The use of a narrative in educational contexts has been found to increase learners' experience of flow or absorption in a task. This increased experience of flow can in turn result in increased retention and learning outcomes. However, narrative can also be polarizing particularly in the male-dominated realm of video game play due to gender…

This is the second and final report of the Middle School Mathematics Professional Development Impact Study, which examines the impact of providing a professional development (PD) program in rational number topics to seventh-grade mathematics teachers. An interim report (Garet et al. 2010) described the findings after one year of PD. The current…

This study investigates how two groups of bilingual algebra students reasoned about rate, slope, and linear functions during peer discussions. This investigation brings together and advances research that investigates issues at the intersection of collaborative learning, algebraic reasoning, and the use of mathematical discourse practices. A…

This article describes the process of development of assessment instruments for a three-year longitudinal comparative study that focused on evaluating American high school students' mathematics learning from two distinct approaches to content organization: curriculum built around a sequence of three full-year courses (Algebra 1, Geometry, and…

Knowledge of mathematical equivalence, the principle that 2 sides of an equation represent the same value, is a foundational concept in algebra, and this knowledge develops throughout elementary and middle school. Using a construct-modeling approach, we developed an assessment of equivalence knowledge. Second through sixth graders (N = 175)…

Cram schooling is believed by students and their parents to have positive effects on learning achievement in Taiwan. Using two waves of panel data gathered by the Taiwan Education Panel Study (TEPS) in 2001 and 2003 and the method of propensity score matching (PSM), the present research found that the average treatment effect for participants of…

In this exploratory study, we sought to examine the influence of mathematics teachers' beliefs on their intended and actual usage of dynamic mathematics software in their classrooms. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) were used to examine the influence of teachers'…

This research investigates the link between mathematic teachers' use of English-language learner (ELL) strategies and the mathematics achievement of their students who are ELLs. Interviews and observations of mathematic teachers who taught ELLs were used to document instructional strategies use. The findings from the interviews and observations…

The purpose of this three-paper manuscript dissertation was to study digital fabrication as an instructional technology for supporting elementary and middle school science and mathematics education. Article one analyzed the effects of digital fabrication activities that were designed to contextualize mathematics education at a summer mathematics…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore African American female students' beliefs, and self-perceptions about their mathematics experiences. This study used mathematics autobiographies, focus group interviews and individual student interviews to generate data that was analyzed for emerging themes and patterns as to how the…

Disaggregating the data across four school variables--size, locale, racial/ethnic minority population, and population eligible for free or reduced-price lunch--this study examines the extent to which Oregon grade 9-12 students enrolled in high school math courses during 2006/07 and 2007/08 would not have been on track to graduate had the new…

The purpose of this study was to use the current body of literature to solicit views of students and teachers regarding the distinguishable characteristics that students must possess which allow for a successful transition from eighth to ninth grade mathematics classes. A determination of which factors students and teachers believe have the most…

Researchers have found that as students progress through school, the importance of language grows due to the content specificity that emerges, especially in the secondary grades, and due to the preparation of these students to enter adulthood once their schooling is completed. Even as students' instruction in various content areas becomes…

Social promotion is defined as the practice of allowing students who failed to meet performance standards and academic requirements the opportunity to pass on to the next grade with their peers. Although the A+ Educational Reform Act abolished the use of the practice, social promotion continues to occur in numerous school districts across one…

The Teacher Education Study in Mathematics or TEDS-M is a study conducted under the aegis of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The lead research center for the study is the International Study Center at Michigan State University (ISC/MSU). The ISC/MSU worked from 2006 to 2011 with the International…