Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of the creative reversal act (CREACT) used in teaching ecosystems topics on the creativity levels of middle school students. Research Methods: The research was conducted using a quasi-experimental design, a quantitative research method, and a pretest-posttest control group design. The…

Difficulties in mathematics learning are a multi-faceted issue and the role of language in it is crucial. Language of mathematics includes mathematics text, discourse in classroom and language used in evaluation situations with its specific verbal, symbolic expressions, structure and function. Ambiguity arising from the difference between formal…

Recent studies [10, 23] using US nationwide databases showed high school boys spent significantly less time doing homework than girls, based on their responses to questionnaires and surveys. To investigate gender differences in homework in middle school, in this paper, we analyzed computer log data and standardized test scores of more than 1,000…

The purpose of this study was to investigate a new methodology for detection of differences in middle grades students' math anxiety. A mixture partial credit model analysis revealed two distinct latent classes based on homogeneities in response patterns within each latent class. Students in Class 1 had less anxiety about apprehension of math…

Math homework is transforming at a rapid rate with the continuous advances in educational technology. Computer-based homework, in particular, is gaining popularity across a range of schools, with little empirical evidence on how to optimize student learning. In the current study, middle school students (N = 143) solved a set of challenging…

This study examined different approaches to integrating engineering practices in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units. These various approaches were correlated with student outcomes on engineering assessment items. There are numerous reform documents in the USA and around the world that emphasize the need to…

This paper addresses the participation of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream schools. There are different benefits for ASD students to be educated in an inclusive environment (Gena, 2006; Whitaker, 2004). They challenge the school community by presenting difficulties in essential domains for school activities (Chamberlain,…

This study investigates how 217 students in Years 5, 6 and 7 from three schools in Nanjing, China, link number and algebra (called relational thinking in this study). It categorizes their performances in terms of five levels, and uses these levels to create profiles of algebraic thinking across Years 5, 6, and 7. The study examines the…

Data from a larger study were used to identify variables that best predict children's perceived usefulness of mathematics [PUM]. Gender differences in PUM scores were also explored using a sample of 300 grade 7 children and 225 parents from February to May 2011 in Mozambique. Surveys and interviews were used to collect data. Consistent with…

This paper explores how curriculum and classroom conceptual and procedural emphases affect the learning of algebra for students of color. Using data from a longitudinal study of the Connected Mathematics Program (CMP), we apply cross-sectional HLM to lend explanatory power to the longitudinal analysis afforded by Growth Curve Modeling that we have…

Research into integrating technology such as iPads into the curriculum for students with disabilities is still new. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the use of a basic math skill application on an iPad to increase basic math fluency. As part of a classwide academic intervention, the study was conducted with 10 students with…

A study in an urban public school indicated that the number and degree of discipline problems teachers faced in their classrooms were unrelated to the teachers' agreement with parents or students on disciplinary approaches, and were also unrelated to whether the teachers, their students, or the students' parents endorsed any of the three major…

Recent research has distinguished between the components of competency and affect in students' academic self-concept. The competency component operates on the basis of a comparison with peers. This comparison may lead to a big-fish-little-pond (BFLP) effect. To investigate the sustainability of the BFLP effect, a sample of 7th graders from 6…

Multiple matrix sampling is a sampling design in which both test items and examinees are randomly sampled from their respective populations. This study was designed to develop and assess a method for computing an estimate of a correlation coefficient when a multiple matrix sampling design is used. The examinee populations included 212 third-grade…

Addressing a common problem in the analysis of social networks, this study describes quantitative techniques for identifying social subgroups using individual perceptions of social affinities within natural groups. Compared are four analytic methods for abstracting composite representations of sub-structures. These methods, formally evaluated…