In educational settings, reflective thinking is often overlooked, with an excessive emphasis on final answers, resulting in students needing more ability to evaluate and reconstruct their problem-solving processes. The ability for reflective thinking is required by students in solving problems, including numerical problems. This study uses a…

This study used a mixed methods approach to examine student access and achievement differences based on the students' 7th-grade mathematics class placement. Additionally, this study investigated the difference between teachers' perceptions and pedagogical decisions based on their students' placement levels. Finally, this study asked for teacher…

The achievement gap, or opportunity gap, in education is when one group of students outperforms another group of students in statistical category. For decades, these gaps been analyzed in an attempt to support students and close these differences in categorical scores. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to focus on closing the…

Background: Despite educational advances, poor mathematics achievement persists among K-12 students, particularly in rural areas with limited resources and skilled teachers. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based systems have increasingly been adopted to support the diverse learning needs of students and have been shown to enhance mathematics…

The current meta-analysis quantifies the average effect of worked examples on mathematics performance from elementary grades to postsecondary settings and to assess what moderates this effect. Though thousands of worked examples studies have been conducted to date, a corresponding meta-analysis has yet to be published. Exclusionary coding was…

Recent literature justifies the use of virtual learning in supporting middle-grades students' mathematical knowledge development and emphasizes the critical role of motivation in learning (Lo & Hew, 2020; Murphy et al., 2020; Spitzer & Musslick, 2021). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation both play a role in learning for middle-grades…

The design of the flipped classroom (FC) as a pedagogical approach is becoming increasingly prevalent in mathematics education. However, although many studies have been conducted on whether FCs are more effective in improving mathematics achievement compared to traditional lectures, the results are not consistent. To address this issue, this…

Vertical scales are frequently developed using common item nonequivalent group linking. In this design, one can use upper-grade, lower-grade, or mixed-grade common items to estimate the linking constants that underlie the absolute measurement of growth. Using the Rasch model and a dataset from Curriculum Associates' i-Ready Diagnostic in math in…

The Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary School Act (2015) mandates that from 2016 all middle schools in Korea must administer one semester as a free semester (FS), called an exam-free semester or, alternatively, a free learning semester. Consequently, some Korean parents and students have expressed a feeling of anxiety about having…

As the population of emergent bilingual students in the United States continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to ensure that content area instruction is linguistically and culturally inclusive and accessible. Longitudinal survey and state mathematics assessment data were used to examine how the use of students' home language in the…

Research on middle-level schools and student achievement revealed a drop in academic performance when students transitioned from elementary school to a traditional middle school. In the United States, the middle school years have historically seen a decline in student achievement following a transition from elementary school. According to the…

The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to explore the impact of targeted social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies on academic achievement at the middle school level, specifically in the area of mathematics. Three middle schools in a large Southern California K-12 school district were used in this study. This study…

Math Innovation Zones (MIZ) is a strategic grant initiative first introduced by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in 2018. A novel state-initiative aimed at increasing PreK - 8th grade math proficiency, the highly competitive grant program provides funding to both Texas school districts and open enrollment charter schools using allocations through…

The ability to apply mathematical knowledge to solve real-life problems is often considered one of the fundamental educational goals. However, more attention in mathematics education has been given to the development of abstract mathematical computations in symbolic form. The current investigation aims to disclose whether there are different…

Ecological factors, such as family involvement and school context, are important to consider in understanding middle schoolers' math development. In this study, we examined the relations of middle school student-reported parental monitoring and school climate as well as school-averaged teacher reports of school organizational health (OH) to…