No description available.

This column describes creating a classroom culture for engineering.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between teacher self-efficacy beliefs and the level of student achievement their students obtain as evidenced by the Algebra I Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment. This study also explored teachers' mathematics content knowledge, mathematics pedagogical knowledge, and the relationship of each of these to their self-efficacy beliefs as teachers, and to student achievement. Finally, the study explored whether there were significant differences between teachers who teach Algebra I at the middle school level versus those who teach Algebra I at the high school level in each of the four variables under study.;A strong correlation was found between teacher self-efficacy and mathematics pedagogical knowledge. The more mathematics pedagogical knowledge a teacher possesses, the higher his or her self-efficacy is likely to be. Teachers with high self-efficacy tend to exhibit behaviors in the classroom that lead to greater student outcomes. While this study did not find a significant statistical relationship between teacher self-efficacy, student achievement or mathematics content knowledge, these may be relationships worthy of future study.;This study suggests that school leaders can impact student outcomes by providing high quality, on-going professional development for teachers in the area of mathematics pedagogy. Teaching teachers how to teach math will increase teacher's self-efficacy which may lead to higher goals and greater effort, persistence, and resilience. These, in turn may ultimately impact the overall achievement of the students.

This thesis describes a standards-based pre-kindergarten mathematics curriculum. The purpose of this thesis was to create a series of original lesson plans for the pre-kindergarten classroom that would address defined standards with instructional and other materials appropriate for teaching and assessing student understanding of the concepts. The curriculum is based on standards set forth by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Virginia Department of Education's Foundation Blocks for Early Learning. The body of the work introduces the foundation for the thesis with theoretical underpinning, defines the content strands and learning objectives, establishes a pacing schedule for meeting the objectives, and includes lessons for thirty weeks of instruction. Included in the appendices are parental newsletters, black line masters, literature and technology resources, and a student assessment.

After recognizing the need for a simpler approach to the teaching of mathematical terminology, I concluded it would be valuable to make a unit of simplified terms and describe methods of teaching these terms. In this thesis I have compared the terminology found in the Virginia Standards of Learning objectives to the materials found at each grade level. The units developed are as follows: The Primary Persistence Unit- for grades K-2; The Elementary Expansion Unit- for grades 3-5; and The Middle School Mastery Unit- for grades 6-8.

Currently, most students with disabilities (SWDs) receive a majority of their education in the general education classroom (U.S. Department of Education, 2019). This inclusive practice reflects educational and accountability requirements described in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (2015). To address these requirements, schools seek service delivery models that support SWDs and close achievement gaps (Murawski & Goodwin, 2014). In this study, the researcher investigated the lived experiences of highly effective middle school teachers using co-teaching as a service delivery model to support SWDs in the general education classroom. The researcher used a phenomenological qualitative approach for this study. The research was conducted in a large urban district in the western United States. The researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with individual teachers with three pairs of co-teachers assigned to a co-teach model in a middle school mathematics classroom. The researcher was also able to observe one planning session between one pair of co-teachers. Using a spiral analysis procedure, three themes emerged from the interview and observation data as well as six subthemes. The three themes were (a) collaboration of lesson development, (b) student learning, and (c) parity. The researcher described the themes using thick, rich descriptions, provides a connection between research and the findings, and suggests recommendations for future research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the lived experiences and views of fourth- and fifth-grade math teachers who implemented project-based learning (PBL) addressed the needs of their at-risk students in urban schools. The researcher examined the use of PBL in mathematics-impacted instruction, seeking to understand teacher beliefs related to the influence of exposure to PBL experiences on students' academic outcomes. When deliberately planned and embedded into teaching, the implementation of PBL helps students retain content, improve attitudes about learning, and improve their ability to collaborate with others (Cervantes et al., 2015). A literature review was conducted to explore PBL and its relationship with constructivism, growth mindset, and cooperative learning and the degree to which these teaching methods affect student learning. A growth mindset enables students to consider inquiry, exploration, and student collaboration (Larmer et al., 2015). Also present in PBL are cooperative learning activities, which Slavin (2015) found encouraged students to work together on projects that required the inclusion and student application of content standards. Qualitative research methodology using the phenomenological method was implemented in this study. The study investigated the lived experiences of fourth and fifth-grade math teachers who implemented PBL in urban schools. The researcher interviewed teachers who have participated in project-based learning with their students. Results and discussion are included for the research question as well as implications of the findings, recommendations, and suggestions for future research.

The researcher in this study investigated the verbal discourse moves of co-teachers in middle school mathematics classrooms to solicit students' mathematical thinking with a specific focus on students with disabilities. In this examination of two classrooms, students received high-level mathematics instruction from expertly trained co-teachers. A quantitative analysis of the video transcripts using a validated tool for coding teacher behaviors was used to examine the content and context of mathematical discourse in each of the classrooms. The researcher examined qualitative data using a critical discourse framework. Three themes emerged from the discourse analysis: (a) empowerment of co-teachers, (b) strategic use of scaffolding, and (c) cultivation of inclusive discourse with students with disabilities. The discourse analysis highlighted how each teacher's personal identities impacted a learning environment conducive to student participation and meaningful discourse. Collectively, the results provide a view of how co-teachers use scaffolding within discourse to facilitate mathematical instruction. In addition, the outcomes provide a glimpse into the challenges of discourse and equity embedded within the complexities of institutional, epistemological, and social access to inclusive mathematics. The co-teachers in this study complemented one another as they worked across disciplines to educate all students equitably. Instead of operating from a deficit orientation, they worked collaboratively to remove the curriculum, environmental, and social barriers. Teaching with what appeared to be a mindset of assuming success rather than anticipating failure, the teams sought opportunities to provide access to what some deem is one of the most challenging concepts, mathematics.

The purpose of this study was to examine the directional relationship between college students' level of grit, personal growth initiative, cognitive reappraisal emotion regulation strategy, and their level of harmful alcohol consumption and related problems. This study tested the theoretical structure model that college students' (N = 356) level of grit (as measured by the Grit Short Scale [Grit-S; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009]), personal growth initiative (PGI; as measured by the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II [PGIS-II; Robitschek et al., 2012]), and cognitive reappraisal emotion regulation strategy (as measured by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire [ERQ; Gross & John, 2003]) contribute to decreased hazardous alcohol consumption and related consequences (as measured by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [AUDIT]; Saunders et al., 1993). Specifically, the researcher tested the theorized directional relationship that college students with (a) high level of grit, (b) high levels of personal growth initiative, and (c) high level of cognitive reappraisal ER strategy would have low levels of alcohol consumption and related problems. The results of the structural equation model (SEM) analyses identified that college students' high grit scores had a strong negative relationship with their alcohol consumption and related problems scores. While college students' PGI and alcohol consumption and related problem had a positive relationship with a large effect size. Implications from the findings of this investigation include (a) increased understanding of the contribution of college students' grit, personal growth initiative, and cognitive reappraisal scores to their levels of harmful alcohol use and related problems; (b) greater knowledge relating to the constructs of interesting to inform counselors, counselor educators and researchers; and (c) more evidence of validity and reliability for the AUDIT, Grit-S, PGIS-II, and ERQ scores with college students.

This post hoc quantitative research used a causal-comparative design to explore the relationship between tiered interventions as part of an MTSS intervention and student achievement. Data from the Florida Standards Assessment for English Language Arts (FSA ELA) and mathematics (FSA Mathematics) from 2018 and 2019 formed the basis of the study; student demographic data also identified each student's highest level of reading, mathematics, and behavior interventions during the 2018-2019 school year. Students who received interventions were coded into a separate higher tier. Percentile change was calculated and analyzed using an ANOVA to determine how percentile change differed by intervention tier. In addition, a factorial ANOVA was used to determine whether student demographic characteristics moderated any intervention effects. Results were reported for FSA ELA percentile change for reading, mathematics, and behavior interventions and FSA Mathematics percentile change for each intervention category. Results of the analysis were mixed. Students in Tier I for reading and mathematics showed positive changes in percentile; there was no evidence that Tier II and Tier II students for reading and mathematics interventions improved faster than students in Tier I. The results for Tier IV, those students receiving ESE services, revealed positive changes greater in reading that were greater than Tier II and Tier III. In addition, mathematics change in percentile for students receiving Tier IV ESE services was significantly positive and showed promise for reducing the achievement gap. Race and economically disadvantaged status did not moderate intervention effects. However, English language learner status and gender did moderate intervention effects. This research extended other large-scale MTSS research by including data on students' reported intervention level. However, data regarding intervention program, duration, and fidelity were not collected. Lack of specific data about intervention implementation limited conclusions that could be drawn; future researchers should consider collecting intervention data to understand better when, where, and for whom interventions are most impactful. Further suggestions for research, implications for policy and practice are discussed.