Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2005. / Thesis advisor: Philip Halloran. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Mathematics." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23-24). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Gina Gresham. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-99).

Matematiken är en abstrakt vetenskap. Laborativt arbete med konkret material sägs kunna överbrygga glappet mellan abstrakt och konkret. Denna kvalitativa studie syftar utforska vilka möjligheter och begränsningar lågstadielärare erfar kring konkret material. Resultatet visar att en vanlig uppfattning bland lågstadielärare är att konkret material besitter den positiva egenskapen att stötta elever i alla åldrar och nivåer i arbetet med att utveckla matematisk förståelse. Detta genom att konstruera inre bilder av matematiken hos eleverna, vilka sedan kan stötta eleverna på vägen mot matematisk abstraktion och generalisering. Arbetssättet tycks också kunna väcka intresse, nyfikenhet och lust att lära matematik samt bjuda in till rikare möjligheter till kommunikation jämfört med läroboksfokuserad undervisning. Dock har valet av konkret material betydelse. Negativa faktorer som uppmärksammats är att leklust riskerar ta fokus från matematiken samt att duktiga elever särskiljer laborativ matematik med konkret material från "riktig" matematik i läroboken. Dokumentationen av arbetet kring det konkreta materialet är dessutom tidskrävande. En slutsats som dras är att laborativt arbete med konkret material inte ensamt kan stå som bas för elevers matematiska utveckling. Däremot kan arbetssättet kombineras med lärobokens färdighetsträning och matematikdiskussioner och tillsammans bidra till fördjupad förståelse genom att eleverna i ett varierat arbetssätt tillåts möta matematikens olika uttrycksformer. / <p>Matematik</p>

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of an intervention involving teachers' use of children's literature, related storybook manipulatives, and a scaffolding (LMS) approach to learning would improve preschool children's mathematics test scores. Additionally, the LMS approach was examined to determine whether teachers' perceptions of their effectiveness in mathematics instruction changed from the beginning to the end of the study. The subjects of the study included 60 preschool-aged children and six teachers from two child care centers. The preschool teachers participated in either a control or experimental condition (the LMS approach) in their daily mathematics instruction with their preschool children. The researcher tested the children using the Test of Early Mathematics Ability and an abbreviated version of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. The study was based on two main research questions. The first question asked if there was a difference in the Test of Early Mathematics Ability total posttest scores between children in the literature-manipulatives-scaffolding intervention group and children in the control group after assuring equivalency of the two groups. The second question addressed if preschool teachers believed they were more effective in their mathematics instruction after implementing the LMS approach with young children. The answer to the first research question was that there was no statistically significant difference in the Test of Early Mathematics Ability total posttest scores between children in the literature-manipulatives-scaffolding group and children in the control group. However, the answer to the second question was that preschool teachers believed they were more effective in their mathematics instruction after implementing the LMS approach with young children. Recommendations for future research on early childhood mathematics include the investigation of preschool children's ability, achievement, and interest in mathematics; teachers' use of mathematics scaffolding techniques; and longitudinal mathematics interventions beginning during the preschool years.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Texas A&M University, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Sept. 9, 2008). "Major subject: Educational Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-136).