Pub Date : 2024-05-22DOI: 10.1177/27527263241254496
Mao Li
This study was dedicated to developing the Scale of Mathematics Teachers’ Technology Integration (SMTTI), a comprehensive instrument designed to assess the competencies of primary mathematics teachers in integrating digital technologies. The research encompassed data collection through a web-based questionnaire distributed to mathematics teachers across Chongqing, China. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the SMTTI's efficacy as a measurement tool. These analyses established the robust reliability and validity of the SMTTI, affirming its effectiveness as an instrument for assessing the technology integration capabilities of mathematics teachers. The scale exhibited excellent psychometric properties, characterized by strong factor loadings, high internal consistency, and good model fit indices. The SMTTI advances educational technology research by providing a nuanced self-efficacy assessment tool that aligns with the emergent needs of post-pandemic education environments. Its distinctiveness lies in its empirical foundation and tailored approach to evaluating primary mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy for technology integration. The scale fills a critical gap in the existing literature by delivering a context-specific tool designed for the post-digital transition in educational practice, aiding in the formulation of targeted professional development programs and policy making. This addresses a need for updated instruments in the field, complementing the self-reported surveys focusing on practical application and current educational demands. The SMTTI contributes to refining the use of digital technology in educational settings by providing an instrument sensitive to the context-specific needs of teachers, thereby supporting more accurate instruments in this evolving domain.
{"title":"Assessing Chinese primary mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy for technology integration: Development and validation of a multifaceted scale","authors":"Mao Li","doi":"10.1177/27527263241254496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263241254496","url":null,"abstract":"This study was dedicated to developing the Scale of Mathematics Teachers’ Technology Integration (SMTTI), a comprehensive instrument designed to assess the competencies of primary mathematics teachers in integrating digital technologies. The research encompassed data collection through a web-based questionnaire distributed to mathematics teachers across Chongqing, China. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to determine the SMTTI's efficacy as a measurement tool. These analyses established the robust reliability and validity of the SMTTI, affirming its effectiveness as an instrument for assessing the technology integration capabilities of mathematics teachers. The scale exhibited excellent psychometric properties, characterized by strong factor loadings, high internal consistency, and good model fit indices. The SMTTI advances educational technology research by providing a nuanced self-efficacy assessment tool that aligns with the emergent needs of post-pandemic education environments. Its distinctiveness lies in its empirical foundation and tailored approach to evaluating primary mathematics teachers’ self-efficacy for technology integration. The scale fills a critical gap in the existing literature by delivering a context-specific tool designed for the post-digital transition in educational practice, aiding in the formulation of targeted professional development programs and policy making. This addresses a need for updated instruments in the field, complementing the self-reported surveys focusing on practical application and current educational demands. The SMTTI contributes to refining the use of digital technology in educational settings by providing an instrument sensitive to the context-specific needs of teachers, thereby supporting more accurate instruments in this evolving domain.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141112544","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}
Pub Date : 2024-01-03DOI: 10.1177/27527263231219543
Kashfia Latafat
In our educational institution, despite significant progress in educational achievements, there is a prevalent issue of mathematics lessons focusing on rote memorization and superficial understanding, leading to learner dissatisfaction. This study presents a research project conducted by a group of five individuals, including myself as a teacher researcher and four other teachers. The project aimed to address this issue by employing a participatory action research approach. Through innovative planning, teaching, and evaluation methods, the research group successfully demonstrated how making mathematics more relevant and meaningful can increase student engagement and agency. The collaborative nature of the group fostered self-awareness among the teacher researchers regarding social justice issues within their mathematics classrooms. The research project highlighted the potential of mathematics as a powerful tool for developing students’ understanding of social justice issues and establishing meaningful connections between these issues and mathematical concepts. Importantly, the project emphasized the significance of student agency, showcasing how collaborative and problem-solving approaches to teaching, coupled with student autonomy in selecting issues to explore and mathematical procedures to apply, can contribute to the development of student agency.
{"title":"Teaching mathematics from the lens of social justice in a Pakistani classroom","authors":"Kashfia Latafat","doi":"10.1177/27527263231219543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231219543","url":null,"abstract":"In our educational institution, despite significant progress in educational achievements, there is a prevalent issue of mathematics lessons focusing on rote memorization and superficial understanding, leading to learner dissatisfaction. This study presents a research project conducted by a group of five individuals, including myself as a teacher researcher and four other teachers. The project aimed to address this issue by employing a participatory action research approach. Through innovative planning, teaching, and evaluation methods, the research group successfully demonstrated how making mathematics more relevant and meaningful can increase student engagement and agency. The collaborative nature of the group fostered self-awareness among the teacher researchers regarding social justice issues within their mathematics classrooms. The research project highlighted the potential of mathematics as a powerful tool for developing students’ understanding of social justice issues and establishing meaningful connections between these issues and mathematical concepts. Importantly, the project emphasized the significance of student agency, showcasing how collaborative and problem-solving approaches to teaching, coupled with student autonomy in selecting issues to explore and mathematical procedures to apply, can contribute to the development of student agency.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"120 15","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139387778","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-07DOI: 10.1177/27527263231217575
Juan de Dios Viramontes-Miranda, Mario Sánchez Aguilar
This study delves into the nuanced process of calculus textbook selection by university mathematics lecturers. Drawing from a conceptual framework that encompasses various selection criteria, including culture-driven, student-driven, resource-driven, teacher-driven, mathematics-driven, and constraints-driven factors, the research examines the predominant criteria guiding lecturers’ choices. Data from participating lecturers reveal a multifaceted decision-making process. “Culture-driven selection” emerges as a significant criterion, indicating the influence of curriculum committees. Additionally, educators prioritize “student-driven selection,” valuing accessibility and contextualization, while also favoring textbooks with abundant resources and problems. The study underscores the complexity of textbook selection, shedding light on how instructors navigate educational, commercial, and student-centered considerations. These findings offer insights beneficial for textbook authors and publishers, useful for the creation of resources aligned with educators’ preferences.
{"title":"Exploring criteria for university mathematics teachers’ selection of calculus textbooks","authors":"Juan de Dios Viramontes-Miranda, Mario Sánchez Aguilar","doi":"10.1177/27527263231217575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231217575","url":null,"abstract":"This study delves into the nuanced process of calculus textbook selection by university mathematics lecturers. Drawing from a conceptual framework that encompasses various selection criteria, including culture-driven, student-driven, resource-driven, teacher-driven, mathematics-driven, and constraints-driven factors, the research examines the predominant criteria guiding lecturers’ choices. Data from participating lecturers reveal a multifaceted decision-making process. “Culture-driven selection” emerges as a significant criterion, indicating the influence of curriculum committees. Additionally, educators prioritize “student-driven selection,” valuing accessibility and contextualization, while also favoring textbooks with abundant resources and problems. The study underscores the complexity of textbook selection, shedding light on how instructors navigate educational, commercial, and student-centered considerations. These findings offer insights beneficial for textbook authors and publishers, useful for the creation of resources aligned with educators’ preferences.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"48 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138593136","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-01DOI: 10.1177/27527263231217826
Yiling Yao, Suijun Jia, Jinfa Cai
Problem posing has long been recognized as a critically important teaching method and goal in the area of mathematics education. However, few studies have used problem posing to assess in-service teachers’ mathematical understanding. The present study investigated in-service teachers’ mathematical understanding of fraction division, which is often considered challenging content in elementary school, from three angles: computation, drawing, and problem posing. Two studies involving 66 and 193 primary and middle school teachers were conducted to reveal the in-service teachers’ mathematical understanding and whether drawing and problem posing affected each other. Although the in-service teachers rarely had the opportunity to pose mathematical problems in their daily teaching, they were able to pose mathematical problems in this study. In addition, problem-posing tasks were more useful in diagnosing the in-service teachers’ conceptual understanding than were computation or drawing. Thus, problem posing seems to have contributed to their conceptual understanding of fraction division on the drawing task.
{"title":"Beyond computation: Assessing in-service mathematics teachers’ conceptual understanding of fraction division through problem posing","authors":"Yiling Yao, Suijun Jia, Jinfa Cai","doi":"10.1177/27527263231217826","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231217826","url":null,"abstract":"Problem posing has long been recognized as a critically important teaching method and goal in the area of mathematics education. However, few studies have used problem posing to assess in-service teachers’ mathematical understanding. The present study investigated in-service teachers’ mathematical understanding of fraction division, which is often considered challenging content in elementary school, from three angles: computation, drawing, and problem posing. Two studies involving 66 and 193 primary and middle school teachers were conducted to reveal the in-service teachers’ mathematical understanding and whether drawing and problem posing affected each other. Although the in-service teachers rarely had the opportunity to pose mathematical problems in their daily teaching, they were able to pose mathematical problems in this study. In addition, problem-posing tasks were more useful in diagnosing the in-service teachers’ conceptual understanding than were computation or drawing. Thus, problem posing seems to have contributed to their conceptual understanding of fraction division on the drawing task.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"99 ","pages":"413 - 429"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139015813","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}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1177/27527263231210322
Qiang Cheng, Jinkun Shen, Shaoan Zhang
This study examined the alignment and predictive power of instructional practices as reported by teachers, students, and external raters by using the Shanghai data that included 85 teachers and 2,613 students who participated in the Global Teaching Insights study. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis along with ordinary least square regression indicate that the same four conceptual components including classroom discourse (e.g., allowing students to explain their ideas and engage in peer discussions), meaning-making (e.g., explaining why a mathematical procedure works), cognitive activation (e.g., encouraging students’ critical thinking in solving complex tasks), and clarity instruction (e.g., teachers’ giving clear explanation of subject matter) were identified in the instructional practices reported by teachers and their students. The cognitive activation factor in the data reported by teachers emerged as the most significant predictor of students’ post-test scores, whereas the classroom discourse factor in the data reported by students accounted for the largest portion of variance in students’ post-test scores. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that the alignment between ratings reported by students and external raters was the highest, and student ratings of their mathematics teachers’ instructional practices demonstrated the highest predictive power for students’ post-test scores. Results of this study provide important empirical evidence for the merit of cognitive activation and classroom discourse in mathematics teaching and inspire researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers to pay careful attention to student-reported instructional practices that can serve as a better source of data in measuring mathematics teaching quality.
{"title":"Comparing perceived and observed instructional practices and their predictive power for student mathematics achievement: An analysis of Shanghai data from OECD global teaching inSights","authors":"Qiang Cheng, Jinkun Shen, Shaoan Zhang","doi":"10.1177/27527263231210322","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231210322","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined the alignment and predictive power of instructional practices as reported by teachers, students, and external raters by using the Shanghai data that included 85 teachers and 2,613 students who participated in the Global Teaching Insights study. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis along with ordinary least square regression indicate that the same four conceptual components including classroom discourse (e.g., allowing students to explain their ideas and engage in peer discussions), meaning-making (e.g., explaining why a mathematical procedure works), cognitive activation (e.g., encouraging students’ critical thinking in solving complex tasks), and clarity instruction (e.g., teachers’ giving clear explanation of subject matter) were identified in the instructional practices reported by teachers and their students. The cognitive activation factor in the data reported by teachers emerged as the most significant predictor of students’ post-test scores, whereas the classroom discourse factor in the data reported by students accounted for the largest portion of variance in students’ post-test scores. Furthermore, our analysis revealed that the alignment between ratings reported by students and external raters was the highest, and student ratings of their mathematics teachers’ instructional practices demonstrated the highest predictive power for students’ post-test scores. Results of this study provide important empirical evidence for the merit of cognitive activation and classroom discourse in mathematics teaching and inspire researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers to pay careful attention to student-reported instructional practices that can serve as a better source of data in measuring mathematics teaching quality.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"45 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135320947","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}
Pub Date : 2023-10-12DOI: 10.1177/27527263231203056
Allen Leung
This commentary paper is a pedagogical reflection on the interplay between variation and invariant. It begins with a brief discussion on the concept of Unity of Opposites as an ancient philosophical theme. Ancient thinking systems regarded the variation and invariant pair as a Unity of Opposites. Next, the use of variation as a pedagogical approach in mathematics education is briefly examined under Marton's variational theory of learning, Gu's bianshi jiaoxue, and the related research done by the author in the context of Dynamic Geometry Environment (DGE). These lead to the formation of the concept of variational thinking, the main contribution of this paper, which is presented and explained. A DGE task design sequence example is presented to illustrate how variational thinking can be used to frame a process of geometrical reasoning and argumentation.
{"title":"A pedagogical reflection on the interplay between variation and invariant: Variational thinking","authors":"Allen Leung","doi":"10.1177/27527263231203056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231203056","url":null,"abstract":"This commentary paper is a pedagogical reflection on the interplay between variation and invariant. It begins with a brief discussion on the concept of Unity of Opposites as an ancient philosophical theme. Ancient thinking systems regarded the variation and invariant pair as a Unity of Opposites. Next, the use of variation as a pedagogical approach in mathematics education is briefly examined under Marton's variational theory of learning, Gu's bianshi jiaoxue, and the related research done by the author in the context of Dynamic Geometry Environment (DGE). These lead to the formation of the concept of variational thinking, the main contribution of this paper, which is presented and explained. A DGE task design sequence example is presented to illustrate how variational thinking can be used to frame a process of geometrical reasoning and argumentation.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135969131","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}
Pub Date : 2023-10-03DOI: 10.1177/27527263231194470
Bing Hiong Ngu, Huy P. Phan, Kian Sam Hong, Hasbee Usop
We conducted a cross-cultural experimental study, consisting of Australian students ( N = 57) and Malaysian students ( N = 75) on learning to solve one-step and two-step linear equations. Central to our research inquiry is the perceived difference between two instructional methods: the balance method of learning vs. the inverse method of learning. The balance method and the inverse method differ in their use of mathematical operations to solve linear equations (e.g., +4 on both sides, balance operation, vs. –4 becomes +4, inverse operation). According to cognitive load theory, the balance operation imposes twice the level of element interactivity (i.e., interaction between elements) than that of the inverse operation. Our findings, ascertained from univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing, show that for the Australian students, the balance group outperformed the inverse group. Such results do not support our hypothesis and contradict with previous findings, where the inverse group outperformed the balance group in a Malaysian context. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups of Malaysian students. In line with our hypothesis, the Malaysian students outperformed the Australian students with respect to the inverse method. We attributed the results, in part, to the impact of prior knowledge of the balance method (Australian students) and the inverse method (Malaysian students) upon subsequent learning of linear equations. Nonetheless, given that the differential level of element interactivity favors the inverse method, we advocate the exploration of the potentiality of the inverse method for enhancing the learning of linear equations.
{"title":"Is the inverse method more effective than the balance method on learning linear equations? A cross-cultural experimental study between Australia and Malaysia","authors":"Bing Hiong Ngu, Huy P. Phan, Kian Sam Hong, Hasbee Usop","doi":"10.1177/27527263231194470","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231194470","url":null,"abstract":"We conducted a cross-cultural experimental study, consisting of Australian students ( N = 57) and Malaysian students ( N = 75) on learning to solve one-step and two-step linear equations. Central to our research inquiry is the perceived difference between two instructional methods: the balance method of learning vs. the inverse method of learning. The balance method and the inverse method differ in their use of mathematical operations to solve linear equations (e.g., +4 on both sides, balance operation, vs. –4 becomes +4, inverse operation). According to cognitive load theory, the balance operation imposes twice the level of element interactivity (i.e., interaction between elements) than that of the inverse operation. Our findings, ascertained from univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) testing, show that for the Australian students, the balance group outperformed the inverse group. Such results do not support our hypothesis and contradict with previous findings, where the inverse group outperformed the balance group in a Malaysian context. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups of Malaysian students. In line with our hypothesis, the Malaysian students outperformed the Australian students with respect to the inverse method. We attributed the results, in part, to the impact of prior knowledge of the balance method (Australian students) and the inverse method (Malaysian students) upon subsequent learning of linear equations. Nonetheless, given that the differential level of element interactivity favors the inverse method, we advocate the exploration of the potentiality of the inverse method for enhancing the learning of linear equations.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"212 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135738551","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}
Pub Date : 2023-09-01DOI: 10.1177/27527263231203092
Russina A Eltoum
This research explores the type of conceptual difficulties that female Saudi students encounter in Introductory Algebra courses at college level and identifies pedagogical practices that might impact students’ learning of algebra. Instructional tasks were designed and implemented for 12 weeks to collect and analyze data. The research sample consisted of a study group of 28 students from an Introductory Algebra class. The findings identified and classified the types of difficulties that the students encountered and suggested instructional models to overcome or minimize them and a theme to teach and learn algebra.
{"title":"The conceptual difficulties Saudi female ELL students encountered in learning algebra: A case of a college preparatory program","authors":"Russina A Eltoum","doi":"10.1177/27527263231203092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/27527263231203092","url":null,"abstract":"This research explores the type of conceptual difficulties that female Saudi students encounter in Introductory Algebra courses at college level and identifies pedagogical practices that might impact students’ learning of algebra. Instructional tasks were designed and implemented for 12 weeks to collect and analyze data. The research sample consisted of a study group of 28 students from an Introductory Algebra class. The findings identified and classified the types of difficulties that the students encountered and suggested instructional models to overcome or minimize them and a theme to teach and learn algebra.","PeriodicalId":474788,"journal":{"name":"Asian journal for mathematics education","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135690582","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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