As technology becomes more integrated in the classroom, more research is needed to examine its effects on engagement and learning. It is important that we fully explore how students interact with learning technologies and the affordances that these technologies bring to improve engagement and student learning. In this dissertation, I explored the benefits and drawbacks of using dynamic technology in the classroom as an instructional system, support structure, and assessment tool. Iterative design cycles were used to improve the accessibility and user experience of several dynamic technologies in the classroom. Additionally, the incorporation of gamified elements such as points and leaderboards were explored. Preliminary data suggests that gamified elements could lead to higher engagement and elicit behaviors associated with learning. As a result, a series of 4 randomized controlled trials were conducted that explored the intersection of gamification, engagement, and learning. This dissertation is a compilation of those studies with a focus on the development and improvement of learning platforms through an iterative design process and the incorporation of gamified elements. Based on the findings and implications of these studies, several new technologies were designed, developed, and implemented to include these gamification techniques and provide data for both educators and researchers. Recommendations for potential usage and future research are discussed.

In addition to the memorization, algorithmic skills and vocabulary which is the default focus in many mathematics classrooms, professional mathematicians are expected to creatively apply known techniques, construct new mathematical approaches and communicate with and about mathematics. We propose that students can learn these professional, higher level skills through Laboratory Experiences in Mathematical Biology (LEMBs) which put students in the role of mathematics researcher creating mathematics to describe and understand biological data. LEMBs are constructed so they require no specialized equipment and can easily be run in the context of a college math class. Students collect data and develop mathematical models to explain the data. In this work examine how LEMBs are designed with the student as the primary focus. We explain how well-designed LEMBs lead students to interact with mathematics at higher levels of cognition while building mathematical skills sought after in both academia and industry. Additionally, we describe the online repository created to assist in the teaching and further development of LEMBs. Since student-centered teaching is foreign to many post-secondary instructors, we provide research-based, pedagogical strategies to ensure student success while maintaining high levels of cognition.

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North Carolina's community colleges redesigned developmental math programs in 2011. The overall effectiveness of the redesign has not yet been evaluated. A concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted at Mid-Atlantic Community College (MACC) for a formative and summative evaluation of the redesigned program. Mezirow's transformative learning theory, along with an emphasis on designing individualized methods of instruction as outlined by Keller were the theoretical foundations of the evaluation. The extent to which the redesigned math modules affected the effectiveness of the math program at MACC was the guiding research question. Data on student outcomes and participant perceptions were collected for this concurrent mixed methods evaluation. Quantitative data from MACC institutional databases (N = 827) were used to compare the overall GPAs and mean passing grades for students in the old (2012-13) and new (2013-15) programs using an independent samples t test. There were no significant differences in students' mean passing grades or overall GPAs for the redesigned modules, compared to the semester classes. Qualitative data from 9 semi-structured interviews with 3 administrators, 3 instructors, and 3 students were analyzed inductively for thematic patterns. Qualitative results indicated that perceptions of administrators were more favorable regarding the effectiveness of the redesign than the perceptions of instructors and students and that programs implementing individualized modules need to provide professional development training to those individuals affected by the redesign. Results from this study can promote positive social change by providing information for improved teaching and learning practices among developmental math instructors.

Teachers can use culturally relevant pedagogical strategies and technologies as emerging tools to improve students' problem-solving skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate and assess the effectiveness of culturally specific computer-based instructional tasks on ninth-grade African American mathematics students. This study tried to determine if problem-solving skills and overall mathematical achievement and attitude could be improved using these computer-based tasks. A culturally specific, computer-based mathematics assessment (CD-ROM) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessment were used to measure student growth in mathematical problem solving. The Modified Fennema-Sherman Attitude Scales (MFSAS) were used to measure mathematics attitude. To determine whether or not the study was practical, an initial study was conducted (Study I) to see if pre- and post-tests would accurately forecast student performance. There were three groups for Study I. The two treatment groups worked in the computer lab on a Cognitive Tutor program to improve skills in Algebra 1. They were also exposed to word problems that were based on culturally specific themes. The control group had no exposure to the computer lab or word problems with culturally specific themes. Only one significant difference occurred in Study I. One of the treatment groups' data results declined significantly on the CD-ROM. In spite of this, the group revealed a slightly more favorable attitude towards mathematics than the other two groups. This treatment group also demonstrated the largest increase in NAEP pre- and post-test data results. For Study II there were two groups. The treatment group worked on a Google Maps project where students mapped different coordinates within their neighborhoods and plotted the results. The control group received computer lab instruction similar to the treatment group but did not work on Google Maps. When scores of the control and treatment groups on the CD-ROM assessment, NAEP assessment, and MFSAS survey were compared using a pre-test/post-test design in Study II, only one significant difference occurred. The control groups' CD-ROM scores resulted in nearly a 50% decline. A correlation analysis in Study II revealed that there were weak relationships between most of the measures, suggesting scores on each measure were unrelated. / CITE/Mathematics and Science Education

Thesis advisor: Patrick J. McQuillan / In the 2007-2008 school year, the author conducted a collaborative case study (Stake, 2000) with the goal of discovering and describing "emergent learning" in three high school classrooms. Emergent learning, defined as the acquisition of new knowledge by an entire group when no individual member of the group possessed it before, is implied by the work of many theorists working on an educational analog of a natural phenomenon called a complex adaptive system. Complex adaptive systems are well networked collectives of agents that are non-linear, bounded and synergistic. The author theorized that classes that maximized the features of complex adaptive systems could produce emergent learning (a form of synergy), and that there was a continuum of this complexity, producing a related continuum of emergence. After observing a co-curricular jazz group, an English class, and a geometry class for most of one academic year, collecting artifacts and interviewing three students and a teacher from each class, the author determined that there was indeed a continuum of complexity. He found that the actively complex nature of the Jazz Rock Ensemble produced an environment where emergence was the norm, with the ensemble producing works of music, new to the world, with each performance. The English section harnessed the chaotic tendencies of students to optimize cognitive dissonance and frequently produce emergent learning, while the mathematics section approached the learning process in a way that was too rigidly linear to allow detectable emergence to occur. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-04T20:07:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 25 / Nenhuma / O objetivo do presente estudo é discutir como professores de diferentes áreas do conhecimento do curso de Ensino Médio e do curso de Educação Profissional da Escola Técnica Estadual Presidente Getúlio Vargas de Santo Ângelo/RS descrevem a posição ocupada pela disciplina de Matemática no currículo escolar. As questões orientadoras da pesquisa são as seguintes: a) Como os professores descrevem as diferentes disciplinas do currículo da Escola Getúlio Vargas no que diz respeito à distribuição de carga horária da grade curricular nas modalidades de Ensino Médio e Educação Profissional; b) Como os professores descrevem a posição ocupada pela Matemática nas modalidades de Ensino Médio e Educação Profissional. O referencial teórico que embasou a pesquisa situa-se na vertente da Educação Matemática denominada de Etnomatemática e na área dos currículo escolar, a corrente filosófica denominada Positivismo, por encontrarem-se nela subsídios que possibilitam compreender as marcas do formalismo e abstração da Matemática es / The aim of the present study is to examine how high school and professional education teachers in different areas of knowledge of the Escola Técnica Estadual Presidente Getúlio Vargas in Santo Angelo (RS) describe the rank occupied by Mathematics in the school curriculum. The guiding issues of the research are: a) How teachers describe the different curricular subjects of the school regarding the timetable distribution in high school and professional education; b) How teachers describe the position of Mathematics in high school and professional education. The theoretical references that guided the present research approach issues related to the teachings of Math and the school contents focusing on the Positivism, as one can find the basis that allow for the comprehension of formalism signs and the abstraction of school mathematics. It focuses on the Ethno-mathematics, where important tools are found in order to analyze the research material. The place of research is the Escola Técnica Estadual Presidente

Esta dissertação discute a inserção do vídeo nas aulas de matemática. O planejamento e a realização de um conjunto de cinco oficinas sobre vídeos e matemática, com participação de alunos do oitavo ano do Ensino Fundamental de um colégio de Porto Alegre, RS, e a análise desse planejamento e do que ocorreu nessas oficinas constituíram o material empírico da pesquisa. Durante o planejamento, o professor definiu que os alunos iriam assistir vídeos de matemática pré-selecionados, que posteriormente seriam testados em algum formato de questionário. No entanto, antes que as oficinas ocorressem, o professor mudou seu planejamento e, a partir dessa modificação, os alunos passaram a ser os responsáveis por escolher os vídeos e agrupá-los em um conjunto, por assunto, com temas pré-estabelecidos pelo docente. Presumindo que esta mudança tenha sido um dos fatores para que o experimento ultrapassasse os limites cronológicos das oficinas, o professor sentiu-se instigado a buscar por ressonâncias da noção deleuziana de ideia no âmbito da Educação Matemática. Esta busca gerou uma questão potencial a respeito dessa modificação de rumo: seria a mudança feita no planejamento uma ideia em Educação Matemática? / This thesis discusses the insertion of video in elementary school math classes. The empiric material of the study comprises the plans and execution of a set of five workshops concerning video and mathematics, with the participation of eighth grade students of an Elementary School located in Porto Alegre, RS, as well as the analysis of the plans and what took place in these workshops. The teacher‘s initial plan was for students to watch pre-selected videos, which would later be tested in some form of questionnaire. However, before the workshops began, the teacher changed his plan, giving the students the responsibility of choosing the videos and grouping them in a set determined by topic, with an overarching theme pre-established by the teacher. Presuming that such a change was one of the factors for the experiment to surpass the chronological limits of the workshops, the teacher felt urged to search for resonances of Deleuze‘s notion of idea in Math Education. This search generated a potential question regarding that change of plans: could the change made in planning be considered as an idea in Math Education?

Submitted by Jean Medeiros (jeanletras@uepb.edu.br) on 2016-09-06T12:43:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Lucimara de Freitas Eleutério.pdf: 2440477 bytes, checksum: 323c938315d239b9f058e0b4df573988 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Secta BC (secta.csu.bc@uepb.edu.br) on 2016-09-06T16:56:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Lucimara de Freitas Eleutério.pdf: 2440477 bytes, checksum: 323c938315d239b9f058e0b4df573988 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-06T16:56:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PDF - Lucimara de Freitas Eleutério.pdf: 2440477 bytes, checksum: 323c938315d239b9f058e0b4df573988 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-03 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research aims to identify the conceptions of degree students in mathematics over the teaching of mathematics as well as their implications for teaching prac tice. To achieve this goal we try to answer the following questions: What conceptions undergraduates have about mathematics and its teaching? How these conceptions relate to the current prospects of Mathematics Teaching? How they can affect the practice of the classroom these undergraduates as future teachers of mathematics? The research is qualitative with the technique for the analysis of data the collective subject discourse – CSD (LEFÉVRE & LEFÉVRE),) which is a proposal for the organization qualitative data. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire, applied to 13 undergraduates of the sixth period of a public university in the state of Paraíba. The analysis allowed us to verify that they have a fallibility view of mathematics and an educational vision linked to constructivist teaching. It allowed us to find that they have the desire to change the reality of mathematics teaching, making it pleasant and fit to any student. / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo identificar as concepções dos estudantes de Licenciatura em Matemática, sobre a Matemática e seu ensino, bem como suas implicações para a prática pedagógica. Para alcançarmos esse objetivo tentamos responder as seguintes questões: Que concepções os licenciandos apresentam sobre a Matemática e seu ensino? Como essas concepções se relacionam com as perspectivas atuais do Ensino de Matemática? E como elas podem impactar a prática de sala de aula desses licenciandos, enquanto futuros professores de Matemática? A pesquisa é caracterizada como qualitativa, tendo como técnica para as análises dos dados o discurso do sujeito coletivo – DSC (LEFÉVRE & LEFÉVRE), que é uma proposta de organização e tabulação de dados qualitativos. O instrumento para o levantamento de dados foi um questionário aberto, aplicado a 13 licenciandos do sexto período de uma Universidade Pública do Estado da Paraíba. As análises nos permitiram verificar que a maioria dos licenciandos possui uma visão falibilista da Matemática e uma visão de ensino transmissivo atrelado a um slogan de ensino construtivista sem evidências precisas. Permitiu- nos também verificar que eles têm o desejo de mudar a realidade do ensino da Matemática, tornando-o prazeroso e apto a qualquer aluno.