Promoting middle school students’ proportional reasoning skills through an ongoing professional development programme for teachers

The effect of a 15- to 24-month in-service professional development (PD) program on state accountability mathematics test scores for middle school students was examined using a quasi-experimental design. Middle level mathematics teachers (n = 128) from 7 school districts and 64 middle schools volunteered for a PD sequence of content-oriented summer courses and pedagogy-oriented structured follow-up experiences during the subsequent academic year. Student effects of the PD program were measured using Colorado's state mathematics test results for 2 cohorts of students: 1 that received mathematics instruction from participant teachers in the year prior to the PD and another cohort that received mathematics instruction in the year following the PD. The odds of a student achieving a Proficient or Advanced score on the state test were then compared between cohorts. Results showed that students' odds of achieving a score of Proficient or better increased with teacher participation in the PD program.

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Interpreting Middle School Students' Proportional Reasoning Strategies: Observations From Preservice Teachers

School Science and Mathematics ◽

10.1111/j.1949-8594.2005.tb18041.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 105 (2) ◽

pp. 88-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ellen Hines ◽

Mary T. McMahon

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Preservice Teachers ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Proportional Reasoning ◽

School Students ◽

Reasoning Strategies

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Proportional Reasoning Word Problem Performance for Middle School Students With High-Incidence Disabilities (HID)

Learning Disability Quarterly ◽

10.1177/0731948719837920 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 140-153

Author(s):

Anne Brawand ◽

Margaret E. King-Sears ◽

Anya S. Evmenova ◽

Kelley Regan

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Proportional Reasoning ◽

Future Research ◽

School Students ◽

High Incidence ◽

Worked Problems ◽

Based Instruction ◽

High Incidence Disabilities ◽

Mastery Criteria

Schema-based instruction (SBI) was used to teach nine middle school students with high-incidence disabilities (HID) to solve proportional reasoning word problems. A multiple-baseline-across-groups design was used to determine student understanding of the SBI process. The design consisted of three phases including baseline, SBI process, and maintenance. Training of the SBI process with worked problems occurred between baseline and SBI process. Students’ performance was measured using a five-category rubric, under two conditions: solving problems with and without calculator use. Results indicated that all groups improved problem-solving performance and maintained improvement 4 weeks after instruction. Implications for revising the rubric’s mastery criteria and future research are described.

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Exploring the World Using Proportional Reasoning: If Our Classroom Were the World

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School ◽

10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.24.2.0112 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 112-115

Author(s):

Stacy Reeder

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Proportional Reasoning ◽

Population Data ◽

School Students ◽

The World

Eager to understand their world, students can really engage when population data are introduced in the classroom. The lesson presented in this article was inspired by the book If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World's People (Smith 2011), which presents a great deal of data in a concise form that middle school students typically find interesting, engaging, and, most often, surprising.

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A Science Application of Area and Ratio Concepts

Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School ◽

10.5951/mtms.11.8.0360 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 360-366

Author(s):

Virginia M. Horak

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Proportional Reasoning ◽

School Students ◽

Fresh Snow ◽

Science Application ◽

Mathematics And Science

“CAN THERE BE MONSTER INSECTS?” “Are 'human' giants of fables and fiction possible?” “Why do I sink into fresh snow and a rabbit does not?” “Why are my footprints in wet sand deeper than those of a seagull?” Middle school students can readily investigate these questions when mathematics and science are integrated. This article will focus on the last two questions, which provide rich links among animal characteristics, area of footprints, and the use of ratios in proportional reasoning.

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