0

Eric.ed.gov – Multiply Your Child’s Success: Math and Science Can Make Dreams Come True. A Parent’s Guide

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In today’s high-tech world, math and science matter. Of the 10 fastest growing occupations, eight are science, math or technology-related. Whatever a child wants to do–join the military, join the workforce, or go on to college–math and science skills will be important. Become part of the equation to help one’s child succeed now and in the future. Parents have the power to make a tremendous difference in their child’s success by staying informed and involved. This paper offers some ideas for how parents can help support math and science skills from elementary school through high school. Link til kilde

0

Eric.ed.gov – Primary School Teachers’ Perceptions of Out of School Learning within Science Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This article examines what key aspects primary teachers highlight when they describe their use of out of school learning in the science subjects. The empirical study is made in the form of a semi-structured interview with primary teachers (N=15). Compared to earlier research in the area the results highlight the importance of clear learning aims for the outdoor sequence. The results show that teachers view outdoor education as an opportunity to study nature “for real”, which, according to teachers, increases the interest of the children. As aspects that obstruct outdoor teaching, teachers mainly describe different organizational-economic aspects. In their description of the learning content in the outdoor education, teachers mainly talk about the students’ interest (affective motivations) and the concrete activity or act (process-oriented motivations). The scientific… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Increasing Student Engagement in Math: The Use of Khan Academy in Chilean Classrooms

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Khan Academy, an online platform offering educational videos and exercises in different content areas, has awakened intense interest among foundations, multilateral organizations, policy makers, and educators about how this tool can help meet the educational challenges facing countries around the world. With support from Intel, Education Development Center (EDC) researchers sought to understand how this technology fits into the complex realities of schools in a developing country. In August of 2013, researchers traveled to Santiago, Chile to conduct research in five schools where teachers are using Khan Academy. We found that the way Khan Academy functions as a digital learning environment changes the ways and the degree to which students engage with and are engaged by the math content; it also changes the way teachers and students… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – No More “What Are We Doing in Maths Today?” Affordances of the Flipped Classroom Approach

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Teachers of senior secondary mathematics are required to contend with a number of challenges including covering the prescribed curriculum, differentiating the content for a range of learners, and preparing students for externally imposed assessment tasks. The flipped classroom is gaining in popularity as an approach that can be used to address these challenges. This paper provides a framework that can be used to interpret the affordances of a flipped classroom within the context of teaching secondary mathematics and the motivational factors that influence the uptake of the approach. Data analysed through the framework showed that students believed that the approach enabled them to have autonomy over their learning and achieve their goals. The study has implications for senior secondary teachers and students, particularly in terms of meeting… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Commercially Available Digital Game Technology in the Classroom: Improving Automaticity in Mental-Maths in Primary-Aged Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this paper we report on a study of the implementation of handheld game consoles (HGCs) in 10 Year four/five classrooms to develop student automaticity of mathematical calculations. The automaticity of mathematical calculations was compared for those students using the HGC and those being taught using traditional teaching methods. Over a school term, students (n = 236) who used the HGCs and Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training showed significant improvement in both the speed and accuracy of their mathematical calculations. Data collected in interviews during the intervention period from students, staff and parents were analysed to provide further information on the implementation and efficacy of this approach. This exploration identified that the HGCs contributed to positive learning, motivational, and efficiency outcomes. These findings highlight opportunities for using commercially… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Preservice Teachers’ Observations of Children’s Learning during Family Math Night

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Family math night can easily be implemented into mathematics methodology courses providing an opportunity for field-based learning. Preservice teachers were asked to develop and implement an inquiry-based activity at a family math night event held at a local school with personnel, elementary children and their parents in attendance. This action research examines what preservice teachers discovered about how children learn mathematics during their interactions with parents and children. Preservice teachers’ individual reflections focusing on children’s learning were qualitatively analyzed and clustered. In addition, data from teacher educator’s observation notes was used to triangulate findings. Four themes were identified in relation to children’s needs for promoting learning in mathematics: (1) activity adjustment (2) engagement through guiding and questioning (3) motivational issues and (4) the use of manipulatives and… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Empowering Teachers with Low-Intensity Strategies to Support Instruction: Within-Activity Choices in Third-Grade Math with Null Effects

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Instructional choice is a low-intensity strategy that can improve academic engagement. In this study, we investigated the effects of within-activity choices offered during math by third-grade teachers to participating students with behavioral and academic needs. We utilized a professional development model to train teachers to implement instructional choice in the classroom while collecting direct observation data on student’s academic engagement. Teachers were able to implement practices with high levels of integrity and collect momentary time sampling data on one student with high levels of reliability. Using a withdrawal design, we found no clear functional relation between instructional choice and increases in student’s academic engagement. However, some students demonstrated an increase in level upon the introduction of the intervention. Both teachers and students rated the intervention goals, procedures,… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Maths Games: A Universal Design Approach to Mathematical Reasoning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Providing students with an opportunity to explore mathematical content through games allows teachers to include tasks that: (1) present alternative representations of the content; (2) welcome various expressions of mathematical reasoning; and (3) incorporate variations that empower all students to engage in the problem solving process. Games not only motivate students to learn mathematical concepts, but games also embody the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)–a framework designed to optimise instructional decisions to meet students’ needs. In this article, the authors Games not only motivate students to learn mathematical concepts, but games also embody the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)–a framework designed to optimise instructional decisions to meet students’ needs. Link til kilde

0

Eric.ed.gov – Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Motivating Factors of Online Class Discussions

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: One of the goals of teacher education is to prepare our citizens to communicate in a variety of ways. In our present society, communication using digital media has become essential. Although online discussions are a common component of many online courses, engaging students in online discussions has been a challenge. This study queried 86 educators in a math/science teacher education graduate program to examine their perceptions on the factors that motivate them to participate in online discussions. The results revealed a pragmatic outlook on online education. In terms of intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation, the participants’ main motivation to participate in online class discussions was extrinsic (85.88%), specifically so that they could earn an acceptable participation grade. With regards to discussion grouping formats, they preferred small group discussions… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Digital Storytelling as a Problem-Solving Strategy in Mathematics Teacher Education: How Making a Math-eo Engages and Excites 21st Century Students

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study examines whether creating a mathematics-based digital story increases pre-service teachers’ understanding of the problem solving process, the relationship among visual, auditory and verbal representation in critical thinking/problem solving in mathematics. Survey results indicated that pre-service teachers were unfamiliar with the uses of technology in the teaching process. However, as they worked through the writing/problem solving procedures and constructed digital stories, they became more aware of the advantages of using this multimodal product, called Math-eos, to teach mathematical concepts to elementary/middle school students. The pre-service teachers perceived that Math-eos offered a “cool” new tool for their own learning and teaching and for integrating digital technology in mathematics education to increase student engagement, motivation and acquisition of content knowledge. Link til kilde