Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-77). Also available in print.

<p> Stagnant growth on national standardized tests in mathematics and reading and a focus on disciplinary literacy in the Common Core State Standards in ELA, history/social studies, science, and technical subjects has prompted a resurgence in utilizing literacy strategies in the content areas in high school. While literacy standards in mathematics are not explicitly identified in the Common Core State Standards, there may be a place for the use of literacy strategies in high school mathematics. This study explored the relationships between students&rsquo; mathematics and reading achievement scores at a small, suburban high school and the implementation of a school wide literacy program to inform curriculum development and instructional strategies. </p><p> The reading and mathematics achievement of students in ninth through eleventh grade was retroactively analyzed to identify changes in student achievement over a two-year period. In the first year, the ninth grade cohort showed statistically significant improvement on both measures of mathematics achievement. Within this ninth grade cohort, students who qualified for free lunches also saw statistically significant improvement in mathematics. None of the other groups showed improvement on both measures of mathematics achievement or reading achievement. In the second year, both the ninth and tenth grade cohorts showed statistically significant increases on both mathematics and reading achievement. Within each of these grade level cohorts, females and white students also saw statistically significant increases in both mathematics and reading. The eleventh grade cohort did not have any significant increases on either measure. On the state top-to-bottom ranking, this high school has moved from the 4^th percentile to the 25^th percentile during the implementation of the school wide literacy program. </p><p> While national standardized tests have shown little to no improvement over the last several administrations, this small, suburban high school has seen continued growth over the last several years. Though the results of this study cannot be used to determine a causal relationship between the implementation of literacy strategies and the academic achievement of students in either mathematics or reading, it does provide a case for further investigation into such a relationship.</p><p>

This study examined the effects of a learning environment (embodying many of De Corte et al.’s, (2004) CLIA-model components) on secondary students’ mathematical beliefs. Such mathematical beliefs have been of interest to the research community due to their expected impact on students’ willingness to engage in mathematical problem-solving. This research adopted an action research methodology using a quasi-experimental sequential explanatory mixed methods design. Data was collected using the Mathematics Related Beliefs Questionnaire (MRBQ) and a number of focus groups and individual interviews were undertaken. The sample selected (age 13-14) was from a population of convenience. There was one treatment class (N=22) and three control classes (N=45). The classroom intervention was of six months duration and was carried out by the researcher teacher in a secondary community school. Findings revealed no significant positive effects on students’ beliefs from the new learning environment about the teacher’s role in the classroom, their personal competence and the relevance to their lives and mathematics as an inaccessible subject. A more negative outcome for the fourth factor of the MRBQ scale, ‘mathematics as an inaccessible subject’, resulted for all participants (experimental and control combined) with a moderate effect of eta2=0.09. Findings from the qualitative data indicated the experimental participants found mathematics to be a difficult but useful subject. Findings, overall, revealed no significant differences between the experimental and control classes, indicating the new learning environment had not had a positive impact on the beliefs examined. Possible factors identified were the length of the intervention, the ages of participants and the socio-economic status of the majority taking part in this study. Qualitative data also indicated participants in the treatment class had found some of the activities used in the intervention to be interesting and enjoyable. Responses to the use of group work indicated participants were both willing and able to enter into communities of learners. Other results showed that participants with the highest achievement scores appeared to be the most confident learners of mathematics. Participants appeared to accept the need to have patience and perseverance when solving difficult problems but this was not translated into action in the classroom. The importance of understanding mathematics appeared to be accepted by participants. Implications for methodology, research and practice are discussed in light of these findings.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1982.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1982. / Also available in print.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of physical manipulatives in the teaching and learning of measurement in Grade 8. The study focuses on how the use of physical manipulatives promotes learners' mathematical proficiency in relation to the five strands of Kilpatrick, Swafford and Findell (2001). The basis of the research is a case study in the interpretive paradigm involving 18 out of a cohort of 270 Grade 8 learners in the school where I teach. The data was collected using a range of methods including: (i) baseline assessment tasks, first piloted using 7 Grade 8 learners and then given to the target group; (ii) an intervention programme with intervention tasks; (iii) a post-intervention task; (iv) observations during the intervention; and (v) individual interviews. The results of the baseline assessment and the post-intervention tasks were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. My research findings indicate an overall improvement of the performance after learners engaged in using physical manipulatives. The average mark of the learners in the baseline assessment task was 23% and after the intervention programme the average mark was 31 %. The responses from the learners interviewed showed that they were motivated and that the use of physical manipulatives assisted them in understanding the concepts of measurement, in particular surface area and volume. The results of my study thus reveal that the use of physical manipulatives in teaching and learning mathematics has a positive role to play in learners' understanding of surface area and volume at the Grade 8 level. The fmdings of this case study support other research regarding the importance of using physical manipulatives in teaching and learning mathematics. They align with other findings that assert that manipulatives are essential mediating tools in the development of the conceptual and procedural understanding of mathematical concepts, clarifying and helping learners to visualize abstract mathematical concepts.