<p> There is deep concern the United States is not preparing enough students, teachers, and professional mathematicians and scientists to sustain the economic and scientific development that has made this country great. The problem is that elementary teachers are typically poorly prepared in mathematics, which is ultimately placing students at a disadvantage as they advance through the higher grades and college without a strong mathematics foundation. Educational studies have pointed to the importance of providing elementary teachers with on-going improvement of pedagogical practice in mathematics, but elementary teachers remain underprepared to teach it. The purpose of this mixed-methods research is to study the effectiveness of Lesson Study as a means of professional development for elementary teachers&rsquo; implementation of the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices (CCSS).</p><p> The study focuses on teachers&rsquo; perceptions of Lesson Study and their ability to develop lessons incorporating the CCSS Standards for Mathematical Practices and their ability to engage students in developing mathematical thinking. Literature pertaining to Lesson Study reveals the importance of sustained professional development for teachers. In collaboration with the SSD Superintendent and the School Board of SSD, all seven of the district&rsquo;s elementary schools participated in the study focusing on elementary school teachers in grades 2-5 (<i>n</i>=64). Researchers from the Urban Education Institute at the University of Chicago randomly assigned these teachers into equal groups of either the treatment group (<i>n</i>=32) or the control group (<i>n</i>=32). The elementary teachers who participated in this study were part of the Lesson Study professional development treatment group (<i>n</i>=32) in grades 2-5. The findings suggest Lesson Study can be an effective means of professional development for implementing the Common Core State Standards and the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practices. Through Lesson Study teachers can begin to move away from a teacher-centered classroom to one that focuses on a student-centered approach to teaching and learning. Educational policymakers will learn from this study how teachers can benefit from Lesson Study as a type of professional development and how it can support teachers as they integrate new ideas into classroom practice. </p>

The purpose of this study was to examine whether gender-based mathematics classes have a positive impact on the achievement levels of males and females. The study was conducted in order to give insight into the differentiated approach to teaching males and females separately and the effects the separate instruction has on mathematics achievement while closing the achievement gap. This study examined gender-based instruction as a strategy along with other variables that are perceived as having an impact on student achievement. The independent variables in the study were instructional leadership, teacher certification level, teacher content knowledge, teacher knowledge of primary gender learning styles, teacher expectations, gender-based instruction, teacher demographics, and student demographics. The dependent variable was student achievement in mathematics. The study was conducted in an elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia among third, fourth, and filth grade students and teachers. The 2007 Georgia Criterion Reference Competency Test (GCRCT) data were used as pretest data prior to teachers teaching students in a gender-based selling. Eleven teachers were given professional development in male/female primary learning styles. differentiated instruction, culturally responsive teaching, and data analysis. Anonymous surveys were completed by teachers and students. In addition, student demographic data were analyzed. The study was conducted in a Title I elementary school. Ninety-nine percent of the school’s students are on free or reduced lunch. The school serves 85% African- American students and 15% Hispanic, Latina/Latino. The school’s enrollment, K-5 is approximately 550 students. The results of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between a teacher’s content knowledge. years of experience, and his/her expectations relative to student achievement in mathematics. A regression analysis found that the most impacting variables on student achievement in gender-based classrooms were teacher expectancy, teaching experience and instructional leadership. A regression analysis was used to further determine which independent variables had the strongest impact on student achievement in mathematics. The regression showed that the strongest impacting variables again were teacher expectancy, teacher experience and instructional leadership; however, these variables are mediating at best. Those variables found to be the most significant in relationship to student achievement in mathematics were: gender-based instruction, teacher knowledge of student learning styles, and discipline.

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<p>Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curriculum is designed to strengthen students&rsquo; science and math achievement through project based learning activities. As part of a STEM initiative, SeaPerch was developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that instructs students in how to build an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) following a STEM curriculum, including spatial thinking and rotation ability. This research study investigated if the students&rsquo; SeaPerch program and its spatial experience and training gave the opportunity to develop strategies not only in manipulating three dimensional objects but in strengthening mathematical ability (e.g. spatial thinking) in elementary, middle, and high school students with specific focus on gender and age. </p><p> This research study sample consisted of two groups of students: one that participated in the after-school SeaPerch program and the other that did not participate in the after-school SeaPerch program for the 2011&ndash;2012 school year. Both groups comprised students in similar grade levels and the MRT preassessment scores. </p><p> To measure students&rsquo; spatial rotation, the researcher used the Vandenberg and Kuse Mental Rotation Test (MRT). An independent samples t test was conducted to determine the effect of the SeaPerch program on MRT scores. The SeaPerch students (<i>M</i> = 1.35, <i>SD</i> = 2.21) scored significantly higher gains than the Non-SeaPerch students (<i> M</i> = &minus;.03, <i>SD</i> = 1.72), t (737) = 8.27, p = &lt;.001. The effect size as measured by Cohen&rsquo;s <i>d</i> = .697, indicated a medium practical significance. At each school level, MRT post assessment scores for students in the SeaPerch program increased significantly more than scores for students in the non-SeaPerch program. </p>

<p> This dissertation responds to critical gaps in current research on formative assessment practice which could limit successful implementation of this practice within the K-12 classroom context. The study applies a socio cultural perspective of learning to interpret a cross-case analysis of formative assessment practice occurring during one mathematics instructional unit in a 5^th and one in a 6^th grade classroom. It illustrates how a fully defined theoretical foundation deepens understanding of the roles of formative assessment in learning, posits a working definition by which the describe what formative assessment practice looks like and sounds like as it is occurring in actual classrooms, and explains how the classroom social context influences formative assessment practice. The study has implications for future researchers investigating formative assessment practice; practitioners interested in implementing formative assessment practice; and policy makers evaluating the effectiveness of teachers' instructional practice.</p>

<p> <b>Background:</b> Children with learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder struggle daily and are at-risk for poor long-term outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that WM may improve by adaptive computerized working memory training, but what is unclear is its effectiveness and transference to untrained tasks. <b>Methods:</b> Twenty-three (11 females) school-aged children with co-occurring math difficulties and ADHD participated in a quasi-experimental, repeated-measures study in school to investigate transfer effects of working memory training (Cogmed RM) on math achievement, fluid reasoning and memory and learning tasks. As part of a pilot, the Cogmed Progress Indicator (CPI) was used to measure transfer effects on working memory, following directions, and math challenge throughout the training. Standardized instruments were administered at baseline and at 4-weeks and 4-months post-intervention. Teachers and students completed the Conners-3 to assess ADHD. Teachers completed the BRIEF to measure executive functioning. <b>Results:</b> Significant improvement on the CPI was found on the following directions tasks. Statistically significant improvement was found on indices measuring verbal memory, visual memory, verbal working memory, symbolic working memory, attention/concentration, working memory, general memory, and fluid reasoning 4-weeks post-intervention. Statistically significant differences were also found at the 4-month follow-up period with the exception of verbal working memory index. Math fluency improved significantly 4-weeks after the assessment, but was not maintained at the 4-month post-test. The Applied Problems subtest was found to be significantly different at both post-test assessments. No statistically significant improvement was found on the math calculation subtest; however, the math calculation composite was found to improve statistically by the 4-month post-test. Working memory, inhibit, organization, and the Behavior Rating Index scales of the BRIEF were found to be statistically significant at the 4-month post-test. No statistically significant improvement was found on the Conners-3. The results on the DSM-IV-TR checklists on ADHD did show significant improvement at the 4-month post-test. <b> Conclusion:</b> Although the results of this study are promising, additional research is recommended to address the limitations of this study. </p>

<p> This study explores adult returning students' mathematical experience and ways of thinking prior to enrolling in a community college arithmetic review course. It further examines one student's experience of the course. The first part of the study documents everyday activities adult students perceive as mathematical using Bishop's pan-cultural mathematical activities (Bishop, 1994), and queries students' prior experience with mathematics in school. The second part examines students' ways of thinking about proportion prior to instruction, using a framework developed from previous research (e.g., Lamon, 1993). The third part of the study examines the interaction between informal ways of thinking about mathematics that adult students bring to school and the mathematics they encounter in the classroom. Findings include: (1) Adult students view a variety of activities from their everyday lives as mathematical, (2) adult students' reasoning about proportional situations varies along a developmental trajectory described in previous research on proportional reasoning conducted with younger students, and (3) one student's experience in the arithmetic review course illustrates that she typically suppressed contextual ways of reasoning about problems she brought to the course and, when she did share prior experience, it was not leveraged to support the development of her and other students' mathematical understanding. These findings suggest that adult students' experience of everyday mathematics and ways of thinking about proportion should be the foundation that support students as they build upon informal ways of thinking toward the more formal ways of reasoning expected in school. </p>

<p> This study compared the effects of the Detect, Practice, and Repair (DPR) intervention package versus traditional Cover, Copy, and Compare (CCC) procedures in increasing multiplication math fact accuracy and fluency using an alternating treatments design with a modified control condition. Interventions were administered one-on-one across 4 fourth grade students. Three mutually exclusive multiplication sets were used with one set being assigned to each condition. Effectiveness was assessed through traditional curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures and through flashcard card procedures to measure accuracy. In addition, the efficiency of each intervention (i.e., amount of learning per instructional minute) was calculated. Maintenance data were collected to determine if newly learned math facts would be better maintained when taught with the DPR intervention or with the traditional CCC intervention procedures. Social validity data were collected with teachers and students to determine whether one intervention was preferred over another. Although DPR has been examined in five published research studies, it has never been examined through a one-on-one implementation or in a study directly comparing its effectiveness, efficiency, maintenance, and social validity against another intervention. In addition, this study serves as a component analysis since CCC is one component of the DPR package. </p>

<p> In the USA, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 resulted in requirements placed on school districts to show student achievement in mathematics, based on measured adequate yearly progress. This caused school districts to search for standards-based programs that improve mathematics learning. A quantitative multi-year study was used to compare the state-assessed achievement levels of 1,695 fifth-grade Midwestern children in the state of Missouri, who learned mathematics from two different curriculum-delivery programs, <i>EveryDay </i> Mathematics and <i>EnVision</i> Mathematics. A 2 by 2 by 8 research design was used through the choice of two elementary schools using <i>EveryDay</i> Mathematics and two different elementary schools using <i>EnVision</i> Mathematics, across an eight-year timeline. The dependent variable was represented by the students' scores on the mathematics portion of the standardized required state test, the Missouri Assessment Program. Student scores from 2006-2013 were collected for the four public schools in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The schools chosen were matched to control for socio-economic level, ethnicity mix, departmentalization of content areas, extent of teacher experience, and class sizes. The four schools represented two school districts. Each district uniformly used one of the mathematics programs examined in this study, over the eight years. Results of this study could not show that either mathematics program was significantly better, as measured by student test scores on mathematics topics. Unfortunately, results also showed no overall increase in mathematics learning at these four schools over the eight year period. The study concluded that curriculum materials choice, alone, is not sufficient to insure increased fifth-grade student learning of mathematics. Variables such as the extent of teacher professional development, teacher specialization, and curriculum launch practices at schools were discussed as possible influences on the results of the study. </p>

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