Reference / Taylor, J. M. (2008). The effects of a computerized- algebra program on mathematics achievement of college and university freshman enrolled in a developmental mathematics course. Journal of College Reading and Learning , 39 (1), 35-53.
Purpose / The purpose was to look at differences in student achievement in a web-based, computer-assisted curriculum in remedial math classes as compared to classes that use traditional lecture methods.
Research Questions / 1. Does a mastery learning perspective of remediation make a difference in mathematics achievement?
2. What differences exists between students using the web-based algebra program compared to those students in traditional based lectures?
3. Are there any differential mathematics effects for either group based on demographic factors?
4. Do differences emerge between the two groups of students in their perceived level of mathematics anxiety?
5. Are the students’ attitude toward mathematics a factor in student’ inability to be successful in intermediate algebra?
Participants / 54 freshman students enrolled in the experimental courses, 39 control students enrolled in traditional lecture courses. These students were male and female, white, African American, and Hispanic.
Methods / This was a quantitative study. The dependent variable was the 54 students enrolled in the experimental classes. The independent variable was the 39 students enrolled in traditional classes. The instruments used were (a) National Achievement Test, First Year Algebra Test, (b) Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, (c) Fennema and Sherman scales
Data Analysis / Not reported
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / The internal consistency reliability was .926 for the F-S scales pretest and .929 for the posttest.
Results/Findings / Students of the web-based class performed as well as the control group taught by lecture. The anxiety of the experimental group decreased more than the control group while the attitude of the experimental group improved at a greater rate than the control group.
Implications / In future studies the researcher needs to go to the colleges and administer the surveys to ensure a larger sample size.
Reference / Isernhagen, J. C. (1999). Technology: A major catalyst for increasing learning. T H E Journal , 27 (1), 30.
Purpose / The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in teachers’ and students’ use of technology in the classroom and determine the changes in reading and math achievement for students in grades 1-3 over a three year period.
Research Questions / 1. Did the teacher’s involvement in staff development activities focusing upon the use of technology and constructivism impact the type of activities used with students in the classroom?
2. Did students with 2.5 years use of the Integrated Learning Lab show greater gains in reading and math than students with one or two years of use?
3.Did students who started below the 50th percentile make greater gains in reading and math than students who started with test scores about the 50th percentile?
Participants / A rural school district in Nebraska with 65 1st -3rd graders
Methods / This was a qualitative study.
Students used an integrated learning system, and skills were tested annually on a California Achievement Test (CAT)
Data Analysis / Not included
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / Not included
Results/Findings / CAT scores in reading and math for students using the Integrated Learning Lab for 2.5 years showed significant increases over time.
Implications / Include provisions for a larger sample involving a variety of settings including rural, urban, and suburban.
Reference / Ysseldyke, J., & Bolt, D. M. (2007). Effect of Technology-Enhanced Continuous Progress Monitoring on Math Achievement. School Psychology , 36 (3), 453-467.
Purpose / To investigate the effect of teacher use of Am to monitor the progress of students in elementary and middle school classrooms and to manage their instruction based on the results of the progress monitoring.
Research Questions / 1. Is there significant improvement on standardized math tests for students in classrooms implementing the progress monitoring compared to control classrooms?
2. To what extent are there differences in implementation of the progress monitoring in elementary versus middle schools?
3. What is the range of variability in implementation?
Participants / The schools that applied for the study had to have at least three teachers per grade level willing to use the assessment at the elementary level and at least two classes of students per content area in the middle schools. The sample included 8 schools in 7 school districts, in 7 states, historically disadvanged groups, and schools receiving Title I funds.
Methods / This is a quantitative study. Forty one classrooms were considered treatment classes and 39 classrooms were included in the control group.
The start math assessment, Tera Nova Tests were used
Data Analysis / Regression Analysis, One-way analyses of variance
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / Limitation- Many teachers chose not to implement the progress monitoring system
Results/Findings / Students whose teachers use continuous progress monitoring and instructional management systems significantly outperformed those teachers whose teachers solely used the math curricula being used in their district.
Implications / Not given
Reference / Papanastasiou, E. C., & Bottiger, L. (2004). Math Clubs and their potentials: making mathematics fun and exciting. A case study of a math club. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology , 35 (2), 159-171.
Purpose / The purpose of this study is to describe the results obtained from a survey whose goal was to examine the combination of variables that have contributed to the success of a middle school math club.
Research Questions / What characteristics of this math club are so appealing to the students who attend it?
What are the possible reasons that motivate these students to attend the club.
Participants / 31 5th graders, 32 6th graders, 28 7th graders, 16 8th graders. 59.8 % were female and 40.2% were male. These were students who participated in a math club voluntarily at St. Paul’s Middle School.
Methods / Qualitative study. Students were asked to complete a questionnaire.
Data Analysis / Data was analyzed descriptively in the form of means and percentages.
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / One limitation was one conclusion could not be reached. It was not possible to tell whether the high mathematics performances of the students within the school on standardized tests was due to the math club or not.
Results/Findings / Of the participants 60.7% earned A’s , 32.7% earned B’s, and 6.5% earned a C in the academic year.
Implications / Not given
Reference / Heller, J. I., Curtis, D. A., Jaffe, R., & Verboncoeur, C. J. (n.d.). Impact ofHandheld Graphing Calculator Use on Student Achievement in Algebra 1.
Purpose / The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between the use of handheld graphing calculators and student achievement in Algebra 1.
Research Questions / 1. How is graphing calculator use during classroom instruction related to student
achievement in Algebra 1?
2. How is teacher professional development in graphing calculator use related to student
achievement in Algebra 1? and
3. How are teacher experience using the Discovering Algebra textbook, and extent of
textbook use, related to student achievement in Algebra 1?
Participants / To be eligible to participate in this study, a district had to have a minimum of 150 high school students enrolled in Algebra 1 in classes in which the textbook, Discovering Algebra: An Investigative Approach (Murdock, Kamischke, & Kamischke, 2002) was used. Two districts—one in the Northwestern United States and the other in the Midwest—were both suburban with largely white populations. From these districts, 11 teachers and 458 students from 21 class sections in four schools participated in this study.
Methods / This was a quantitative study. The independent variable was the dichotomous distinction between the two groups formed by the particular questionnaire item, and the dependent variable was the end-of-course algebra test scores.
Two teacher surveys and an End of Course Test were used as instruments
Data Analysis / T-Tests and Regression Analysis
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / Not given
Results/Findings / Results showed that the more access students had to graphing calculators, and the more instructional time in which graphing calculators were used, the higher the test scores. In addition, scores were significantly higher where teachers reported receiving professional development on how to use a graphing calculator in math instruction.
Implications / Not given
Reference / Matzen, N. J., & Edmunds, J. A. (2007). Technology as a Catalyst for Change: The Role of Professional Development. Journal of Research on Technology in Education , 39 (4), 417-430.
Purpose / To examine the relationship between a professional development program, teacher’s instructional us of technology, and their broader instructional practices.
Research Questions / Not given
Participants / There were 148 K-5 elementary educators, two rural schools, and Roberta Spaulding an African- American educator of twenty seven years.
Methods / This was a mixed methods evaluation that used surveys, case studies, teacher reflections, interviews, and feedback .
Data Analysis / Data was analyzed using Anova, pair t-tests, pearson product-moment correlations.
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / A validity study was conducted to determine the content of the survey questions used. As a result, four of the questions were removed from the survey.
Results/Findings / There was a significant positive correlation between the change in general instruction practices an the change in the instructional use of computers.
Implications / Additional research needs to be done to examine the long-term effects of professional development that models the use of technology in constructivists learning environment.
Reference / Zhang, Y. (2006). An experiment on mathematics pedagogy: Traditional method versus computer-assisted instruction. McNeese State University, Lake Charles, LA.
Purpose / To determine the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI)versus traditional lecture type instruction.
Research Questions / Will there be increased student achievement in the students who receive instruction using CAI versus students who only receive instruction using traditional lectures?
Participants / 108 6th grade students. Fifty-three students participated in experiment 1 and fifty five participated in experiment 2.
Methods / This was a quantitative study that had a control and experimental group.
Data Analysis / Independent t-tests were used to analyze data
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / The limitation was the single unit (triangle terminology) in a certain period of time.
Results/Findings / The analyses revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the students’ achievement in the control and experimental groups.
Implications / Further research is needed to examine effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction with an extended time span.
Reference / Chuang, Y.-R. (n.d.). Teaching in a multimedia computer environment: A study of the effects of learning style, gender, and math achivement. Interactive Multimedia Electronic Journal of Computer-Enhanced Learning .
Purpose / To investigate the presentation effects of ext, oral narration, and computer animation implemented in an instructional lesson, and to examine individual differences which affect student’s learning in a multimedia computer environment.
Research Questions / 1. What is the most effective way to combine text, voice, and computer animation in the presentation of instructional material?
2. What type of student benefits from each of the three presentation methods?
Participants / 175 seventh grade students from eight classes of a rural junior high school in Taipei, Taiwan. Before the experiments, an embedded figure test was administered to roughly 330 students. Students from the top 25% and bottom 25% were chosen. Ninety of the students chosen were males while eighty-five of the students were female.
Methods / This was a quantitative study where a ten item paper pencil posttest was the dependent variable and the independent variable was the interface.
Data Analysis / Anova and least square means tests were used to analyze data.
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / Not given
Results/Findings / It was found that the animation +text+ voice interface was the strongest for students with low math achievement.
Implications / Not given
Reference / Judge, S. (2005). The impact of compuer technology on academic achievement of young african american children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education , 20 (2).
Purpose / To describe young African American children’s access to computers as they start their formal schooling and the relationship between academic achievement and computer use.
Research Questions / 1. What opportunities do young African American children have to use computers in the school and home.?
2. Is there a relationship between academic achievement and computer resources and use?
3. Are there differences in frequency of computer use according to academic achievement and school poverty concentration?
Participants / 1601 African-American kindergarten -1st graders in 274 public schools.
Schools are classified by their concentration of low-income children
Slightly more boys than girls (48.4 %)
93.7 % were first time kindergarteners.
51.6% of the families lived at or above the poverty level
65% of the children lived in single-parent homes
Methods / This was a qualitative study that used the Item Response Theory(IRT) scale scores and the Early Childhood Longitudinal study, Kindergarten (ECLS-K). Parent interviews, teacher and administrator questionnaires were also used.
Data Analysis / One way ANOVA tests were used to analyze data
Limitations/Reliability
Validity / Test reliabilities of the IRT-based reading and math scores were between .92 and .95 for all assessments.
Results/Findings / A positive relationship was found between African –American children’s academic achievement, frequency of computer use, presence of a computer area in the classroom, child/computer ratio and access to a home computer.
Implications / Not given
Reference / Middleton, B. M., & Murray, R. K. (1999). The impact of instructional technology on student academic achievement in reading and mathematics. International Journal of Instructional Media , 26 (1).
Purpose / To investigate how the levels of technology implementation by fourth and fifth grade teachers affected student achievement in reading and mathematics.
Research Questions / Not given
Participants / Fourth and Fifth grade teachers and their students from elementary schools in a South Carolina school district.
107 teachers, 15 elementary schools, 1466 fourth graders, 1108 fifth graders
Methods / The Levels of Technology Implementation (LoTi) and the Metropolitan Achievement Tests Seventh Edition (MAT7) were used to collect data
Data Analysis / One way ANOVA