in selecting careers.

Sex differences in mathematics and reading achievement are inversely related: within- and across-nation assessment of 10 years of PISA data.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoet, Gijsbert; Geary, David C

2013-01-01

We analyzed one decade of data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), including the mathematics and reading performance of nearly 1.5 million 15 year olds in 75 countries. Across nations, boys scored higher than girls in mathematics, but lower than girls in reading. The sex difference in reading was three times as large as in mathematics. There was considerable variation in the extent of the sex differences between nations. There are countries without a sex difference in mathematics performance, and in some countries girls scored higher than boys. Boys scored lower in reading in all nations in all four PISA assessments (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009). Contrary to several previous studies, we found no evidence that the sex differences were related to nations' gender equality indicators. Further, paradoxically, sex differences in mathematics were consistently and strongly inversely correlated with sex differences in reading: Countries with a smaller sex difference in mathematics had a larger sex difference in reading and vice versa. We demonstrate that this was not merely a between-nation, but also a within-nation effect. This effect is related to relative changes in these sex differences across the performance continuum: We did not find a sex difference in mathematics among the lowest performing students, but this is where the sex difference in reading was largest. In contrast, the sex difference in mathematics was largest among the higher performing students, and this is where the sex difference in reading was smallest. The implication is that if policy makers decide that changes in these sex differences are desired, different approaches will be needed to achieve this for reading and mathematics. Interventions that focus on high-achieving girls in mathematics and on low achieving boys in reading are likely to yield the strongest educational benefits.

The Effects of Homework Activities and Teaching Strategies for New Mathematics Topics on Achievement of Adolescent Students in Japan: Results from the TIMSS 1999 Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

House, J. Daniel

2004-01-01

The importance of homework activities for student achievement has been extensively discussed. Research has indicated that, in general, students who spend more time on homework tend to show higher levels of academic achievement. For instance, results from the Third International Mathematics Study (TIMSS) indicated that adolescent students in Japan…

Assessing K-5 Teacher Leaders' Mathematical Understanding: What Have the Test Makers and the Test Takers Learned?

Science.gov (United States)

Ellington, Aimee J.; Whitenack, Joy W.; Inge, Vickie L.; Murray, Megan K.; Schneider, Patti J.

2012-01-01

This article describes the design and implementation of an assessment instrument for Numbers and Operations, the first course in a program to train elementary mathematics specialists. We briefly describe the course and its content, and then we elaborate on the process we used to develop the assessment instrument and the corresponding rubric for…

Evolution in performance assessment modeling as a result of regulatory review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowat, J.H.; Dolinar, G.M.; Stephens, M.E. [AECL Chalk River Labs., Ontario (Canada)] [and others

1995-12-31

AECL is planning to build the IRUS (Intrusion Resistant Underground Structure) facility for near-surface disposal of LLRW. The PSAR (preliminary safety assessment report) was subject to an initial regulatory review during mid-1992. The regulatory authority provided comments on many aspects of the safety assessment documentation including a number of questions on specific PA (Performance Assessment) modelling assumptions. As a result of these comments as well as a separate detailed review of the IRUS disposal concept, changes were made to the conceptual and mathematical models. The original disposal concept included a non-sorbing vault backfill, with a strong reliance on the wasteform as a barrier. This concept was altered to decrease reliance on the wasteform by replacing the original backfill with a sand/clinoptilolite mix, which is a better sorber of metal cations. This change lead to changes in the PA models which in turn altered the safety case for the facility. This, and other changes that impacted performance assessment modelling are the subject of this paper.

The Empathizing-Systemizing Theory, Social Abilities, and Mathematical Achievement in Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Escovar, Emily; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Uddin, Lucina Q; Menon, Vinod

2016-03-14

The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory describes a profile of traits that have been linked to autism spectrum disorders, and are thought to encompass a continuum that includes typically developing (TD) individuals. Although systemizing is hypothesized to be related to mathematical abilities, empirical support for this relationship is lacking. We examine the link between empathizing and systemizing tendencies and mathematical achievement in 112 TD children (57 girls) to elucidate how socio-cognitive constructs influence early development of mathematical skills. Assessment of mathematical achievement included standardized tests designed to examine calculation skills and conceptual mathematical reasoning. Empathizing and systemizing were assessed using the Combined Empathy Quotient-Child (EQ-C) and Systemizing Quotient-Child (SQ-C). Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that mathematical achievement was not related to systemizing or the discrepancy between systemizing and empathizing. Surprisingly, children with higher empathy demonstrated lower calculation skills. Further analysis using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) revealed that the relationship between EQ-C and mathematical achievement was mediated by social ability rather than autistic behaviors. Finally, social awareness was found to play a differential role in mediating the relationship between EQ-C and mathematical achievement in girls. These results identify empathy, and social skills more generally, as previously unknown predictors of mathematical achievement.

Assessment in the Context of Mathematics Instruction Reform: The Design of Assessment in the QUASAR Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Silver, Edward A.; Lane, Suzanne

Recent reports on mathematics education reform have focused the attention of educational practitioners and policymakers on new goals for mathematics education and new descriptions of mathematical proficiency. QUASAR is a national project (Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning) designed to improve the mathematics…

Potential for accidents in a nuclear power plant: probabilistic risk assessment, applied statistical decision theory, and implications of such considerations to mathematics education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dios, R.A.

1984-01-01

This dissertation focuses upon the field of probabilistic risk assessment and its development. It investigates the development of probabilistic risk assessment in nuclear engineering. To provide background for its development, the related areas of population dynamics (demography), epidemiology and actuarial science are studied by presenting information upon how risk has been viewed in these areas over the years. A second major problem involves presenting an overview of the mathematical models related to risk analysis to mathematics educators and making recommendations for presenting this theory in classes of probability and statistics for mathematics and engineering majors at the undergraduate and graduate levels

The Association between Working Memory and Educational Attainment as Measured in Different Mathematical Subtopics in the Swedish National Assessment: Primary Education

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Nyroos, Mikaela; Wiklund-Hornqvist, Carola

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between working memory capacity and mathematical performance measured by the national curriculum assessment in third-grade children (n = 40). The national tests concerned six subareas within mathematics. One-way ANOVA, two-tailed Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were…

Obtaining learning independence and academic success through self-assessment and referral to a Mathematics Learning Centre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadine Adams

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Globally, universities are striving to increase enrolment rates, especially for low socioeconomic status and mature-aged students. In order to meet these targets, universities are accepting a broader range of students, often resulting in a widening mathematical knowledge gap between secondary school and university (Hoyles, Newman & Noss, 2001. Therefore, even amid the growing trend of scaling back services, there exists a need for extra learning support in mathematics. Mathematics support services are recognised as vital in assisting students to both bridge the knowledge gap and become independent learners. Through a survey of students using the Mathematics Learning Centre at Central Queensland University Australia, it was found that the implementation of scaffolding, adult learning principles and the embedding of mathematics support provides students with not only fundamental mathematical knowledge but also the skills required to become self-directed learners. 

Who Succeeds in Mathematics? Caribbean Perspectives on the Mix of Schools and Mathematics

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George, Patricia

2012-01-01

Within the Caribbean, there has been a perception that students are underachieving in mathematics. This assessment has seemingly been based amongst other things upon the proportion of students who are successful in mathematics compared to other subjects in external examinations. This notion was investigated in a case study of secondary schools in…

Elective Drama Course in Mathematics Education: An Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers

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Sagirli, Meryem Özturan

2014-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate a newly introduced elective course "Drama in Mathematics Education" into mathematics education curriculum from the viewpoints of pre-service mathematics teachers. A case study was employed in the study. The study group consisted of 37 pre-service mathematics teachers who were enrolled in a Turkish state…

Mathematics for the Student Scientist

Science.gov (United States)

Lauten, A. Darien; Lauten, Gary N.

1998-03-01

The Earth Day:Forest Watch Program, introduces elementary, middle, and secondary students to field laboratory, and satellite-data analysis methods for assessing the health of Eastern White Pine ( Pinus strobus). In this Student-Scientist Partnership program, mathematics, as envisioned in the NCTM Standards, arises naturally and provides opportunities for science-mathematics interdisciplinary student learning. School mathematics becomes the vehicle for students to quantify, represent, analyze, and interpret meaningful, real data.

stability results of a mathematical model for the control of hiv/aids ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DJFLEX

Subthreshold Domain of Bistable Equilibria for a Model of. HIV Epidemiology. International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences, 58, 3679-3698. David R. M., 1997. Introduction to Theory of Stability. Springer-Verlag, New York, Inc. USA. Family Health International, 2007. How the Female Condom Affects Male ...

Mathematical aspects of assessing extreme events for the safety of nuclear plants

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Potempski, Slawomir; Borysiewicz, Mieczyslaw

2015-04-01

In the paper the review of mathematical methodologies applied for assessing low frequencies of rare natural events like earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes or tornadoes, floods (in particular flash floods and surge storms), lightning, solar flares, etc., will be given in the perspective of the safety assessment of nuclear plants. The statistical methods are usually based on the extreme value theory, which deals with the analysis of extreme deviation from the median (or the mean). In this respect application of various mathematical tools can be useful, like: the extreme value theorem of Fisher-Tippett-Gnedenko leading to possible choices of general extreme value distributions, or the Pickands-Balkema-de Haan theorem for tail fitting, or the methods related to large deviation theory. In the paper the most important stochastic distributions relevant for performing rare events statistical analysis will be presented. This concerns, for example, the analysis of the data with the annual extreme values (maxima - "Annual Maxima Series" or minima), or the peak values, exceeding given thresholds at some periods of interest ("Peak Over Threshold"), or the estimation of the size of exceedance. Despite of the fact that there is a lack of sufficient statistical data directly containing rare events, in some cases it is still possible to extract useful information from existing larger data sets. As an example one can consider some data sets available from the web sites for floods, earthquakes or generally natural hazards. Some aspects of such data sets will be also presented taking into account their usefulness for the practical assessment of risk for nuclear power plants coming from extreme weather conditions.

How working on mathematics impacts primary teaching: Mathematics Specialist Teachers make the connections

OpenAIRE

Hilton, C.; Houssart, J.

2014-01-01

We draw on analysis of assignments by primary teachers as part of the assessment for the Mathematics Specialist Teachers programme (MaST). In the assignment teachers are asked to work on some mathematics themselves, write up the mathematical part of their work then write about how this experience has impacted on their practice as a primary teacher. We focus first on case studies of teachers who included algebraic work in the first part of their assignments and look at what they say about the ...

Assessing Senior Secondary School Students' Mathematical Proficiency as Related to Gender and Performance in Mathematics in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Awofala, Adeneye O. A.

2017-01-01

The study investigated mathematical proficiency as related to gender and performance in mathematics among 400 Nigerian senior secondary school students from 10 elitist senior secondary schools in Lagos State using the quantitative research method within the blueprint of descriptive survey design. Data collected were analysed using the descriptive…

Assessing Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Cognitive Failures as Related to Mathematics Anxiety and Performance in Undergraduate Calculus

Science.gov (United States)

Awofala, Adeneye O. A.; Odogwu, Helen N.

2017-01-01

The study investigated mathematics cognitive failures as related to mathematics anxiety, gender and performance in calculus among 450 preservice teachers from four public universities in the South West geo-political zone of Nigeria using the quantitative research method within the blueprint of the descriptive survey design. Data collected were…

VEDIC MATHEMATICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sead Rešić

2015-09-01

Full Text Available It is very difficult to motivate students when it comes to a school subject like Mathematics. Teachers spend a lot of time trying to find something that will arouse interest in students. It is particularly difficult to find materials that are motivating enough for students that they eagerly wait for the next lesson. One of the solutions may be found in Vedic Mathematics. Traditional methods of teaching Mathematics create fear of this otherwise interesting subject in the majority of students. Fear increases failure. Often the traditional, conventional mathematical methods consist of very long lessons which are difficult to understand. Vedic Mathematics is an ancient system that is very flexible and encourages the development of intuition and innovation. It is a mental calculating tool that does not require a calculator because the calculator is embedded in each of us. Starting from the above problems of fear and failure in Mathematics, the goal of this paper is to do research with the control and the experimental group and to compare the test results. Two tests should be done for each of the groups. The control group would do the tests in the conventional way. The experimental group would do the first test in a conventional manner and then be subjected to different treatment, that is to say, be taught on the basis of Vedic Mathematics. After that, the second group would do the second test according to the principles of Vedic Mathematics. Expectations are that after short lectures on Vedic mathematics results of the experimental group would improve and that students will show greater interest in Mathematics.

Uncovering student thinking about mathematics in the common core, grades 6-8 25 formative assessment probes

CERN Document Server

Tobey, Cheryl Rose

2013-01-01

Pinpoint and reverse math misconceptions with laser-like accuracyQuickly and reliably uncover common math misconceptions in Grades 6-8 with these convenient and easy-to-implement diagnostic tools! Bestselling authors Cheryl Tobey and Carolyn Arline provide 25 new assessment probes that pinpoint subconcepts within the new Common Core Standards for Mathematics to promote deep learning and expert math instruction--while learning is already underway.Completely CCSM aligned, these grade-specific probes eliminate the guesswork and help teachers: Systematically address conceptual and procedural mistakes Help students better understand areas of struggle Plan targeted instruction that covers Grades 6-8 CCSM mathematical processes and proficiencies.

Mathematics Teachers' Views about Teaching as a Profession: Final Results of a Four-Year Longitudinal Study. A Report from the Urban Mathematics Collaborative Documentation Project. Program Report 91-4.

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, James A.; And Others

This paper reports the results of a 4-year longitudinal study of approximately 600 urban mathematics teachers who were surveyed to ascertain their attitudes regarding certain attributes of the profession of mathematics teaching, specifically: the use of the professional organization as a major referent, the belief in service to the public, the…

Early numerical foundations of young children's mathematical development.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Felicia W; vanMarle, Kristy; Geary, David C

2015-04-01

This study focused on the relative contributions of the acuity of the approximate number system (ANS) and knowledge of quantitative symbols to young children's early mathematical learning. At the beginning of preschool, 191 children (Mage=46 months) were administered tasks that assessed ANS acuity and explicit knowledge of the cardinal values represented by number words, and their mathematics achievement was assessed at the end of the school year. Children's executive functions, intelligence, and preliteracy skills and their parents' educational levels were also assessed and served as covariates. Both the ANS and cardinality tasks were significant predictors of end-of-year mathematics achievement with and without control of the covariates. As simultaneous predictors and with control of the covariates, cardinality remained significantly related to mathematics achievement, but ANS acuity did not. Mediation analyses revealed that the relation between ANS acuity and mathematics achievement was fully mediated by cardinality, suggesting that the ANS may facilitate children's explicit understanding of cardinal value and in this way may indirectly influence early mathematical learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mathematical Literacy in Plant Physiology Undergraduates: Results of Interventions Aimed at Improving Students' Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Vila, Francisca; Sanz, Amparo

2013-01-01

The importance of mathematical literacy in any scientific career is widely recognized. However, various studies report lack of numeracy and mathematical literacy in students from various countries. In the present work, we present a detailed study of the mathematical literacy of Spanish undergraduate students of Biology enrolled in a Plant…

Grounded Blends and Mathematical Gesture Spaces: Developing Mathematical Understandings via Gestures

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Caroline; Thomas, Michael O. J.; Dreyfus, Tommy

2011-01-01

This paper examines how a person's gesture space can become endowed with mathematical meaning associated with mathematical spaces and how the resulting mathematical gesture space can be used to communicate and interpret mathematical features of gestures. We use the theory of grounded blends to analyse a case study of two teachers who used gestures…

Mathematical competencies and the role of mathematics in physics education: A trend analysis of TIMSS Advanced 1995 and 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trude Nilsen

2013-10-01

Full Text Available As students advance in their learning of physics over the course of their education, the requirement of mathematical applications in physics-related tasks increases, especially so in upper secondary school and in higher education. Yet there is little empirical work (particularly large-scale or longitudinal on the application of mathematics in physics education compared with the research related to the conceptual knowledge of physics. In order to clarify the nature of mathematics in physics education, we developed a theoretical framework for mathematical competencies pertinent to various physics tasks based on theoretical frameworks from mathematics and physics education. We used this synthesis of frameworks as a basis to create a model for physics competence. The framework also served as a tool for analyzing and categorizing trend items from the international large-scale survey, TIMSS Advanced 1995 and 2008. TIMSS Advanced assessed students in upper secondary school with special preparation in advanced physics and mathematics. We then investigated the changes in achievements on these categorized items across time for nations who participated in both surveys. The results from our analysis indicate that students whose overall physics achievement declined struggled the most with items requiring mathematics, especially items requiring them to handle symbols, such as manipulating equations. This finding suggests the importance of collaboration between mathematics and physics education as well as the importance of traditional algebra for physics education.

Ranking of options of real estate use by expert assessments mathematical processing

Science.gov (United States)

Lepikhina, O. Yu; Skachkova, M. E.; Mihaelyan, T. A.

2018-05-01

The article is devoted to the development of the real estate assessment concept. In conditions of multivariate using of the real estate method based on calculating, the integral indicator of each variant’s efficiency is proposed. In order to calculate weights of criteria of the efficiency expert method, Analytic hierarchy process and its mathematical support are used. The method allows fulfilling ranking of alternative types of real estate use in dependence of their efficiency. The method was applied for one of the land parcels located on Primorsky district in Saint Petersburg.

The physical and mathematical model of dynamic economic analysis and assessment for NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Jiming

1992-01-01

A set physical and mathematical model of dynamic economic analysis referring to international general sub-item and account of investment and constant money levelized model and combining current economic analysis method in China for nuclear power plant was established. The model can be used in economic analysis not only for nuclear power plant but also for coal-fired power plant and can satisfy demand of doing economic analysis and assessment for nuclear power plant and conventional power plant

A model of professional competences in mathematics to update mathematical and didactic knowledge of teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, Verónica; Poblete, Alvaro

2017-07-01

This paper describes part of a research and development project carried out in public elementary schools. Its objective was to update the mathematical and didactic knowledge of teachers in two consecutive levels in urban and rural public schools of Region de Los Lagos and Region de Los Rios of southern Chile. To that effect, and by means of an advanced training project based on a professional competences model, didactic interventions based on types of problems and types of mathematical competences with analysis of contents and learning assessment were designed. The teachers' competence regarding the didactic strategy used and its results, as well as the students' learning achievements are specified. The project made possible to validate a strategy of lifelong improvement in mathematics, based on the professional competences of teachers and their didactic transposition in the classroom, as an alternative to consolidate learning in areas considered vulnerable in two regions of the country.

Developmental gains in visuospatial memory predict gains in mathematics achievement.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaoran Li

Full Text Available Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusive, and their working memory capacity and processing speed in first and fifth grade. Intelligence was assessed in first grade and their second to fourth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. Developmental gains in visuospatial memory span (d = 2.4 were larger than gains in the capacity of the central executive (d = 1.6 that in turn were larger than gains in phonological memory span (d = 1.1. First to fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory and in speed of numeral processing predicted end of fifth grade mathematics achievement, as did first grade central executive scores, intelligence, and in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest there are important individual differences in the rate of growth of visuospatial memory during childhood and that these differences become increasingly important for mathematics learning.

Developmental gains in visuospatial memory predict gains in mathematics achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaoran; Geary, David C

2013-01-01

Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusive, and their working memory capacity and processing speed in first and fifth grade. Intelligence was assessed in first grade and their second to fourth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. Developmental gains in visuospatial memory span (d = 2.4) were larger than gains in the capacity of the central executive (d = 1.6) that in turn were larger than gains in phonological memory span (d = 1.1). First to fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory and in speed of numeral processing predicted end of fifth grade mathematics achievement, as did first grade central executive scores, intelligence, and in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest there are important individual differences in the rate of growth of visuospatial memory during childhood and that these differences become increasingly important for mathematics learning.

Developmental Gains in Visuospatial Memory Predict Gains in Mathematics Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yaoran; Geary, David C.

2013-01-01

Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusive, and their working memory capacity and processing speed in first and fifth grade. Intelligence was assessed in first grade and their second to fourth grade teachers reported on their in-class attentive behavior. Developmental gains in visuospatial memory span (d = 2.4) were larger than gains in the capacity of the central executive (d = 1.6) that in turn were larger than gains in phonological memory span (d = 1.1). First to fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory and in speed of numeral processing predicted end of fifth grade mathematics achievement, as did first grade central executive scores, intelligence, and in-class attentive behavior. The results suggest there are important individual differences in the rate of growth of visuospatial memory during childhood and that these differences become increasingly important for mathematics learning. PMID:23936154

Using Citation Analysis Methods to Assess the Influence of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Evaluations

Science.gov (United States)

Greenseid, Lija O.; Lawrenz, Frances

2011-01-01

This study explores the use of citation analysis methods to assess the influence of program evaluations conducted within the area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Citation analysis is widely used within scientific research communities to measure the relative influence of scientific research enterprises and/or…

Secondary School Mathematics Teachers' Attitude in Teaching Mathematics

OpenAIRE

Mulugeta Atnafu

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine Addis Ababa secondary school mathematics teachers’ attitude in teaching mathematics. 148 mathematics teachers were selected using cluster sampling from Addis Ababa administration region. The study used survey method of data collection and it includes both quantitative and qualitative research methods. From the independent t-test, ANOVA, tukey test and regression analysis, some of the results obtained were: the majority of the secondary school mathemati...

Contributions of Motivation, Early Numeracy Skills, and Executive Functioning to Mathematical Performance. A Longitudinal Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercader, Jessica; Miranda, Ana; Presentación, M Jesús; Siegenthaler, Rebeca; Rosel, Jesús F

2017-01-01

The main goal of this longitudinal study is to examine the power of different variables and its dynamic interactions in predicting mathematical performance. The model proposed in this study includes indicators of motivational constructs (learning motivation and attributions), executive functioning (inhibition and working memory), and early numeracy skills (logical operations, counting, and magnitude comparison abilities), assessed during kindergarten, and mathematical performance in the second year of Primary Education. The sample consisted of 180 subjects assessed in two moments (5-6 and 7-8 years old). The results showed an indirect effect of initial motivation on later mathematical performance. Executive functioning and early numeracy skills mediated the effect of motivation on later mathematic achievement. Practical implications of these findings for mathematics education are discussed.

Using Mathematics, Mathematical Applications, Mathematical Modelling, and Mathematical Literacy: A Theoretical Study

Science.gov (United States)

Mumcu, Hayal Yavuz

2016-01-01

The purpose of this theoretical study is to explore the relationships between the concepts of using mathematics in the daily life, mathematical applications, mathematical modelling, and mathematical literacy. As these concepts are generally taken as independent concepts in the related literature, they are confused with each other and it becomes…

Mathematical thinking styles of undergraduate students and their achievement in mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Risnanosanti

2017-08-01

The main purpose of this study is to analyze the role of mathematical thinking styles in students' achievement in mathematics. On the basis of this study, it is also to generate recommendation for classroom instruction. The two specific aims are; first to observe students' mathematical thinking styles during problem solving, the second to asses students' achievement in mathematics. The data were collected by using Mathematical Thinking Styles questionnaires and test of students' achievement in mathematics. The subject in this study was 35 students from third year at mathematics study program of Muhammadiyah University of Bengkulu in academic year 2016/2017. The result of this study was that the students have three mathematical thinking styles (analytic, visual, and integrated), and the students who have analytic styles have better achievement than those who have visual styles in mathematics.

Working memory and language: skill-specific or domain-general relations to mathematics?

Science.gov (United States)

Purpura, David J; Ganley, Colleen M

2014-06-01

Children's early mathematics skills develop in a cumulative fashion; foundational skills form a basis for the acquisition of later skills. However, non-mathematical factors such as working memory and language skills have also been linked to mathematical development at a broad level. Unfortunately, little research has been conducted to evaluate the specific relations of these two non-mathematical factors to individual aspects of early mathematics. Thus, the focus of this study was to determine whether working memory and language were related to only individual aspects of early mathematics or related to many components of early mathematics skills. A total of 199 4- to 6-year-old preschool and kindergarten children were assessed on a battery of early mathematics tasks as well as measures of working memory and language. Results indicated that working memory has a specific relation to only a few-but critically important-early mathematics skills and language has a broad relation to nearly all early mathematics skills. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mathematical Footprints Discovering Mathematics Everywhere

CERN Document Server

Pappas, Theoni

1999-01-01

MATHEMATICAL FOOTPRINTS takes a creative look at the role mathematics has played since prehistoric times, and will play in the future, and uncovers mathematics where you least expect to find it from its many uses in medicine, the sciences, and its appearance in art to its patterns in nature and its central role in the development of computers. Pappas presents mathematical ideas in a readable non-threatening manner. MATHEMATICAL FOOTPRINTS is another gem by the creator of THE MATHEMATICS CALENDAR and author of THE JOY OF MATHEMATICS. "Pappas's books have been gold mines of mathematical ent

Unpacking the Male Superiority Myth and Masculinization of Mathematics at the Intersections: A Review of Research on Gender in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Leyva, Luis A.

2017-01-01

Gender research in mathematics education has experienced methodological and theoretical shifts over the past 45 years. Although achievement studies have used assessment tools to explore and subsequently challenge the assumption of male superiority on mathematics assessments, research on participation has unpacked these studies' sex-based…

Early mathematical competencies and later achievement: insights from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

Science.gov (United States)

MacDonald, Amy; Carmichael, Colin

2017-11-01

International research suggests that early mathematical competence predicts later mathematical achievement. In this article, we explore the relationship between mathematical competencies at 4-5 years, as measured by teacher ratings, and later results on Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) numeracy tests. Data from a nationally representative sample of 2343 children participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) are examined. In line with international studies, we report moderate correlations between preschool-entry mathematics and later NAPLAN numeracy test results. However, analysis of individual growth trajectories indicates that early mathematics predicts the initial (Year 3) level, but not subsequent growth. This suggests that early mathematical competencies are important for enhancing achievement in early schooling, but that the quality of mathematics education provided in the schooling years is critical for future development.

HAZARD ASSESSMENT OF LANDSLIDE DISASTER IN FUJIAN PROVINCE BASED ON FUZZY MATHEMATICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Wang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Landslide disasters are the most frequent geological disasters in Fujian Province. They are also the type of geological disasters that cause the most serious economic and population losses each year. This study uses the fuzzy mathematics method to carry on the hazard assessment of landslide disaster in Fujian Province, in order to explore the mechanism of the landslide disaster, and provides the reference for the construction land expansion in Fujian Province. The calculation results show that landslide disasters in Fujian Province have a high correlation with external forces, that is, long-term precipitation and short-term strong precipitation are likely to trigger landslide disasters. Among the internal stress factors, the correlation between the occurrence of landslides and slopes is the highest, and the probability of landslides occurs in areas with steep slopes. The evaluation results show that the areas with high landslide hazards are mainly distributed in the central region of Fujian Province. From the remote sensing images, it can be seen that most of the dangerous areas are in rapidly developing cities, and their vegetation coverage is relatively low, and the environment is greatly affected by humans.

Hazard Assessment of Landslide Disaster in Fujian Province Based on Fuzzy Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J. M.; Gong, A. D.; Chen, Y. L.; Li, J.; Zeng, T. T.

2018-04-01

Landslide disasters are the most frequent geological disasters in Fujian Province. They are also the type of geological disasters that cause the most serious economic and population losses each year. This study uses the fuzzy mathematics method to carry on the hazard assessment of landslide disaster in Fujian Province, in order to explore the mechanism of the landslide disaster, and provides the reference for the construction land expansion in Fujian Province. The calculation results show that landslide disasters in Fujian Province have a high correlation with external forces, that is, long-term precipitation and short-term strong precipitation are likely to trigger landslide disasters. Among the internal stress factors, the correlation between the occurrence of landslides and slopes is the highest, and the probability of landslides occurs in areas with steep slopes. The evaluation results show that the areas with high landslide hazards are mainly distributed in the central region of Fujian Province. From the remote sensing images, it can be seen that most of the dangerous areas are in rapidly developing cities, and their vegetation coverage is relatively low, and the environment is greatly affected by humans.

Mathematics Competency Test: User's Manual.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernon, P. E.; And Others

The Mathematics Competency Test is a 46-question written test assessing mathematics achievement for groups or individuals aged 11 to adult. It is suitable for use with groups or individuals in school, college and workplace contexts. The questions are open-ended and require constructed responses rather than recognition of a correct answer in a…

A study of rural preschool practitioners' views on young children's mathematical thinking

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Hunting, Robert P.; Mousley, Judith A.; Perry, Bob

2012-03-01

The project Mathematical Thinking of Preschool Children in Rural and Regional Australia: Research and Practice aimed to investigate views of preschool practitioners about young children's mathematical thinking and development. Structured individual interviews were conducted with 64 preschool practitioners from rural areas of three Australian states. The questions focused on five broad themes: children's mathematics learning, support for mathematics teaching, technology and computers, attitudes and feelings, and assessment and record keeping. We review results from the interview data for each of these themes, discuss their importance, and outline recommendations related to teacher education as well as resource development and research.

Contributions of Motivation, Early Numeracy Skills, and Executive Functioning to Mathematical Performance. A Longitudinal Study

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Jessica Mercader

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this longitudinal study is to examine the power of different variables and its dynamic interactions in predicting mathematical performance. The model proposed in this study includes indicators of motivational constructs (learning motivation and attributions, executive functioning (inhibition and working memory, and early numeracy skills (logical operations, counting, and magnitude comparison abilities, assessed during kindergarten, and mathematical performance in the second year of Primary Education. The sample consisted of 180 subjects assessed in two moments (5–6 and 7–8 years old. The results showed an indirect effect of initial motivation on later mathematical performance. Executive functioning and early numeracy skills mediated the effect of motivation on later mathematic achievement. Practical implications of these findings for mathematics education are discussed.

mathematical models for estimating radio channels utilization

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2017-08-08

Aug 8, 2017 ... Mathematical models for radio channels utilization assessment by real-time flows transfer in ... data transmission networks application having dynamic topology ..... Journal of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, 56(2): 85–90.

Pre-service teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching basic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study measured pre-service teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) basic school mathematics. MKT multiple-choice test was administered to 100 pre-service teachers from two colleges of education (located at Mampong in the Ashanti Region of Ghana) to assess their mathematical knowledge for ...

Study of the Factors Affecting the Mathematics Achievement of Turkish Students According to Data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012

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Güzeller, Cem Oktay; Eser, Mehmet Taha; Aksu, Gökhan

2016-01-01

This study attempts to determine the factors affecting the mathematics achievement of students in Turkey based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment 2012 and the correct classification ratio of the established model. The study used mathematics achievement as a dependent variable while sex, having a study room, preparation…

Engineering Undergraduates' Views of A-Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics as Preparation for Their Degree

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Darlington, Ellie; Bowyer, Jessica

2017-01-01

An ongoing reform programme of the post-16 Advanced "A"-level qualifications in England and Wales means that pre-university mathematics content and assessment will change from 2017. Undergraduate engineering is a subject that relies heavily on mathematics, and applicants to engineering degree programmes in the UK are required to have…

Addressing Priorities for Elementary School Mathematics

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Venenciano, Linda; Dougherty, Barbara

2014-01-01

Findings from international assessments present an opportunity to reconsider mathematics education across the grades. If concepts taught in elementary grades lay the foundation for continued study, then children's introduction to school mathematics deserves particular attention. We consider Davydov's theory (1966), which sequences…

Abandoning mathematics. Reconstructing the process in the context of the social perception of mathematics

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Anna Baczko-Dombi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Mathematics, as no other school subject, evokes conflicting emotions and contradictory attitudes – from “the gate to a career” and “the queen of science” to the widespread acceptance of mathematical ignorance in society. The process of studying mathematics requires systematic work and patience, as mathematical knowledge has a cumulative nature. In the case of mathematics education, some students abandon mathematics at quite early levels of education and begin to consider themselves “humanists”, which results in serious consequences for future educational and career choices. In this paper, I propose a description of the process of escaping from mathematics in the context of students’ perceptions of this subject, using the results of two studies – one qualitative and the other quantitative.

Two Teacher Educators’ Approaches to Developing Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Mathematics Assessment Literacy: Intentions, Outcomes, and New Learning

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Ji-Eun Lee

2015-03-01

approaches to developing preservice elementary teachers’ mathematics assessment literacy. We explored the similarities and differences in preservice teachers’ conceptions of good assessment practices and their critique of assessment items. We found that we, as course instructors, had different assumptions pertaining to the role of preservice teachers in the development of assessment and offered different assessment-related course activities. Despite these differences, there were more similarities than differences between the two groups of the preservice teachers with regard to their overall perceptions about good assessment practices and their critique of assessment items. However, we also observed differences in the criteria they used in critiquing assessment items. Discussions and implications are presented in accordance with these findings as a means to improve our own teaching and student learning.

Original article Key factors for successful solving of mathematical word problems in fifth-grade learners

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Marija Kavkler

2014-05-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Difficulties in solving mathematical word problems (MWP are one of the most common reasons for weak mathematics performance, and poor mathematical literacy has important implications for an individual’s further education, employment opportunities, mental health and quality of life in today’s modern technological society. The purpose of the study was to examine whether Slovenian good and poor MWP solvers differ in arithmetic knowledge and skills, non-verbal reasoning, pupils’ self-evaluations of MWP abilities, teachers’ assessment of their mathematical knowledge and what strategies fifth- grade learners use in solving MWP. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE The larger sample included 233 pupils from 14 fifth-grade classes (mean age 10 years 3 months and 14 teachers. On the basis of the teachers’ opinions and the results of MWP solving two sub-samples of 24 students were formed, good and poor MWP solvers. Several tests were used to determine MWP solving ability, automation of arithmetic facts and procedures as well as Raven’s SPM. Questionnaires for pupils were used to assess pupils’ estimations of MWP tasks’ difficulty, their own ability to solve them and the strategies used. To assess pupils’ knowledge a questionnaire for teachers was used. RESULTS Slovenian 5 th graders in the larger sample generally used very few empirically proven effective cognitive and metacognitive strategies to solve MWP. Pupils with lower achievement in solving MWP, compared to pupils with higher achievement demonstrated significantly less automated arithmetic facts and procedures of the algorithm, less flexible use of arithmetic skills, as well as qualitatively different MWP solving, which is also related to their lower non-verbal reasoning. Teachers’ assessments and pupils’ self-assessments matched the achieved test results. CONCLUSIONS The results exposed important key factors for successful solving of mathematical word problems with

Friend Influence and Susceptibility to Influence: Changes in Mathematical Reasoning as a Function of Relative Peer Acceptance and Interest in Mathematics

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DeLay, Dawn; Laursen, Brett; Kiuru, Noona; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Aunola, Kaisa

2016-01-01

This study investigated friend influence over mathematics achievement in 202 same-sex friendship dyads (106 girl dyads). Participants were in the third grade (around age 9) at the outset. Each friend completed a questionnaire describing interest in mathematics and a standardized mathematical reasoning assessment. Peer nominations provided a…

Latent Class Analysis of Students' Mathematics Learning Strategies and the Relationship between Learning Strategy and Mathematical Literacy

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Lin, Su-Wei; Tai, Wen-Chun

2015-01-01

This study investigated how various mathematics learning strategies affect the mathematical literacy of students. The data for this study were obtained from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data of Taiwan. The PISA learning strategy survey contains three types of learning strategies: elaboration, control, and…

Developmental Mathematics Students: Who are They and What is Their Mathematics Self-Efficacy?

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Ryan Baxter; Alan Bates; Adel Tawfig Al-Bataineh

2016-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine differences in developmental mathematics students’ self-efficacy within the demographic data from the survey. Data from a sample of 240 Intermediate Algebra students at a single four-year university using the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Results indicate that males possess higher levels of mathematics self-efficacy and confidence with their mathematical abilities than females. Students who completed a lower developmental mathematics course ...

Research trends in mathematics teacher education

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Lo, Jane-Jane; Zoest, Laura RVan

2014-01-01

Research on the preparation and continued development of mathematics teachers is becoming an increasingly important subset of mathematics education research. Such research explores the attributes, knowledge, skills and beliefs of mathematics teachers as well as methods for assessing and developing these critical aspects of teachers and influences on teaching.Research Trends in Mathematics Teacher Education focuses on three major themes in current mathematics teacher education research: mathematical knowledge for teaching, teacher beliefs and identities, and tools and techniques to support teacher learning. Through careful reports of individual research studies and cross-study syntheses of the state of research in these areas, the book provides insights into teachers' learning processes and how these processes can be harnessed to develop effective teachers. Chapters investigate bedrock skills needed for working with primary and secondary learners (writing relevant problems, planning lessons, being attentive to...

DEVELOPING STUDENTS’ ABILITY OF MATHEMATICAL CONNECTION THROUGH USING OUTDOOR MATHEMATICS LEARNING

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Saleh Haji

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Purpose of this study is to determine the achievement and improvement of students’ mathematical connectionability through using outdoor mathematics learning. 64 students from the fifth grade of Primary School at SDN 65 and SDN 67 Bengkulu City were taken as the sample of this study. While the method of the research used in this research is experiment with quasi-experimental designs non-equivalent control group. The results of the study are as follows: (1 There is an increasing ability found in mathematical connection of students whom taught by using outdoors mathematics learning is 0,53; (2 Based on statical computation that achievement of students’ ability of mathematical connection is taught by using outdoor mathematics learning score is 71,25. It is higher than the students score 66,25 which were taught by using the conventional learning. So as to improve students’ mathematical connection, teachers are suggested to use the outdoors mathematics learning

Teacher classroom practices and Mathematics performance in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Mathematics teacher questionnaire, administered as part of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011, comprised questions pertaining to the classroom practices of Teacher Clarity, Classroom Discussion, Feedback, Formative Assessment, Problem Solving and Metacognitive Strategies, ...

The Influence of Instructional Minutes on Grade 11 Language Arts and Mathematics High School Proficiency Assessment Performance

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Welcome, Simone E.

2017-01-01

The purpose for this cross-sectional, non-experimental explanatory quantitative research study was to explain the amount of variance in the High School Proficiency Assessment-11 Language Arts and Mathematics scores accounted for by the amount of instructional minutes at high schools in New Jersey. A proportional, stratified random sample which…

Influence of Writing Ability and Computation Skill on Mathematics Writing

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Powell, Sarah R.; Hebert, Michael A.

2016-01-01

Mathematics standards expect students to communicate about mathematics using oral and written methods, and some high-stakes assessments ask students to answer mathematics questions by writing. Assumptions about mathematics communication via writing include (a) students possess writing skill, (b) students can transfer this writing skill to…

The Preschool Rating Instrument for Science and Mathematics (PRISM)

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Brenneman, Kimberly; Stevenson-Garcia, Judi; Jung, Kwanghee; Frede, Ellen

2011-01-01

Until recently, few valid and reliable assessments were available to measure young children's mathematics and science learning in a "comprehensive" way. Now, a number of mathematics assessments have been developed and subjected to testing (Klein, Starkey, & Wakeley, 2000; Ginsburg, 2008; Clements & Sarama, 2008), and progress has…

Mathematical models for estimating radio channels utilization when ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Definition of the radio channel utilization indicator is given. Mathematical models for radio channels utilization assessment by real-time flows transfer in the wireless self-organized network are presented. Estimated experiments results according to the average radio channel utilization productivity with and without buffering of ...

Wiris Quizzes: a continuous assessment system with automatic feedback for online mathematics

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Remei Calm

2013-08-01

Full Text Available 0 0 1 148 815 USAL 6 1 962 14.0 Normal 0 21 false false false ES JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:ES; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} In online engineering studies, the monitoring of the learning process as well as the assessment system are key aspects of teaching strategy. This paper examines a continuous assessment system with automatic feedback. It is based on Wiris Quizzes taken over the semester in a Mathematical Analysis course at the Open University of Catalonia. These tests, with parameterized statements, are completed in the Moodle environment with the symbolic calculator program Wiris (www.wiris.com. The results of the teaching experience in a virtual classroom with 65 students and the comparison with earlier semesters are clearly positive: (a the number of students who follow continuous assessment remains stable; (b the average of the continuous assessment marks increases considerably; (c the number of students who fail has been reduced significantly, and (d the satisfaction level of students regarding the subject, its contents and resources has improved notably.

Mathematical biology

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Murray, James D

1993-01-01

The book is a textbook (with many exercises) giving an in-depth account of the practical use of mathematical modelling in the biomedical sciences. The mathematical level required is generally not high and the emphasis is on what is required to solve the real biological problem. The subject matter is drawn, e.g. from population biology, reaction kinetics, biological oscillators and switches, Belousov-Zhabotinskii reaction, reaction-diffusion theory, biological wave phenomena, central pattern generators, neural models, spread of epidemics, mechanochemical theory of biological pattern formation and importance in evolution. Most of the models are based on real biological problems and the predictions and explanations offered as a direct result of mathematical analysis of the models are important aspects of the book. The aim is to provide a thorough training in practical mathematical biology and to show how exciting and novel mathematical challenges arise from a genuine interdisciplinary involvement with the biosci...

The discursive production of classroom mathematics

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Smith, Kim; Hodson, Elaine; Brown, Tony

2013-09-01

School mathematics is a function of its discursive environment where the language being used formats mathematical activity. The paper explores this theme through an extended example in which the conduct of mathematical teaching and learning is restricted by regulative educational policies. It considers how mathematics is discursively produced by student teachers within an employment-based model of teacher education in England where there is a low university input. It is argued that teacher reflections on mathematical learning and teaching within the course are patterned discursively in line with formal curriculum framings, assessment requirements and the local demands of their placement school. Both teachers and students are subject to regulative discourses that shape their actions and as a consequence this regulation influences the forms of mathematical activity that can take place. It is shown how university sessions can provide a limited critical platform from which to interrogate these restrictions and renegotiate them.

Metacognition Process of Students with High Mathematics Anxiety in Mathematics Problem-Solving

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Patrisius Afrisno Udil; Tri Atmojo Kusmayadi; Riyadi Riyadi

2017-01-01

This study aims to find out students’ metacognition process while solving the mathematics problem. It focuses on analyzing the metacognition process of students with high mathematics anxiety based on Polya’s problem solving phases. This study uses qualitative research with case study strategy. The subjects consist of 8 students of 7th grade selected through purposive sampling. Data in the form of Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS) result and recorded interview while solving mathematics problems ...

Predicting Relationships between Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematics Teaching Anxiety, Self-efficacy Beliefs towards Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching

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Unlu, Melihan; Ertekin, Erhan; Dilmac, Bulent

2017-01-01

The purpose of the research is to investigate the relationships betweenself-efficacy beliefs toward mathematics, mathematics anxiety and self-efficacybeliefs toward mathematics teaching, mathematics teaching anxiety variables andtesting the relationships between these variables with structural equationmodel. The sample of the research, which was conducted in accordance withrelational survey model, consists of 380 university students, who studied atthe department of Elementary Mathematics Educ...

Place value without number sense: Exploring the need for mental mathematical skills assessment within the Annual National Assessments

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Mellony Graven

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we examine the extent of the focus on number sense, enabled and accompanied by the development of efficient strategies for mental maths, in the foundation and intermediate phase. We do this through documentary analysis of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS for these phases and the Annual National Assessments (ANAs. We argue that number sense and mental agility are critical for the development and understanding of algorithms and algebraic thinking introduced in the intermediate phase. However, we note from our work with learners, and broader evidence in the South African landscape, that counting-based strategies in the foundation phase are replaced in the intermediate phase with traditional algorithms. We share experiences in the form of vignettes to illuminate this problem. Whilst literature and the CAPS curriculum emphasise the important role of mental computation within number sense, we note that the ANAs do not include a “mental mathematics” component. This absence in assessment, where assessment often drives teaching, is problematic. We conclude with the suggestion that research be conducted into the viability/appropriateness of an orally administered mental mathematics assessment component in the ANAs as a way to establish a focus on number sense across the foundation and intermediate phases.

Developing Instructional Mathematical Physics Book Based on Inquiry Approach to Improve Students’ Mathematical Problem Solving Ability

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Syarifah Fadillah

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The problem in this research is to know how the process of developing mathematics physics instructional book based on inquiry approach and its supporting documents to improve students' mathematical problem-solving ability. The purpose of this research is to provide mathematical physics instruction based on inquiry approach and its supporting documents (semester learning activity plan, lesson plan and mathematical problem-solving test to improve students' mathematical problem-solving ability. The development of textbook refers to the ADDIE model, including analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The validation result from the expert team shows that the textbook and its supporting documents are valid. The test results of the mathematical problem-solving skills show that all test questions are valid and reliable. The result of the incorporation of the textbook in teaching and learning process revealed that students' mathematical problem-solving ability using mathematical physics instruction based on inquiry approach book was better than the students who use the regular book.

Numerical capacities as domain-specific predictors beyond early mathematics learning: a longitudinal study.

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Reigosa-Crespo, Vivian; González-Alemañy, Eduardo; León, Teresa; Torres, Rosario; Mosquera, Raysil; Valdés-Sosa, Mitchell

2013-01-01

The first aim of the present study was to investigate whether numerical effects (Numerical Distance Effect, Counting Effect and Subitizing Effect) are domain-specific predictors of mathematics development at the end of elementary school by exploring whether they explain additional variance of later mathematics fluency after controlling for the effects of general cognitive skills, focused on nonnumerical aspects. The second aim was to address the same issues but applied to achievement in mathematics curriculum that requires solutions to fluency in calculation. These analyses assess whether the relationship found for fluency are generalized to mathematics content beyond fluency in calculation. As a third aim, the domain specificity of the numerical effects was examined by analyzing whether they contribute to the development of reading skills, such as decoding fluency and reading comprehension, after controlling for general cognitive skills and phonological processing. Basic numerical capacities were evaluated in children of 3(rd) and 4(th) grades (n=49). Mathematics and reading achievements were assessed in these children one year later. Results showed that the size of the Subitizing Effect was a significant domain-specific predictor of fluency in calculation and also in curricular mathematics achievement, but not in reading skills, assessed at the end of elementary school. Furthermore, the size of the Counting Effect also predicted fluency in calculation, although this association only approached significance. These findings contrast with proposals that the core numerical competencies measured by enumeration will bear little relationship to mathematics achievement. We conclude that basic numerical capacities constitute domain-specific predictors and that they are not exclusively "start-up" tools for the acquisition of Mathematics; but they continue modulating this learning at the end of elementary school.

A synthesis of mathematical and cognitive performances of students with mathematics learning disabilities.

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Shin, Mikyung; Bryant, Diane Pedrotty

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the findings from 23 articles that compared the mathematical and cognitive performances of students with mathematics learning disabilities (LD) to (a) students with LD in mathematics and reading, (b) age- or grade-matched students with no LD, and (c) mathematical-ability-matched younger students with no LD. Overall results revealed that students with mathematics LD exhibited higher word problem-solving abilities and no significant group differences on working memory, long-term memory, and metacognition measures compared to students with LD in mathematics and reading. Findings also revealed students with mathematics LD demonstrated significantly lower performance compared to age- or grade-matched students with no LD on both mathematical and cognitive measures. Comparison between students with mathematics LD and younger students with no LD revealed mixed outcomes on mathematical measures and generally no significant group differences on cognitive measures. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

Non-intellectual predictors of achievement in mathematics

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Milošević Nikoleta M.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Findings presented herein are a part of a large international study of primary school final grade student achievement in mathematics and science (TIMSS 2003. Studies were also conducted on the degree of correlation between student family socioeconomic status, mathematical self-concept and achievement in mathematics. Pilot studies, whose findings are discussed comprised 112 seventh-grade students. "Family socioeconomic status" was defined by variables such as the number of family members, economically disadvantaged/affluent home, and parental educational status. "Mathematical self-concept" was defined as one of the more narrow domains of academic self-concept. "Achievement in mathematics" was measured by the test assessing two dimensions of knowledge of mathematics: content and cognitive skills. The analyses of partial correlations indicate that the most significant predictors of achievement in mathematics test are as follows mathematical self-concept, mother’s educational status and some indicators of family socioeconomic status (access to the Internet, number of household members, number of books available at home. Concerning the correlation found between family characteristics and mathematical self-concept and achievement in mathematics, the developers of current changes in mathematics teaching should not disregard the findings of this study.

AN ENVIRON-ECONOMICAL MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF WATER POLLUTION IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN REFERENCE TO INDIAN SCENARIO

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Hemant PATHAK

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the application of the mathematical modeling to such a specific area as environ-economical interaction in prospect of big countries like India. A model of mutual interaction of dirty drinking water resulting water borne diseases, badly affected economy is proposed. For the description of some of these models illustrates drinking water resources, incapable municipal water treatment consequently expansion of diseases, World Bank loan, affected biggest labour forces (mankind and ultimate results in the form of decrease in GDP. These mathematical models may be used in the solving of similar type problems exist in south and eastern Asian economies.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE ASSESSMENT MODEL AND METHOD TOWARD THE SCIENCE LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT BY CONTROLLING THE STUDENTS? PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF MATHEMATICS.

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Adam rumbalifar; I. g. n. Agung; Burhanuddin tola.

2018-01-01

This research aims to study the influence of the assessment model and method toward the science learning achievement by controlling the students? previous knowledge of mathematics. This study was conducted at SMP East Seram district with the population of 295 students. This study applied a quasi-experimental method with 2 X 2 factorial design using the ANCOVA model. The findings after controlling the students\\' previous knowledge of mathematics show that the science learning achievement of th...

The Threshold Hypothesis Applied to Spatial Skill and Mathematics

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Freer, Daniel

2017-01-01

This cross-sectional study assessed the relation between spatial skills and mathematics in 854 participants across kindergarten, third grade, and sixth grade. Specifically, the study probed for a threshold for spatial skills when performing mathematics, above which spatial scores and mathematics scores would be significantly less related. This…

Mathematical logic

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Kleene, Stephen Cole

1967-01-01

Undergraduate students with no prior instruction in mathematical logic will benefit from this multi-part text. Part I offers an elementary but thorough overview of mathematical logic of 1st order. Part II introduces some of the newer ideas and the more profound results of logical research in the 20th century. 1967 edition.

Basic mathematical cognition.

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Gaber, David; Schlimm, Dirk

2015-01-01

Mathematics is a powerful tool for describing and developing our knowledge of the physical world. It informs our understanding of subjects as diverse as music, games, science, economics, communications protocols, and visual arts. Mathematical thinking has its roots in the adaptive behavior of living creatures: animals must employ judgments about quantities and magnitudes in the assessment of both threats (how many foes) and opportunities (how much food) in order to make effective decisions, and use geometric information in the environment for recognizing landmarks and navigating environments. Correspondingly, cognitive systems that are dedicated to the processing of distinctly mathematical information have developed. In particular, there is evidence that certain core systems for understanding different aspects of arithmetic as well as geometry are employed by humans and many other animals. They become active early in life and, particularly in the case of humans, develop through maturation. Although these core systems individually appear to be quite limited in application, in combination they allow for the recognition of mathematical properties and the formation of appropriate inferences based upon those properties. In this overview, the core systems, their roles, their limitations, and their interaction with external representations are discussed, as well as possibilities for how they can be employed together to allow us to reason about more complex mathematical domains. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SYMBIOSIS: development, implementation, and assessment of a model curriculum across biology and mathematics at the introductory level.

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Depelteau, Audrey M; Joplin, Karl H; Govett, Aimee; Miller, Hugh A; Seier, Edith

2010-01-01

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." Alan Cohen (Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information on Alan Cohen's books and programs, see (www.alancohen.com.) With the support of the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) administration and a grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the departments of Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and Curriculum and Instruction have developed a biology-math integrated curriculum. An interdisciplinary faculty team, charged with teaching the 18 curriculum modules, designed this three-semester curriculum, known as SYMBIOSIS. This curriculum was piloted to two student cohorts during the developmental stage. The positive feedback and assessment results of this project have given us the foundation to implement the SYMBIOSIS curriculum as a replacement for the standard biology majors curriculum at the introductory level. This article addresses the history and development of the curriculum, previous assessment results and current assessment protocol, and the future of ETSU's approach to implementing the SYMBIOSIS curriculum.

Predicting Relationships between Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematics Teaching Anxiety, Self-Efficacy Beliefs towards Mathematics and Mathematics Teaching

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Unlu, Melihan; Ertekin, Erhan; Dilmac, Bulent

2017-01-01

The purpose of the research is to investigate the relationships between self-efficacy beliefs toward mathematics, mathematics anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs toward mathematics teaching, mathematics teaching anxiety variables and testing the relationships between these variables with structural equation model. The sample of the research, which…

Measuring Developmental Students' Mathematics Anxiety

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Ding, Yanqing

2016-01-01

This study conducted an item-level analysis of mathematics anxiety and examined the dimensionality of mathematics anxiety in a sample of developmental mathematics students (N = 162) by Multi-dimensional Random Coefficients Multinominal Logit Model (MRCMLM). The results indicate a moderately correlated factor structure of mathematics anxiety (r =…

The Turkish Adaptation of the Mathematical Resilience Scale: Validity and Reliability Study

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Gürefe, Nejla; Akçakin, Veysel

2018-01-01

Persistent in mathematical studies is an important element allowing students to be successful in their STEM careers, and there is a need for affective measurement instruments to assess persistence in mathematics in spite of problems. For this reason, this study aims to adapt the Mathematical Resilience Scale developed to assess resilience, which…

Mathematical Skills and Motor Life Skills in Toddlers: Do Differences in Mathematical Skills Reflect Differences in Motor Skills?

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Reikerås, Elin; Moser, Thomas; Tønnessen, Finn Egil

2017-01-01

This study examines possible relations between early mathematical skills and motor life skills in 450 toddlers aged two years and nine months. The study employs baseline data from the longitudinal Stavanger Project--The Learning Child. The children's mathematical skills and motor life skills were assessed by structured observation in the natural…

The materiality of mathematics: presenting mathematics at the blackboard.

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Greiffenhagen, Christian

2014-09-01

Sociology has been accused of neglecting the importance of material things in human life and the material aspects of social practices. Efforts to correct this have recently been made, with a growing concern to demonstrate the materiality of social organization, not least through attention to objects and the body. As a result, there have been a plethora of studies reporting the social construction and effects of a variety of material objects as well as studies that have explored the material dimensions of a diversity of practices. In different ways these studies have questioned the Cartesian dualism of a strict separation of 'mind' and 'body'. However, it could be argued that the idea of the mind as immaterial has not been entirely banished and lingers when it comes to discussing abstract thinking and reasoning. The aim of this article is to extend the material turn to abstract thought, using mathematics as a paradigmatic example. This paper explores how writing mathematics (on paper, blackboards, or even in the air) is indispensable for doing and thinking mathematics. The paper is based on video recordings of lectures in formal logic and investigates how mathematics is presented at the blackboard. The paper discusses the iconic character of blackboards in mathematics and describes in detail a number of inscription practices of presenting mathematics at the blackboard (such as the use of lines and boxes, the designation of particular regions for specific mathematical purposes, as well as creating an 'architecture' visualizing the overall structure of the proof). The paper argues that doing mathematics really is 'thinking with eyes and hands' (Latour 1986). Thinking in mathematics is inextricably interwoven with writing mathematics. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

Creativity for teaching mathematics. A diagnosis of secondary school professionals

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Lapa, Zenobia

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a research completed at junior high school in Lima, Peru, involving teachers of mathematics during 2010. The objective was to assess the level of creativity of teachers of mathematics for the sake of enlarging it. Theoretical methods were used to construct a general framework; likewise interviews and observation were used and processed statistically. Motivation, originality and flexibility were considered as dimensions of creativity. The results show that 80 % of interviewed teachers self-evaluate their level of creativity as high. However, according to observations only 40 % of teacher creativity reaches a mid-level, and only a fifth of those assessed by their own pupils attained such mid-levels and show potentials for team work and initiative to elaborate or look for material aids generating a pleasant learning atmosphere.

Mathematical disposition of junior high school students viewed from learning styles

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Putra, Arief Karunia; Budiyono, Slamet, Isnandar

2017-08-01

The relevance of this study is the growth of character values for students in Indonesia. Mathematics is a subject that builds the character values for students. It can be seen from the students' confidence in answering mathematics problems, their persistent and resilience in mathematics task. In addition, students have a curiosity in mathematics and appreciate the usefulness of mathematics. In mathematics, it is called a mathematical disposition. One of the factors that can affect students' mathematical disposition is learning style. Each student has a dominant learning style. Three of the most popular ones are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The most important uses of learning styles is that it makes it easy for teachers to incorporate them into their teaching. The purpose of this study was to determine which one that gives better mathematical dispositions among students with learning styles of visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. The subjects were 150 students in Sleman regency. Data obtained through questionnaires. Based on data analysis that has been done with benchmark assessment method, it can be concluded that students with visual learning style has a mathematical disposition better than students with auditory and kinesthetic learning styles, while students with kinesthetic learning style has a mathematical disposition better than students with auditory learning style. These results can be used as a reference for students with individual learning styles to improve the mathematical positive disposition in the learning process of mathematics.

Contextual Perspectives of School Mathematics: What Determines Mathematical Understanding?

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White, Loren; Frid, Sandra

Results of a study into secondary school students' and teachers' conceptions of what mathematics is and the purposes of school mathematics are outlined. A total of about 220 first year engineering students and 600 high school students in Australia were involved in the surveys while 40 students, 19 teachers, 2 career counselors, and 2…

Modern Versus Traditional Mathematics

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Roberts, A. M.

1974-01-01

The effect of different secondary school mathematics syllabi on first-year performance in college-level mathematics was studied in an attempt to evaluate the syllabus change. Students with a modern mathematics background performed sigficantly better on most first-year units. A topic-by-topic analysis of results is included. (DT)

Finnish Mentor Mathematics Teachers' Views of the Teacher Knowledge Required for Teaching Mathematics

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Asikainen, Mervi A.; Pehkonen, Erkki; Hirvonen, Pekka E.

2013-01-01

Seven Finnish mentor mathematics teachers were interviewed about their views regarding the teacher knowledge required for teaching mathematics. The results of the interviews revealed not only the teachers' spontaneous views of the knowledge base needed for effective mathematics teaching but also their views of the particular types of teacher…

Effects of Gender, Mathematics Anxiety and Achievement Motivation on College Students’ Achievement in Mathematics

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Ajogbeje Oke James

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The urge to excel or perform maximally in mathematics varies from individual to individual because achievement motivation is often developed or learnt during socialization and learning experiences. The study examined the relationship between College of Education students’ achievement motivation and mathematics achievement, correlation coefficient between mathematics anxiety and college students’ achievement motivation as well as mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement. The sample, 268 College of Education students offering mathematics as one of their subject combination, was selected using purposive sampling techniques. Three research instruments namely: Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS, Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT were used to collect data for the study. Data collected for the study were analyzed using correlational analysis and ANOVA. The results showed that a significantly low negative correlation coefficient existed between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement. There is a negative and significant correlation coefficient between mathematics anxiety and achievement motivation. Similarly, a positive and significant correlation coefficient also exists between achievement motivation and mathematics achievement. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that mathematics teachers should adopt activity based strategies and conducive learning environment in order to reduce college students’ anxieties in mathematics learning.

Investigations in Pure Mathematics: A Constructivist Perspective.

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Hirst, Keith; Shiu, Christine

1995-01-01

Discusses an investigative, constructivist approach in the context of undergraduate mathematics, with particular reference to pure mathematics, general aims and objectives, assessment strategies, and problems of supervision that affect tutors and lecturers using this approach. Gives students' views on their experiences in this mode of working. (19…

Mathematics education and students with learning disabilities: introduction to the special series.

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Rivera, D P

1997-01-01

influences on the field of mathematics education. Reform efforts have shaped the field significantly since the 1950s, contributing to the curriculum offered in mathematics textbooks and the pedagogical practices taught in higher education courses. Mathematics educators continue to search for a better understanding of how children learn mathematics; this process is shaped by the prevailing theoretical orientations and research methodologies. This special series in mathematics special education provides readers with information about the characteristics of students with mathematics learning disabilities, assessment procedures, mathematics programming, teacher preparation, and future directions for the field. The series originated as a result of discussions with Dr. Lee Wiederholt and Dr. Judith K. Voress, who saw a need for the compilation of recent research and best practices in mathematics special education. I thank them for their support of and thoughtful insights about the development of this series. I also appreciate the support of Dr. George Hynd and his editorial assistant, Kathryn Black, in finalizing the details for publication. Finally, I am most appreciative of the authors' contributions to this series; their work continues to significantly influence the development of the field of mathematics special education and programming for students with mathematics learning disabilities.

Mathematics related anxiety: Mathematics bogeyman or not?

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Videnović Marina

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Data of the PISA 2003 survey indicate high levels of mathematics anxiety of students in Serbia. More than half of our students worry whether they will have difficulties in mathematics class or whether they will earn poor marks. Aims of this study therefore are: examining relationship between math anxiety and achievement at mathematics literacy scale; establishing possible predictors of math anxiety and identification of students' groups in relations to their relationship towards mathematics as a subject. Mathematics anxiety is statistically negatively correlated with school achievement and achievement at mathematics literacy scale. Socio-demographic factors, motivational and cognitive aspects related to learning mathematics, perception of school and classroom climate explain 40% variance of mathematics anxiety. Based on students' relationship towards mathematics they cam be divided into three groups; while dimensions that apart them are uninterested-interested in mathematics and presence-absence of anxiety. The group displaying anxiety scores lowest among the three. Applying qualitative analysis students' and teachers' attitudes on specific issues related to teaching and learning mathematics was examined.

Methodological Approaches to Experimental Teaching of Mathematics to University Students

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Nikolay I.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the article imparts authors’ thoughtson a new teaching methodology for mathematical education in universities. The aim of the study is to substantiate the efficiency of the comprehensive usage of mathematical electronic courses, computer tests, original textbooks and methodologies when teaching mathematics to future agrarian engineers. The authors consider this implementation a unified educational process. Materials and Methods: the synthesis of international and domestic pedagogical experience of teaching students in university and the following methods of empirical research were used: pedagogical experiment, pedagogical measurementsand experimental teaching of mathematics. The authors applied the methodology of revealing interdisciplinary links on the continuum of mathematical problems using the key examples and exercises. Results: the online course “Mathematics” was designed and developed on the platform of Learning Management System Moodle. The article presents the results of test assignments assessing students’ intellectual abilities and analysis of solutions of various types of mathematical problems by students. The pedagogical experiment substantiated the integrated selection of textbooks, online course and online tests using the methodology of determination of the key examples and exercises. Discussion and Conclusions: the analysis of the experimental work suggested that the new methodology is able to have positive effect on the learning process. The learning programme determined the problem points for each student. The findings of this study have a number of important implications for future educational practice.

Evaluating change in attitude towards mathematics using the 'then-now' procedure in a cooperative learning programme.

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Townsend, Michael; Wilton, Keri

2003-12-01

Tertiary students' attitudes to mathematics are frequently negative and resistant to change, reflecting low self-efficacy. Some educators believe that greater use should be made of small group, collaborative teaching. However, the results of such interventions should be subject to assessments of bias caused by a shift in the frame of reference used by students in reporting their attitudes. This study was designed to assess whether traditional pretest-post-test procedures would indicate positive changes in mathematics attitude during a programme of cooperative learning, and whether an examination of any attitudinal change using the 'then-now' procedure would indicate bias in the results due to a shift in the internal standards for expressing attitude. Participants were 141 undergraduate students enrolled in a 12-week statistics and research design component of a course in educational psychology. Using multivariate procedures, pretest, post-test, and then-test measures of mathematics self-concept and anxiety were examined in conjunction with a cooperative learning approach to teaching. Significant positive changes between pretest and post-test were found for both mathematics self-concept and mathematics anxiety. There were no significant differences between the actual pretest and retrospective pretest measures of attitude. The results were not moderated by prior level of mathematics study. Conclusions about the apparent effectiveness of a cooperative learning programme were strengthened by the use of the retrospective pretest procedure.

A Cognition Analysis of QUASAR's Mathematics Performance Assessment Tasks and Their Sensitivity to Measuring Changes in Middle School Students' Thinking and Reasoning.

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Cai, Jinfa, And Others

1996-01-01

Presents a conceptual framework for analyzing students' mathematical understanding, reasoning, problem solving, and communication. Analyses of student responses indicated that the tasks appear to measure the complex thinking and reasoning processes that they were designed to assess. Concludes that the QUASAR assessment tasks can capture changes in…

Mathematics for the environment

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Walter, Martin

2011-01-01

MATHEMATICS IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING ELSEEarth's Climate and Some Basic Principles One of the Greatest Crimes of the 20th Century Feedback Edison's Algorithm: Listening to Nature's Feedback Fuzzy Logic, Filters, the Bigger Picture Principle Consequences of the Crime: Suburbia's Topology A Toxic Consequence of the Crime Hubbert's Peak and the End of Cheap Oil Resource Wars: Oil and Water The CO2 Greenhouse Law of Svante ArrheniusEconomic Instability: Ongoing Causes Necessary Conditions for Economic Success The Mathematical Structure of Ponzi Schemes Dishonest Assessment of Risk One Reason Why

Mathematical concepts

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Jost, Jürgen

2015-01-01

The main intention of this book is to describe and develop the conceptual, structural and abstract thinking of mathematics. Specific mathematical structures are used to illustrate the conceptual approach; providing a deeper insight into mutual relationships and abstract common features. These ideas are carefully motivated, explained and illustrated by examples so that many of the more technical proofs can be omitted. The book can therefore be used: ·         simply as an overview of the panorama of mathematical structures and the relations between them, to be supplemented by more detailed texts whenever you want to acquire a working knowledge of some structure ·         by itself as a first introduction to abstract mathematics ·         together with existing textbooks, to put their results into a more general perspective ·         to gain a new and hopefully deeper perspective after having studied such textbooks Mathematical Concepts has a broader scope and is less detaile...

High School Mathematics Curriculum Development Integrated with Character Education Within Project Assessment as Spiral System Leveled

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Siti Badriatul Munawaroh

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research are: (1 description of characteristics and (2 validate thesenior hight school of mathematics syllabus integrated character education with the project assessment, (3 test the effectiveness of the learning material of function in class X. Testing procedure of syllabus and learning used research development of Borg & Gall (1987. The data were processed with descriptive analysis, statistical test t test and regression. The results obtained by the integration of the 10 characters on the senior hight school of mathematics syllabus show a valid syllabus by experts with an average score of 4 (both categories, the maximum score of 5. Test implementation on learning reach effective: (1 the percentage of learners achieve mastery learning by 89, 5%; (2 an increase of characters curiosity of learners of meeting 1 to 2, up to 3, up to 4 each score gain of 0.17; 0.30; 0.31; (3 the influence of the curiosity of students to the learning outcomes of 48.9%, (4 the average learning outcomes of students experimental class (77.2 is better than the control class (76.2. Thus, each character can bring a change in behavior according to the character programmed and observed in the learning process in focus. Coordination learning at every level stated in the syllabus.

Investigating Primary School Mathematics Teachers’ Deductive Reasoning Ability through Varignon’s Theorem

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Jupri, A.

2017-09-01

The responsibility to promote the growth of deductive reasoning ability of school students through learning mathematics is in the hand of mathematics teachers and particularly primary school mathematics teachers. However, how we can make sure whether teachers are able to do so. To investigate this issue, we conducted a three-step of an exploratory survey study. First, we designed tasks from the Varignon’s theorem. Second, we administered an individual written test involving twenty master students of primary education program, in which they are prospective of and primary school mathematics teachers. Finally, we address the results in the light of Van Hiele theory. The results showed that participated students lack of deductive reasoning ability in the context of geometry. For further research, we wonder whether the designed tasks are also applicable to assess student deductive reasoning ability if the students have acquired appropriate teaching.

Numerical Capacities as Domain-Specific Predictors beyond Early Mathematics Learning: A Longitudinal Study

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Reigosa-Crespo, Vivian; González-Alemañy, Eduardo; León, Teresa; Torres, Rosario; Mosquera, Raysil; Valdés-Sosa, Mitchell

2013-01-01

The first aim of the present study was to investigate whether numerical effects (Numerical Distance Effect, Counting Effect and Subitizing Effect) are domain-specific predictors of mathematics development at the end of elementary school by exploring whether they explain additional variance of later mathematics fluency after controlling for the effects of general cognitive skills, focused on nonnumerical aspects. The second aim was to address the same issues but applied to achievement in mathematics curriculum that requires solutions to fluency in calculation. These analyses assess whether the relationship found for fluency are generalized to mathematics content beyond fluency in calculation. As a third aim, the domain specificity of the numerical effects was examined by analyzing whether they contribute to the development of reading skills, such as decoding fluency and reading comprehension, after controlling for general cognitive skills and phonological processing. Basic numerical capacities were evaluated in children of 3rd and 4th grades (n=49). Mathematics and reading achievements were assessed in these children one year later. Results showed that the size of the Subitizing Effect was a significant domain-specific predictor of fluency in calculation and also in curricular mathematics achievement, but not in reading skills, assessed at the end of elementary school. Furthermore, the size of the Counting Effect also predicted fluency in calculation, although this association only approached significance. These findings contrast with proposals that the core numerical competencies measured by enumeration will bear little relationship to mathematics achievement. We conclude that basic numerical capacities constitute domain-specific predictors and that they are not exclusively “start-up” tools for the acquisition of Mathematics; but they continue modulating this learning at the end of elementary school. PMID:24255710

Edmodo social learning network for elementary school mathematics learning

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Ariani, Y.; Helsa, Y.; Ahmad, S.; Prahmana, RCI

2017-12-01

A developed instructional media can be as printed media, visual media, audio media, and multimedia. The development of instructional media can also take advantage of technological development by utilizing Edmodo social network. This research aims to develop a digital classroom learning model using Edmodo social learning network for elementary school mathematics learning which is practical, valid and effective in order to improve the quality of learning activities. The result of this research showed that the prototype of mathematics learning device for elementary school students using Edmodo was in good category. There were 72% of students passed the assessment as a result of Edmodo learning. Edmodo has become a promising way to engage students in a collaborative learning process.

SUMO, System performance assessment for a high-level nuclear waste repository: Mathematical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eslinger, P.W.; Miley, T.B.; Engel, D.W.; Chamberlain, P.J. II.

1992-09-01

Following completion of the preliminary risk assessment of the potential Yucca Mountain Site by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) in 1988, the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) requested the Performance Assessment Scientific Support (PASS) Program at PNL to develop an integrated system model and computer code that provides performance and risk assessment analysis capabilities for a potential high-level nuclear waste repository. The system model that has been developed addresses the cumulative radionuclide release criteria established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and estimates population risks in terms of dose to humans. The system model embodied in the SUMO (System Unsaturated Model) code will also allow benchmarking of other models being developed for the Yucca Mountain Project. The system model has three natural divisions: (1) source term, (2) far-field transport, and (3) dose to humans. This document gives a detailed description of the mathematics of each of these three divisions. Each of the governing equations employed is based on modeling assumptions that are widely accepted within the scientific community

Teachers' Mathematics as Mathematics-at-Work

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Bednarz, Nadine; Proulx, Jérôme

2017-01-01

Through recognising mathematics teachers as professionals who use mathematics in their workplace, this article traces a parallel between the mathematics enacted by teachers in their practice and the mathematics used in workplaces found in studies of professionals (e.g. nurses, engineers, bankers). This parallel is developed through the five…

Mathematical Discovery: Hadamard Resurected

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Liljedahl, Peter

2004-01-01

In 1943 Jacques Hadamard gave a series of lectures on mathematical invention at the Ecole Libre des Hautes Etudes in New York City. These talks were subsequently published as The Psychology of Mathematical Invention in the Mathematical Field (Hadamard, 1945). In this article I present a study that mirrors the work of Hadamard. Results both…

Investigating students' perceptions of graduate learning outcomes in mathematics

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King, Deborah; Varsavsky, Cristina; Belward, Shaun; Matthews, Kelly

2017-11-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions mathematics students have of the knowledge and skills they develop throughout their programme of study. It addresses current concerns about the employability of mathematics graduates by contributing much needed insight into how degree programmes are developing broader learning outcomes for students majoring in mathematics. Specifically, the study asked students who were close to completing a mathematics major (n = 144) to indicate the extent to which opportunities to develop mathematical knowledge along with more transferable skills (communication to experts and non-experts, writing, working in teams and thinking ethically) were included and assessed in their major. Their perceptions were compared to the importance they assign to each of these outcomes, their own assessment of improvement during the programme and their confidence in applying these outcomes. Overall, the findings reveal a pattern of high levels of students' agreement that these outcomes are important, but evidence a startling gap when compared to students' perceptions of the extent to which many of these - communication, writing, teamwork and ethical thinking - are actually included and assessed in the curriculum, and their confidence in using such learning.

A mathematical approach to human pterygium shape

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Pajic B

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Bojan Pajic,1–4 Iraklis Vastardis,1 Predrag Rajkovic,5 Brigitte Pajic-Eggspuehler,1 Daniel M Aebersold,6 Zeljka Cvejic2 1Eye Clinic ORASIS, Swiss Eye Research Foundation, Reinach AG, Switzerland; 2Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad,3Faculty of Medicine of the Military Medical Academy, University of Defence, Belgrade, Serbia; 4Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; 5Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Niš, Niš, Serbia; 6Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland Purpose: Pterygium is a common lesion affecting the population in countries with high levels of ultraviolet exposure. The final shape of a pterygium is the result of a growth pattern, which remains poorly understood. This manuscript provides a mathematical analysis as a tool to determine the shape of human pterygia.Materials and methods: Eighteen patients, all affected by nasal unilateral pterygia, were randomly selected from our patient database independently of sex, origin, or race. We included all primary or recurrent pterygia with signs of proliferation, dry eye, and induction of astigmatism. Pseudopterygia were excluded from this study. Pterygia were outlined and analyzed mathematically using a Cartesian coordinate system with two axes (X, Y and five accurate landmarks of the pterygium.Results: In 13 patients (72%, the shape of the pterygia was hyperbolic and in five patients (28%, the shape was rather elliptical.Conclusion: This analysis gives a highly accurate mathematical description of the shape of human pterygia. This might help to better assess the clinical results and outcome of the great variety of therapeutic approaches concerning these lesions. Keywords: etiology, pterygium, limbal stem cells, stem cells dysfunction, mathematical shape analysis

Comparison among cognitive diagnostic models for the TIMSS 2007 fourth grade mathematics assessment.

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Yamaguchi, Kazuhiro; Okada, Kensuke

2018-01-01

A variety of cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs) have been developed in recent years to help with the diagnostic assessment and evaluation of students. Each model makes different assumptions about the relationship between students' achievement and skills, which makes it important to empirically investigate which CDMs better fit the actual data. In this study, we examined this question by comparatively fitting representative CDMs to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 assessment data across seven countries. The following two major findings emerged. First, in accordance with former studies, CDMs had a better fit than did the item response theory models. Second, main effects models generally had a better fit than other parsimonious or the saturated models. Related to the second finding, the fit of the traditional parsimonious models such as the DINA and DINO models were not optimal. The empirical educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Influence of Gender, Single-Sex and Co-Educational Schooling on Students' Enjoyment and Achievement in Mathematics

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Prendergast, Mark; O'Donoghue, John

2014-01-01

This research investigates the influence that gender, single-sex and co-educational schooling can have on students' mathematics education in second-level Irish classrooms. Although gender differences in mathematics education have been the subject of research for many years, recent results from PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment)…

Mathematic model of regional economy development by the final result of labor resources

Science.gov (United States)

Zaitseva, Irina; Malafeev, Oleg; Strekopytov, Sergei; Bondarenko, Galina; Lovyannikov, Denis

2018-04-01

This article presents the mathematic model of regional economy development based on the result of labor resources. The solution of a region development-planning problem is considered for the period of long-lasting planning taking into account the beginning and the end of the planned period. The challenge is to find the distribution of investments in the main and additional branches of the regional economy, which will provide simultaneous transaction of all major sectors of the regional economy from the given condition to the predetermined final state.

Influences on Mathematical Preparation of Secondary School Teachers of Mathematics.

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Johnson, Carl S.; Byars, Jackson A.

The results of a survey related to the impact of various recommendations on preservice content programs for teachers of mathematics are reported. The content of current programs is compared to the recommendations of the Committee on Undergraduate Programs in Mathematics (CUPM). The acceptance of CUPM and the Cambridge Conference on School…

The relationship between learning mathematics and general cognitive ability in primary school.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Richard; Hurry, Jane; Midouhas, Emily

2018-06-01

Three relationships between learning mathematics and general cognitive ability have been hypothesized: The educational hypothesis that learning mathematics develops general cognitive skills, the psychometric hypothesis that differences in general cognitive ability cause differences in mathematical attainment, and the reciprocal influence hypothesis that developments in mathematical ability and general cognitive ability influence each other. These hypotheses are assessed with a sample of 948 children from the Twins Early Development Study who were assessed at 7, 9, and 10 years on mathematics, English, and general cognitive ability. A cross-lagged path analysis with mathematics and general cognitive ability measures supports the reciprocal influence hypothesis between 7 and 9 and between 9 and 10. A second analysis including English assessments only provides evidence of a reciprocal relationship between 7 and 9. Statement of Contribution What is already known on this subject? The correlations between mathematical attainment, literacy, and measures of general cognitive skills are well established. The role of literacy in developing general cognitive skills is emerging. What the present study adds? Mathematics contributes to the development of general cognitive skills. General cognitive ability contributes to mathematical development between 7 and 10. These findings support the hypothesis of reciprocal influence between mathematics and general cognitive ability, at least between 7 and 9. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Tracking Developmental Students into Their First College Level Mathematics Course

Science.gov (United States)

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…

Students’ Information Literacy: A Perspective from Mathematical Literacy

OpenAIRE

Ariyadi Wijaya

2016-01-01

Information literacy is mostly seen from the perspective of library science or information and communication technology. Taking another point of view, this study was aimed to explore students’ information literacy from the perspective of mathematical literacy. For this purpose, a test addressing Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) mathematics tasks were administered to 381 eighth and ninth graders from nine junior high schools in the Province of Yogyakarta. PISA mathematics ...

TEACHING MATHEMATICAL DISCIPLINES AT THE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

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V. Ya. Gelman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction.In programs of training of students of medical specialties, Mathematics is a subject of basic education, i.e. non-core discipline. However, studying Mathematics is extremely important for future physicians, as recently there has been an impetuous development of mathematization in the field of health care. Today, a set of the new medical devices, the equipment and high technologies are being developed based on the mathematical modeling, analysis and forecasting. Mathematical methods are widely applied to diagnostics, development of life-support systems and the description of various biological processes both at the molecular level,  and at the level of a whole organism, its systems, bodies and tissues. The solution of many medical tasks in the field of taxonomy, genetics, and organization of medical service is impossible without knowledge of mathematics. Unfortunately, along with the evident importance of mathematical preparation for a medical profession, its need is poorly realized not only by junior students, but even by some teachers of specialized departments of medical schools.The aim of the publication is to discuss the problems that arise in the teaching of mathematical disciplines to students at a medical school and to suggest possible solutions to these problems.Methodology and research methods. The study is based on the use of modeling of the educational process. The methods of analysis, generalization and the method of expert assessments were applied in the course of the research.Results and scientific novelty. The aspects of mathematical preparation at the university are considered on the basis of the application of the multiplicative model of training quality. It is shown that the main students’ learning difficulties in Mathematics are connected with the following factors: the initial level of mathematical preparation of students and their motivation; outdated methods of Mathematics teaching and academic content

Secondary Teachers’ Mathematics-related Beliefs and Knowledge about Mathematical Problem-solving

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E Siswono, T. Y.; Kohar, A. W.; Hartono, S.

2017-02-01

This study investigates secondary teachers’ belief about the three mathematics-related beliefs, i.e. nature of mathematics, teaching mathematics, learning mathematics, and knowledge about mathematical problem solving. Data were gathered through a set of task-based semi-structured interviews of three selected teachers with different philosophical views of teaching mathematics, i.e. instrumental, platonist, and problem solving. Those teachers were selected from an interview using a belief-related task from purposively selected teachers in Surabaya and Sidoarjo. While the interviews about knowledge examine teachers’ problem solving content and pedagogical knowledge, the interviews about beliefs examine their views on several cases extracted from each of such mathematics-related beliefs. Analysis included the categorization and comparison on each of beliefs and knowledge as well as their interaction. Results indicate that all the teachers did not show a high consistency in responding views of their mathematics-related beliefs, while they showed weaknesses primarily on problem solving content knowledge. Findings also point out that teachers’ beliefs have a strong relationship with teachers’ knowledge about problem solving. In particular, the instrumental teacher’s beliefs were consistent with his insufficient knowledge about problem-solving, while both platonist and problem-solving teacher’s beliefs were consistent with their sufficient knowledge of either content or pedagogical problem solving.

Validation of an instrument for mathematics enhancement teaching efficacy of Pacific Northwest agricultural educators

Science.gov (United States)

Jansen, Daniel J.

Teacher efficacy continues to be an important area of study in educational research. This study tested an instrument designed to assess the perceived efficacy of agricultural education teachers when engaged in lessons involving mathematics instruction. The study population of Oregon and Washington agricultural educators utilized in the validation of the instrument revealed important demographic findings and specific results related to teacher efficacy for the study population. An instrument was developed from the assimilation of three scales previously used and validated in efficacy research. Participants' mathematics teaching efficacy was assessed using a portion of the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI), and personal mathematics efficacy was evaluated by the mathematics self-belief instrument which was derived from the Betz and Hackett's Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale. The final scale, the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) created by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, examined perceived personal teaching efficacy. Structural equation modeling was used as the statistical analyses tool to validate the instrument and examine correlations between efficacy constructs used to determine potential professional development needs of the survey population. As part of the data required for validation of the Mathematics Enhancement Teaching Efficacy instrument, demographic information defining the population of Oregon and Washington agricultural educators was obtained and reported. A hypothetical model derived from teacher efficacy literature was found to be an acceptable model to verify construct validity and determine strength of correlations between the scales that defined the instrument. The instrument produced an alpha coefficient of .905 for reliability. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to verify construct and discriminate validity. Specifics results related to the survey population of agricultural educators

Assessment of Antimicrobial Treatment Strategies in Pig Production Using Mathematical Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahmad, Amais

strategies. Dosing factors, along with the in vivo epidemiological parameters, govern the relation between resistance and antimicrobial use. Mathematical modeling and simulation techniques have been used over the past two decades to evaluate the effect of these factors on the development of resistance......, and are considered to be powerful tools in designing treatment strategies. The overall aim of the thesis was to develop an in vivo bacterial growth model to predict and assess the effect of dosing factor on resistance growth in order to optimize treatment strategies. Specific aims were to a) estimate pharmacodynamic...... concentration (MIC). These parameters along with MIC should be taken into account when studying the effect of antimicrobials on the bacterial growth. These parameters were used as an input to the in vivo growth model of multiple bacterial strains. For almost all treatments, high resistance levels were found...

The Effect of Realistic Mathematics Education Approach on Students' Achievement And Attitudes Towards Mathematics

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Effandi Zakaria

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study was conducted to determine the effect of Realistic Mathematics Education Approach on mathematics achievement and student attitudes towards mathematics. This study also sought determine the relationship between student achievement and attitudes towards mathematics. This study used a quasi-experimental design conducted on 61 high school students at SMA Unggul Sigli. Students were divided into two groups, the treatment group $(n = 30$ namely, the Realistic Mathematics Approach group (PMR and the control group $(n = 31$ namely, the traditional group. This study was conducted for six weeks. The instruments used in this study were the achievement test and the attitudes towards mathematics questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS. To determine the difference in mean achievement and attitudes between the two groups, data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA test. The result showed significant differences between the Realistic Mathematics Approach and the traditional approach in terms of achievement. The study showed no significant difference between the Realistic Mathematics Approach and the traditional approach in term of attitudes towards mathematics. It can be concluded that the use of realistic mathematics education approach enhanced students' mathematics achievement, but not attitudes towards mathematics. The Realistic Mathematics Education Approach encourage students to participate actively in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Thus, Realistic Mathematics Education Approach is an appropriate methods to improve the quality of teaching and learning process.

ANS acuity and mathematics ability in preschoolers from low-income homes: contributions of inhibitory control.

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Fuhs, Mary Wagner; McNeil, Nicole M

2013-01-01

Recent findings by Libertus, Feigenson, and Halberda (2011) suggest that there is an association between the acuity of young children's approximate number system (ANS) and their mathematics ability before exposure to instruction in formal schooling. The present study examined the generalizability and validity of these findings in a sample of preschoolers from low-income homes. Children attending Head Start (N = 103) completed measures to assess ANS acuity, mathematics ability, receptive vocabulary, and inhibitory control. Results showed only a weak association between ANS acuity and mathematics ability that was reduced to non-significance when controlling for a direct measure of receptive vocabulary. Results also revealed that inhibitory control plays an important role in the relation between ANS acuity and mathematics ability. Specifically, ANS acuity accounted for significant variance in mathematics ability over and above receptive vocabulary, but only for ANS acuity trials in which surface area conflicted with numerosity. Moreover, this association became non-significant when controlling for inhibitory control. These results suggest that early mathematical experiences prior to formal schooling may influence the strength of the association between ANS acuity and mathematics ability and that inhibitory control may drive that association in young children. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Numerical approximation abilities correlate with and predict informal but not formal mathematics abilities.

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Libertus, Melissa E; Feigenson, Lisa; Halberda, Justin

2013-12-01

Previous research has found a relationship between individual differences in children's precision when nonverbally approximating quantities and their school mathematics performance. School mathematics performance emerges from both informal (e.g., counting) and formal (e.g., knowledge of mathematics facts) abilities. It remains unknown whether approximation precision relates to both of these types of mathematics abilities. In the current study, we assessed the precision of numerical approximation in 85 3- to 7-year-old children four times over a span of 2years. In addition, at the final time point, we tested children's informal and formal mathematics abilities using the Test of Early Mathematics Ability (TEMA-3). We found that children's numerical approximation precision correlated with and predicted their informal, but not formal, mathematics abilities when controlling for age and IQ. These results add to our growing understanding of the relationship between an unlearned nonsymbolic system of quantity representation and the system of mathematics reasoning that children come to master through instruction. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching Mathematical Modeling in Mathematics Education

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Saxena, Ritu; Shrivastava, Keerty; Bhardwaj, Ramakant

2016-01-01

Mathematics is not only a subject but it is also a language consisting of many different symbols and relations. Taught as a compulsory subject up the 10th class, students are then able to choose whether or not to study mathematics as a main subject. The present paper discusses mathematical modeling in mathematics education. The article provides…

Primary Trait Analysis to Assess a Learner-Centered, Upper-Level Mathematics Course

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Alsardary, Salar; Pontiggia, Laura; Hamid, Mohammed; Blumberg, Phyllis

2011-01-01

This study presents a primary trait analysis of a learner-centered, discrete mathematics course based on student-to-student instruction. The authors developed a scoring rubric for the primary traits: conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, application of understanding, and mathematical communication skills. Eleven students took an exam…

Profile of Metacognition of Mathematics and Mathematics Education Students in Understanding the Concept of Integral Calculus

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Misu, La; Ketut Budayasa, I.; Lukito, Agung

2018-03-01

This study describes the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. The metacognition profile is a natural and intact description of a person’s cognition that involves his own thinking in terms of using his knowledge, planning and monitoring his thinking process, and evaluating his thinking results when understanding a concept. The purpose of this study was to produce the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. This research method is explorative method with the qualitative approach. The subjects of this study are mathematics and mathematics education students who have studied integral calculus. The results of this study are as follows: (1) the summarizing category, the mathematics and mathematics education students can use metacognition knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals. While the definite integrals, only mathematics education students use metacognition skills; and (2) the explaining category, mathematics students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals, while the definite integrals only use metacognition skills. In addition, mathematics education students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of both indefinite and definite integrals.

Mathematical Modeling and Pure Mathematics

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Usiskin, Zalman

2015-01-01

Common situations, like planning air travel, can become grist for mathematical modeling and can promote the mathematical ideas of variables, formulas, algebraic expressions, functions, and statistics. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how the mathematical modeling that is present in everyday situations can be naturally embedded in…

EURASIAN MINERAL WATER: MATHEMATICAL MODELING, CLASSIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THEIR IMPACT ON THE BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF HUMAN BLOOD

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Nikolay Kornilov

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In the article the results of comparative analysis of the composition of the Eurasian hydromineral resources and the assessment of their impact on the physiological condition of a human organism according to biochemical studies of venous blood are presented. Processing of initial data on the composition and properties of mineral waters chloride-hydrocarbonate, sulphate- hydrocarbonate and chloride-sulphate types and venous blood are made using the method of mathematical modeling, developed by the authors of this article. It is shown that in the balneological impact of hydromineral resources on the body in the blood increases the hemoglobin and oxygen, decreases glucose, and acid-base pH shifted to high alkalinity.

The comprehension of mathematic problems in primary school

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Karel Pérez Ariza

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the result of the research project “A study of causes of difficulties in learning comprehension from an interdisciplinary perspective in Camagüey. The main objective of that study is to propose a methodology for the comprehension of mathematic problems in primary school. In designing the methodology, the characteristics of this text variety, basic principle of the theory of reading comprehension and problem solving were taking into account. In this research work several theoretical methods were used —analysis-synthesis, historical-logical, inductive-deductive— to elaborate the theoretical framework, while modeling and system approach in the methodology construction. Additionally, empirical methods were used in order to assess the knowledge about comprehension of mathematic problems; among them observation and analysis of the activity results.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL DESIGNATED FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD PRODUCED BY A BUILDING PROJECT

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Lapidus Azariy Abramovich; Berezhnyy Aleksandr Yurevich

2012-01-01

In the paper, the author proposes a mathematical model designated for the assessment of the ecological impact produced on the environment within the territory of the construction site. Integrated index EI (Environmental Index) is introduced as a vehicle designated for the evaluation of the ecological load. EI represents the intensity of the ecological load, or a generalized and optimized parameter reflecting the intensity of the anthropogenic impact of the construction site onto the natural e...

Mathematical structures for computer graphics

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Janke, Steven J

2014-01-01

A comprehensive exploration of the mathematics behind the modeling and rendering of computer graphics scenes Mathematical Structures for Computer Graphics presents an accessible and intuitive approach to the mathematical ideas and techniques necessary for two- and three-dimensional computer graphics. Focusing on the significant mathematical results, the book establishes key algorithms used to build complex graphics scenes. Written for readers with various levels of mathematical background, the book develops a solid foundation for graphics techniques and fills in relevant grap

The influence of Missouri mathematics project on seventh grade students’ mathematical understanding ability

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Rezeki, S.; Setyawan, A. A.; Amelia, S.

2018-01-01

Mathematical understanding ability is a primary goal of Indonesian national education goals. However, various sources has shown that Indonesian students’ mathematical understanding ability is still relatively low. This study used quasi-experimental research design to examine the effectiveness of the application of Missouri Mathematics Project (MMP) on students’ mathematical understanding ability. The participants of the study were seventh grade students in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, Indonesia. They were selected purposively and represented as high, medium, and low-quality schools. The result of this study indicated that there was a significant effect of MMP on the overall students’ mathematical understanding ability and in all categories, except for low school level.

Pursuing excellence in mathematics education essays in honor of Jeremy Kilpatrick

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Silver, Edward

2014-01-01

​Chapters in this book recognize the more than forty years of sustained and distinguished lifetime achievement in mathematics education research and development of Jeremy Kilpatrick. Including contributions from a variety of skilled mathematics educators, this text honors Jeremy Kilpatrick, reflecting on his groundbreaking papers, book chapters, and books - many of which are now standard references in the literature - on mathematical problem solving, the history of mathematics education, mathematical ability and proficiency, curriculum change and its history, global perspectives on mathematics education, and mathematics assessment. Many chapters also offer substantial contributions of their own on important themes, including mathematical problem solving, mathematics curriculum, the role of theory in mathematics education, the democratization of mathematics, and international perspectives on the professional field of mathematics education.​.

Assessing the Effectiveness of a 3-D Instructional Game on Improving Mathematics Achievement and Motivation of Middle School Students

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Bai, Haiyan; Pan, Wei; Hirumi, Astusi; Kebritchi, Mansureh

2012-01-01

This research study assessed the effectiveness of a three-dimensional mathematics game, DimensionM, through a pretest-posttest control group quasi-experimental design. Participants consisted of 437 eighth graders. The classrooms were randomly assigned either to the treatment group that utilized DimensionM as a supplement to regular classroom…

Science modelling in pre-calculus: how to make mathematics problems contextually meaningful

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Sokolowski, Andrzej; Yalvac, Bugrahan; Loving, Cathleen

2011-04-01

'Use of mathematical representations to model and interpret physical phenomena and solve problems is one of the major teaching objectives in high school math curriculum' (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, NCTM, Reston, VA, 2000). Commonly used pre-calculus textbooks provide a wide range of application problems. However, these problems focus students' attention on evaluating or solving pre-arranged formulas for given values. The role of scientific content is reduced to provide a background for these problems instead of being sources of data gathering for inducing mathematical tools. Students are neither required to construct mathematical models based on the contexts nor are they asked to validate or discuss the limitations of applied formulas. Using these contexts, the instructor may think that he/she is teaching problem solving, where in reality he/she is teaching algorithms of the mathematical operations (G. Kulm (ed.), New directions for mathematics assessment, in Assessing Higher Order Thinking in Mathematics, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 1994, pp. 221-240). Without a thorough representation of the physical phenomena and the mathematical modelling processes undertaken, problem solving unintentionally appears as simple algorithmic operations. In this article, we deconstruct the representations of mathematics problems from selected pre-calculus textbooks and explicate their limitations. We argue that the structure and content of those problems limits students' coherent understanding of mathematical modelling, and this could result in weak student problem-solving skills. Simultaneously, we explore the ways to enhance representations of those mathematical problems, which we have characterized as lacking a meaningful physical context and limiting coherent student understanding. In light of our discussion, we recommend an alternative to strengthen the process of teaching mathematical modelling - utilization

Linking Preservice Teachers' Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Mathematics Teaching Efficacy to Their Mathematical Performance

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Bates, Alan B.; Latham, Nancy; Kim, Jin-ah

2011-01-01

This study examined preservice teachers' mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics teaching efficacy and compared them to their mathematical performance. Participants included 89 early childhood preservice teachers at a Midwestern university. Instruments included the Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale (MSES), Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs…

Women in mathematics celebrating the centennial of the Mathematical Association of America

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Greenwald, Sarah; Jensen-Vallin, Jacqueline; Mast, Maura

2017-01-01

This collection of refereed papers celebrates the contributions, achievements, and progress of female mathematicians, mostly in the 20th and 21st centuries. Emerging from the themed paper session “The Contributions of Women to Mathematics: 100 Years and Counting” at MAA's 2015 MathFest, this volume contains a diverse mix of current scholarship and exposition on women and mathematics, including biographies, histories, and cultural discussions. The multiplicity of authors also ensures a wide variety of perspectives. In inspiring and informative chapters, the authors featured in this volume reflect on the accomplishments of women in mathematics, showcasing the changes in mathematical culture that resulted as more women obtained tenure-track and tenured academic positions, received prestigious awards and honors, served in leadership roles in professional societies, and became more visibly active in the mathematical community. Readers will find discussions of mathematical excellence at Girton College, Cambridg...

Structural equation modeling assessing relationship between mathematics beliefs, teachers' attitudes and teaching practices among novice teachers in Malaysia

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Borhan, Noziati; Zakaria, Effandi

2017-05-01

This quantitative study was conducted to investigate the perception level of novice teachers about mathematics belief, teachers' attitude towards mathematics and teaching practices of mathematics in the classroom. In addition, it also aims to identify whether there is a correspondence model with the data obtained and to identify the relationship between the variables of beliefs, attitudes and practices among novice teachers in Malaysia. A total of 263 primary novice teachers throughout the country were involved in this study were selected randomly. Respondents are required to provide a response to the questionnaire of 66 items related to mathematics beliefs, attitudes and practices of the teaching mathematics. There are ten sub-factors which have been established in this instrument for three major constructs using a Likert scale rating of five points. The items of the constructs undergo the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) procedure involve of unidimensionality test, convergent validity, construct validity and discriminant validity. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the frequency, percentage, the mean and standard deviation for completing some research questions that have been expressed. As for inferential statistical analysis, the researchers used structural equation modeling (SEM) to answer the question of correspondents model and the relationship between these three variables. The results of the study were found that there exist a correspondence measurement and structural model with the data obtained. While the relationship between variable found that mathematics beliefs have a significant influence on teachers' attitudes towards mathematics as well as the relationship between the attitudes with teaching practices. Meanwhile, mathematics belief had no significant relationship with mathematics teaching practices among novice teachers in Malaysia.

Improving University Students' Perception of Mathematics and Mathematics Ability

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Shelly L. Wismath

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Although mathematical and quantitative reasoning skills are an essential part of adult life in our society, many students arrive at post-secondary education without such skills. Taking a standard mathematics course such as calculus may do little to improve those skills. Using a modification of the Tapia & Marsh questionnaire, we surveyed 62 students taking a broad quantitative reasoning course designed to develop quantitative skills, with respect to two broad attitudinal areas: students’ perception of their own ability, confidence and anxiety, and their perception of the value of mathematics in their studies and their lives. Pre- to post-course comparisons were done by both paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Our results showed a significant increase in confidence and decrease in anxiety, while perception of the value of mathematics was already high and changed little by the end of the course.

The impact of high-stakes, state-mandated student performance assessment on 10th grade English, mathematics, and science teachers' instructional practices

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Vogler, Kenneth E.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the public release of student results on high-stakes, state-mandated performance assessments influence instructional practices, and if so in what manner. The research focused on changes in teachers' instructional practices and factors that may have influenced such changes since the public release of high-stakes, state-mandated student performance assessment scores. The data for this study were obtained from a 54-question survey instrument given to a stratified random sample of teachers teaching at least one section of 10th grade English, mathematics, or science in an academic public high school within Massachusetts. Two hundred and fifty-seven (257) teachers, or 62% of the total sample, completed the survey instrument. An analysis of the data found that teachers are making changes in their instructional practices. The data show notable increases in the use of open-response questions, creative/critical thinking questions, problem-solving activities, use of rubrics or scoring guides, writing assignments, and inquiry/investigation. Teachers also have decreased the use of multiple-choice and true-false questions, textbook-based assignments, and lecturing. Also, the data show that teachers felt that changes made in their instructional practices were most influenced by an "interest in helping my students attain MCAS assessment scores that will allow them to graduate high school" and by an "interest in helping my school improve student (MCAS) assessment scores," Finally, mathematics teachers and teachers with 13--19 years of experience report making significantly more changes than did others. It may be interpreted from the data that the use of state-mandated student performance assessments and the high-stakes attached to this type of testing program contributed to changes in teachers' instructional practices. The changes in teachers' instructional practices have included increases in the use of instructional practices deemed

Stirring the Pot: Supporting and Challenging General Education Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty to Change Teaching and Assessment Practice

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Stieha, Vicki; Shadle, Susan E.; Paterson, Sharon

2016-01-01

Evidence-based instructional practices (ebips) have been associated with positive student outcomes; however, institutions struggle to catalyze widespread adoption of these practices in general education science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) courses. Further, linking ebips with integrated learning assessment is rarely discussed…

Students' Critical Mathematical Thinking Skills and Character: Experiments for Junior High School Students through Realistic Mathematics Education Culture-Based

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Palinussa, Anderson L.

2013-01-01

This paper presents the findings of a quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design and control group that aims to assess students' critical mathematical thinking skills and character through realistic mathematics education (RME) culture-based. Subjects of this study were 106 junior high school students from two low and medium schools level in…

Think3d!: Improving mathematics learning through embodied spatial training.

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Burte, Heather; Gardony, Aaron L; Hutton, Allyson; Taylor, Holly A

2017-01-01

Spatial thinking skills positively relate to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) outcomes, but spatial training is largely absent in elementary school. Elementary school is a time when children develop foundational cognitive skills that will support STEM learning throughout their education. Spatial thinking should be considered a foundational cognitive skill. The present research examined the impact of an embodied spatial training program on elementary students' spatial and mathematical thinking. Students in rural elementary schools completed spatial and math assessments prior to and after participating in an origami and pop-up paper engineering-based program, called Think3d!. Think3d! uses embodied tasks, such as folding and cutting paper, to train two-dimensional to three-dimensional spatial thinking. Analyses explored spatial thinking gains, mathematics gains - specifically for problem types expected to show gains from spatial training - and factors predicting mathematics gains. Results showed spatial thinking gains in two assessments. Using a math categorization to target problems more and less likely to be impacted by spatial training, we found that all students improved on real-world math problems and older students improved on visual and spatial math problems. Further, the results are suggestive of developmental time points for implementing embodied spatial training related to applying spatial thinking to math. Finally, the spatial thinking assessment that was most highly related to training activities also predicted math performance gains. Future research should explore developmental issues related to how embodied spatial training might support STEM learning and outcomes.

Protocol Analysis of Group Problem Solving in Mathematics: A Cognitive-Metacognitive Framework for Assessment.

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Artzt, Alice F.; Armour-Thomas, Eleanor

The roles of cognition and metacognition were examined in the mathematical problem-solving behaviors of students as they worked in small groups. As an outcome, a framework that links the literature of cognitive science and mathematical problem solving was developed for protocol analysis of mathematical problem solving. Within this framework, each…

Early Executive Function at Age Two Predicts Emergent Mathematics and Literacy at Age Five.

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Mulder, Hanna; Verhagen, Josje; Van der Ven, Sanne H G; Slot, Pauline L; Leseman, Paul P M

2017-01-01

Previous work has shown that individual differences in executive function (EF) are predictive of academic skills in preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children. Across studies, EF is a stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than literacy. However, research on EF in children below age three is scarce, and it is currently unknown whether EF, as assessed in toddlerhood, predicts emergent academic skills a few years later. This longitudinal study investigates whether early EF, assessed at two years, predicts (emergent) academic skills, at five years. It examines, furthermore, whether early EF is a significantly stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than of emergent literacy, as has been found in previous work on older children. A sample of 552 children was assessed on various EF and EF-precursor tasks at two years. At age five, these children performed several emergent mathematics and literacy tasks. Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the relationships between early EF and academic skills, modeled as latent factors. Results showed that early EF at age two was a significant and relatively strong predictor of both emergent mathematics and literacy at age five, after controlling for receptive vocabulary, parental education, and home language. Predictive relations were significantly stronger for mathematics than literacy, but only when a verbal short-term memory measure was left out as an indicator to the latent early EF construct. These findings show that individual differences in emergent academic skills just prior to entry into the formal education system can be traced back to individual differences in early EF in toddlerhood. In addition, these results highlight the importance of task selection when assessing early EF as a predictor of later outcomes, and call for further studies to elucidate the mechanisms through which individual differences in early EF and precursors to EF come about.

Early Executive Function at Age Two Predicts Emergent Mathematics and Literacy at Age Five

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Hanna Mulder

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Previous work has shown that individual differences in executive function (EF are predictive of academic skills in preschoolers, kindergartners, and older children. Across studies, EF is a stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than literacy. However, research on EF in children below age three is scarce, and it is currently unknown whether EF, as assessed in toddlerhood, predicts emergent academic skills a few years later. This longitudinal study investigates whether early EF, assessed at two years, predicts (emergent academic skills, at five years. It examines, furthermore, whether early EF is a significantly stronger predictor of emergent mathematics than of emergent literacy, as has been found in previous work on older children. A sample of 552 children was assessed on various EF and EF-precursor tasks at two years. At age five, these children performed several emergent mathematics and literacy tasks. Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the relationships between early EF and academic skills, modeled as latent factors. Results showed that early EF at age two was a significant and relatively strong predictor of both emergent mathematics and literacy at age five, after controlling for receptive vocabulary, parental education, and home language. Predictive relations were significantly stronger for mathematics than literacy, but only when a verbal short-term memory measure was left out as an indicator to the latent early EF construct. These findings show that individual differences in emergent academic skills just prior to entry into the formal education system can be traced back to individual differences in early EF in toddlerhood. In addition, these results highlight the importance of task selection when assessing early EF as a predictor of later outcomes, and call for further studies to elucidate the mechanisms through which individual differences in early EF and precursors to EF come about.

Victorian Certificate of Education: Mathematics, Science and Gender

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Cox, Peter J.; Leder, Gilah C.; Forgasz, Helen J.

2004-01-01

Gender differences in participation and performance at "high stakes" examinations have received much public attention, which has often focused on mathematics and science subjects. This paper describes the innovative forms of assessment introduced into mathematics and science subjects within the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)…

Child-Level Predictors of Responsiveness to Evidence-Based Mathematics Intervention.

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Powell, Sarah R; Cirino, Paul T; Malone, Amelia S

2017-07-01

We identified child-level predictors of responsiveness to 2 types of mathematics (calculation and word-problem) intervention among 2nd-grade children with mathematics difficulty. Participants were 250 children in 107 classrooms in 23 schools pretested on mathematics and general cognitive measures and posttested on mathematics measures. We assigned classrooms randomly assigned to calculation intervention, word-problem intervention, or business-as-usual control. Intervention lasted 17 weeks. Path analyses indicated that scores on working memory and language comprehension assessments moderated responsiveness to calculation intervention. No moderators were identified for responsiveness to word-problem intervention. Across both intervention groups and the control group, attentive behavior predicted both outcomes. Initial calculation skill predicted the calculation outcome, and initial language comprehension predicted word-problem outcomes. These results indicate that screening for calculation intervention should include a focus on working memory, language comprehension, attentive behavior, and calculations. Screening for word-problem intervention should focus on attentive behavior and word problems.

Comparison among cognitive diagnostic models for the TIMSS 2007 fourth grade mathematics assessment.

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Kazuhiro Yamaguchi

Full Text Available A variety of cognitive diagnostic models (CDMs have been developed in recent years to help with the diagnostic assessment and evaluation of students. Each model makes different assumptions about the relationship between students' achievement and skills, which makes it important to empirically investigate which CDMs better fit the actual data. In this study, we examined this question by comparatively fitting representative CDMs to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2007 assessment data across seven countries. The following two major findings emerged. First, in accordance with former studies, CDMs had a better fit than did the item response theory models. Second, main effects models generally had a better fit than other parsimonious or the saturated models. Related to the second finding, the fit of the traditional parsimonious models such as the DINA and DINO models were not optimal. The empirical educational implications of these findings are discussed.

Mathematics and metacognition in adolescents and adults with learning disabilities

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Annemie Desoete

2009-10-01

Full Text Available A majority of studies on learning disabilities have focused on elementary grades. Although problems with learning disabilities are life-affecting only a few studies focus on deficits in adults. In this study adults with isolated mathematical disabilities (n=101 and adults with combined mathematical and reading disabilities (n=130 solved tests on procedural calculation and number knowledge, numerical facility and visuospatial skills. Metacognitive skilfulness was assessed through calibration measures, a questionnaire, stimulated recall, and thematic analyses after a qualitative interactive interview with a flexible agenda to discover the interviewee’s own framework of meanings and to avoid imposing the researcher’s structures and assumptions. In our dataset the isolated group (MD did worse than the comorbid group (M+RD on mental representation, dealing with contextual information and number knowledge. However the comorbid group did worse on the number sense tasks. No significant differences were found between the MD and M+RD adults for fact retrieval, procedural calculation and visuo spatial tasks. In addition adults with MD overestimated their mathematics results, whereas individuals with M+RD underestimated their results in the calibration task. Moreover, adults with M+RD thought that they were worse on the evaluation of the own results, the evaluation of the own capacities and on monitoring when things went wrong compared with adults in the M+RD group. Thematic analyses revealed that many adults had problems with planning and keeping track of steps and that supporting surroundings were important protective factors towards the chances of success. Consequences for the assessment of metacognition in adults and for the support of adults with mathematical disabilities are discussed.

The Mathematical State of the World

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Ole Ravn; Skovsmose, Ole; Yasukawa, Keiko

2009-01-01

the concepts of “mathematical description” and “mathematical model” are inadequate to evaluate the use of mathematics in decision-making processes. As a result we develop a conceptual framework that is complex enough to match what goes on in scenarios involving applications of mathematics.......In this article we try to analyse the conditions for describing the world mathematically. We consider the role played by mathematics in discussing and analysing “the state of the world.” We use this discussion to clarify what it means to use a mathematical description. We illustrate why...

Investigating the incremental validity of cognitive variables in early mathematics screening.

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Clarke, Ben; Shanley, Lina; Kosty, Derek; Baker, Scott K; Cary, Mari Strand; Fien, Hank; Smolkowski, Keith

2018-03-26

The purpose of this study was to investigate the incremental validity of a set of domain general cognitive measures added to a traditional screening battery of early numeracy measures. The sample consisted of 458 kindergarten students of whom 285 were designated as severely at-risk for mathematics difficulty. Hierarchical multiple regression results indicated that Wechsler Abbreviated Scales of Intelligence (WASI) Matrix Reasoning and Vocabulary subtests, and Digit Span Forward and Backward measures explained a small, but unique portion of the variance in kindergarten students' mathematics performance on the Test of Early Mathematics Ability-Third Edition (TEMA-3) when controlling for Early Numeracy Curriculum Based Measurement (EN-CBM) screening measures (R² change = .01). Furthermore, the incremental validity of the domain general cognitive measures was relatively stronger for the severely at-risk sample. We discuss results from the study in light of instructional decision-making and note the findings do not justify adding domain general cognitive assessments to mathematics screening batteries. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Multifaceted Mathematical Approach for Complex Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexander, F.; Anitescu, M.; Bell, J.; Brown, D.; Ferris, M.; Luskin, M.; Mehrotra, S.; Moser, B.; Pinar, A.; Tartakovsky, A.; Willcox, K.; Wright, S.; Zavala, V.

2012-03-07

Applied mathematics has an important role to play in developing the tools needed for the analysis, simulation, and optimization of complex problems. These efforts require the development of the mathematical foundations for scientific discovery, engineering design, and risk analysis based on a sound integrated approach for the understanding of complex systems. However, maximizing the impact of applied mathematics on these challenges requires a novel perspective on approaching the mathematical enterprise. Previous reports that have surveyed the DOE's research needs in applied mathematics have played a key role in defining research directions with the community. Although these reports have had significant impact, accurately assessing current research needs requires an evaluation of today's challenges against the backdrop of recent advances in applied mathematics and computing. To address these needs, the DOE Applied Mathematics Program sponsored a Workshop for Mathematics for the Analysis, Simulation and Optimization of Complex Systems on September 13-14, 2011. The workshop had approximately 50 participants from both the national labs and academia. The goal of the workshop was to identify new research areas in applied mathematics that will complement and enhance the existing DOE ASCR Applied Mathematics Program efforts that are needed to address problems associated with complex systems. This report describes recommendations from the workshop and subsequent analysis of the workshop findings by the organizing committee.

Using Mathematics Literature with Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers

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Jett, Christopher C.

2014-01-01

Literature in mathematics has been found to foster positive improvements in mathematics learning. This manuscript reports on a mathematics teacher educator's use of literature via literature circles with 11 prospective secondary mathematics teachers in a mathematics content course. Using survey and reflection data, the author found that…

Construction of mathematical knowledge using graphic calculators (CAS) in the mathematics classroom

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Hitt, Fernando

2011-09-01

Mathematics education researchers are asking themselves about why technology has impacted heavily on the social environment and not in the mathematics classroom. The use of technology in the mathematics classroom has not had the expected impact, as it has been its use in everyday life (i.e. cell phone). What about teachers' opinions? Mathematics teachers can be divided into three categories: those with a boundless overflow (enthusiasm) who want to use the technology without worrying much about the construction of mathematical concepts, those who reject outright the use of technology because they think that their use inhibits the development of mathematical skills and others that reflect on the balance that must exist between paper-pencil activities and use of technology. The mathematics teacher, by not having clear examples that support this last option about the balance of paper-pencil activities and technology, opt for one of the extreme positions outlined above. In this article, we show the results of research on a methodology based on collaborative learning (ACODESA) in the training of mathematics teachers in secondary schools and implementation of activities in an environment of paper-pencil and CAS in the mathematics classroom. We also note that with the development of technology on the use of electronic tablets and interactive whiteboards, these activities will take on greater momentum in the near future.

Students’ Critical Mathematical Thinking Skills and Character:Experiments for Junior High School Students through Realistic Mathematics Education Culture-Based

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Anderson L. Palinussa

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the findings of a quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test design and control group that aims to assess students’ critical mathematical thinking skills and character through realistic mathematics education (RME culture-based. Subjects of this study were 106 junior high school students from two low and medium schools level in Ambon. The instruments of the study are: students’ early math skills test, critical thinking skills mathematical test and perception scale of students’character. Data was analyzed by using t-test and Anova. The study found that: 1 Achievements and enhancement of students’ critical mathematical thinking skills who were treated with by realistic mathematics education is better then students’ skills were treated by conventional mathematics education. The differences are considered to: a overall students, b the level of early math skills, and c schools’ level; 2 Quality of students’ character who were treated by realistic mathematics education is better then students’ character who were treated by conventional mathematics education The differences are considered to: a overall students, b the level of early math skills, and c schools’ level  Keywords: Critical Thinking, Students’ Character, Realistic Mathematics Education Culture-Based DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22342/jme.4.1.566.75-94

Factors affecting Mathematics achievement of first-year secondary school students in Central Uganda

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Henry Nsubuga Kiwanuka

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This study explores the sources of variability in Mathematics achievement of Ugandan students at the student, classroom and school level. The Mathematics score and questionnaire responses of 4,819 first-year secondary school students (Grade Seven, about 14-15 years old from 78 classrooms of 49 schools were analysed. A three-level linear model was used. The results indicate that out of the total variance in Mathematics achievement 68.8%, 14.2% and 17.0% are situated at student, classroom and school level, respectively. Of all the considered explanatory variables at the three levels, i.e. socio-economic status, gender, prior Mathematics achievement, parental support, peer influence, class mean of prior Mathematics achievement and of students' perception of good classroom assessment, school mean of class climate (class mean of attitude toward mathematics and of parental support were significant predictors of Mathematics achievement. The relevant factors could explain 7.6%, 73.1% and 84.3%, respectively, of student-, classroom- and school-level differences. Implications of our study are considered.

Mathematical Representation of VoIP Connection Delay

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M. Halas

2007-09-01

Full Text Available The main topic of this article is to define mathematical formulation of VoIP connection delay model. It handles about all partial delay components, the mechanism of their generation, facilities and their mathematical formulation. Thereafter based on mathematical formulation of all partial delay components, the final mathematical model of whole VoIP call delay is created. In conclusion of this article the results of the designed mathematical model are compared with the experimentally gained results.

Developmental Gains in Visuospatial Memory Predict Gains in Mathematics Achievement

OpenAIRE

Li, Yaoran; Geary, David C.

2013-01-01

Visuospatial competencies are related to performance in mathematical domains in adulthood, but are not consistently related to mathematics achievement in children. We confirmed the latter for first graders and demonstrated that children who show above average first-to-fifth grade gains in visuospatial memory have an advantage over other children in mathematics. The study involved the assessment of the mathematics and reading achievement of 177 children in kindergarten to fifth grade, inclusiv...

Assessments: an open and closed case

Science.gov (United States)

Nazim Khan, R.

2015-10-01

Open book assessment is not a new idea, but it does not seem to have gained ground in higher education. In particular, not much literature is available on open book examinations in mathematics and statistics in higher education. The objective of this paper is to investigate the appropriateness of open book assessments in a first-year business statistics course. Data over two semesters of open book assessments provided some interesting results when compared with the closed book assessment regime in the following semester. The relevance of the results is discussed and compared with findings from the literature. The implications of insights gained for further practice in the assessment of mathematics and statistics is also discussed.

Students’ logical-mathematical intelligence profile

Science.gov (United States)

Arum, D. P.; Kusmayadi, T. A.; Pramudya, I.

2018-04-01

One of students’ characteristics which play an important role in learning mathematics is logical-mathematical intelligence. This present study aims to identify profile of students’ logical-mathematical intelligence in general and specifically in each indicator. It is also analyzed and described based on students’ sex. This research used qualitative method with case study strategy. The subjects involve 29 students of 9th grade that were selected by purposive sampling. Data in this research involve students’ logical-mathematical intelligence result and interview. The results show that students’ logical-mathematical intelligence was identified in the moderate level with the average score is 11.17 and 51.7% students in the range of the level. In addition, the level of both male and female students are also mostly in the moderate level. On the other hand, both male and female students’ logical-mathematical intelligence is strongly influenced by the indicator of ability to classify and understand patterns and relationships. Furthermore, the ability of comparison is the weakest indicator. It seems that students’ logical-mathematical intelligence is still not optimal because more than 50% students are identified in moderate and low level. Therefore, teachers need to design a lesson that can improve students’ logical-mathematical intelligence level, both in general and on each indicator.

Profile of mathematics anxiety of 7th graders

Science.gov (United States)

Udil, Patrisius Afrisno; Kusmayadi, Tri Atmojo; Riyadi

2017-08-01

Mathematics anxiety is one of the important factors affect students mathematics achievement. This present research investigates profile of students' mathematics anxiety. This research focuses on analysis and description of students' mathematics anxiety level generally and its dominant domain and aspect. Qualitative research with case study strategy was used in this research. Subject in this research involved 15 students of 7th grade chosen with purposive sampling. Data in this research were students' mathematics anxiety scale result, interview record, and observation result during both mathematics learning activity and test. They were asked to complete mathematics anxiety scale before interviewed and observed. The results show that generally students' mathematics anxiety was identified in the moderate level. In addition, students' mathematics anxiety during mathematics test was identified in the high level, but it was in the moderate level during mathematics learning process. Based on the anxiety domain, students have a high mathematics anxiety on cognitive domain, while it was in the moderate level for psychological and physiological domains. On the other hand, it was identified in low level for psychological domain during mathematics learning process. Therefore, it can be concluded that students have serious and high anxiety regarding mathematics on the cognitive domain and mathematics test aspect.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL MANIPULATOR ROBOTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. N. Krakhmalev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A mathematical model to describe the dynamics of manipulator robots. Mathematical model are the implementation of the method based on the Lagrange equation and using the transformation matrices of elastic coordinates. Mathematical model make it possible to determine the elastic deviations of manipulator robots from programmed motion trajectories caused by elastic deformations in hinges, which are taken into account in directions of change of the corresponding generalized coordinates. Mathematical model is approximated and makes it possible to determine small elastic quasi-static deviations and elastic vibrations. The results of modeling the dynamics by model are compared to the example of a two-link manipulator system. The considered model can be used when performing investigations of the mathematical accuracy of the manipulator robots.

Doing Mathematics with Purpose: Mathematical Text Types

Science.gov (United States)

Dostal, Hannah M.; Robinson, Richard

2018-01-01

Mathematical literacy includes learning to read and write different types of mathematical texts as part of purposeful mathematical meaning making. Thus in this article, we describe how learning to read and write mathematical texts (proof text, algorithmic text, algebraic/symbolic text, and visual text) supports the development of students'…

Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education 2016: Mathematical Modeling and Modeling Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Hirsch, Christian R., Ed.; McDuffie, Amy Roth, Ed.

2016-01-01

Mathematical modeling plays an increasingly important role both in real-life applications--in engineering, business, the social sciences, climate study, advanced design, and more--and within mathematics education itself. This 2016 volume of "Annual Perspectives in Mathematics Education" ("APME") focuses on this key topic from a…

Mathematics Instructional Model Based on Realistic Mathematics Education to Promote Problem Solving Ability at Junior High School Padang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwin Musdi

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This research aims to develop a mathematics instructional model based realistic mathematics education (RME to promote students' problem-solving abilities. The design research used Plomp models, which consists of preliminary phase, development or proto-typing phase and assessment phase.  At this study, only the first two phases conducted. The first phase, a preliminary investigation, carried out with a literature study to examine the theory-based instructional learning RME model, characteristics of learners, learning management descriptions by junior high school mathematics teacher and relevant research. The development phase is done by developing a draft model (an early prototype model that consists of the syntax, the social system, the principle of reaction, support systems, and the impact and effects of instructional support. Early prototype model contain a draft model, lesson plans, worksheets, and assessments. Tesssmer formative evaluation model used to revise the model. In this study only phase of one to one evaluation conducted. In the ppreliminary phase has produced a theory-based learning RME model, a description of the characteristics of learners in grade VIII Junior High School Padang and the description of teacher teaching in the classroom. The result showed that most students were still not be able to solve the non-routine problem. Teachers did not optimally facilitate students to develop problem-solving skills of students. It was recommended that the model can be applied in the classroom.

Teachers' Conceptions of Mathematical Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, Heather

2013-01-01

The release of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" in 2010 resulted in a new focus on mathematical modeling in United States curricula. Mathematical modeling represents a way of doing and understanding mathematics new to most teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the conceptions and misconceptions held by…

Causal Bayes Model of Mathematical Competence in Kindergarten

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Božidar Tepeš

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper authors define mathematical competences in the kindergarten. The basic objective was to measure the mathematical competences or mathematical knowledge, skills and abilities in mathematical education. Mathematical competences were grouped in the following areas: Arithmetic and Geometry. Statistical set consisted of 59 children, 65 to 85 months of age, from the Kindergarten Milan Sachs from Zagreb. The authors describe 13 variables for measuring mathematical competences. Five measuring variables were described for the geometry, and eight measuring variables for the arithmetic. Measuring variables are tasks which children solved with the evaluated results. By measuring mathematical competences the authors make causal Bayes model using free software Tetrad 5.2.1-3. Software makes many causal Bayes models and authors as experts chose the model of the mathematical competences in the kindergarten. Causal Bayes model describes five levels for mathematical competences. At the end of the modeling authors use Bayes estimator. In the results, authors describe by causal Bayes model of mathematical competences, causal effect mathematical competences or how intervention on some competences cause other competences. Authors measure mathematical competences with their expectation as random variables. When expectation of competences was greater, competences improved. Mathematical competences can be improved with intervention on causal competences. Levels of mathematical competences and the result of intervention on mathematical competences can help mathematical teachers.

History of Mathematics in Korean Mathematics Textbooks: Implication for Using Ethnomathematics in Culturally Diverse School

Science.gov (United States)

Ju, Mi-Kyung; Moon, Jong-Eun; Song, Ryoon-Jin

2016-01-01

From a multicultural perspective, this research investigated to what extent Korean mathematics textbooks use history of mathematics. The results show even though educational use of history presented in Korean mathematics textbooks may provide a rich outlook, it does not encourage a fundamental change in the educational practice of school…

Mathematical tapas

CERN Document Server

Hiriart-Urruty, Jean-Baptiste

This book contains a collection of exercises (called “tapas”) at undergraduate level, mainly from the fields of real analysis, calculus, matrices, convexity, and optimization. Most of the problems presented here are non-standard and some require broad knowledge of different mathematical subjects in order to be solved. The author provides some hints and (partial) answers and also puts these carefully chosen exercises into context, presents information on their origins, and comments on possible extensions. With stars marking the levels of difficulty, these tapas show or prove something interesting, challenge the reader to solve and learn, and may have surprising results. This first volume of Mathematical Tapas will appeal to mathematicians, motivated undergraduate students from science-based areas, and those generally interested in mathematics.

Mathematical assessment of Canada's pandemic influenza preparedness plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Gumel, Abba B; Nuño, Miriam; Chowell, Gerardo

2008-03-01

The presence of the highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus in wild bird populations in several regions of the world, together with recurrent cases of H5N1 influenza arising primarily from direct contact with poultry, have highlighted the urgent need for prepared-ness and coordinated global strategies to effectively combat a potential influenza pandemic. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the Canadian pandemic influenza preparedness plan. A mathematical model of the transmission dynamics of influenza was used to keep track of the population according to risk of infection (low or high) and infection status (susceptible, exposed or infectious). The model was parametrized using available Canadian demographic data. The model was then used to evaluate the key components outlined in the Canadian plan. The results indicated that the number of cases, mortalities and hospitalizations estimated in the Canadian plan may have been underestimated; the use of antivirals, administered therapeutically, prophylactically or both, is the most effective single intervention followed by the use of a vaccine and basic public health measures; and the combined use of pharmaceutical interventions (antivirals and vaccine) can dramatically minimize the burden of the pending influenza pandemic in Canada. Based on increasing concerns of Oseltamivir resistance (wide-scale implementation), coupled with the expected unavailability of a suitable vaccine during the early stages of a pandemic, the present study evaluated the potential impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) which were not emphasized in the current Canadian plan. To this end, the findings suggest that the use of NPIs can drastically reduce the burden of a pandemic in Canada. A deterministic model was designed and used to assess Canada's pandemic preparedness plan. The study showed that the estimates of pandemic influenza burden given in the Canada pandemic preparedness plan may be an underestimate, and that Canada

TEDS-M 2008 User Guide for the International Database. Supplement 4: TEDS-M Released Mathematics and Mathematics Pedagogy Knowledge Assessment Items

Science.gov (United States)

Brese, Falk, Ed.

2012-01-01

The goal for selecting the released set of test items was to have approximately 25% of each of the full item sets for mathematics content knowledge (MCK) and mathematics pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) that would represent the full range of difficulty, content, and item format used in the TEDS-M study. The initial step in the selection was to…

The Opinions of Middle School Mathematics Teachers on the Integration of Mathematics Course and Social Issues

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Buket Turhan Turkkan

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine the opinions of middle school mathematics teachers on the integration of mathematics course and social issues. For this purpose, qualitative research method was used in this study. As for determining the participants of the research, criterion sampling among purposeful sampling methods was used. Being a middle school mathematics teacher as an occupation was considered as a criterion for determining the participants. The participants of the research consist of 13 middle school mathematics teachers in Turkey. So as to collect the research data, the semi-structured interview form created by the researchers was used. The data analysis was performed according to the content analysis, and Nvivo 10 program was used for the analysis. As a result of this study, the themes of the situation and methods of the integration of mathematics course and social issues, the attainment of democratic values in mathematics course and the ways of its attainment, gaining awareness of social justice and equality in mathematics course and the ways of its gaining, the activities performed by teachers for social issues in mathematics course and the teachers’ suggestions for the integration of mathematics course and social issues were reached and the results were discussed within this frame.

ASSESSING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN MATHEMATICS: Using Derivative Function to Solve Connected Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nevin ORHUN

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Open and distance education plays an important role in the actualization of cultural goals as well as in societal developments. This is an independent teaching and learning method for mathematics which forms the dynamic of scientific thinking. Distance education is an important alternative to traditional teaching applications. These contributions brought by technology enable students to participate actively in having access to information and questioning it. Such an application increases students’ motivation and teaches how mathematics can be used in daily life. Derivative is a mathematical concept which can be used in many areas of daily life. The aim of this study is to enable the concept of derivatives to be understood well by using the derivative function in the solution of various problems. It also aims at interpreting difficulties theoretically in the solution of problems and determining mistakes in terms of teaching methods. In this study, how various aspects of derivatives are understood is emphasized. These aspects concern the explanation of concepts and process, and also their application to certain concepts in physics. Students’ depth of understanding of derivatives was analyzed based on two aspects of understanding; theoretical analysis and contextual application. Follow-up interviews were conducted with five students. The results show that the students preferred to apply an algebraic symbolic aspect instead of using logical meanings of function and its derivative. In addition, in relation to how the graph of the derivative function affects the aspect of function, it was determined that the students displayed low performance.

A Multisite Study of High School Mathematics Curricula and the Impact of Taking a Developmental Mathematics Course in College

Science.gov (United States)

Harwell, Michael; Dupuis, Danielle; Post, Thomas R.; Medhanie, Amanuel; LeBeau, Brandon

2014-01-01

The relationship between high school mathematics curricula and the likelihood of students who enroll in a developmental (non-credit bearing) course in college taking additional mathematics courses was studied. The results showed that high school mathematics curriculum, years of high school mathematics completed, and ACT mathematics scores were…

The influence of mathematics learning using SAVI approach on junior high school students’ mathematical modelling ability

Science.gov (United States)

Khusna, H.; Heryaningsih, N. Y.

2018-01-01

The aim of this research was to examine mathematical modeling ability who learn mathematics by using SAVI approach. This research was a quasi-experimental research with non-equivalent control group designed by using purposive sampling technique. The population of this research was the state junior high school students in Lembang while the sample consisted of two class at 8th grade. The instrument used in this research was mathematical modeling ability. Data analysis of this research was conducted by using SPSS 20 by Windows. The result showed that students’ ability of mathematical modeling who learn mathematics by using SAVI approach was better than students’ ability of mathematical modeling who learn mathematics using conventional learning.

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

Science.gov (United States)

Tow, Tamara

2011-01-01

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

Mathematics and biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, I.A.

1991-06-01

In India and in so many other countries, the science students are generally separated into two main streams: one opting mathematical sciences, the other studying biological sciences. As a result, medicos and biologists have no adequate knowledge of mathematical sciences. It causes a great drawback to them in order to be perfect and updated in their profession, due to the tremendous application of mathematics in bio-sciences, now-a-days. The main aim of this article is to emphasize on the need of the time to produce the mathematico-biologists in abundance for the better service of mankind. (author)

A mathematical medley fifty easy pieces on mathematics

CERN Document Server

Szpiro, George G

2010-01-01

Szpiro's book provides a delightful, well-written, eclectic selection of mathematical tidbits that makes excellent airplane reading for anyone with an interest in mathematics, regardless of their mathematical background. Excellent gift material. -Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of The Unfinished Game and The Language of Mathematics It is great to have collected in one volume the many varied, insightful and often surprising mathematical stories that George Szpiro has written in his mathematical columns for the newspapers through the years. -Marcus du Sautoy, Oxford University, author

Cognitive correlates of performance in advanced mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wei; Yuan, Hongbo; Chen, Chuansheng; Zhou, Xinlin

2012-03-01

Much research has been devoted to understanding cognitive correlates of elementary mathematics performance, but little such research has been done for advanced mathematics (e.g., modern algebra, statistics, and mathematical logic). To promote mathematical knowledge among college students, it is necessary to understand what factors (including cognitive factors) are important for acquiring advanced mathematics. We recruited 80 undergraduates from four universities in Beijing. The current study investigated the associations between students' performance on a test of advanced mathematics and a battery of 17 cognitive tasks on basic numerical processing, complex numerical processing, spatial abilities, language abilities, and general cognitive processing. The results showed that spatial abilities were significantly correlated with performance in advanced mathematics after controlling for other factors. In addition, certain language abilities (i.e., comprehension of words and sentences) also made unique contributions. In contrast, basic numerical processing and computation were generally not correlated with performance in advanced mathematics. Results suggest that spatial abilities and language comprehension, but not basic numerical processing, may play an important role in advanced mathematics. These results are discussed in terms of their theoretical significance and practical implications. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

Mobile learning to improve mathematics teachers mathematical competencies

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrayana, A.; Wahyudin

2018-01-01

The role of teachers is crucial to the success of mathematics learning. One of the learning indicator is characterized by the students’ improved mathematical proficiency. In order to increase that, it is necessary to improve the teacher’s mathematical skills first. For that, it needs an innovative way to get teachers close to easily accessible learning resources through technology. The technology can facilitate teachers to access learning resources anytime and anywhere. The appropriate information technology is mobile learning. Innovations that can make teachers easy to access learning resources are mobile applications that can be accessed anytime and anywhere either online or offline. The research method was research development method. In preliminary analysis, subjects consist of teachers and lecturers in professional teacher education program. The results that the teachers ready to adopt mobile-learning for the improvement of their skills.

The Relationship among Elementary Teachers’ Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematics Instructional Practices, and Student Mathematics Achievement

OpenAIRE

Hadley, Kristin M.; Dorward, Jim

2011-01-01

Many elementary teachers have been found to have high levels of mathematics anxiety but the impact on student achievement was unknown. Elementary teachers (N = 692) completed the modified Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale-Revised (Hopko, 2003) along with a questionnaire probing anxiety about teaching mathematics and current mathematics instructional practices. Student mathematics achievement data were collected for the classrooms taught by the teachers. A positive relationship was found betwee...

The effects of presenting multidigit mathematics problems in a realistic context on sixth graders' problem solving

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hickendorff, M.

2013-01-01

Mathematics education and assessments increasingly involve arithmetic problems presented in context: a realistic situation that requires mathematical modeling. This study assessed the effects of such typical school mathematics contexts on two aspects of problem solving: performance and strategy use.

The written mathematical communication profile of prospective math teacher in mathematical proving

Science.gov (United States)

Pantaleon, K. V.; Juniati, D.; Lukito, A.; Mandur, K.

2018-01-01

Written mathematical communication is the process of expressing mathematical ideas and understanding in writing. It is one of the important aspects that must be mastered by the prospective math teacher as tool of knowledge transfer. This research was a qualitative research that aimed to describe the mathematical communication profile of the prospective mathematics teacher in mathematical proving. This research involved 48 students of Mathematics Education Study Program; one of them with moderate math skills was chosen as the main subject. Data were collected through tests, assignments, and task-based interviews. The results of this study point out that in the proof of geometry, the subject explains what is understood, presents the idea in the form of drawing and symbols, and explains the content/meaning of a representation accurately and clearly, but the subject can not convey the argument systematically and logically. Whereas in the proof of algebra, the subject describes what is understood, explains the method used, and describes the content/meaning of a symbolic representation accurately, systematically, logically, but the argument presented is not clear because it is insufficient detailed and complete.

The language of mathematics telling mathematical tales

CERN Document Server

Barton, Bill

2008-01-01

Everyday mathematical ideas are expressed differently in different languages. This book probes those differences and explores their implications for mathematics education, arguing for alternatives to how we teach and learn mathematics.

Mathematics Instructional Model Based on Realistic Mathematics Education to Promote Problem Solving Ability at Junior High School Padang

OpenAIRE

Edwin Musdi

2016-01-01

This research aims to develop a mathematics instructional model based realistic mathematics education (RME) to promote students' problem-solving abilities. The design research used Plomp models, which consists of preliminary phase, development or proto-typing phase and assessment phase.  At this study, only the first two phases conducted. The first phase, a preliminary investigation, carried out with a literature study to examine the theory-based instructional learning RME model, characterist...

Information Technology, Mathematics Achievement and Educational Equity in Developed Economies

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Cheng Yong; Hew, Khe Foon

2017-01-01

The present study examined how access to home and school IT resources impacted student mathematics achievement. Data comprised 144,395 secondary school students from 7,308 schools in 22 developed economies who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012. Results of hierarchical linear modelling showed that after…

INVOLVING STUDENTS IN RESEARCH AS A FORM OF INTEGRATION OF ENGINEERING WITH MATHEMATICAL EDUCATION

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Viktor M. Fedoseyev

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: questions of integration of mathematical with engineering training in educational process of higher education institution are explored. The existing technologies of the integrated training are analyzed, and the project-oriented direction is distinguished. Research involving students as an organisational and methodical form of training bachelors of the technical speciali sations is discussed. Materials and Methods: results of article are based on researches of tendencies of development of technical and mathematical education, works on the theory and methodology of pedagogical integration, methodology of mathematics and technical science. Methods of historical and pedagogical research, analytical, a method of mathematical modeling were used. Results: the main content of the paper is to make discussion of experience in developing and using integrated educational tasks in real educational process. Discussion is based on a specific technological assignment including a number of mathematical tasks used as a subject of research for students. In the assignment a special place is allocated to the questions reflecting the interplay of a technical task with a mathematical method of research highlighting the objective significance of mathematics as a method to solve engineering problems. Discussion and Conclusions: the paper gives reasons to conditions for using research work with students as an organisational and methodical form of integrated training in mathematics. In realisation of educational technology it is logical to apply the method of projects. It is necessary to formulate a task as an engineering project: to set an engineering objective of research, to formulate specifications; to differentiate between engineering and mathematical tasks of the project, to make actual interrelations between them; the mathematical part of the project has to be a body of research; assessment of the project must be carried out not only accounting for

International seminar series on mathematics and applied mathematics and a series of three focused international research workshops on engineering mathematics organised by the Research Environment in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at Mälardalen University from autumn 2014 to autumn 2015: the International Workshop on Engineering Mathematics for Electromagnetics and Health Technology; the International Workshop on Engineering Mathematics, Algebra, Analysis and Electromagnetics; and the 1st Swedish-Estonian International Workshop on Engineering Mathematics, Algebra, Analysis and Applications

CERN Document Server

Rancic, Milica

2016-01-01

This book highlights the latest advances in engineering mathematics with a main focus on the mathematical models, structures, concepts, problems and computational methods and algorithms most relevant for applications in modern technologies and engineering. It addresses mathematical methods of algebra, applied matrix analysis, operator analysis, probability theory and stochastic processes, geometry and computational methods in network analysis, data classification, ranking and optimisation. The individual chapters cover both theory and applications, and include a wealth of figures, schemes, algorithms, tables and results of data analysis and simulation. Presenting new methods and results, reviews of cutting-edge research, and open problems for future research, they equip readers to develop new mathematical methods and concepts of their own, and to further compare and analyse the methods and results discussed. The book consists of contributed chapters covering research developed as a result of a focused interna...

New method of scoliosis assessment: preliminary results using computerized photogrammetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Aroeira, Rozilene Maria Cota; Leal, Jefferson Soares; de Melo Pertence, Antônio Eustáquio

2011-09-01

A new method for nonradiographic evaluation of scoliosis was independently compared with the Cobb radiographic method, for the quantification of scoliotic curvature. To develop a protocol for computerized photogrammetry, as a nonradiographic method, for the quantification of scoliosis, and to mathematically relate this proposed method with the Cobb radiographic method. Repeated exposure to radiation of children can be harmful to their health. Nevertheless, no nonradiographic method until now proposed has gained popularity as a routine method for evaluation, mainly due to a low correspondence to the Cobb radiographic method. Patients undergoing standing posteroanterior full-length spine radiographs, who were willing to participate in this study, were submitted to dorsal digital photography in the orthostatic position with special surface markers over the spinous process, specifically the vertebrae C7 to L5. The radiographic and photographic images were sent separately for independent analysis to two examiners, trained in quantification of scoliosis for the types of images received. The scoliosis curvature angles obtained through computerized photogrammetry (the new method) were compared to those obtained through the Cobb radiographic method. Sixteen individuals were evaluated (14 female and 2 male). All presented idiopathic scoliosis, and were between 21.4 ± 6.1 years of age; 52.9 ± 5.8 kg in weight; 1.63 ± 0.05 m in height, with a body mass index of 19.8 ± 0.2. There was no statistically significant difference between the scoliosis angle measurements obtained in the comparative analysis of both methods, and a mathematical relationship was formulated between both methods. The preliminary results presented demonstrate equivalence between the two methods. More studies are needed to firmly assess the potential of this new method as a coadjuvant tool in the routine following of scoliosis treatment.

Assessment of contemporary mathematical methods for magnetic fusion research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Treve, Y.M.

1978-03-01

The mathematical techniques reviewed have been selected on the basis of their relevance to at least four outstanding theoretical problems of magnetic fusion research, namely: (a) ion heating; (b) particle-wave interactions; (c) stability of magnetic surfaces in real tokamaks; and (d) strong plasma turbulence. These problems have a common feature: they all involve chaotic motions in spite of the perfectly deterministic nature of the mathematical models used for their description. In the first section devoted to Hamiltonian systems we briefly review the essentials of the Hamilton-Jacobi theory and discuss the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theorem and its implications. In section 2 we review the difficulties of the problem of turbulence and present the Ruelle-Takens picture. An example of a dynamical system with a strange attractor is constructed and the Hopf bifurcation theory is discussed. Finally we review the properties of the Lorenz model for the convective instability of an atmospheric layer which is known to have a strange attractor for sufficiently high Rayleigh numbers

The Education of Mathematics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abu Darda

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of mathematics education is not only preparingmathematicians but making well-informed citizens. This is a broad generalterms for objective of the teaching of mathematics. And, this might beimplemented as “accurate thorough knowledge” or “original logicalthinking”. So, teaching mathematics is not the conversation andtransmission of mathematical knowledge, but on the aim of preparing wellinformedcitizens trained in independent, critical thinking.By the mathematics, sciences become simple, clearer, and easier to bedeveloped. The mathematics is often applied for solving any problem ofother field of sciences, either in the physics such as astronomy, chemistry,technique; or social sciences such as economy, demography, and assurance.Those all need an analysis reading ability.Mathematical skill, therefore, relates strongly with the analysisreading ability in the human intellectual structure. This study is about therelationship between them. And, result of the study shows us as below:Both Mathematical skill and analysis reading ability possess the “high type”of thinking operation. Both also involve the same content of the abstractintelligent, i.e. symbolic and semantic contents. Last but not least, both alsouse the same product of thinking, i.e. units, classes, relations, and systems.Both can be transformed and have an implication.

Sex Differences in Mathematics Performance among Senior High ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study explored sex differences in mathematics performance of students in the final year of high school and changes in these differences over a 3-year period in Ghana. A convenience sample of 182 students, 109 boys and 72 girls in three high schools in Ghana was used. Mathematics performance was assessed using ...

Assessing metacognition of grade 2 and grade 4 students using an adaptation of multi-method interview approach during mathematics problem-solving

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzle, A.

2018-06-01

The important role that metacognition plays as a predictor for student mathematical learning and for mathematical problem-solving, has been extensively documented. But only recently has attention turned to primary grades, and more research is needed at this level. The goals of this paper are threefold: (1) to present metacognitive framework during mathematics problem-solving, (2) to describe their multi-method interview approach developed to study student mathematical metacognition, and (3) to empirically evaluate the utility of their model and the adaptation of their approach in the context of grade 2 and grade 4 mathematics problem-solving. The results are discussed not only with regard to further development of the adapted multi-method interview approach, but also with regard to their theoretical and practical implications.

Mathematical Modelling Approach in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Arseven, Ayla

2015-01-01

The topic of models and modeling has come to be important for science and mathematics education in recent years. The topic of "Modeling" topic is especially important for examinations such as PISA which is conducted at an international level and measures a student's success in mathematics. Mathematical modeling can be defined as using…

Mathematics Underground

Science.gov (United States)

Luther, Kenneth H.

2012-01-01

Mathematical modeling of groundwater flow is a topic at the intersection of mathematics and geohydrology and is rarely encountered in undergraduate mathematics. However, this subject is full of interesting and meaningful examples of truly "applied" mathematics accessible to undergraduates, from the pre-calculus to advanced mathematics levels. This…

Nature and origins of mathematics difficulties in very preterm children: a different etiology than developmental dyscalculia.

Science.gov (United States)

Simms, Victoria; Gilmore, Camilla; Cragg, Lucy; Clayton, Sarah; Marlow, Neil; Johnson, Samantha

2015-02-01

Children born very preterm (mathematics learning difficulties that are out of proportion to other academic and cognitive deficits. However, the etiology of mathematics difficulties in very preterm children is unknown. We sought to identify the nature and origins of preterm children's mathematics difficulties. One hundred and fifteen very preterm children aged 8-10 y were assessed in school with a control group of 77 term-born classmates. Achievement in mathematics, working memory, visuospatial processing, inhibition, and processing speed were assessed using standardized tests. Numerical representations and specific mathematics skills were assessed using experimental tests. Very preterm children had significantly poorer mathematics achievement, working memory, and visuospatial skills than term-born controls. Although preterm children had poorer performance in specific mathematics skills, there was no evidence of imprecise numerical representations. Difficulties in mathematics were associated with deficits in visuospatial processing and working memory. Mathematics difficulties in very preterm children are associated with deficits in working memory and visuospatial processing not numerical representations. Thus, very preterm children's mathematics difficulties are different in nature from those of children with developmental dyscalculia. Interventions targeting general cognitive problems, rather than numerical representations, may improve very preterm children's mathematics achievement.

Toward Developmental Trajectories: A Commentary on "Assessing Measures of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching"

Science.gov (United States)

Kulikowich, Jonna M.

2007-01-01

Operating from multiple literature bases in cognitive psychology, mathematics education, and theoretical and applied psychometrics, Schilling, Hill and their colleagues provide a systemic approach to studying the validity of scores of mathematical knowledge for teaching. This system encompasses an array of task formats and methodologies. The…

A Capstone Mathematics Course for Prospective Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Artzt, Alice F.; Sultan, Alan; Curcio, Frances R.; Gurl, Theresa

2012-01-01

This article describes an innovative capstone mathematics course that links college mathematics with school mathematics and pedagogy. It describes how college juniors in a secondary mathematics teacher preparation program engage in leadership experiences that enable them to learn mathematics for teaching while developing student-centered…

Response to Key Issues Raised in the Post-14 Mathematics Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Burghes, David; Hindle, Mike

2004-01-01

This article is a detailed response to the issues raised by the Post-14 Mathematics Inquiry in the UK. It aims to debate some of the central issues in mathematics teaching in the UK, including recruitment and retention of mathematics teachers, the curriculum content, national assessment, teaching resources (including ICT) and national strategies…

Students' perceptions of the relevance of mathematics in engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Flegg, Jennifer; Mallet, Dann; Lupton, Mandy

2012-09-01

In this article, we report on the findings of an exploratory study into the experience of students as they learn first year engineering mathematics. Here we define engineering as the application of mathematics and sciences to the building and design of projects for the use of society [M. Kirschenman and B. Brenner, Education for Civil Engineering: A Profession of Practice, Leader. Manag. Eng. 10 (2010), p. 54]. Qualitative and quantitative data on students' views of the relevance of their mathematics study to their engineering studies and future careers in engineering was collected. The students described using a range of mathematics techniques (mathematics skills developed, mathematics concepts applied to engineering and skills developed relevant for engineering) for various usages (as a subject of study, a tool for other subjects or a tool for real world problems). We found a number of themes relating to the design of engineering mathematics curriculum emerged from the data. These included the relevance of mathematics within different engineering majors, the relevance of mathematics to future studies, the relevance of learning mathematical rigour and the effectiveness of problem-solving tasks in conveying the relevance of mathematics more effectively than other forms of assessment. We make recommendations for the design of engineering mathematics curriculum based on our findings.

On Mathematical Understanding: Perspectives of Experienced Chinese Mathematics Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Jinfa; Ding, Meixia

2017-01-01

Researchers have long debated the meaning of mathematical understanding and ways to achieve mathematical understanding. This study investigated experienced Chinese mathematics teachers' views about mathematical understanding. It was found that these mathematics teachers embrace the view that understanding is a web of connections, which is a result…

Hands-On Mathematics: Two Cases from Ancient Chinese Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Youjun

2009-01-01

In modern mathematical teaching, it has become increasingly emphasized that mathematical knowledge should be taught by problem-solving, hands-on activities, and interactive learning experiences. Comparing the ideas of modern mathematical education with the development of ancient Chinese mathematics, we find that the history of mathematics in…

Fostering Students' Preparation and Achievement in Upper Level Mathematics Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Celik, Mehmet; Shaqlaih, Ali

2017-01-01

This study describes an intervention to address both motivation, student engagement and preparation in upper-level mathematics courses. The effect of the intervention regarding students' achievements is investigated via students' opinions and data analysis from students' assessments. The results of this study show the featured intervention…

Computer programming in the UK undergraduate mathematics curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Sangwin, Christopher J.; O'Toole, Claire

2017-11-01

This paper reports a study which investigated the extent to which undergraduate mathematics students in the United Kingdom are currently taught to programme a computer as a core part of their mathematics degree programme. We undertook an online survey, with significant follow-up correspondence, to gather data on current curricula and received replies from 46 (63%) of the departments who teach a BSc mathematics degree. We found that 78% of BSc degree courses in mathematics included computer programming in a compulsory module but 11% of mathematics degree programmes do not teach programming to all their undergraduate mathematics students. In 2016, programming is most commonly taught to undergraduate mathematics students through imperative languages, notably MATLAB, using numerical analysis as the underlying (or parallel) mathematical subject matter. Statistics is a very popular choice in optional courses, using the package R. Computer algebra systems appear to be significantly less popular for compulsory first-year courses than a decade ago, and there was no mention of logic programming, functional programming or automatic theorem proving software. The modal form of assessment of computing modules is entirely by coursework (i.e. no examination).

Mathematics Curriculum, the Philosophy of Mathematics and its ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It is my observation that the current school mathematics curriculum in Ethiopia is not producing competent mathematics students. Many mathematicians in Ethiopia and other part of the world have often expressed grief that the majority of students do not understand mathematical concepts, or do not see why mathematical ...

Study on the Efficiency of Mathematics Distance Education

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Abdollah Safavi

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In view of scientific and technological advancements, enthusiasm and need of the people for learning and the phenomenon of urban sprawl in many countries, especially advanced and industrial countries, distance education system has been used for many years as a method of teaching people in different locations and in different times without the student's needing to attend a class. Since it has been only a few years that this type of education has been used in the education system of the vast country of Iran and in view of special structure of mathematics and the importance and sensitiveness of its education, the present study was made to assess the success of students in this system of mathematics education. The statistical population of this research consists of 95 boy students from high schools of Tehran who were chosen by quasi-cluster method. 35 students in distance education system were chosen as experiment group and 60 students in traditional education system were chosen as control group. Using quasi-standard harmonious mathematics test and according to the results of descriptive statistics, Levene tests and independent samples test, this method of mathematics education was not found efficient for high school students of Tehran.

There is More to the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics Than the Use of Local Languages: Mathematics Teacher Practices

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Nancy Chitera

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this article, we present a discussion about the type of mathematical discourse that is being produced in classrooms where the language of learning and teaching is local languages.  We also further explore the tensions in the mathematical discourse being produced. The study sample was 4 mathematics teachers from a semi-urban primary school in Malawi. The methods of data collection included classroom observations, pre-observation focus group discussions and reflective interviews. The results show that even though both students and teachers were able to communicate freely in local languages in the mathematics classroom, the mathematical discourse that came was distorted. This is mainly caused by lack of a well-developed mathematical discourse in local languages, which in turn takes away the confidence of mathematics teachers in the classroom. As a result, the mathematics classrooms are still being characterized by teachers not being creative, use of word by word from books, focus more on procedural than conceptual and thus teacher centered is still dominant in these classrooms. Furthermore, it is found that there are tensions between the formal and informal mathematical language in local languages. These results in turn have promoted a more in-depth understanding to the teaching and learning of mathematics when local language is the language of learning and teaching. Therefore, this article argues for a well-balanced approach when it comes to teaching and learning of mathematics rather than just focusing on the use of local languages.

The challenge of computer mathematics.

Science.gov (United States)

Barendregt, Henk; Wiedijk, Freek

2005-10-15

Progress in the foundations of mathematics has made it possible to formulate all thinkable mathematical concepts, algorithms and proofs in one language and in an impeccable way. This is not in spite of, but partially based on the famous results of Gödel and Turing. In this way statements are about mathematical objects and algorithms, proofs show the correctness of statements and computations, and computations are dealing with objects and proofs. Interactive computer systems for a full integration of defining, computing and proving are based on this. The human defines concepts, constructs algorithms and provides proofs, while the machine checks that the definitions are well formed and the proofs and computations are correct. Results formalized so far demonstrate the feasibility of this 'computer mathematics'. Also there are very good applications. The challenge is to make the systems more mathematician-friendly, by building libraries and tools. The eventual goal is to help humans to learn, develop, communicate, referee and apply mathematics.

Mathematics, the Computer, and the Impact on Mathematics Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Tooke, D. James

2001-01-01

Discusses the connection between mathematics and the computer; mathematics curriculum; mathematics instruction, including teachers learning to use computers; and the impact of the computer on learning mathematics. (LRW)

Finite Mathematics and Discrete Mathematics: Is There a Difference?

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Johnson, Marvin L.

Discrete mathematics and finite mathematics differ in a number of ways. First, finite mathematics has a longer history and is therefore more stable in terms of course content. Finite mathematics courses emphasize certain particular mathematical tools which are useful in solving the problems of business and the social sciences. Discrete mathematics…

Pre-College Science and Mathematics Teachers: Supply, Demand, and Quality

Science.gov (United States)

1990-12-01

The most recent mathematics assessment from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found that "most students, even at age 17, do not...teachers in most states over the past decade (Association for School, College, and University Staffing ( ASCUS ), 1984, 1986), and there is some...physics and chemistry, for a number of years (Howe and Gerlovich, 1982; ASCUS , 1986). Other data suggest that many new mathematics and science teachers

A mathematical model for the performance assessment of engineering barriers of a typical near surface radioactive waste disposal facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antonio, Raphaela N.; Rotunno Filho, Otto C. [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia. Lab. de Hidrologia e Estudos do Meio Ambiente]. E-mail: otto@hidro.ufrj.br; Ruperti Junior, Nerbe J.; Lavalle Filho, Paulo F. Heilbron [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: nruperti@cnen.gov.br

2005-07-01

This work proposes a mathematical model for the performance assessment of a typical radioactive waste disposal facility based on the consideration of a multiple barrier concept. The Generalized Integral Transform Technique is employed to solve the Advection-Dispersion mass transfer equation under the assumption of saturated one-dimensional flow, to obtain solute concentrations at given times and locations within the medium. A test-case is chosen in order to illustrate the performance assessment of several configurations of a multi barrier system adopted for the containment of sand contaminated with Ra-226 within a trench. (author)

A mathematical model for the performance assessment of engineering barriers of a typical near surface radioactive waste disposal facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonio, Raphaela N.; Rotunno Filho, Otto C.

2005-01-01

This work proposes a mathematical model for the performance assessment of a typical radioactive waste disposal facility based on the consideration of a multiple barrier concept. The Generalized Integral Transform Technique is employed to solve the Advection-Dispersion mass transfer equation under the assumption of saturated one-dimensional flow, to obtain solute concentrations at given times and locations within the medium. A test-case is chosen in order to illustrate the performance assessment of several configurations of a multi barrier system adopted for the containment of sand contaminated with Ra-226 within a trench. (author)

Mathematical Intelligence and Mathematical Creativity: A Causal Relationship

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Tyagi, Tarun Kumar

2017-01-01

This study investigated the causal relationship between mathematical creativity and mathematical intelligence. Four hundred thirty-nine 8th-grade students, age ranged from 11 to 14 years, were included in the sample of this study by random cluster technique on which mathematical creativity and Hindi adaptation of mathematical intelligence test…

Problem solving through recreational mathematics

CERN Document Server

Averbach, Bonnie

1999-01-01

Historically, many of the most important mathematical concepts arose from problems that were recreational in origin. This book takes advantage of that fact, using recreational mathematics - problems, puzzles and games - to teach students how to think critically. Encouraging active participation rather than just observation, the book focuses less on mathematical results than on how these results can be applied to thinking about problems and solving them. Each chapter contains a diverse array of problems in such areas as logic, number and graph theory, two-player games of strategy, solitaire ga

Mathematics Teacher Educators' Perceptions and Use of Cognitive Research

Science.gov (United States)

Laski, Elida V.; Reeves, Todd D.; Ganley, Colleen M.; Mitchell, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Instructors ("N"?=?204) of elementary mathematics methods courses completed a survey assessing the extent to which they value cognitive research and incorporate it into their courses. Instructors' responses indicated that they view cognitive research to be fairly important for mathematics education, particularly studies of domain-specific topics,…

Renewing U.S. mathematics: A plan for the 1990s

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1990-12-31

In 1981 a committee of the National Research Council was formed to investigate the health of the mathematical sciences in the US. Its 1984 report, Renewing US Mathematics: Critical Resource for the future found that although the field was thriving intellectually, government support had deteriorated to a dangerously low level. Moreover, the number of young people entering the mathematical sciences had decreased to a level inadequate to replenish the field. The 1984 Report recommended a plan for renewal, the National Plan for Graduate and Postdoctoral Education in the Mathematical Sciences. That plan`s essential feature was a call for funding to bring support for the mathematical sciences into balance with support for the physical sciences and engineering. The interdisciplinary committee that wrote the 1984 Report quickly realized that the low level of research support for US mathematical sciences was so severe that it threatened the vitality of the entire scientific enterprise. As requested by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Interagency Committee for Extramural Mathematics Programs (ICEMAP), this report updates the 1984 Report. Specifically, the charge directed the committee to (1) update that report, describing the infrastructure and support for US mathematical sciences research; (2) assess trends and progress over the intervening five years against the recommendations of the 1984 Report; (3) briefly assess the field scientifically and identify significant opportunities for research, including cross-disciplinary collaboration; and (4) make appropriate recommendations designed to ensure that US mathematical sciences research will meet national needs in coming years.

An instrument measuring prospective mathematics teacher self-regulated learning: validity and reliability

Science.gov (United States)

Nugroho, A. A.; Juniati, D.; Siswono, T. Y. E.

2018-03-01

Self Regulated Learning (SRL) is an individual's ability to achieve academic goals by controlling behavior, motivate yourself and use cognitive in learning, so it is important for a teacher especially teachers of mathematics related to the ability of management, design, implementation of learning and evaluation of learning outcomes. The purpose of the research is to develop an instrument to describe the SRL of a prospective mathematics teacher. Data were collected by (1) the study of the theory of SRL produced the indicator SRL used to design the questionnaire SRL; (2) analysis of the questionnaire SRL obtained from several References; and (3) development stage of the SRL questionnaire through validity test of content and empirical validation. The study involved 2 content experts in mathematics, 1 linguist, and 92 prospective mathematics teachers. The results of the research on content validity test based on Indonesian expert and 2 content experts indicate that the content can assess the indicator of the SRL and feasible to be used, in the test of legibility of two prospective mathematics teacher concluded that the instrument has a language that can be understood by the prospective teacher of mathematics and on empirical validation involving 92 prospective mathematics teacher generate data that of 65 statements there are 3 invalid statements. Reliability calculation shows high category that values 0,93. The conclusion is the SRL instrument developed for the prospective mathematics teacher.

Critical analysis of the Romanian Mathematics and Sciences school curricula based on the Romanian pupils’ results on international testing

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LILIANA CIASCAI

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Romania occupied a back position in the international tests on Mathematics and Sciences. Teachers stress out that one possible cause of this situation could be finding on the Mathematics and Sciences curricula. This paper presents the results of the comparisons of the Romanian curricula with the curricula promoted by the international testing (PISA 2000, 2003 and 2006, and TIMSS 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007 and the curricula of the countries occupied the first places in these tests. The comparisons underline those curricula approaches, which insure success on these tests and realize the reasons of the lack of success of the Romanian pupils. These results will be presented to the curriculum makers, universities and schools, to identify the specific and transferable competencies of the pupils with success in the above-mentioned disciplines.

Could Daylight Glare Be Defined Mathematically?Results of Testing the DGIN Method in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Nazzal, Ali; Oki, Masato

Discomfort glare from daylight is a common problem without valid prediction methods so far. A new mathematical DGIN (New Daylight Glare Index) method tries to respond the challenge. This paper reports on experiments carried out in daylit office environment in Japan to test applicability of the method. Slight positive correlation was found between the DGIN and the subjective evaluation. Additionally, a high Ladaptation value together with the small ratio of Lwindow to Ladaptation was obviously experienced sufficient to neutralize the effect of glare discomfort. However, subjective assessments are poor glare indicators and not reliable in testing glare prediction methods. DGIN is a good indicator of daylight glare, and when the DGIN value is analyzed together with the measured illuminance ratios, discomfort glare from daylight can be analyzed in a quantitative manner. The DGIN method could serve architects and lighting designers in testing daylighting systems, and also guide the action of daylight responsive lighting controls.

Preservice Agricultural Education Teachers' Mathematics Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Stripling, Christopher T.; Roberts, T. Grady

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the mathematics ability of the nation's preservice agricultural education teachers. Based on the results of this study, preservice teachers were not proficient in solving agricultural mathematics problems, and agricultural teacher education programs require basic and intermediate mathematics as their…

Assessing Visualization: An analysis of Chilean teachers’ guidelines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andrade-Molina, Melissa; Díaz, Leonora

2018-01-01

, this importance seems to fade when it comes to assessing students while learning school mathematics and geometry. We conducted an analysis of the official guidelines for the assessment school mathematics in Chile. The analysis of two of those guides is considered here. The results revealed that these guidelines...... do not help teachers while assessing visualization in schools; rather its focus is embedded in a tradition of training that leads to a reduction of space....

Attitudes of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers towards Modelling: A South African Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Gerrie J.; Durandt, Rina

2017-01-01

This study explores the attitudes of mathematics pre-service teachers, based on their initial exposure to a model-eliciting challenge. The new Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement determines that mathematics students should be able to identify, investigate and solve problems via modelling. The unpreparedness of mathematics teachers in…

Effectiveness of Using Games in Tertiary-Level Mathematics Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Afari, Ernest; Aldridge, Jill M.; Fraser, Barry J.

2012-01-01

The primary focus of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of games when used in tertiary-level mathematics classes in the United Arab Emirates. Our study incorporated a mixed-method approach that involved surveys (to assess students' perceptions of the learning environment and attitudes towards mathematics), interviews, observations of…

Assessing the sense of `good at' and `not good at' toward learning topics of mathematics with conjoint analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Izuta, Giido; Nishikawa, Tomoko

2017-05-01

Over the past years, educational psychology and pedagogy communities have focused on the metacognition formalism as a helpful approach to carry out investigations on the feeling of difficulty in mastering some classroom materials that students acquire through their subjective experiences of learning in schools. Motivated by hitherto studies, this work deals with the assessment of the awareness of `good at' and `not good at' that Japanese junior high school students have towards the main learning modules in their three years of mathematics. More specifically, the aims here are (i) to shed some light into how the awareness varies across the grades and gender; (ii) to get some insights into the extent to what the conjoint analysis can be applied to understand the students' feelings toward learning activities. To accomplish them, a conjoint analysis survey with three conjoint attributes, each with two levels, were designed to assess the learners' perceptions of `good at' and `not good at' with respect to arithmetic (algebraic operations), geometry and functions, which make up the three major modules of their curricula. The measurements took place in a public junior high school with 616 school children. It turned out that the conjoint analyses for boys and girls of each grade generated the partial utility and importance graphs which along with a pre-established precision of measurement allowed us to form groups of pupils according to their `sense of being good at' characteristics. Moreover, the results showed that the number of groups obtained differed for boys and girls as well as grades when the gender and school years were considered for comparisons. These findings suggesting that female students outnumbers their peers in number of `good at' despite the low number of females pursuing careers in mathematics and related fields imply that investigation on the causes of this juxtaposition has to be taken into account in the future.

Learning Mathematics for Teaching Mathematics: Non-Specialist Teachers' Mathematics Teacher Identity

Science.gov (United States)

Crisan, Cosette; Rodd, Melissa

2017-01-01

A non-specialist teacher of mathematics is a school teacher who qualified to teach in a subject other than mathematics yet teaches mathematics to students in secondary school. There is an emerging interest internationally in this population, a brief report of which is given in the paper. Because of concerns about the quality of non-specialists'…

Utilization of mathematics amongst healthcare students towards problem solving during their occupational safety health internship

Science.gov (United States)

Umasenan a/l Thanikasalam

2017-05-01

Occupational safety health is a multidisciplinary discipline concentrating on the safety, health and welfare of workers in the working place. Healthcare Students undergoing Occupational Safety Health internships are required to apply mathematical in areas such as safety legislation, safety behavior, ergonomics, chemical safety, OSH practices, industrial hygiene, risk management and safety health practices as problem solving. The aim of this paper is to investigate the level of mathematics and logic utilization from these students during their internship looking at areas of Hazard identification, Determining the population exposed to the hazard, Assessing the risk of the exposure to the hazards and Taking preventive and control. A total of 142 returning healthcare students from their Occupational Safety Health, internship were given a questionnaire to measure their perceptions towards mathematical and logic utilization. The overall results indicated a strong positive skewed result towards the use of Mathematics during their internship. The findings showed that mathematics were well delivered by the students during their internship. Mathematics could not be separated from OSH practice as a needed precision in quantifying safety, health an d welfare of workers in addition to empiricism.

IMPROVEMENT OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR ESTIMATION OF TRAIN DYNAMICS

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L. V. Ursulyak

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Using scientific publications the paper analyzes the mathematical models developed in Ukraine, CIS countries and abroad for theoretical studies of train dynamics and also shows the urgency of their further improvement. Methodology. Information base of the research was official full-text and abstract databases, scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists, professional periodicals, materials of scientific and practical conferences, methodological materials of ministries and departments. Analysis of publications on existing mathematical models used to solve a wide range of problems associated with the train dynamics study shows the expediency of their application. Findings. The results of these studies were used in: 1 design of new types of draft gears and air distributors; 2 development of methods for controlling the movement of conventional and connected trains; 3 creation of appropriate process flow diagrams; 4 development of energy-saving methods of train driving; 5 revision of the Construction Codes and Regulations (SNiP ΙΙ-39.76; 6 when selecting the parameters of the autonomous automatic control system, created in DNURT, for an auxiliary locomotive that is part of a connected train; 7 when creating computer simulators for the training of locomotive drivers; 8 assessment of the vehicle dynamic indices characterizing traffic safety. Scientists around the world conduct numerical experiments related to estimation of train dynamics using mathematical models that need to be constantly improved. Originality. The authors presented the main theoretical postulates that allowed them to develop the existing mathematical models for solving problems related to the train dynamics. The analysis of scientific articles published in Ukraine, CIS countries and abroad allows us to determine the most relevant areas of application of mathematical models. Practicalvalue. The practical value of the results obtained lies in the scientific validity

Problem posing as a didactic resource in formal mathematics courses to train future secondary school mathematics teachers

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Lorena Salazar Solórzano

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Beginning university training programs must focus on different competencies for mathematics teachers, i.e., not only on solving problems, but also on posing them and analyzing the mathematical activity. This paper reports the results of an exploratory study conducted with future secondary school mathematics teachers on the introduction of problem-posing tasks in formal mathematics courses, specifically in abstract algebra and real analysis courses. Evidence was found that training which includes problem-posing tasks has a positive impact on the students’ understanding of definitions, theorems and exercises within formal mathematics, as well as on their competency in reflecting on the mathematical activity. 

Results from a new mathematical model of gastrointestinal transit that incorporates age and gender-dependent physiological parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stubbs, J.B.

1992-01-01

Recently published data on effects of age and gender-dependent GI physiology and motility have been used to develop a new mathematical model describing the transit and adsorption of substances through the GI tract. This mathematical description of GI tract kinetics utilises more physiologically accurate transit processes than the ICRP Report 30 GI model. The model uses a combination of zero and first-order kinetics to describe motility. Some of the physiological parameters that the new model uses are gender, age, phase of the menstrual cycle, meal composition and gastric phase (solid versus liquid). A computer algorithm based on this model has been derived and results for young males are compared to those of the ICRP 30 model. Comparison of gastrointestinal residence times for 99 Tc m and 111 In labelled compounds, as a function of gender and age, are also presented. (author)

Crossroads in the History of Mathematics and Mathematics Education. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast: Monograph Series in Mathematics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Sriraman, Bharath, Ed.

2012-01-01

The interaction of the history of mathematics and mathematics education has long been construed as an esoteric area of inquiry. Much of the research done in this realm has been under the auspices of the history and pedagogy of mathematics group. However there is little systematization or consolidation of the existing literature aimed at…

Discrete Mathematics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Aasted

2011-01-01

The objectives of Discrete Mathematics (IDISM2) are: The introduction of the mathematics needed for analysis, design and verification of discrete systems, including the application within programming languages for computer systems. Having passed the IDISM2 course, the student will be able...... to accomplish the following: -Understand and apply formal representations in discrete mathematics. -Understand and apply formal representations in problems within discrete mathematics. -Understand methods for solving problems in discrete mathematics. -Apply methods for solving problems in discrete mathematics......; construct a finite state machine for a given application. Apply these concepts to new problems. The teaching in Discrete Mathematics is a combination of sessions with lectures and students solving problems, either manually or by using Matlab. Furthermore a selection of projects must be solved and handed...

Mathematical Literacy: A new literacy or a new mathematics?

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Renuka Vithal

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Mathematical Literacy is a ‘hot’ topic at present in most countries, whether it is referred to by that name, or in some cases as Numeracy, or Quantitative Literacy, or Matheracy, or as some part of Ethnomathematics, or related to Mathematics in Society. Questions continue to be asked about what is meant by mathematics in any concept of Mathematical Literacy and the use of the very word ‘Literacy’ in its association with Mathematics has been challenged. Its importance, however, lies in changing our perspective on mathematics teaching, away from the elitism so often associated with much mathematics education, and towards a more equitable, accessible and genuinely educational ideal.

The Relationship of Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematical Knowledge to the Learning of Mathematical Pedagogy by Preservice Elementary Teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Battista, Michael T.

1986-01-01

Examined how preservice elementary teachers' (N=38) mathematical knowledge and mathematics anxiety affect their success in a mathematics methods course. Also examined the hypothesis that a mathematics methods course can reduce the mathematics anxiety of these teachers. One finding is that mathematics anxiety does not inhibit their learning of…

Mathematics for multimedia

CERN Document Server

Wickerhauser, Mladen Victor

2003-01-01

Mathematics and Multimedia focuses on the mathematics behind multimedia applications. This timely and thoroughly modern text is a rigorous survey of selected results from algebra and analysis, requiring only undergraduate math skills.The topics are `gems' chosen for their usefulness in understanding and creating application software for multimedia signal processing and communication.The book is aimed at a wide audience, including computer science and mathematics majors and those interested in employing mathematics in multimedia design and implementation. For the instructor, the material is divided into six chapters that may be presented in six lecture hours each. Thus, the entire text may be covered in one semester, with time left for examinations and student projects. For the student,there are more than 100 exercises with complete solutions, and numerous example programs in Standard C. Each chapter ends with suggestions for further reading. A companion website provides more insight for both instructors and s...

The Relationships among Mathematics Teaching Efficacy, Mathematics Self-Efficacy, and Mathematical Beliefs for Elementary Pre-Service Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Briley, Jason S.

2012-01-01

Ninety-five elementary pre-service teachers enrolled in a mathematics content course for elementary school teachers completed 3 surveys to measure mathematics teaching efficacy, mathematics self-efficacy, and mathematical beliefs. The pre-service teachers who reported stronger beliefs in their capabilities to teach mathematics effectively were…

78 FR 38957 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Trends in International Mathematics...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-28

...; Comment Request; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): 2015 Recruitment and Field... of Collection: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): 2015 Recruitment and... Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is an international assessment of fourth and eighth grade students...

Assessment of cerebrospinal fluid system dynamics : novel infusion protocol, mathematical modelling and parameter estimation for hydrocephalus investigations

OpenAIRE

Andersson, Kennet

2011-01-01

Patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) have a disturbance in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) system. The treatment is neurosurgical – a shunt is placed in the CSF system. The infusion test is used to assess CSF system dynamics and to aid in the selection of patients that will benefit from shunt surgery. The infusion test can be divided into three parts: a mathematical model, an infusion protocol and a parameter estimation method. A non-linear differential equation is used...

Clinical and Cognitive Characteristics Associated with Mathematics Problem Solving in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Oswald, Tasha M; Beck, Jonathan S; Iosif, Ana-Maria; McCauley, James B; Gilhooly, Leslie J; Matter, John C; Solomon, Marjorie

2016-04-01

Mathematics achievement in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been understudied. However, the ability to solve applied math problems is associated with academic achievement, everyday problem-solving abilities, and vocational outcomes. The paucity of research on math achievement in ASD may be partly explained by the widely-held belief that most individuals with ASD are mathematically gifted, despite emerging evidence to the contrary. The purpose of the study was twofold: to assess the relative proportions of youth with ASD who demonstrate giftedness versus disability on applied math problems, and to examine which cognitive (i.e., perceptual reasoning, verbal ability, working memory) and clinical (i.e., test anxiety) characteristics best predict achievement on applied math problems in ASD relative to typically developing peers. Twenty-seven high-functioning adolescents with ASD and 27 age- and Full Scale IQ-matched typically developing controls were assessed on standardized measures of math problem solving, perceptual reasoning, verbal ability, and test anxiety. Results indicated that 22% of the ASD sample evidenced a mathematics learning disability, while only 4% exhibited mathematical giftedness. The parsimonious linear regression model revealed that the strongest predictor of math problem solving was perceptual reasoning, followed by verbal ability and test anxiety, then diagnosis of ASD. These results inform our theories of math ability in ASD and highlight possible targets of intervention for students with ASD struggling with mathematics. © 2015 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Process-Driven Math: An Auditory Method of Mathematics Instruction and Assessment for Students Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision

Science.gov (United States)

Gulley, Ann P.; Smith, Luke A.; Price, Jordan A.; Prickett, Logan C.; Ragland, Matthew F.

2017-01-01

Process-Driven Math is a fully audio method of mathematics instruction and assessment that was created at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, to meet the needs of one particular student, Logan. He was blind, mobility impaired, and he could not speak above a whisper. Logan was not able to use traditional low vision tools like braille and…

Gender differences in mathematics anxiety and the relation to mathematics performance while controlling for test anxiety

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Mathematics anxiety (MA), a state of discomfort associated with performing mathematical tasks, is thought to affect a notable proportion of the school age population. Some research has indicated that MA negatively affects mathematics performance and that girls may report higher levels of MA than boys. On the other hand some research has indicated that boys’ mathematics performance is more negatively affected by MA than girls’ performance is. The aim of the current study was to measure girls’ and boys’ mathematics performance as well as their levels of MA while controlling for test anxiety (TA) a construct related to MA but which is typically not controlled for in MA studies. Methods Four-hundred and thirty three British secondary school children in school years 7, 8 and 10 completed customised mental mathematics tests and MA and TA questionnaires. Results No gender differences emerged for mathematics performance but levels of MA and TA were higher for girls than for boys. Girls and boys showed a positive correlation between MA and TA and a negative correlation between MA and mathematics performance. TA was also negatively correlated with mathematics performance, but this relationship was stronger for girls than for boys. When controlling for TA, the negative correlation between MA and performance remained for girls only. Regression analyses revealed that MA was a significant predictor of performance for girls but not for boys. Conclusions Our study has revealed that secondary school children experience MA. Importantly, we controlled for TA which is typically not controlled for in MA studies. Girls showed higher levels of MA than boys and high levels of MA were related to poorer levels of mathematics performance. As well as potentially having a detrimental effect on ‘online’ mathematics performance, past research has shown that high levels of MA can have negative consequences for later mathematics education. Therefore MA warrants attention in

Gender differences in mathematics anxiety and the relation to mathematics performance while controlling for test anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Devine Amy

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Mathematics anxiety (MA, a state of discomfort associated with performing mathematical tasks, is thought to affect a notable proportion of the school age population. Some research has indicated that MA negatively affects mathematics performance and that girls may report higher levels of MA than boys. On the other hand some research has indicated that boys’ mathematics performance is more negatively affected by MA than girls’ performance is. The aim of the current study was to measure girls’ and boys’ mathematics performance as well as their levels of MA while controlling for test anxiety (TA a construct related to MA but which is typically not controlled for in MA studies. Methods Four-hundred and thirty three British secondary school children in school years 7, 8 and 10 completed customised mental mathematics tests and MA and TA questionnaires. Results No gender differences emerged for mathematics performance but levels of MA and TA were higher for girls than for boys. Girls and boys showed a positive correlation between MA and TA and a negative correlation between MA and mathematics performance. TA was also negatively correlated with mathematics performance, but this relationship was stronger for girls than for boys. When controlling for TA, the negative correlation between MA and performance remained for girls only. Regression analyses revealed that MA was a significant predictor of performance for girls but not for boys. Conclusions Our study has revealed that secondary school children experience MA. Importantly, we controlled for TA which is typically not controlled for in MA studies. Girls showed higher levels of MA than boys and high levels of MA were related to poorer levels of mathematics performance. As well as potentially having a detrimental effect on ‘online’ mathematics performance, past research has shown that high levels of MA can have negative consequences for later mathematics education

Mathematical problems in meteorological modelling

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Csomós, Petra; Faragó, István; Horányi, András; Szépszó, Gabriella

2016-01-01

This book deals with mathematical problems arising in the context of meteorological modelling. It gathers and presents some of the most interesting and important issues from the interaction of mathematics and meteorology. It is unique in that it features contributions on topics like data assimilation, ensemble prediction, numerical methods, and transport modelling, from both mathematical and meteorological perspectives. The derivation and solution of all kinds of numerical prediction models require the application of results from various mathematical fields. The present volume is divided into three parts, moving from mathematical and numerical problems through air quality modelling, to advanced applications in data assimilation and probabilistic forecasting. The book arose from the workshop “Mathematical Problems in Meteorological Modelling” held in Budapest in May 2014 and organized by the ECMI Special Interest Group on Numerical Weather Prediction. Its main objective is to highlight the beauty of the de...

The Role of the Mathematics Supervisor in K-12 Education

Science.gov (United States)

Greenes, Carole

2013-01-01

The implementation of "the Common Core Standards for Mathematics" and the assessments of those concepts, skills, reasoning methods, and mathematical practices that are in development necessitate the updating of teachers' knowledge of content, pedagogical techniques to enhance engagement and persistence, and strategies for responding to…