EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF ASSESSING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, ITS COMPONENTS AND THEIR RELATION TO STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: A MATHEMATICS BASED CASE STUDY

Beginning in 2009, and with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, school districts across the United States began to be held to higher standards and their progress publicly reported. Student achievement began to be measured by standardized testing and great efforts were being made to reduce the achievement gap. This paper is based on a five-year study of teacher evaluation in two urban districts in Massachusetts where improving teacher practice was seen as an important factor in raising student achievement. This research studied efforts to address those teachers who were identified as underperforming and were supported through individual improvement plans. This paper used a case study approach to show what the practices of a sampling of these teachers looked like, teachers’ reactions to being rated unsatisfactory, and teachers’ reactions to the improvement planning process.

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Motivational and Emotional Orientation, Engagement, and Achievement in Mathematics. A Case Study With One Sixth-Grade Classroom Working With an Electronic Textbook on Fractions

Frontiers in Education ◽

10.3389/feduc.2021.588472 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Frank Reinhold ◽

Stefan Hoch ◽

Anja Schiepe-Tiska ◽

Anselm R. Strohmaier ◽

Kristina Reiss

Keyword(s):

Learning Outcomes ◽

Prior Knowledge ◽

Cognitive Learning ◽

Sixth Grade ◽

Emotional Engagement ◽

Behavioral Engagement ◽

Electronic Textbook ◽

The Relationship ◽

Grade Classroom

Interactive and adaptive scaffolds implemented in electronic mathematics textbooks bear high potential for supporting students individually in learning mathematics. In this paper, we argue that emotional and behavioral engagement may account for the effectiveness of such digital curriculum resources. Following the general model for determinants and course of motivated action, we investigated the relationship between students’ domain-specific motivational and emotional orientations (person)—while working with an electronic textbook on fractions (situation), their emotional and behavioral engagement while learning (action), and their achievement after tuition (outcome). We conducted a case-study with N = 27 students from one sixth-grade classroom, asking about the relationship between students’ motivational and emotional orientations and their emotional and behavioral engagement, and whether emotional and behavioral engagement are unique predictors of students’ cognitive learning outcomes while working with an e-textbook. For that, we designed a four-week-intervention on fractions using an e-textbook on iPads. Utilizing self-reports and process data referring to students’ interactions with the e-textbook we aimed to describe if and how students make use of the offered learning opportunities. Despite being taught in the same classroom, results indicated large variance in students’ motivational and emotional orientations before the intervention, as well as in their emotional and behavioral engagement during the intervention. We found substantial correlations between motivational and emotional orientations (i.e., anxiety, self-concept, and enjoyment) and emotional engagement (i.e., intrinsic motivation, competence and autonomy support, situational interest, and perceived demand)—with positive orientations being associated with positive emotional engagement, as expected. Although the correlations between orientations and behavioral engagement (i.e., task, exercise, and hint count, problem solving time, and feedback time) also showed the expected directions, effect sizes were smaller than for emotional engagement. Generalized linear mixed models revealed that emotional engagement predicted cognitive learning outcomes uniquely, while for behavioral engagement the interaction with prior knowledge was a significant predictor. Taken together, they accounted for a variance change of 44% in addition to prior knowledge. We conclude that when designing digital learning environments, promoting engagement—in particular in students who share less-promizing prerequisites—should be considered a key feature.

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STEM Learning Communities

Cases on Interdisciplinary Research Trends in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics - Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2214-2.ch003 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 57-74

Author(s):

Bernadette Kelley ◽

Lisa McClelland

Keyword(s):

Student Achievement ◽

Learning Communities ◽

Learning Community ◽

Academic Progress ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Retention Rates ◽

Stem Learning ◽

Community Learning ◽

And Mathematics

This chapter presents a case study involving the fictional Coastal University’s move to the next level of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) student achievement by applying a holistic approach to educating the STEM student using a learning community. Learning communities are designed to improve retention rates, increase student learning and achievement, increase faculty engagement, and lessen the feelings of isolation some students feel on large campuses. This case discusses the various components that were utilized to enhance the learning community including cluster courses, seminars, branch activities, academic progress assessments, and meetings. The challenges with the implementation of the learning community and the engagement in interdisciplinary activities will be discussed as will recommendations for the future.

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The Network Runs the Schools: From a Loose to a Tightly Coupled School District

Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership ◽

10.1177/1555458920943247 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 47-61

Author(s):

Patricia M. Virella ◽

Jennie M. Weiner

Keyword(s):

Student Achievement ◽

Hybrid Approach ◽

Educational Leaders ◽

Central Office Administrators ◽

Teacher Student Relationships ◽

Teacher Student ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Tightly Coupled ◽

Pros And Cons

This case study explores a central office’s attempt to improve its school performance by shifting from a loosely to a more tightly coupled organization through greater oversight and standardization of practice. Educational leaders and, specifically, district-level and central office administrators often negotiate between providing schools autonomy and pursuing greater accountability and uniformity to foster improved student achievement. Educators studying this case will examine the pros and cons of both approaches as well as the potential trade-offs when shifting from one system to another or engaging in a hybrid approach on elements like teacher motivation, teacher–student relationships, school culture, and student achievement.

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Transformational Learning in Higher Education Settings: A Case Study of “Teaching Teachers to Teach”

International Journal of Education ◽

10.5296/ije.v10i4.13750 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 20

Author(s):

Sonya Hidalgo ◽

Mark Koebernik ◽

Kathlene Williams

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Student Achievement ◽

Adult Students ◽

Transformational Learning ◽

University Faculty ◽

Education Faculty ◽

Higher Education Faculty ◽

Self Reflection ◽

Disorienting Dilemma

Transformational learning (TL) theory posits that adult students experience a disorienting dilemma and then engage in critical self-reflection (Mezirow, 1997). University faculty are often not pursuant toward improving andragogy skills, including utilizing TL. The purpose of this study is to determine if student achievement would increase if higher education faculty were trained to be better teachers in addition to being experts in their chosen field.

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Academic Aptitude and Prior Knowledge as Predictors of Student Achievement in Introduction to Psychology.

Journal of Educational Psychology ◽

10.1037/0022-0663.96.4.778 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 96 (4) ◽

pp. 778-784 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Ross A. Thompson ◽

Byron L. Zamboanga

Keyword(s):

Student Achievement ◽

Prior Knowledge ◽

Academic Aptitude

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A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm-based soft computing model for educational data mining

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal ◽

10.1108/aaouj-01-2017-0012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 106-123

Author(s):

Choo Jun Tan ◽

Ting Yee Lim ◽

Chin Wei Bong ◽

Teik Kooi Liew

Keyword(s):

Student Achievement ◽

Evolutionary Algorithm ◽

Soft Computing ◽

Real World ◽

Classification Accuracy ◽

Content Type ◽

Computing Model ◽

Model Based ◽

Proposed Model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a soft computing model based on multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA), namely, modified micro genetic algorithm (MmGA) coupled with a decision tree (DT)-based classifier, in classifying and optimising the students’ online interaction activities as classifier of student achievement. Subsequently, the results are transformed into useful information that may help educator in designing better learning instructions geared towards higher student achievement. Design/methodology/approach A soft computing model based on MOEA is proposed. It is tested on benchmark data pertaining to student activities and achievement obtained from the University of California at Irvine machine learning repository. Additional, a real-world case study in a distance learning institution, namely, Wawasan Open University in Malaysia has been conducted. The case study involves a total of 46 courses collected over 24 consecutive weeks with students across the entire regions in Malaysia and worldwide. Findings The proposed model obtains high classification accuracy rates at reduced number of features used. These results are transformed into useful information for the educational institution in our case study in an effort to improve student achievement. Whether benchmark or real-world case study, the proposed model successfully reduced the number features used by at least 48 per cent while achieving higher classification accuracy. Originality/value A soft computing model based on MOEA, namely, MmGA coupled with a DT-based classifier, in handling educational data is proposed.

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Socioeconomic Status and Student Achievement in Primary School Mathematics: A Case Study of Two New Zealand Schools

10.26686/wgtn.17018801.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Elizabeth Harrison

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Student Achievement ◽

New Zealand ◽

Mathematics Achievement ◽

Primary School ◽

Low Socioeconomic Status ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Opportunities To Learn ◽

Collective Case Study

<p>Existing research consistently identifies large differences in mathematics achievement between students from high and low socioeconomic status backgrounds. The link between socioeconomic status and student achievement has been repeatedly acknowledged throughout the literature, but reasons for this link are not yet fully understood. This study builds on existing international research, which identifies a large number of potential key influences for the disparity in mathematics achievement. The aim of this study was to identify which of the potentially key influences were possibly influencing student mathematics achievement in a high and a low decile New Zealand primary school, thereby suggesting ways to improve student mathematics achievement in the low decile school. Often, changes within education, including in many intervention programmes, are generic, made without identifying the specific needs of an individual school and its students. The tools developed during this research were designed to be used in schools, allowing evidence-based needs to be identified, and any changes made to be targeted at the specific needs of the school and its students. This research was conceived within a qualitative paradigm, and followed a collective case study design, focusing on two case schools, a high decile school (Pīwakawaka School), and a low decile school (Whio School). Data were collected through classroom observations, archival records, interviews, questionnaires, and physical artefacts, using tools specifically designed for this study. The data were analysed using grounded theory, allowing theories to emerge from the data. The data collected from each school were compared and two theories emerged. The first theory is that students in the high decile school appeared to be doing a greater amount of mathematics than students in the low decile school. The second theory is that students in the high decile school appeared to have more opportunities to learn new mathematics than students in the low decile school. Additionally, the findings suggested that, due to the complex nature of teaching, there was more than one key influence on student mathematics achievement contributing to each of these emergent theories. This research suggests that teachers at Whio School may be able to improve student achievement in mathematics by increasing both the amount of mathematics students interact with and the number of opportunities to learn new mathematics their students receive.</p>

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