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Eric.ed.gov – Is Transition to a Special Education School an Effective Answer to Mathematics Difficulties?

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this paper, the authors looked at the effectiveness of special education schools for mathematics learning. Mathematics education is a key to increasing the later professional and citizenship opportunities of students and mathematical understanding influences decision making in all areas of life. Additionally, math failure correlates highly with referral to special education, grade retention, and school dropout and are cumulative and worsen with time, therefore, early identification and intervention is important. Empirical data from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, was used, which makes an interesting case study as it has a strong tradition of separate special education. Study results indicated that students with special educational needs are better off in mainstream education than in a special education school, at least as far as mathematics goes. Also,… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Effects of “Math Pathways and Pitfalls” on Students’ Mathematics Achievement: National Science Foundation Final Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study was designed to assess the impact of “Mathematics Pathways and Pitfalls” (“MPP”) on the mathematics that second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade students learn. The specific research questions that were addressed are: (a) What is the impact of “MPP” on students’ knowledge of the mathematics topics addressed, compared to that of students using the regular math curriculum? and (b) How equitable is the impact of “MPP” on students’ mathematics knowledge across levels of English language proficiency and entering mathematics ability? A cluster-randomized experimental design was implemented in five school districts. In the first year of the study, second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade teachers were randomly assigned within their school districts to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group teachers were taught how to implement “MPP”… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Effectiveness of Using iPads to Increase Academic Task Completion by Students with Autism

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This single subject design study (ABAB) investigated the effects of using iPads in a classwide academic intervention to increase independent task completion and basic math skills of seven students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) enrolled in a special education school. The study also examined the advantages of and challenges to using iPads for classroom instruction. Traditional basic math instruction was used for the baseline phase, while a basic math skill app on an iPad was used for the intervention phase. Math probes were completed and the results recorded for four to five sessions for each of the four weeks of the study. Data on level of teacher prompting and presence of noncompliant behaviors were collected during every phase. Descriptive and visual analysis techniques were used to… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching of Student Teachers and Its Enhancement through a Special Final Course

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this article we describe the results of a special final course, at the main teachers’ college in Mexico, which had two related main objectives: one was to find out the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) held by student teachers (ST) at the end of their instructional preparation. The other was to discern ways to improve this knowledge and to document the changes observed. In teachers’ colleges in Mexico, math contents and pedagogical ideas are taught separately, so we aimed to help student teachers to integrate these. The analysis showed that their knowledge is mainly instrumental but that through discussions and reflection about the main issues, they were able fairly quickly to attain a significant improvement in all the contents included. Moreover, they also showed changes on… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Teacher Gender and Student Performance in Mathematics. Evidence from Catalonia (Spain)

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper analyses the impact of teacher gender towards students’ test results in a blinded Math test administered to students in Catalonia (Spain). The data for this analysis are drawn from a sample of secondary school students who participated in an international blind-test known as the “Mathematical Kangaroo” in 2008. The estimation considers a two-stage procedure since participation on the test leads to the presence of sample selection. Results show a correlation between female teacher gender and student results. Moreover, students with female teachers have a higher probability of participating in the “Kangaroo” test (in this case, the effect being more marked among male students). Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Developing Empirical Benchmarks of Teacher Knowledge Effect Sizes in Studies of Professional Development Effectiveness

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Growing interest in teaching quality and accountability has focused attention on the need for rigorous studies and evaluations of professional development (PD) programs. However, the study of PD has been hampered by a lack of suitable instruments. The authors present data from the Teacher Knowledge Assessment System (TKAS), which was designed to administer Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) measures. TKAS is being widely adopted in the evaluation of PD programs with over 500 separate program administrations and 16,000 teachers representing every major region in the country. The purpose of the current study was to leverage the TKAS dataset to develop a set of empirical benchmarks of effect sizes for designing rigorous studies of teacher professional development programs. The research design consisted of two goals: (1) to investigate… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Designing Professional Learning Communities through Understanding the Beliefs of Learning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study was designed to initiate the process of building professional development learning communities for pre-service math teachers through revealing those teachers’ conceptions/beliefs of students’ learning and their own learning in China. It examines Chinese pre-service math teachers’ conceptions of student learning and their related pedagogical beliefs with respect to the following four aspects: self-regulation, construction of knowledge, the social nature of learning, and a dynamic view of ability. A total of 129 middle-school and secondary pre-service math teachers from China participated in this study. The results indicated that the Chinese pre-service teachers’ conceptions of student learning and their pedagogical beliefs are constructive, process-oriented, and progressive. In addition, the traditional Chinese socio-cultural values still have an impact on the pre-service teachers’ conceptions of student learning. Implications and… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – The Prevalence or Absence of Attention to Adolescent Literature in the Initial Preparation of Secondary Content Teachers

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examined uses of adolescent literature included secondary teacher preparation in English, math, science, and social studies education at 12 institutions. Analyses revealed programs emphasized adolescent literature in a variety of ways and most often in courses for English majors. Only two institutions required that prospective math, science, and social studies teachers take literacy courses. References to adolescent literature in syllabi other than English/literacy education courses were almost nonexistent. Adolescent literature was primarily used (a) to ensure knowledge of texts, (b) to address issues of diversity in the classroom, and (c) as a means of effective classroom instruction. (Contains 1 table.) Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – In-Service Training Needs of Agriculture Teachers for Preparing Them to Be Effective in the 21st Century

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this descriptive survey research study conducted with agriculture teachers in North Carolina was to determine their in-service training needs in order to be effective for preparing students with the 21st century skills necessary for students to be successful. This study reaffirms the need for continuation of leadership education as an important skill and integration of reading, writing, and math concepts into all agricultural education curricula for preparing students to be successful in the 21st century. The role of agriculture in global food security; application of problem-based learning; planning and delivering lessons to utilize higher order thinking skills; teaching leadership skills; and development of teamwork and student collaboration were identified as the five most important in-service training needs for preparing agriculture teachers to be effective… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – How Classroom Assessment Affects Science and Mathematics Achievement?: Findings from TIMSS 2015

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this study, it is aimed to examine the effect of classroom assessment on science and mathematics achievements. For this purpose, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is performed using variables of like learning science/maths, engage teaching in science/maths, confidence in science/maths, and home resources for learning variables at the student level, and experience, education level, homework, and assessment at the teacher level. The sample of the study consists of 4th grade students who participated in TIMSS 2015 in Turkey. According to the findings; 36% of variance in science achievement, and 40% of variance in mathematics achievement are due to variability between classes. In a random coefficient model, all student variables were found to be statistically significant predictors of science and mathematics achievement. Among these variables, the greatest effect… Continue Reading