Transactional Analysis, or TA, has been used for more than four decades to enhance interpersonal relationships and promote personal growth through counselling and psychotherapy. It has been used to advantage in organisations, principally in the business world. It was thought at the outset of this study that TA could also be of benefit to schools.The aim of this study was to find out whether TA methods could be used in schools to improve student outcomes in science and mathematics, to enhance interpersonal relationships and to promote positive behaviour. The study trialled TA by using it with a group of at-risk students to discover whether its use would bring about positive change.A group of ten at-risk students became part of a mentoring programme, using TA. This programme focussed on the behaviour and academic progress of the students, and sought to empower them to make positive changes. This group referred to as the sample group, was compared with a control group. The Adult ego-state (thinking) was promoted in the students in order to shift their 'locus of control' from their Negative Adapted Child ego-state, the source of much non-productive, inappropriate and rebellious behaviour.The study upheld the reliability and validity of the questionnaires used, namely the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (School Form) and the Mooney Problem Checklist. The study prompted the construction of an informal test, the Ego-State Questionnaire, which proved to be informative.Poor attendance and school behaviour records were good indicators of a student's 'at-risk' status. At-risk students were found to be already achieving below their potential in science and mathematics at entry to secondary school.The mentoring programme ran for six months, and at the end of this the sample group had improved behavioural records and increased self ++ / esteem. Their number of perceived problems had dropped dramatically, and their academic results were improved.Interpersonal relationships between the sample group and their science teachers were better than the interpersonal relationships with their mathematics teachers, indicating a continued difficulty with abstract ideas at the end of the programme and a need to run such programmes over a longer time span. Interpersonal relationships did improve out of school with parents and peers. Clear preferences were indicated for what students preferred in the behaviours of their ideal teacher: understanding, helping/friendly, leadership and strict behaviours.Encouragement of Adult ego-state was shown to be an appropriate and productive approach to the improvement of academic and behavioural outcomes for at-risk students in science and mathematics. The study also showed that at-risk young people had a lower than average Nurturing Parent ego-state available to them.Teachers rated their TA101 course highly, and found that it gave them a fresh perspective on classroom difficulties. Both teachers and students benefited from the use of TA in this study.

Abstract: This dissertation is a case study of one teacher who participated in a project that investigated the effects of the Texas Instruments NavigatorTM, a wireless communication system on student algebra achievement and related pedagogy. The larger study, Classroom Connectivity in Promoting Mathematics and Science Achievement (CCMS) based at The Ohio State University (OSU), funded by the U. S. Department of Education, involved approximately 120 self-selected participants across the United States. A partial requirement for participation was agreement to attend professional development provided by the CCMS project. The professional development included a week-long summer institute at OSU prior to implementation of the TI-NavigatorTM, attendance at annual International T3 meetings, participation in the cohort listserve, and semi-annual telephone interviews. During data collection of the CCMS project, many of the participants exhibited an enthusiasm for implementation of the tool and the pedagogy supported by the CCMS project. The subject of this case study, Mrs. G, was among those perceived as high implementers. This longitudinal study attempts to verify alignment of her instruction with the pedagogy promoted in the professional development sessions provided by the project. Transcripts from professional development sessions were compared with Mrs. G’s comments about her perception of her implementation of the project. Transcribed classroom observations were then analyzed using NVivo software to quantify evidence of implementation of the pedagogy with respect to the three constructs of classroom discourse, levels of questioning and formative assessment. The results of the analyses indicated that Mrs. G implemented the pedagogy advocated by the professional development sessions of the CCMS project. According to the literature key elements were in place for successful professional development. The teacher was allowed autonomy and choice in her professional development In Mrs. G’s words, “Professional development must be relevant to my profession and support my goals… student understanding.” Implications are that pre-service programs should instill in prospective teachers the importance of life-long learning and equip them with strategies to seek out professional development opportunities that are relevant to them. In-service teachers should in turn be given autonomy and choice in determining which professional development opportunities will complement their programs.

Public and private sectors are grappling with decreasing numbers of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals as the need for them rises. State-supported STEM residential high schools may be the premier conduit to educate and socialize students in order to prepare for STEM college majors and careers. Gaining understanding of how these schools can nurture students academically and affectively so that they successfully matriculate to university STEM settings is valuable; however, minimal research exists related to the affective domain in relationship to retention at state-supported STEM residential schools. This exploratory, mixed methods case study describes factors that contribute to student persistence in a residential school setting. This study had four purposes: a) to describe students’ meaning of belonging at a STEM residential school; b) to explore potential relationships between students’ personality traits, expectations fulfillment, and belonging; c) to explore potential relationships between belonging and persistence, expectation fulfillment and persistence, and personality traits and persistence, and d) to describe characteristics of persistors and non-persistors. Participants in the study were the student population of the Tennessee Governor’s Academy for Mathematics and Science (TGA) (n = 41). Following interviews of the population, qualitative analysis of the interviews included pattern coding and creation of an explanatory effects matrix; quantitative analysis of survey data utilized ANOVA, chi-square, and correlation. Results of analyses produced a student-generated, multidimensional definition of belonging and showed that students who perceived they belonged and expressed institutional commitment via ownership of TGA had the highest persistence rate (100%). Quantitative findings showed that students whose expectations for TGA were met or exceeded had a higher sense of belonging, and belonging was associated with higher persistence. The personality traits agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and work drive were significantly related to belonging, suggesting that sense of belonging may function as a moderator between personality traits and expectation fulfillment. For future study, a longitudinal design is recommended as well as incorporation of the variable educational practices in relation to the variables expectation fulfillment, personality, belonging, and persistence.

Mathematics has the highest attrition rate among all liberal arts disciplines (and among all disciplines, except for health professions) and the second highest attrition rate of all doctoral programs in the United State. In order to prevent the loss of so many students, mathematics departments must consider the root causes for attrition and determine what individual skills and knowledge and departmental systems and support will help more mathematics doctoral students to succeed. The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to explore the interactions mathematics doctoral candidates at one institution have had during graduate school and the value that the students place on the interactions in their continued pursuit of and success in doctoral study of mathematics. Nine doctoral candidates from the mathematics department at a large, public research university in the Southeastern United States who had attended United States schools throughout their K-graduate education agreed to participate in the study. I conducted a series of two, semi-structured, approximately sixty minute, one-on-one interviews with each participant. In addition to providing insight into the nature of several relationships already established in the extant research, the results of the present study indicated the possible existence of three new relationships. A series of themes were also found across the students’ experiences that depict key interactions participants had with peers and faculty and the meaning and value given to these interactions. For faculty, the themes were (1) Inadequacy and Importance, (2) Being Uninformed, (3) Self-Sufficiency, and (4) Collaboration; and for peers, (1) Insight Versus Deficit and (2) Gauging Their Experience. In addition, Living in a World of Paradoxes was an overarching theme in the findings. This study informs several lines of thought: (a) collaboration is more than just a crutch; (b) graduate students struggle to find a balance between independent scholar and active collaborator; (c) graduate school is not a uniform experience; (d) knowing and learning in mathematics is conceived from the cognitive perspective; and (e) there are multiple paths for socializing students. Recommendations for future research and practice are also presented.

With rising accountability standards and the need for content specialists within education, the qualifications of mathematics teachers have become increasingly scrutinized. For over three decades, within the parameters of educational reform, the need for the professionalization of teaching has reoccurred (Carnegie Task Force, 1986). When examining the nature of teacher professionalism, no concise definition within the educational community exists (Noddings, 1992). The purpose of this study was to take characteristics defined by the medical and law fields and use them to develop a definition of professionalism within mathematics education. Once a clear set of characteristics was identified, the study then looked to reveal the nature of which those characteristics were instilled within mathematics teacher education programs at higher education institutions. Current mathematics teachers and mathematics teacher educators were surveyed and the set of characteristics rated as to their importance in defining professionalism with mathematics education. A second part to the survey asked mathematics teacher to rate the extent they felt prepared within those same characteristics. Mathematics teacher educators were asked to reflect upon their curriculum with respect to the same set of characteristics. The results were compared with similarities and differences among the two groups presented. The results from this study can be used by higher educational institutions in shaping current and future teachers’ set of professional characteristics. Current teachers can examine the results of this study with the intent to evaluate themselves as professionals.

The purpose of this case study was to understand whether or not the use of an invented number system, called Orpda, helped teachers develop a deeper understanding of place value in hopes that this will translate into their own teaching of place value concepts. Thirteen teachers enrolled in a graduate mathematics education course served as the participants for this study. Data were collected from teachers’ reflections on various activities related to Orpda, pre- and post-Orpda concept maps teachers created, online discussions between the teachers, teacher demographic sheets, and an interview with the instructor of the course. Analysis of the teachers' reflections revealed that Orpda increased teachers’ attention to three critical components necessary for developing a conceptual understanding of place value, namely unitizing, regrouping, and recognizing the meaning of different place values within a multi-digit number. In addition, Orpda encouraged teachers to reflect on their own teaching of place value. Comparing the structures of the teachers' pre-Orpda and post-Orpda concept maps showed changes in some cases but did not reveal clear patterns. Analysis of the categories teachers included in pre- and post-Orpda maps revealed that teachers were moving from a procedural to a more conceptual view of place value, as did the analysis of squared adjacency matrices created from each teacher's pre- and post-Orpda concept maps. Four conclusions can be drawn from this study: (a) Orpda increased teachers' attention to the importance of unitizing in place value, (b) Orpda encouraged teachers to reflect deeply on their thinking, (c) Concept maps show promise for revealing and documenting changes in conceptual understanding, and (d) Orpda increased teachers' attention to the importance of patterns in understanding place value. Further research is needed using Orpda with different groups and numbers of teachers, and in different settings, e.g., longer full semesters and teacher professional development meetings. Research exploring the use of follow-up interviews to accompany concept maps and enhance the assessment of conceptual understanding is also recommended. This study indicates two recommendations for practice in teacher education, the importance of a classroom environment that supports reflection, and the careful choosing of activities to provide appropriate challenge.

A major component of the values people place on science and their attitude toward it is their openness to new ideas or overall open-mindedness. An individual’s values and attitudes become integrally connected to their prior knowledge and conceptions regarding science and science content. Sometimes the nature of a natural phenomenon and the scientific explanation for the phenomenon is controversial. A controversial scientific concept is one that evokes emotion and forces individuals to assess the values associated with this content and make assessments of their attitudes toward it. This is especially true during learning. The purpose of this study was to provide evidence on how prior knowledge and existing conceptions are related to open-mindedness when learning science content that is regarded as controversial. The participants for this study consisted of 7 elementary science teachers and 8 secondary science teachers. Data collected for the study included the determination of how individuals assessed and used their prior/existing conceptions when learning controversial science content based on individual interviews, an individual’s level of open-mindedness as measured by the Actively Open-minded Thinking scale (AOT) and determined through the interviews, and the assessment of the change in an individual’s level of knowledge regarding geologic time as measured by the Geoscience Concept Inventory (GCI). The investigation consisted of multiple case studies analyzed within cases and across cases. The teachers’ use of their prior conceptions was determined through the coding of interviews based on the four appropriation modes of Integration, Differentiation, Exchange, and Bridging. Results from the interview data showed that 53% of the teachers differentiated their existing conceptions from new geologic time conceptions, while 47% integrated new conceptions with their prior conceptions. In addition, 40% of the teachers exhibited a bimodal appropriation of their existing conceptions. Bridging and exchange were the secondary appropriation modes observed among bimodal appropriators. No relationships were found between the teachers’ thinking disposition (open-mindedness) and their level of geologic time knowledge, nor where there any relationships found between the teachers’ prior conception appropriation and their geologic time knowledge or their appropriation and thinking disposition.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is spending substantial resources to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. The ultimate goal of these programs is to produce students with a better knowledge of math and science and who are more likely to pursue careers in STEM fields. Interactive learning modules can be used in the classroom environment for effective learning. This study examines the learning preferences of Logan High School (located in Logan, Utah) students and evaluates the impacts of using interactive learning modules with classroom lectures compared to other traditional methods of teaching.

Abstract This study analyzed treatment of geometric transformations in presently available middle grades (6, 7, 8) student mathematics textbooks. Fourteen textbooks from four widely used textbook series were evaluated: two mainline publisher series, Pearson (Prentice Hall) and Glencoe (Math Connects); one National Science Foundation (NSF) funded curriculum project textbook series, Connected Mathematics 2; and one non-NSF funded curriculum project, the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP). A framework was developed to distinguish the characteristics in the treatment of geometric transformations and to determine the potential opportunity to learn transformation concepts as measured by textbook physical characteristics, lesson narratives, and analysis of student exercises with level of cognitive demand. Results indicated no consistency found in order, frequency, or location of transformation topics within textbooks by publisher or grade level. The structure of transformation lessons in three series (Prentice Hall, Glencoe, and UCSMP) was similar, with transformation lesson content at a simplified level and student low level of cognitive demand in transformation tasks. The types of exercises found predominately focused on students applying content studied in the narrative of lessons. The typical problems and issues experienced by students when working with transformations, as identified in the literature, received little support or attention in the lessons. The types of tasks that seem to embody the ideals in the process standards, such as working a problem backwards, were found on few occurrences across all textbooks examined. The level of cognitive demand required for student exercises predominately occurred in the Lower-Level, and Lower-Middle categories. Research indicates approximately the last fourth of textbook pages are not likely to be studied during a school year; hence topics located in the final fourth of textbook pages might not provide students the opportunity to experience geometric transformations in that year. This was found to be the case in some of the textbooks examined, therefore students might not have the opportunity to study geometric transformations during some middle grades, as was the case for the Glencoe (6, 7), and the UCSMP (6) textbooks, or possibly during their entire middle grades career as was found with the Prentice Hall (6, 7, Prealgebra) textbook series.

Abstract This thesis investigates the use of socioscientific issues (SSI) in the high school science classroom as an introduction to argumentation and socioscientific reasoning, with the goal of improving students' scientific literacy (SL). Current research is reviewed that supports the likelihood of students developing a greater conceptual understanding of scientific theories as well as a deeper understanding of the nature of science (NOS), through participation in informal and formal forms of argumentation in the context of SSI. Significant gains in such understanding may improve a student's ability to recognize the rigor, legitimacy, and veracity of scientific claims and better discern science from pseudoscience. Furthermore, students that participate in significant SSI instruction by negotiating a range of science-related social issues can make significant gains in content knowledge and develop the life-long skills of argumentation and evidence-based reasoning, goals not possible in traditional lecture-based science instruction. SSI-based instruction may therefore help students become responsible citizens. This synthesis also suggests that that the improvements in science literacy and NOS understanding that develop from sustained engagement in SSI-based instruction will better prepare students to examine and scrutinize socially controversial scientific theories (i.e., evolution, global warming, and the Big Bang).