Very few Lebanese students have been able to perform at the highest level in mathematics and science in TIMSS, leading to the belief that current curricula and/or pedagogies are not supporting our highly able students to realize their potentials. In this research, we investigate how the national Policy documents and the mathematics and science centralized curricula, and textbooks address the needs of highly able students. Teachers’ perceptions and role in providing for the educational needs of highly able is also examined. Through qualitative methods, the following data sources were used to address the research aim: policy document analysis, curriculum analysis, and teacher interviews. Findings indicated no specific policy for highly able students in Lebanon and little evidence of curricular provisions and attention to the needs of highly able learners in the mathematics and science national curricula and textbooks. The resultant data also provided important insights into the limited knowledge of teachers in the area of supporting highly able learners. The findings of the current study will inform the efforts of the policy makers and the Ministry of Education faced with the challenge of effectively educating their most able students.
{"title":"Investigating the status of highly able students through the lens of the Lebanese national policy and the mathematics and science centralized curricula and textbooks","authors":"Maya Antoun, Rayya Younes, Sara Salloum","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12569","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12569","url":null,"abstract":"Very few Lebanese students have been able to perform at the highest level in mathematics and science in TIMSS, leading to the belief that current curricula and/or pedagogies are not supporting our highly able students to realize their potentials. In this research, we investigate how the national Policy documents and the mathematics and science centralized curricula, and textbooks address the needs of highly able students. Teachers’ perceptions and role in providing for the educational needs of highly able is also examined. Through qualitative methods, the following data sources were used to address the research aim: policy document analysis, curriculum analysis, and teacher interviews. Findings indicated no specific policy for highly able students in Lebanon and little evidence of curricular provisions and attention to the needs of highly able learners in the mathematics and science national curricula and textbooks. The resultant data also provided important insights into the limited knowledge of teachers in the area of supporting highly able learners. The findings of the current study will inform the efforts of the policy makers and the Ministry of Education faced with the challenge of effectively educating their most able students.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69239832","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniel Machado, Nuno R. O. Bastos, Andreia Hall, Sónia Pais
This work intends to disseminate a didactic experience in mathematics, in times of pandemic, in an emergency remote teaching situation, at the Portuguese School of Cape Verde, using the Desmos digital platform. The topic addressed was the study of the volume of geometric solids. The main objective was to contribute to the learning of mathematical concepts, using digital tools that promote students’ autonomy while respecting their learning pace, thus improving teaching practices through more assertive methodologies and more innovative resources. In order to understand how the Desmos platform contributes to improve the learning of geometry an explanatory case study was conducted. The participants in the study are 9th grade students from a Cape Verde school. Preliminary analysis of the data collected through several techniques, using diverse data collecting mechanisms, indicates that the contribution is very positive with clear advantages in the construction of knowledge on the part of the students, centered in a logic of skill development.
{"title":"Volume of geometric solids on the Desmos platform – A didactic experience in Cape Verde","authors":"Daniel Machado, Nuno R. O. Bastos, Andreia Hall, Sónia Pais","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12788","url":null,"abstract":"This work intends to disseminate a didactic experience in mathematics, in times of pandemic, in an emergency remote teaching situation, at the Portuguese School of Cape Verde, using the Desmos digital platform. The topic addressed was the study of the volume of geometric solids. The main objective was to contribute to the learning of mathematical concepts, using digital tools that promote students’ autonomy while respecting their learning pace, thus improving teaching practices through more assertive methodologies and more innovative resources. In order to understand how the Desmos platform contributes to improve the learning of geometry an explanatory case study was conducted. The participants in the study are 9th grade students from a Cape Verde school. Preliminary analysis of the data collected through several techniques, using diverse data collecting mechanisms, indicates that the contribution is very positive with clear advantages in the construction of knowledge on the part of the students, centered in a logic of skill development.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Climate education is becoming a key educational issue of our time. This also brings with it increased demands for educational research in this area. One important question is how climate attitudes are constructed to support students’ willingness to act towards climate change. In this paper, we explore how participatory, holistic and community-based learning approaches influence the construction of climate attitudes in school students from the Czech Republic, Portugal, and the UK (n=473; M=13.49 years). Students’ perceptions of different educational strategies were nearly the same across countries. Girls perceive holistic, values-based teaching more strongly. Of the strategies studied, holistic education has the greatest influence on the formation of climate attitudes (β=0.34 for climate change beliefs, β=0.32 for climate change intentions), and community-based teaching has a partial influence (β=0.13 for climate change intentions). It is thus the use of holistic and community-based educational approaches that is key to the successful implementation of climate education.
{"title":"The impact of educational strategies on primary school students’ attitudes towards climate change: A comparison of three European countries","authors":"R. Kroufek, Karel Nepraš","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12945","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12945","url":null,"abstract":"Climate education is becoming a key educational issue of our time. This also brings with it increased demands for educational research in this area. One important question is how climate attitudes are constructed to support students’ willingness to act towards climate change. In this paper, we explore how participatory, holistic and community-based learning approaches influence the construction of climate attitudes in school students from the Czech Republic, Portugal, and the UK (n=473; M=13.49 years). Students’ perceptions of different educational strategies were nearly the same across countries. Girls perceive holistic, values-based teaching more strongly. Of the strategies studied, holistic education has the greatest influence on the formation of climate attitudes (β=0.34 for climate change beliefs, β=0.32 for climate change intentions), and community-based teaching has a partial influence (β=0.13 for climate change intentions). It is thus the use of holistic and community-based educational approaches that is key to the successful implementation of climate education.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The issue of students’ difficulties in processing operations with percentages has been addressed in several international research studies from a qualitative perspective. In this study, we analyze students’ difficulties on this topic, focusing on the transition from middle school to high school with a mixed methods research design. We focus on students’ responses in a specific task belonging to the Italian large-scale assessment analyzed through the Rasch model, and we deepen the task analysis thanks to interviews, which enlightened image schemas and metaphors underlying students’ reasoning. From the qualitative point of view, the Rasch model shows that students’ difficulties in dealing with percentages is a macrophenomenon that involves the higher levels of competences. From the qualitative point of view, the metaphoric approach outlines the image schemas that foster the correct conceptualization of percentage and those that hinder their correct learning and can be one of the possible causes of the emerging aforementioned macrophenomenon.
{"title":"The role of metaphors in interpreting students’ difficulties in operating with percentages: A mixed method study based on large scale assessment","authors":"Chiara Giberti, G. Santi, Camilla Spagnolo","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12642","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12642","url":null,"abstract":"The issue of students’ difficulties in processing operations with percentages has been addressed in several international research studies from a qualitative perspective. In this study, we analyze students’ difficulties on this topic, focusing on the transition from middle school to high school with a mixed methods research design. We focus on students’ responses in a specific task belonging to the Italian large-scale assessment analyzed through the Rasch model, and we deepen the task analysis thanks to interviews, which enlightened image schemas and metaphors underlying students’ reasoning. From the qualitative point of view, the Rasch model shows that students’ difficulties in dealing with percentages is a macrophenomenon that involves the higher levels of competences. From the qualitative point of view, the metaphoric approach outlines the image schemas that foster the correct conceptualization of percentage and those that hinder their correct learning and can be one of the possible causes of the emerging aforementioned macrophenomenon.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Taught to non-mathematics undergraduates (business, science, engineering, and other technical programs), service mathematics is commonly associated with poor exam performance and low skill/knowledge attainment. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the range of factors thought to impact mathematics performance in higher education and establish which of the variables (i.e., motivation, mathematical background, growth mindset, preference for understanding, and time invested in independent learning) are of value in explaining the differences in students’ performance in service mathematics modules. A survey of first year business and engineering students who sat service mathematics modules was conducted. A multivariable proportional odds regression model was applied to detect and evaluate the association of each explanatory variable with mathematics performance. Motivation was found to be an important contributor to mathematics performance in first year service modules (p£0.05), second only to mathematical background (p<0.001). The work also investigated trends in motivation for studying mathematics across different student cohorts, where a significant difference in motivation was found between business and engineering students (p<0.001). The findings are discussed in terms of implications for learners and educators and should be of interest to fellow academics, those tasked with improving retention rates and policy makers.
{"title":"Is motivation the key? Factors impacting performance in first year service mathematics modules","authors":"Maryna Lishchynska, Catherine Palmer, Seán Lacey, Declan O’Connor","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12529","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12529","url":null,"abstract":"Taught to non-mathematics undergraduates (business, science, engineering, and other technical programs), service mathematics is commonly associated with poor exam performance and low skill/knowledge attainment. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the range of factors thought to impact mathematics performance in higher education and establish which of the variables (i.e., motivation, mathematical background, growth mindset, preference for understanding, and time invested in independent learning) are of value in explaining the differences in students’ performance in service mathematics modules. A survey of first year business and engineering students who sat service mathematics modules was conducted. A multivariable proportional odds regression model was applied to detect and evaluate the association of each explanatory variable with mathematics performance. Motivation was found to be an important contributor to mathematics performance in first year service modules (p£0.05), second only to mathematical background (p<0.001). The work also investigated trends in motivation for studying mathematics across different student cohorts, where a significant difference in motivation was found between business and engineering students (p<0.001). The findings are discussed in terms of implications for learners and educators and should be of interest to fellow academics, those tasked with improving retention rates and policy makers.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49598672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this study, we have explored the ways in which small-group work in science can contribute to strengthen multilingual students’ subject language and conceptual development when working with language-oriented classroom activities in primary classrooms. The aim is to determine whether it is possible to identify factors in interactions in small-group work that strengthen and facilitate the students’ language development. We have focused on how students orally formulate themselves when describing observations, hypotheses, and explanations of certain scientific experiments on the properties of air. An important starting point has been that students’ successive development of a subject-specific language is crucial for their conceptual development and understanding. The analyses of the dialogues have made it possible to study how individual students gradually develop their way of expressing themselves by taking over others’ expressions and word choices and making their own. The analysis also shows that these dialogical situations are crucial for all students to develop their language use in science, primarily through probing a more precise way of expressing themselves and putting their scientific ideas and thoughts into words. An important conclusion is that students should be offered opportunities and space to develop their subject language register in science and that this is important for all students, but crucial for those for whom the language of instruction is a second language.
{"title":"Subject-language perspectives on multilingual students learning in science","authors":"Anders Jakobsson, Marilyn Kouns","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12568","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12568","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we have explored the ways in which small-group work in science can contribute to strengthen multilingual students’ subject language and conceptual development when working with language-oriented classroom activities in primary classrooms. The aim is to determine whether it is possible to identify factors in interactions in small-group work that strengthen and facilitate the students’ language development. We have focused on how students orally formulate themselves when describing observations, hypotheses, and explanations of certain scientific experiments on the properties of air. An important starting point has been that students’ successive development of a subject-specific language is crucial for their conceptual development and understanding. The analyses of the dialogues have made it possible to study how individual students gradually develop their way of expressing themselves by taking over others’ expressions and word choices and making their own. The analysis also shows that these dialogical situations are crucial for all students to develop their language use in science, primarily through probing a more precise way of expressing themselves and putting their scientific ideas and thoughts into words. An important conclusion is that students should be offered opportunities and space to develop their subject language register in science and that this is important for all students, but crucial for those for whom the language of instruction is a second language.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69239769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lorenzo Facciaroni, Alessandro Gambini, Lorenzo Mazza
This paper focuses on the difficulties encountered by Italian students in performing geometry tasks. A quantitative analysis, aimed at understanding the extent of the phenomenon, is carried out using the results of district competitions from the year 2018 to 2020, comparing the scores obtained in geometry questions with those in other areas of Olympic mathematics. In addition, the answers given by the students to a questionnaire administered at the end of the 2020 district competition are analyzed in order to better understand possible motivations behind the phenomenon in question. The results obtained need further confirmation through future research on the topic but represent clear trends worthy of further investigation.
{"title":"The difficulties in geometry: A quantitative analysis based on results of mathematics competitions in Italy","authors":"Lorenzo Facciaroni, Alessandro Gambini, Lorenzo Mazza","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12590","url":null,"abstract":"This paper focuses on the difficulties encountered by Italian students in performing geometry tasks. A quantitative analysis, aimed at understanding the extent of the phenomenon, is carried out using the results of district competitions from the year 2018 to 2020, comparing the scores obtained in geometry questions with those in other areas of Olympic mathematics. In addition, the answers given by the students to a questionnaire administered at the end of the 2020 district competition are analyzed in order to better understand possible motivations behind the phenomenon in question. The results obtained need further confirmation through future research on the topic but represent clear trends worthy of further investigation.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69239953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This mixed-method study, which aimed to examine the development of teacher candidates, was organized as a design-based study. During the 14-week instructional sequence, pre-service teachers were given training based on the designed hypothetical learning trajectory. The data collected through the lesson plans before and after the training and interviews were organized and analyzed by using the rubric prepared within the scope of Web 2.0 tools by the researchers. Moreover, the pre-training and post-training scores obtained using this performance rubric were analyzed with the related sample t-test. In addition, learning packages and interviews were analyzed using content analysis technique. The findings showed that there was an improvement in the technological pedagogical content knowledge of the pre-service mathematics teachers with the training provided for the use of Web 2.0 tools in mathematics education. In the study, an alternative educational content that can be used in lessons related to instructional technologies in undergraduate programs that train mathematics teachers has been prepared.
{"title":"Development of TPACK with Web 2.0 tools: Design-based study","authors":"Tugba Uygun, A. Sendur, R. Dere, Bilal Ozcakir","doi":"10.30935/scimath/12907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12907","url":null,"abstract":"This mixed-method study, which aimed to examine the development of teacher candidates, was organized as a design-based study. During the 14-week instructional sequence, pre-service teachers were given training based on the designed hypothetical learning trajectory. The data collected through the lesson plans before and after the training and interviews were organized and analyzed by using the rubric prepared within the scope of Web 2.0 tools by the researchers. Moreover, the pre-training and post-training scores obtained using this performance rubric were analyzed with the related sample t-test. In addition, learning packages and interviews were analyzed using content analysis technique. The findings showed that there was an improvement in the technological pedagogical content knowledge of the pre-service mathematics teachers with the training provided for the use of Web 2.0 tools in mathematics education. In the study, an alternative educational content that can be used in lessons related to instructional technologies in undergraduate programs that train mathematics teachers has been prepared.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Technology is recognized for its potential to implement exploration tasks. The ease and speed with which it becomes possible to observe many cases of a situation, allows the development of conjectures and brings conviction about their veracity. Mathematical proof, assumed as the essence of Mathematics, tends to appear to the students as something dispensable. Based on KTMT – Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology model, this study intends to understand the impact of the teachers’ knowledge on mathematical proof in a context of technology integration. The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative methodology, based on case study, analyzing the practice of one teacher. The conclusions emphasize the relevance of the teacher’s MTK – Mathematics and Technology Knowledge, and TLTK – Teaching and Learning and Technology Knowledge. The teacher's MTK guides her decisions, leading her to focus on helping students understand the meaning of conjecture and proof, valuing, at the same time, the relevance of algebraic manipulations. However, the teacher’s TLTK guides her practice, where the knowledge about the students is determinant. The study provides evidence about the difficulty of articulating proof and technology, but it also clarifies the relevance of this articulation and of how the teacher’s KTMT can impact the teacher’s decisions.
{"title":"The impact of teachers' knowledge on the connection between technology supported exploration and mathematical proof","authors":"Helena Rocha","doi":"10.30935/scimath/13285","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/13285","url":null,"abstract":"Technology is recognized for its potential to implement exploration tasks. The ease and speed with which it becomes possible to observe many cases of a situation, allows the development of conjectures and brings conviction about their veracity. Mathematical proof, assumed as the essence of Mathematics, tends to appear to the students as something dispensable. Based on KTMT – Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology model, this study intends to understand the impact of the teachers’ knowledge on mathematical proof in a context of technology integration. The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative methodology, based on case study, analyzing the practice of one teacher. The conclusions emphasize the relevance of the teacher’s MTK – Mathematics and Technology Knowledge, and TLTK – Teaching and Learning and Technology Knowledge. The teacher's MTK guides her decisions, leading her to focus on helping students understand the meaning of conjecture and proof, valuing, at the same time, the relevance of algebraic manipulations. However, the teacher’s TLTK guides her practice, where the knowledge about the students is determinant. The study provides evidence about the difficulty of articulating proof and technology, but it also clarifies the relevance of this articulation and of how the teacher’s KTMT can impact the teacher’s decisions.","PeriodicalId":36049,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"69240585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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