Group items tagged

"Abstract: Some were born to do math, some persevered past fearful environments, while others withdrew. In this qualitative study, adults describe life with algebra and the meaning they sought. For all, pedagogy was critical, either positively or negatively; and all found salvation in intervention."

Abstract: "A Learning Assistant program that recruits strong STEM undergraduates to become mathematics teachers was explored through a qualitative study. Three program participants were purposely selected and interviewed. The program reaffirmed one participant's choice to become a teacher and clarified for one that it might be a career for him."

Summaries of presentations from a symposium at Florida International University in 2012

See in particular, Digital Learning Dot #3, Personalized Learning in Math Class

"In December, 2011, Ian Waitz, MIT's Dean of Engineering, launched the MIT-K12 project, driven by a series of questions: How can we change the perception of the role of engineers and scientists in the world? What can MIT do, right now, to improve STEM education at the K12 level? What if MIT became a publicly accessible "experiential partner" to the country's K12 educators? What if MIT students generated short-form videos to complement the work those educators are already doing in their classrooms and homes?"

"The MIND Research Institute enables elementary and secondary students to reach their full academic and career potential through developing and deploying math instructional software and systems. A non-profit organization, MIND also conducts basic neuroscientific, mathematics, and education research to improve math education and advance scientific understanding."

Discusses quantitative literacy (QL) as a student learning outcome and the work of Project Kaleidoscope and others towards effecting the curriculum in that direction

From the abstract: "The purpose of this study was to find out from current high school math teachers, of geometry specifically, what their views of technology are. The goal of the study was to ask these teachers which technologies they use and whether they believe technology has beneficial effects on student learning. Data was collected for the survey by asking teachers to take brief electronic surveys and conduct in-person interviews. All questions in both the survey and interviews were focused on the effects of technology that they see in their classrooms. The scope of the participants was restricted to Columbus, Ohio, and thus, generalizations for any classroom or any school building cannot be made. However, this study did find a consensus among the participants as to which technologies they felt were the most beneficial in their classrooms, as well as those that might not be needed at all in a classroom. The three technologies that these teachers claimed to be the most beneficial were SMART boards, TI-nspire calculators and Geometer's Sketchpad/GeoGebra. Again, this study cannot make solid conclusions, but it is safe to say that this study gives insight into teachers' viewpoints, which, in a sense, are more important than those of outside researchers. The teachers agreed on a few technologies that are the most beneficial and thus future studies should focus on really studying the effects of these technologies as well as focus on getting a wider range of teachers' opinions on this topic."

Design Zone, at Franklin Institute in Philadelphia through April 1, introduces children to creative challenges at intersection of math engineering and science.

A Rice University professor who studies dynamical systems will use the prize to further collaboration and encourage women to study mathematics

A list of online math tools!

Electronic tutoring system, to help students with standardized tests gauges students' responses as they learn, received a ONR grant http://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/newsreleases/articles/148281.php

"Research has been conducted on how to aid blind peoples' perceptions and cognition of scientific data and, specifically, on how to strengthen their background in mathematics as a means of accomplishing this goal. In search of alternate modes to vision, researchers and practitioners have studied the opportunities of haptics alone and in combination with other modes, such as audio."

Abstract: "Shoot x Shoot is the first game for EduTurtle. It's a 6th grade Math game that combines topics like "Multiples", "Cartesian Plane", "International and English measurement systems", "Percentages and fractions". Through a pre game test we obtain a score of the students on the subjects then is a game time and before this time we measure again with a similar test the score of the students in order to measure an influence of the game on the students about this subjects. The online platform EduTurlte offers educational games for elementary schools children. In a near future at http://www.eduturtle.com girls and boys may come to play (and at the same time learn and reinforce their knowledge) by keeping track of their progress in games on various topics at different grades. It is also a way to reinforce the lessons learned in the classroom and/or books through games that capture their attention over entertainment. "

Video games are hard, and that's official Super Mario, Donkey Kong and other classic games belong to class of hard mathematical puzzles, and could be used to solve real-world problems IF YOU have ever struggled to complete classic Nintendo games, don't feel bad?- they are officially difficult.

"This book provides insights into how mathematical understanding emerged for primary-aged children (5-13 years) when they investigated mathematical tasks through digital media."

"The participants of this study were undergraduate students at a university in Western Canada. They were enrolled in a Secondary Mathematics methods course as part of their program. A total of 21 students (10 males and 11 females) in the class participated voluntarily, ranging from ages 20 to 45 years old. " Surveyed before and after they design math games for the classroom.

Abstract: Educational videogames can be designed to provide instructional feedback that is responsive to specific actions. However, existing research indicates that students tend to ignore videogame feedback and subsequently use less effective help-seeking strategies. Research on help-seeking in learning environments has primarily focused on the role of cognitive factors, the nature of the help, or issues of timing and frequency. There is a noticeable gap in understanding regarding how to motivate and increase the use of feedback for improved learning. Using a pre-algebra videogame, this study examined the relationship between an incentive to use feedback and math achievement. A randomized-control design was employed, which compared learning outcomes of students who received the incentive to those who did not. Results indicated that students given the incentive to use feedback had significantly higher normalized change scores on math items (d = .53), with stronger effects for students with low academic intrinsic motivation (d = .88 - 1.17).

Essays and commentaries (full text access requires subscription)

Abstract "The relation between fidelity of implementation and student outcomes in a computer-based middle school mathematics curriculum was measured empirically. Participants included 485 students and 23 teachers from 11 public middle schools across seven states. Implementation fidelity was defined using two constructs: fidelity to structure and fidelity to process".