If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of music.--Albert Einstein In the spirit of recent legislation, educational leaders are in search of ways to ensure a quality education for all students in America, vowing to leave no child behind. Unfortunately, most of the rhetoric surrounding quality in education fails to acknowledge the impact of the arts in standards-based reform initiatives. In fact, some school districts have discussed cutting the arts entirely from the curriculum. The purpose of this study is threefold: (1) to examine the impact of music education on high school students' achievement in mathematics, and (2) to examine the relationship between schools with music programs and their graduation rates, (3) to explore the personal impact of music participation through auto-ethnographic study. The results of this study revealed that participation in a music program can have a positive impact on mathematics retention of high school students. This study revealed information about the need for student participation in order to make a clear determination. However, the auto-ethnography shows a clear example of the impact music can have on student academic success.

Outlets for students to develop mathematical ideas and skills to solve real-life problems and applicable situations have been neglected in secondary classrooms (Gainsburg, 2008). Designing curricula that applies real-life situations has been promoted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000), the National Research Council (1998), and the Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (2000) and also is an expectation of state standards for student learning (Texas Education Agency, 2009). Contrary, evidence has shown low benefits to classroom real-life examples perceived by students. This study served dual purposes: 1) Determine the relationship between place-based education and mathematics learning, and 2) Investigate teacher conceptions of place-based education opportunities in high school, mathematics curriculum. This study employed two methodologies. A mixed-methods approach was employed for the meta-analysis of place-based programs and the second employed qualitative methods of structured interviewing to determine teachers’ conceptions of place-based pedagogy. Upon completion of the study, I concluded: 1) Place-based pedagogies align toward more foundational mathematic skills (e.g. measurement, number sense) when implemented, and 2) Teachers’ conceive place-based as a general effective tool for student engagement and real-world context of how mathematics functions in society.

The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze which fifth-grade teacher inputs were the most important predictors of future outcomes of eighth-grade math students. This quantitative study looked at mathematical achievement through the lens of an education production function. The three inputs that were analyzed were fifth-grade teachers’ background; perception of professional development; and instructional practices and the relationship of those practices to achievement in eighth-grade math. In order to find the relationship between the above variables and student achievement, descriptive statistics, multiple correlations, and multi-variable regression analysis were conducted to examine which predictors had a stronger relationship between eighth-grade math outcomes than others. Taken as a whole, fifth-grade teacher math inputs in this study seemed to explain a small part of the variance regarding eighth-grade math achievement. As a whole, the more frequently students wrote and spoke about math in fifth grade as well as used math tools effectively, the better the outcome in eighth grade.

TITLE: Healthy lifestyle in the educational reality of a selected school AUTHOR: Vladimír Doležal DEPARTMENT: Department of Education SUPERVISOR: MUDr. Bc. Rostislav Čevela, Ph.D. ABSTRACT: This diploma thesis deals with the education and healthy lifestyle in the category of teenagers. The aim of the diploma thesis is to map out the important issues that affect the lifestyles of teenagers, mainly in relation to the secondary school environment, school documents, such as ŠVP, RVP and the effects of high-risk behavior. The diploma thesis also focuses on the important aspect of this topic, the interaction teacher - pupil, the aim of this section is to document and analyze whether the students perceive their teacher's approach to a healthy lifestyle and whether it's something that personally affects them. The current approaches to the education and healthy lifestyle in the secondary school environment are documented and analyzed in the diploma thesis. A brief excursion into the history of these key concepts is also included in the diploma thesis. KEYWORDS: Education, lifestyle, high school, student, teacher, ICT.

abstract: This study investigated the current state of the U.S. and Chinese urban middle school math teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for the topic of functions. A comparative, descriptive case study was employed to capture the PCK of 23 teachers in Arizona and of 28 teachers in Beijing, regarding their instructional knowledge, understanding of student thinking and curricular knowledge--three key components based on Shulman's conceptualization of PCK--related to functions. Cross-case comparisons were used to analyze the PCK of teacher groups across countries and socio-economic statuses (SES), based on the questionnaire, lesson plan, and interview data. This study finds that despite cultural differences, teachers are likely to share some commonalities with respect to their instructional decisions, understanding of student thinking and curricular knowledge. These similarities may reflect the convergence in teaching practice in the U.S. and China and the dedication the two countries make in improving math education. This study also finds the cross-country differences and cross-SES differences regarding teachers' PCK. On the one hand, the U.S. and Chinese math teachers of this study tend to diverge in valuing different forms of representations, explaining student misconceptions, and relating functions to other math topics. Teachers' own understanding of functions (and mathematics), standards, and high-stakes testing in each country significantly influence their PCK. On the other hand, teachers from the higher SES schools are more likely to show higher expectations for and stronger confidence in their students' mathematical skills compared to their counterparts from the lower SES schools. Teachers' differential beliefs in students' ability levels significantly contribute to their differences between socio-economic statuses. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014

TITLE: Theimpatofeducation on healthofteenagers and teachingofmathematics AUTHOR: Vladimír Doležal DEPARTMENT: Department of Education SUPERVISOR: MUDr. Bc. Rostislav Čevela, Ph.D. ABSTRACT: This diploma thesis deals with the education and healthy lifestyle in the category of teenagers. The aim of the diploma thesis is to map out the important issues that affect the lifestyles of teenagers, mainly in relation to the secondary school environment, school documents, such as ŠVP, RVP, high-risk behavior and the influence of subcultures. The special topic of this diploma thesis is to analyze the teaching mathematics at a particular secondary school related to the healthy lifestyles of the current student's population. The diploma thesis also focuses on the important aspect of this topic, the interaction teacher - pupil, the aim of this section is to document and analyze whether the students perceive their teacher's approach to a healthy lifestyle and whether it's something that personally affects them. The current approaches to the education and healthy lifestyle in the secondary school environment are documented and analyzed in the diploma thesis. A brief excursion into the history of these key concepts is also included in the diploma thesis. KEYWORDS: Education, lifestyle, subcultures, high school, student,...

Orientador: Antonio Miguel / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T15:41:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cardoso_VirginiaCardia_D.pdf: 1387826 bytes, checksum: 5457b90e2387944f137a4c79e56c29ff (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Pesquisamos tendências para o ensino de Matemática no nível médio atual, em alguns discursos veiculados pelo Governo Federal brasileiro, publicados como orientações para os docentes deste nível de ensino. Os discursos analisados são os Parâmetros Curriculares do Ensino Médio, os PCNEM/99, seu complemento, os PCNEM+/02 e sua posterior reformulação, as Orientações Curriculares para o Ensino Médio/06, produzidos de acordo com a legislação educacional posterior à LDB/96. Nossos objetivos foram: estabelecer possíveis relações entre os discursos analisados e os discursos próprios do pensamento da época atual; entender as novas propostas de ensino de Matemática à luz das conjunturas política, econômica e cultural atuais; analisar os contextos de produção desses discursos. Em nossa busca, aliamos dois referenciais metodológicos: o Paradigma Indiciário, de Carlo Ginzburg e a Hermenêutica de Profundidade, de John B. Thompson. Ao levantarmos os elementos constitutivos de tendências, caracterizamos uma delas, dentre as possíveis interpretações, chamada por nós de Tendência Utilitarista, inserida na ideologia da Racionalidade Técnica. O referencial teórico que embasa nossas interpretações é o da Teoria Crítica, que denuncia a Racionalidade Técnica, aliada às vertentes política, social e econômica do liberalismo atual, como o modo de pensamento que uniformiza e homogeneíza os comportamentos e pensamentos na sociedade, impondo a eficácia da técnica na padronização da produção de bens e de conhecimentos, em vários âmbitos da vida, a favor do fortalecimento do poder de quem controla a técnica. Apresentamos, também, outra possibilidade de análise, realizada por Gottschalk (2000 e 2008), com base na noção de jogos de linguagem, de Wittgenstein. Concluímos que é necessário estabelecer a crítica à técnica, com um estudo de uma proposta para o ensino de Matemática, defendida por Ole Skovsmose, como uma Educação Matemática Crítica. / Abstract: Among statements published by the Brazilian Federal Government as directions for high school teachers, we research tendencies for Mathematics teaching at High School. The analyzed directions are the High School Curricular Parameters, the PCNEM/99, its complement, the PCNEM+/02 and its posterior reformulation, the High School Curricular Directions/06, produced in accordance to the educational legislation subsequent to the LDB/96. Our objectives were: to establish possible relations between the analyzed statements and the actual thoughts; to understand the new proposals of Mathematics education into the political, economical and cultural current conjunctures; to analyze the production context of those statements. In our research, we combined two methodological references: Adumbrative Paradigm, by Carlo Ginzburg and the Hermeneutic of Thoroughness, by John B. Thompson. When raising the constituent tendencies elements we characterize one of them, amongst the possible interpretations, called for us Utilitarian Tendency, inserted in the Technical Rationality ideology. The theoretical reference that bases our interpretations is the Critical Theory, that denounces the technical rationality allied to the current political, social and economical sources of actual liberalism, as a way of thinking that makes uniform and homogeneous the behaviors and thoughts in the society, imposing the effectiveness of the technique in the standardization of the production of possession and knowledge, in some scopes of life, in favor of the reinforcement of the power of who controls the technique. We present also another possibility of analysis, done by Gottschalk (2000, 2008), with base on the concept language's games, by Wittgenstein. We conclude that is necessary to establish the criticism of the technique, with a study of a proposal to the Mathematics Teaching, defended by Ole Skovsmose, with a Critical Mathematic Education. / Doutorado / Ensino e Práticas Culturais / Doutor em Educação

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the effect of using Twitter by high school mathematics students learning linear equations in Algebra 1. This quasi-experimental study used ninth grade Algebra 1 classes that were learning linear equations for 18 school days. First, the nonequivalent control group design, a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, was used in this quasi-experimental study. The research hypotheses were tested using a factorial analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the pretest on linear equations score as the covariate. The control group had three classes (n = 73) and the experimental group had three classes (n = 78). The experimental group received tweets on a daily basis as students learned linear equations. The tweets contained mathematical content, classroom logistics, or both. Lastly, the control group received the same information in class. The quantitative findings of this quasi-experimental study show that overall Twitter, content tweets, logistics tweets, and tweets containing both (content and logistics) did not have a statistically significant effect on the mean linear equations posttest score. Second, this quasi-experimental study looked at students’ performance on various subtopics throughout the unit. The ANCOVA showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the control group and the experimental groups in most of the quizzes. However, statistically significant differences were found in Quiz #2 and Quiz #4 among the logistics groups. Third, the experimental group took a 10-item survey. The purpose of survey was to understand the students’ opinion of using Twitter as they learned course content in Algebra 1. It can be concluded from the results of that survey that students had, for the most part, a positive attitude towards using Twitter as part of learning mathematics in high school. In conclusion, the use of Twitter is not likely to show an increase in students’ mean posttest linear equations score. However, the findings of the survey conducted after the study did show that the use of Twitter might be able to increase student motivation. The results of this quasi-experimental study made major contributions to the literature by investigating the effects of using Twitter in high school Algebra 1.

The objective of this research is to explore the perceptions of UCF Upward Bound Program participants using focus groups and pre-posttest surveys in order to assess students' level of understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related coursework, secondary education preparation in science and mathematics, and their perceptions of barriers to a STEM college education. Also, this study centers on the summer 2010 science and mathematics residential portion of the Upward Bound Program. Program outcomes and effectiveness were evaluated based on the change in student insight of the Upward Bound Program's stake in their secondary education. In addition, pre-posttest measures and interviews allowed a greater understanding of teacher and parent involvement in high school coursework success. Factors that involve self-efficacy, same or other group orientation and perceptions of student college environment were also analyzed. This research facilitated the understanding of first generation, low income and multicultural student's perceptions and what they view as a benefit or a hindrance to entering and successfully completing degrees in post-secondary institutions, specifically in STEM-related disciplines.

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