abstract / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.

Graphics calculators have become an integral part of many introductory college mathematics courses. There has been little research to show the effects of introducing technology, along with an emphasis on the interrelationships of the numeric, symbolic, graphical, and verbal forms of functions, for courses that are traditionally considered pre-college mathematics. The major purpose of this study was to determine if changes in mathematics anxiety and attitudes occurred in Intermediate Algebra classes and to determine whether these changes were dependent on age, gender of student, and experience of instructor. The relationship between beginning levels of math anxiety and successful completion of the class were also examined.All sections of Intermediate Algebra taught at Grand Valley State University during the Winter semester of 1995 participated in the study. The first week of class, 479 students completed the initial survey. The final week of class, 264 of those students completed the survey again. In addition to gender and age of student, the survey instrumentcontained questions from seven of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. Each scale contained 12 questions, answered on a five point Likert type scale. High scores on the questionnaire indicated a positive attitude. Students in four sections were asked open ended questions every other week. At the end of the semester, instructors were given a questionnaire to determine their perceptions of how student's attitudes and anxieties changed.MANOVA for repeated measures using SPSS was used to perform the analyses with respect to age, gender, and teacher experience, over time. Faculty responses indicated they thought attitudes and levels of math anxiety improved over the semester. Although most groups did show some improvement, no significant change occurred. The only statistically significant differences detected were in math anxiety by gender and a combination of math anxiety and attitude by age. Females had higher levels of math anxiety (N = 166, initial M = 29.96, final M = 30.80) than males (N =.98, initial M = 33.87, final M = 34.79)and while older students appeared more math anxious, they also reflected a more positive attitude about mathematics. / Department of Educational Leadership

Typescript (Photocopy) / Bibliography: leaves 370-397 / iii, 397 leaves : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dept. of Education, University of Adelaide, 1990

No description available.

No description available.

Submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education, in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University of Zululand, 2008. / The present study is about the problem solving and the use of computer in teaching and learning of mathematics. The study was conducted to grade eight learners where basic mathematics concepts are introduced. The reason is that lack of knowledge of basic mathematics concepts, irrelevant approaches and methods used in teaching mathematics are perceived as the cause of poor performance in mathematics. Therefore if learners could master these concepts and acquire problem solving skills at elementary level they can do better in upper levels especially in grade 12. In this regard the effects of problem solving involving the use of computer at grade eight level have been investigated. The first aim was to test the effects of multidimensional approach using computer in algebra problem solving. The second aim was to determine the effects multiple representations in computer environment have on mathematics problem solving. The third aim was to determine the effects of computer assisted collaborative learning on mathematics problem solving. To achieve these aims an unstandardised achievement test and a questionnaire was administered to a sample of grade eight learners from three high schools in KwaZulu Natal. The results revealed that if problem solving is integrated with other components (dimensions) such as the teaching of facts and skills, teaching for understanding and the use of technology (computer) learners are likely to achieve better results in mathematics. The results also revealed that the use of multiple representations in expressing the mathematical concept or idea and collaboration among learners in problem solving improve learners' understanding of mathematics. The discussion of the results of this study leads to the discussion of implications of the findings and recommendations. / University of Zululand.

No description available.

No description available.