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Eric.ed.gov – Mathematics: Essential Research, Essential Practice. Volumes 1 and 2. Proceedings of the 30th Annual Conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This is a record of the proceedings of the 30th annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). The theme of the conference is “Mathematics: Essential research, essential practice.” The theme draws attention to the importance of developing and maintaining links between research and practice and ties in with the joint day of presentations with the 21st biennial conference of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT). This special feature highlights the benefits of collaboration between researchers, practicing classroom teachers, and curriculum developers. Volume 1 contains the following papers: (1) The Beginnings of MERGA (Ken Clements); (2) Teaching and Learning by Example: The Annual Clements/Foyster Lecture (Helen L. Chick); (3) Introducing Students to Data Representation and Statistics (Richard Lehrer); (4) Studies in the Zone… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – State Mathematics Standards: An Appraisal of Math Standards in 46 States, the District of Columbia, and Japan.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation has commissioned studies of state academic standards in five core subjects. This is the fourth of these studies, focusing on state standards for mathematics. For this evaluation of mathematics standards, researchers developed nine criteria under the four areas of: clarity, content, reason, and negative qualities. These criteria were applied to the standards documents of 46 states and the District of Columbia, and standards for Japan were reviewed for comparison purposes. The remaining four states either had no standards or did not make current drafts available. Only three states received a grade of “A,” and only nine received a grade of “B.” More than half received either a “D” or an “F.” The principal failures of these documents stem from the mathematical ignorance… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Scale Score Comparability across Two Levels of a Norm-Referenced Math Computation Test for Students with Learning Disabilities. Out-of-Level Testing Report.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this study, special education teachers identified students with learning disabilities who were working on math skills usually taught two grades below the grade in which the student was enrolled. Each student (n=33) took two levels of the MAT/7 math computation test, an on-grade test, and an out-of-level test intended for students two grades below. All levels of the MAT/7 are statistically linked to permit scores comparisons across levels. On average, the students obtained a higher scale score on the on-grade test (mean=557) than on the out-of-level test (mean=541). When a correction was made for random guessing, the mean scale score on the on-grade test (mean=535) was lower than the mean scale score on the out-of-level test (mean=550), although the difference was not statistically significant. More of… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) Shrinks Gap in Kindergarten Readiness for Economically Disadvantaged Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One important reason early childhood education contributes to the overall success of students in the K-12 system is that it helps students start kindergarten better prepared. Every kindergartener entering a public school in Arkansas is given the Qualls Early Learning Inventory (QELI). This is a developmentally appropriate assessment that observes known cognitive knowledge and classroom behaviors that are linked to success in school. It also provides a snapshot of how prepared students are entering kindergarten. The QELI has six areas of assessment: General Knowledge, Oral Communication, Written Language, Math Concepts, Work Habits, and Attentive Behaviors. Through a series of observations and questions, teachers determine if the student is Not Developed, Developing, or Developed in each of the six areas. QELI scores for 130,583 students from 2008-2012 were… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Findings from the Third-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011): First Look. NCES 2016-094

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), is collecting information about the early educational experiences of a nationally representative sample of children who were in kindergarten or who were of kindergarten age in ungraded classrooms or schools in the 2010-11 school year. The data collection began in the 2010-11 school year, when the children in the sample were in kindergarten, and will continue through the spring of 2016, when most of the children in the sample are expected to be in fifth grade. This brief report provides information from the data collection conducted in the spring of 2014, when the majority of the students were in third grade. The ECLS-K:2011 provides information on students’ status at school entry, on their transition into school, and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Children’s Outcomes and Classroom Quality from Pre-K through Kindergarten: Findings from Year 2 of Georgia’s Pre-K Longitudinal Study

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This report focuses on the results of the second year of this longitudinal study–the 2014-2015 Georgia’s Pre-K Program Evaluation. The purpose of this evaluation study was to examine initial longitudinal outcomes related to school readiness for children and the quality of their classrooms from pre-k through kindergarten. The primary evaluation questions addressed included: (1) What are the learning outcomes through kindergarten for children attending Georgia’s Pre-K Program; (2) What factors predict better learning outcomes for children; and (3) What is the quality of children’s experiences in pre-k and kindergarten? To address these questions, the evaluation study included a sample of 1,169 children (139 Spanish-speaking dual language learners/DLLs) attending a random sample of 199 Georgia’s Pre-K classrooms in year 1, and 1,034 of these children (118 Spanish-speaking DLLs)… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Vermont Teachers’ Understanding of Mathematical Problem Solving and “Good” Math Problems.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: For the past five years, Vermont has been developing an innovative statewide assessment system in which portfolios of student work in mathematics and writing are a key element. The use of mathematics portfolios, particularly in elementary school, is a novel aspect of the assessment system. This study examines the elementary school mathematics portfolio assessment and its instructional impact by exploring the conceptions of problem solving, the knowledge of problem-solving strategies, the evaluation of problem-solving tasks, and the instructional practices of 20 fourth-grade teachers. Teachers indicated that the portfolio assessment program has enhanced their understanding of mathematical problem solving and broadened their instructional practices, but that they have encountered difficulty in understanding certain components of the reform and making the relevant changes. Teachers did not share a common… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Children’s Outcomes and Classroom Quality from Pre-K through Kindergarten: Findings from Year 2 of Georgia’s Pre-K Longitudinal Study. Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This executive summary presents results from a study that began in 2013-2014, and involves a longitudinal design to follow a sample of 1,169 children (139 Spanish-speaking DLLs) who attended 199 randomly-selected Georgia’s Pre-K classrooms. These findings focus on results from the second year of the study, which included 1,034 of these children (118 Spanish-speaking DLLs) who were attending kindergarten. Researchers conducted individual child assessments near the beginning and end of pre-k and kindergarten to examine growth in children’s skills, as well as factors associated with greater growth. The assessment measures covered multiple domains of learning, including language, literacy, math, and general knowledge, and teacher ratings of behavior skills. For the DLL subsample, assessments were conducted in both English and Spanish using parallel measures. Researchers also conducted observations… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Instruction Quality or Working Condition? The Effects of Part-Time Faculty on Student Academic Outcomes in Community College Introductory Courses

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: More than half of community college courses are taught by part-time faculty. Drawing on data from six community colleges, this study estimates the effects of part-time faculty versus full-time faculty on students’ current and subsequent course outcomes in developmental and gateway courses, using course fixed effects and propensity score matching to minimize bias arising from student self-sorting across and within courses. We find that part-time faculty have negative effects on student subsequent enrollments. These negative effects are driven by results in math courses. We also find that course schedules could explain substantial proportions of the estimated negative effects, while faculty individual characteristics could not. Survey results on faculty professional experiences suggest that part-time faculty had less institutional knowledge regarding both academic and nonacademic services. We infer that… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Considerations for Realizing the Promise of Educational Gaming Technology

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Hope Elementary School recently purchased tablets for all of its students to facilitate the use of technology in the classroom. The principal at Hope Elementary understands that technology can be an efficient and effective way for teachers to access materials and differentiate instruction to support the achievement of all learners. However, some teachers are struggling to determine how to best use the tablets in the classroom. Ms. Williams is a special education teacher at Hope Elementary School. She is excited about the tablet initiative and has a number of ideas about ways she can effectively and meaningfully integrate technology into instruction. The principal at Hope Elementary has asked Ms. Williams to serve as an example for other teachers at the school to help alleviate their concerns about… Continue Reading