Math instructors teaching alternative 12th-grade courses outside the "traditional" high school math curriculum were overwhelmingly positive in interviews about the effectiveness of the classes, particularly for students who are planning to attend college but have struggled with math prior to this class. Teachers said that the courses'…

The purpose of the study was to explore the effects of focused numeracy instruction on the ratio in a middle school mathematics class and the lived experiences of students with special needs as they underwent the intervention. The intervention focused on using numeracy embedded into the intervention, specifically focusing on rational number…

Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) oriented schools are being formed to provide 21st century learning opportunities for students. After going through an exhaustive evaluation period schools are being recognized as STEM schools. The number of these schools is increasing every year. Education agencies provide professional development…

Prior research has found gender differences in spatial tasks in which men perform better, and are more confident, than women. Do gender differences also occur in people's confidence as they perform number-line estimation, a common spatial-numeric task predictive of math achievement? To investigate this question, we analyzed outcomes from six…

Prior research has found gender differences in spatial tasks in which men perform better, and are more confident, than women. Do gender differences also occur in people's confidence as they perform number-line estimation, a common spatial-numeric task predictive of math achievement? To investigate this question, we analyzed outcomes from six…

Despite research suggesting the importance of centering students and focusing on deep conceptual understandings, direct instruction and step-by-step procedures remain common in mathematics classrooms nationwide. For this self-study, I embarked on a year of striving to change how I taught. I documented that process through a reflective journal, and…

Research on fraction knowledge has revealed that prospective teachers' (PSTs) often lack fraction proficiency. The aim of this dissertation was to develop and test an intervention intended to increase PSTs' fraction proficiency by focusing on fraction comparison. I first adopted a five-dimensional framework to define PSTs' fraction proficiency. I…

Introductory mathematics courses at postsecondary institutions simultaneously function as gateways and gatekeepers to degrees and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) for historically minoritized and marginalized students. While these courses provide access to higher education, they also thwart student STEM pathways…

This study evaluated the effects of the "Super Solvers" Tier II fraction intervention program on the algebra and fraction skills of secondary students with mathematics learning disabilities and consistent low achievement in mathematics. A quasi-experimental group design was used to evaluate the performance of the treatment and control…

The purpose of this quantitative, causal-comparative study was to determine if and to what extent there was a statistically significant difference in students' Algebra I or Algebra II AzMERIT standardized proficiency rates in non-charter public high schools that implement digital curriculum compared versus those that implement traditional…

Learning disabilities are the most common eligibility category in which children qualify for special education services. Despite this, there is surprisingly little current information on the prevalence and needs of children with math disabilities, and even less information on interventions to support children in schools. This dissertation aimed to…

Mathematics teachers at the local middle school located in a southeastern suburban community were struggling to implement differentiated instruction (DI) strategies in mathematics lessons as presented in professional development (PD) sessions and as directed by school administrators. The purpose of this study was to explore middle school…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of African American high school students in southeast Colorado who are scoring low on geometry assessments. There are many studies on African American students scoring low on math assessments. However, there are no studies presented in literature on the topic coming…

In the pursuit of continuous improvement in education and closing the achievement gap, educators are experimenting with different environments that will assist students in increasing academic achievement. The media bombards Americans with news about the failing educational system that is being outperformed by counterparts around the world. In this…

Lord's paradox arises from the conflicting inferences obtained from two alternative approaches that are typically used in evaluating the treatment effect using a pre-post test design. The two main approaches for analyzing such data are: (1) to regress the change from pretest to posttest on the treatment indicator (change score approach; CS); (2)…