This study examined the impact of a multi-year, large-scale professional development program on student achievement in mathematics and science. Math and science teachers at the elementary and secondary levels who participated in the professional development program were matched to a control group. Results revealed no differences in State of Texas…

MathForward is a program that provides teacher professional development and integrates the use of technology as a tool in the classroom. The present study examined students' mathematics growth from 2012 to 2013 and observed how students' mathematics scores changed after their school implemented the MathForward program. The sample consisted of two…

Evidence that teachers' short-term instructional effects persist over time and predict substantial long-run impacts on students' lives provides much of the impetus for a wide range of educational reforms focused on identifying and responding to differences in teachers' value-added to student learning. However, relatively little research has…

Piagetian theory describes mathematical development as the construction and organization of mental operations within psychological structures. Research on student learning has identified the vital roles of two particular operations--splitting and units coordination--play in students' development of advanced fractions knowledge. Whereas Steffe and…

This study focused on comparing mathematics teachers' qualifications, practices, and perceptions between Saudi and Taiwanese schools. Data analyzed in this study were the responses of mathematics teachers to the Teacher Background Questionnaire--8th Grade from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2007. The Saudi…

This work summarizes the results of two randomized control trails (RCTs) aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of a professional development program for lower secondary school math teachers. The program, called M@t.abel, was financed by the Ministry of Education in Southern Italy with EU funds. It lasts a full school year and it is based on formal…

This study utilized the student scores of eighth-grade mathematics students on the "Discovery Education Assessment," as well as the self-efficacy perceptions of eighth-grade mathematics teachers as determined by the "Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale" ("TSES") from seven middle schools that encompassed grades 6-8…

Value-added modeling (VAM), one class of statistical models used to estimate individual teacher's or school's contribution to student achievement based on student test score growth between consecutive years, has become increasingly popular in the last decades. Despite the increasing popularity of VAM, many researchers are concerned about the…

In this study, we examined how the relationships between one observation protocol, the Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observation (PLATO), and value-added measures shift when different tests are used to assess student achievement. Using data from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project, we found that PLATO was more strongly related to the…

Middle school students struggle to solve mathematical word problems and mathematics teachers require researched based strategies to use when instructing students. Drawing a picture or representation is a strategy that students frequently use, and the purpose of this study was to examine the effects that learner-generated drawing has on a student's…

This exploratory correlational study seeks to answer the question of whether a relationship exists between student average test score gains on state exams and teachers' rating of values on the Schwartz Values Survey. Eighty-seven randomly selected Kansas teachers of math and/or reading, grades four through eight, participated. Student test score…

Observational methods are increasingly being used in classrooms to evaluate the quality of teaching. Operational procedures for observing teachers are somewhat arbitrary in existing measures and vary across different instruments. To study the effect of different observation procedures on score reliability and validity, we conducted an experimental…

The study examined the impact of Teach for America (TFA) and The New Teacher Project's Teaching Fellows (TF) programs on the mathematics achievement of students in grades 6-12. TFA and TF provide alternative routes to teacher certification and aim to provide high-quality teachers to schools in low-income areas. TFA and TF were studied separately,…

Teacher evaluation is currently a major policy issue at all levels of the K-12 system driven in large part by current US Department of Education requirements. The main objective of this study is to explore the patterns of relationship between observational scores and value-added measures of teacher performance in math classrooms and the variation…

Algebra is a branch in mathematics and taking Algebra in middle school is often a gateway to advanced courses in high school. The problem is that the United States and Lebanon had low scores in Algebra in the 2007 Trends in Mathematics and Sciences Study (TIMSS), an international assessment administered to 4th and 8th graders every 4 years. On the…