The primary purpose of the project is to develop a web site where students can practice entry level mathematics questions.

The No Child Left Behind Act and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards both had a significant impact on the format and content of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) math test. Content analysis of the 2004 TAKS eighth grade math test identified the prevalence of linguistic complexity, mathematical rigor, and visual presentation factors and explored their relationship to student success on individual test items. Variables to be studied were identified through a review of literature in the area of reading comprehension of math word problems. Sixteen variables of linguistic complexity that have been significantly correlated with student math test performance were selected. Four variables of visual presentation were identified and ten variables of mathematical rigor. An additional five variables of mathematical rigor emerged from preliminary study of the 2003 TAKS math test. Of the 35 individual variables, only four reached a significant level of correlation with the percent of students correctly answering a given test item. The number of digits presented in the problem statement and number of known quantities both exhibited a significant positive correlation with the dependent variable. The number of times a student had to perform a multiplication operation had a significant negative correlation with the percent of correct responses, as did the total number of operations required. Stepwise regression of these four variables revealed total number of operations and known quantities to be the best combination of predictors of correct responses. When grouped in categories by problem type and compared, items involving mathematical reasoning but no mathematical operations had a significantly higher percentage of correct responses than those requiring at least one operation. Further categorization revealed problems involving applications only (without computation) associated with the highest levels of correct responses, followed by those involving only computation. Items requiring both applications and computations had a significantly lower percent of correct responses.

This study explores preservice teachers' learning to teach mathematics in the context of an innovative version of the mathematics methods courses typically offered at UBC. Thirteen preservice teachers engaged in a math letter writing exchange with Grade 4 students are the focus of this study. This math penpal experience was meant to provide a "laboratory setting" for preservice teachers to try out and investigate the ideas discussed during methods classes. Interactions with students, in turn, served as the focus of further class discussions and reflective journal writing. Two research questions were investigated: (1) What were preservice teachers learning through their math penpal investigations; and (2) What factors influenced their learning? Preservice teachers' written records (math letters, journals, and case reports) were the main sources of data used to address these questions. My perspectives as a participant, teacher, and researcher were used to guide and inform my analysis of this data. An analytical framework was constructed based on preservice teachers' "pedagogical puzzles" (issues and challenges faced and deliberated on). These puzzles related to their problem posing, interpreting, and responding practices. This framework was used to explore patterns and changes in preservice teachers' views and practices. Learning themes discussed include: learning to broaden goals and expectations of problems; learning to see and construct meaning from students' work, and learning to question and revise claims about students' mathematical attitudes and abilities; learning to recognize and interrogate hidden messages in their discourse, and learning to respond differently. Factors found to be associated with preservice teachers' learning include: (a) interactive experiences with students, (b) engagement in collaborative explorations of problems and comparable students' work, and (c) the opportunity to revisit and reinterpret their experiences with students in multiple occasions. Implications for the research and practice of mathematics teacher education are discussed in relation to: (a) preservice teachers' learning of mathematics and mathematical pedagogy, (b) learning in courserelated field experiences, and (c) learning to reflect and write about teaching and learning.

This study explores preservice teachers' learning to teach mathematics in the context of an innovative version of the mathematics methods courses typically offered at UBC. Thirteen preservice teachers engaged in a math letter writing exchange with Grade 4 students are the focus of this study. This math penpal experience was meant to provide a "laboratory setting" for preservice teachers to try out and investigate the ideas discussed during methods classes. Interactions with students, in turn, served as the focus of further class discussions and reflective journal writing. Two research questions were investigated: (1) What were preservice teachers learning through their math penpal investigations; and (2) What factors influenced their learning? Preservice teachers' written records (math letters, journals, and case reports) were the main sources of data used to address these questions. My perspectives as a participant, teacher, and researcher were used to guide and inform my analysis of this data. An analytical framework was constructed based on preservice teachers' "pedagogical puzzles" (issues and challenges faced and deliberated on). These puzzles related to their problem posing, interpreting, and responding practices. This framework was used to explore patterns and changes in preservice teachers' views and practices. Learning themes discussed include: learning to broaden goals and expectations of problems; learning to see and construct meaning from students' work, and learning to question and revise claims about students' mathematical attitudes and abilities; learning to recognize and interrogate hidden messages in their discourse, and learning to respond differently. Factors found to be associated with preservice teachers' learning include: (a) interactive experiences with students, (b) engagement in collaborative explorations of problems and comparable students' work, and (c) the opportunity to revisit and reinterpret their experiences with students in multiple occasions. Implications for the research and practice of mathematics teacher education are discussed in relation to: (a) preservice teachers' learning of mathematics and mathematical pedagogy, (b) learning in courserelated field experiences, and (c) learning to reflect and write about teaching and learning. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The study reported here examined the move towards online assessments and addressed the question of whether or not different assessment tools affect student scores and student learning. The research activities covered a three-week period, from June 5, 2006 to June 23, 2006. During this time, seventeen third grade students served as their own control group by taking several math tests online and several math tests with paper and pencil. Results were compared to see if performance on computer-based tests would be more successful than pencil-and-paper tests. A follow-up survey to evaluate and interpret the quantitative results was also used. Findings revealed that 59% of the students did better on the paper tests. Further analysis revealed that the overall average of the computer tests was 71.9%, while paper tests revealed an average of 69.9%. In summary, these findings report that there is no significant difference in scores when taking a test on the computer or a test on paper. Suggestions for further research and recommendations are included.

The study intends to investigate the nature and cognitive demands of contextual word-problems posed in the FET mathematics examinations of IEB and NSC. The analysis of the mathematization of real-life situations to form contextual word-problems is based on the theory of authentic task situations. The theoretical basis for analyzing mathematics teaching and learning is the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) theory. Data was obtained using the schedule of mathematization of real-life situations and the schedule of total marks of contextual word-problems and national performance. All contextual word-problems included in the 2008-2013 question papers of IEB and NSC mathematics examinations were analysed. The research revealed that 509 marks out of 1800 marks were allocated to contextual word-problems in IEB examinations; whereas 473 marks out of 1800 marks were allocated to contextual word-problems in NSC examinations. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Mathematical Education)

The study intends to investigate the nature and cognitive demands of contextual word-problems posed in the FET mathematics examinations of IEB and NSC. The analysis of the mathematization of real-life situations to form contextual word-problems is based on the theory of authentic task situations. The theoretical basis for analyzing mathematics teaching and learning is the Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) theory. Data was obtained using the schedule of mathematization of real-life situations and the schedule of total marks of contextual word-problems and national performance. All contextual word-problems included in the 2008-2013 question papers of IEB and NSC mathematics examinations were analysed. The research revealed that 509 marks out of 1800 marks were allocated to contextual word-problems in IEB examinations; whereas 473 marks out of 1800 marks were allocated to contextual word-problems in NSC examinations. / Mathematics Education / M. Sc. (Mathematical Education)