The effects of the cooperative learning method supported by multiple intelligence theory on Turkish elementary students’ mathematics achievement

In the present experimental study, the effects of the cooperative learning method supported by multiple intelligence theory (CLMI) on elementary school fourth grade students’ academic achievement and retention towards the mathematics course were investigated. The participants of the study were 150 students who were divided into two experimental (used CLMI) and two control groups (used traditional method). “Mathematics Achievement Test,” “Teele Inventory for Multiple Intelligences” and “Personal Information Form” were used as the measurement instruments of the study. The findings of this research have indicated that CLMI has a more significant effect on academic achievement than the traditional method. Yet, regarding the retention scores, CLMI has not significant effect on retention.     

Self-concept, self-esteem and academic achievement: strategies for maintaining self-esteem in students experiencing academic failure

Previous research into the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement shows that despite differences in academic self-evaluation, students’ global self-representations do not differ as a result of their grades at school. In this study, we will analyse the strategies that underachievers used to maintain their self-esteem at an acceptable level. The participants were 955 adolescents in the 7th, 9th and 11th grades at four secondary schools in Lisbon. Three hundred fifty-two of these students had retaken a year at least once in their school careers, whilst 603 had never done so. We collected the data using both a self-concept scale and a scale for evaluating attitudes towards school. Results show that self-esteem is maintained through positive self-representations in non-academic facets of self-concept and/or by devaluing school-related competences. They also show that younger students are less likely to maintain self-esteem by devaluing the school experience.     

Is the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) a good predictor of academic achievement? Examining the mediating role of achievement-related classroom behaviours

Studies have shown that the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ)—which provides a measure of student approaches to learning—is a relatively weak predictor of academic achievement. The present study sought to explore whether students’ achievement-related classroom behaviours, as observed by teachers, can be used as a mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement. The SPQ was administered to 1,608 students enrolled in six different diploma programmes offered by a polytechnic in Singapore. Data were analysed by means of correlation and path analysis. In line with existing studies, the results revealed that student approaches to learning was a weak predictor of academic achievement. However, achievement-related classroom behaviours turned out to be a significant mediator between student approaches to learning and academic achievement, effectively doubling the explained variance in academic achievement. Implications of these findings for using the SPQ are discussed.     

Gender stereotype endorsement and achievement-related outcomes: The role of competence beliefs and task values

In most Western societies, males are stereotyped as having stronger mathematical abilities than females whereas females are stereotyped as having stronger verbal abilities than males. Exposure to negative ability stereotypes reliably undermines performance in laboratory experiments, yet the mechanisms by which such stereotypes may influence boys’ and girls’ achievement outcomes in the more naturalistic setting of primary and secondary school remain unclear. The current study evaluated a hypothesis suggested by expectancy-value theories (e.g., Eccles & Wigfield, 2002): the relationship between stereotypes and achievement outcomes is importantly mediated by a student’s perceived competence and his or her valuation of the domain in question. We tested the hypothesis by examining the career intentions and grades of 762 sixth and eighth graders. As expected, even after controlling for prior achievement, stereotype endorsement primarily predicted grades and career intentions indirectly, through students’ competence beliefs and task values. These results suggest that stereotypes predict achievement-related outcomes most clearly when students internalize them.     

Class Size and Student Performance at a Public Research University: A Cross-Classified Model

This study addresses several methodological problems that have confronted prior research on the effect of class size on student achievement. Unlike previous studies, this analysis accounts for the hierarchical data structure of student achievement, where grades are nested within classes and students, and considers a wide range of class sizes across various disciplines. Based on data from undergraduate class sections at a single institution, the study provides consistent evidence of a negative effect of class size on grade performance, most substantially affecting the achievement of “A” grades with lesser effect on grades of “C” or higher. Because models with logarithmic specification show superior fit, this study also demonstrates that the effect of class size on students’ final grades diminishes as the class size increases. These findings suggest that a larger impact on student performance could be attained by further trimming enrollment in small classes than by reducing class size overall.     

Evidence for a positive relation between interest and achievement: Examining between-person and within-person variation in five domains

We examined the incremental effect of academic interest on achievement beyond general cognitive ability and students’ background characteristics in five domains (math, German, biology, chemistry, and physics). We analyzed a nationally representative German dataset of 39,192 ninth-grade students and found a unique effect of interest over and above the other predictors across the five domains, both for class grades and standardized test scores. The effect was present between persons (in a given domain, students with higher interest showed higher achievement) and within persons (the same student showed a higher achievement in domains she/he was more interested in). The effects were stronger for grades than test scores and stronger in math than in other domains. The results emphasize the positive relation between interest and academic achievement in different domains. Furthermore, they expand the literature by emphasizing the role of the achievement measure and the domain as moderators of the interest–achievement relation and by showing that interest can predict both inter- and intraindividual variation in achievement.     

Burden of Acting Neither White Nor Black: Asian American Identities and Achievement in Urban Schools

Ogbu’s theory of “burden of acting white” has been one of the most frequently cited studies to explain black and white achievement gap. However, emerging studies have argued that Ogbu’s theory may be limited when examining variability of school achievement among black and white students. Research shows that in addition to culture, other social forces, such as class, peer networks, and school context may play a significant role when accounting for minority students’ academic aspirations and achievement. In the midst of this on-going debate, however, there is a limited understanding of how, if at all, theory of “acting white” plays a role for racial groups other than black and white students. By extending the discussion beyond a black-and-white discourse, this research examines how Asian American students in two different social and economic contexts, negotiate their race and ethnic identities. Framed by a prevalent model minority stereotype that conflates Asian Americans with whiteness, the findings show that portrayal of Asian “success” much like black “failure” cannot be explained solely on their cultural orientation. By comparing experiences of two groups of Korean American students—both high- and low-achieving—in different economic and school contexts, this study illustrates how the two groups of Korean American students adopt different racial strategies depending on their socioeconomic backgrounds, peer networks, and school contexts. Using Korean American students in urban schools as a case study, this research complicates and challenges our understanding of the role of culture in school achievement and illustrates how culture intersects with class, race, and schools. Jamie Lew is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Education, Rutgers University-Newark, 110 Warren Street, Newark, NY, 07102-1814, USA     

Conceptualizing sound as a form of incarnate mathematical consciousness

Much of the evidence provided in support of the argument that mathematical knowing is embodied/enacted is based on the analysis of gestures and bodily configurations, and, to a lesser extent, on certain vocal features (e.g., prosody). However, there are dimensions involved in the emergence of mathematical knowing and the production of mathematical communication that have not yet been investigated. The purpose of this article is to theorize one of these dimensions, which we call incarnate sonorous consciousness. Drawing on microanalyses of two exemplary episodes in which a group of third graders are sorting geometric solids, we show how sound has the potential to mark mathematical similarities and distinctions. These “audible” similarities and distinctions, which may be produced by incarnate dimensions such as beat gestures and prosody, allow children to objectify certain geometrical properties of the objects with which they transact. Moreover, the analysis shows that sonorous production is intertwined with other dimensions of students’ bodily activity. These findings are interpreted according to the “theory of mathematics in the flesh,” an alternative to current embodiment/enactivist theories in mathematics education.     

Choosing letter grade evaluations: The interaction of students’ achievement goals and self-efficacy

We examined how achievement (learning and performance) goals and academic self-efficacy predicted three achievement-related outcomes in a college sample. Self-efficacy tended to moderate the effects of (learning and performance) goals on number of courses taken for a letter grade as well as achievement in letter graded and pass/fail courses. Thus, learning goals better predicted choosing letter grades when self-efficacy was high than when it was low. In contrast, performance goals better predicted choosing letter grades when self-efficacy was low than when it was high. Through their prediction of the choice to receive letter grades these interactions predicted achievement in pass/fail courses. In addition, achievement goals and self-efficacy directly predicted achievement in letter graded courses.     

Matthew effects in children with learning disabilities: Development of reading,IQ, and psychosocial problems from grade 2 to grade 8

Reading achievement, IQ, and behavior problems were assessed in second and eighth grade for a longitudinal sample of 57 children. Changes in these scores over time were compared for children with no learning disabilities versus children with math or reading disabilities (research-identified and/or school-identified). A widening of the group difference in IQ was seen between the math disabled and nondisabled groups, but otherwise the gaps between groups remained unchanged or narrowed over the six-year interval, indicating that hypothesized negative consequences of initial academic difficulties (“Matthew effects”) did not occur for most of the children with learning disabilities. Elevated rates of behavior problems were seen only for the group with math disabilities, suggesting that the type of learning disability needs to be taken into account in research on the association between academic and psychosocial problems.     

Learned Helplessness and Psychological Adjustment: Effects of age,gender and academic achievement

The present study deals with relations between academic achievement, learned helplessness and psychological adjustment (self-esteem and depression), controlled for gender and age. A preliminary study was conducted to test the direction of the relationship between learned helplessness, assessed by the teacher, and own expectation about academic achievement. The sample consisted of 1580 students with data collected in grades 3 and 4, 6 and 7 and 8 and 9. The relation between these two variables was reciprocal, with the strongest effect between helplessness and expectations. Hypotheses concerning the relations between achievement, helplessness and psychological adjustment were tested by means of a cross-sectional sample consisting of 1575 students in grades 4, 7 and 9. The analyses of structural equation models showed that academic achievement was directly and indirectly related to the pattern of attributions, expectations, helplessness and psychological adjustment. Moreover, helplessness and academic expectations were significantly related to psychological adjustment. The results also clearly found that boys showed more helpless behaviour, as assessed by the teacher, than did girls, while, on the other hand, girls reported more psychological maladjustment. Some practical implications of the findings are reported at the end of the paper.     

Riding the bumps in mathematics learning: Relations between academic buoyancy,engagement, and achievement

Academic buoyancy is conceptualised as the capacity to successfully navigate the typical adversities experienced during the course of schooling. Studies have shown positive relations between academic buoyancy and beneficial achievement-related beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. Relations with achievement are often small and studies of reciprocal relations are lacking. In a sample of 1,242 primary school students, we examined reciprocal relations between academic buoyancy, engagement, and achievement. Baseline levels of academic buoyancy and engagement positively predicted subsequent achievement. Achievement predicted gain in academic buoyancy but not engagement. Engagement, but not academic buoyancy, predicted gain in achievement. However, academic buoyancy predicted achievement gain indirectly, mediated through concurrent engagement. Building engagement, academic buoyancy, and foundational mathematics skills, could work synergistically to show downstream benefits for students’ achievement.     

大学生学业自我妨碍与成就目标取向、不可控感、自尊的相关研究

采用问卷法对260名大学生进行成就目标、不可控制感、自尊与学业自我妨碍关系研究调查,探讨大学生学业自我妨碍与其成就目标取向、不可控感、自尊间的关系.调查显示:(1)大学生学业自我妨碍存在专业、学历差异;(2)避免失败成绩目标、不可控制感、自我贬低对自我妨碍有显著的正向预测作用,掌握目标有显著的负向预测作用.由此得出成就目标取向、不可控感、自我贬低与大学生学业自我妨碍密切相关的结论.     

Attachment in the Classroom

Attachment influences students’ school success. This is true of students’ attachment to their parents, as well as to their teachers. Secure attachment is associated with higher grades and standardized test scores compared to insecure attachment. Secure attachment is also associated with greater emotional regulation, social competence, and willingness to take on challenges, and with lower levels of ADHD and delinquency, each of which in turn is associated with higher achievement. These effects tend to be stronger for high-risk students. In this era of accountability, enhancing teacher–student relationships is not merely an add-on, but rather is fundamental to raising achievement. Understanding the role of attachment in the classroom will help educators be more effective, particularly with challenging students. Twelve suggestions to improve teacher–student relationships and school bonding are provided.     

Development and evolution of instrumented schemes: a case study of learning programming for mathematical investigations

Educational Studies in Mathematics - We are interested in understanding how university students learn to use programming as a tool for “authentic” mathematical investigations (i.e.,...     

“I have to be three steps ahead”: Academically Gifted African American Male Students in an Urban High School on the Tension between an Ethnic and Academic Identity

This case study investigation of three Academically Gifted African American male high school seniors in a predominantly African American urban high school examines the interplay between their ethnic and academic identity. Using an embedded micro-ethnographic approach, we explore the extent to which these students value educational attainment, the extent to which they connect with their ethnicity, and those “significant others” who inhibit or dissuade the development of their ethnic and/or academic identity. Consistent with the conclusions of more recent educational literature, findings indicate participants in this investigation value the purpose and intent of schooling and the mobility associated with it, express “Blackness” is an essential component of their academic achievement and overall self concept, and credit people within their immediate social network for opening their eyes to social injustices within the world at an early age. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Cognitive processing and mathematical achievement: a study with schoolchildren between fourth and sixth grade of primary education

This investigation analyzed the relation between cognitive functioning and mathematical achievement in 114 students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Differences in cognitive performance were studied concurrently in three selected achievement groups: mathematical learning disability group (MLD), low achieving group (LA), and typically achieving group (TA). For this purpose, performance in verbal memory and in the PASS cognitive processes of planning, attention, and simultaneous and successive processing was assessed at the end of the academic course. Correlational analyses showed that phonological loop and successive and simultaneous processing were related to mathematical achievement at all three grades. Regression analysis revealed simultaneous processing as a cognitive predictor of mathematical performance, although phonological loop was also associated with higher achievement. Simultaneous and successive processing were the elements that differentiated the MLD group from the LA group. These results show that, of all the variables analyzed in this study, simultaneous processing was the best predictor of mathematical performance.     

How do teachers’ approaches to geometric work relate to geometry students’ learning difficulties?

Various studies suggest that French students (grades 7 to 10) may solve geometric problems within a paradigmatic framework that differs from that assumed by teachers, a situation prone to misunderstandings. In this paper, we study the extent to which secondary school teachers recognise the conflicting paradigms and how they handle the geometric work conducted, in sometimes unintended ways, by their students. This is done by analysing teachers’ reactions to specific answers students offered to the Charlotte and Marie problem, an “ambiguous” problem with various solutions depending on the paradigm adopted. As a result of the study, we found that, beyond similarities due to a shared mathematical background, the way secondary schoolteachers handle students’ answers varies with their conceptions of geometric work. Implications are drawn regarding the teaching of geometry and the training of teachers.     

A Study of the Performance of 5th Graders in Number Sense and its Relationship to Achievement in Mathematics

In order to investigate the performance of number sense and its relationships with mathematics achievement of Taiwanese students who had just completed the 5th-grade mathematics curriculum, a computerized number sense scale has been developed. This number sense scale includes four factors which are recognizing relative number size, using multiple representations of numbers and operations, judging the reasonableness of estimates of computed results and recognizing the relative effect of operations on numbers. A total of 1,212 students in Taiwan participated in this study. The main findings of this study are summarized as follows. First, the students perform best on “recognizing relative number size” and perform worst on “judging the reasonableness of estimates of computed results”. This finding is consistent with previous studies. It shows that students in Taiwan seem quite poor on judging the reasonableness of estimates of computed results. Second, female students, on average, have higher scores on recognizing the relative number size than male students, even though only a small effect size is found. And, third, the achievements of the students in mathematics are significantly correlated with their number sense, as measured by the average grade for the academic year of 5th-grade students.     

The use of mathematical symbolism in problem solving: An empirical study carried out in grade one in the French community of Belgium

This article relates to an empirical study based on the use of mathematical symbolism in problem solving. Twenty-five pupils were interviewed individually at the end of grade one; each of them was asked to solve and symbolize 14 different problems. In their classical curriculum, these pupils have received a traditional education based on a “top-down” approach (an approach that is still applied within the French Community of Belgium): conventional symbols are presented to the pupils immediately with an explanation of what they represent and how they should be used. Teaching then focuses on calculation techniques (considered as a pre-requisite for solving problems). The results presented here show the abilities (and difficulties) demonstrated by the children in making connections between the conventional symbolism taught in class and the informal approaches they develop when faced with the problems that are put to them. The limits of the “top-down” approach are then discussed as opposed to the more innovative “bottom-up” type approaches, such as those developed by supporters of Realistic Mathematics Educations in particular.