Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2019, Educational Psychology

Today professions and post-secondary opportunities in the United States in the areas of science, technology, and engineering are continuously growing and requiring students to have complex understandings of mathematical concepts. As the demand for these professions continues to grow, mathematic achievement scores in the U.S. continue to decline. The current study seeks to examine if an alternative to explicit instruction, such as play, through a multiplication fluency game, can improve mathematic motivation and multiplicative fluency. Students in two third grade classrooms were given pre and posttest curriculum-based fluency tests and surveys focused on their attitude toward math to compare results between the treatment and control classrooms. The treatment classroom played a multiplication fluency game for three days a week for four weeks while the control classroom engaged in traditional instruction. Results were examined qualitatively and quantitatively to conclude that the play intervention appears to have no significance when compared to instruction without a fluency game on mathematical fluency scores.

Committee: Sarah Watt (Committee Chair); Doris Bergen (Committee Member); Brooke Spangler-Cropenbaker (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Mathematics; Mathematics Education

PHD, Kent State University, 2018, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the influence of social-emotional competence (SEC) and various other student- and school-level variables on the academic achievement of kindergarteners. Data were collected on a nationally representative cohort of kindergarteners as part of the United States Department of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K: 2011) beginning in fall 2010 (n = 18,174). As part of the ECLS-K: 2011, students were assessed via a wide range of sources of information about the children's development, early learning, and school progress. The obtained data were analyzed via Hierarchical Linear Modeling to investigate the influence of student- and teacher-level factors on student achievement. The study found the following: 1) that there was a significant amount of variability in children's mathematics and reading achievement in spring of kindergarten that is explained by school-level variables, as opposed to student-level variables; 2) that children's membership in particular racial groups, gender categories, and socioeconomic statuses all resulted in significant within-school mathematics and reading achievement gaps in spring of kindergarten, controlling for various student background characteristics; 3) that various school-level variables significantly contributed to models predicting children's spring kindergarten mathematics and reading achievement; and 4) children's poverty interacted with their school membership to affect spring kindergarten mathematics and reading achievement.

Committee: Jason Schenker PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Education; Education Policy; Educational Psychology; Educational Tests and Measurements; Mathematics Education; Preschool Education; Quantitative Psychology; Reading Instruction; School Administration

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand children's operations on fragmenting schemes while they are engaged with three different visual models, including circle, rectangle, and length model. This study was a sequential explanatory mixed method, which included two phases that happened sequentially with the dominant use of the quantitative approach. A fragmenting survey was given to 132 first and second grade students from three different schools located in the Midwestern U.S. Out of 132 participants who completed the test, 11 participants were purposefully selected for one-on-one clinical interviews. Results from the descriptive statistics showed that almost half of the students are at Level 1 of fragmenting. It implies that students are able to partition a model into a given number of parts but are not able to make the parts equal or exhaust the whole. Analysis of the Friedman test and clinical interviews showed that students performed better when partitioning models into even numbers than into odd numbers. Further, findings from comparing the circle, rectangle, and length models and their relation to children's fragmenting scheme suggest that children's fragmenting knowledge is consistent across the three visual models. However, the type of model operated on children's successful partitioning when they work with odd numbers of parts. The findings of the study suggested circle models can add an extra layer of difficulty for equal partitioning into third and fifth.

Committee: Karl Kosko (Committee Chair) Subjects: Mathematics Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

Mathematics concepts in early childhood education are often predictors later outcomes for student success, because mathematics is a foundational area of academics. The purpose of the research is to engage educators in conversations regarding experiential learning opportunities in early mathematics through curriculum planning and instructional practices that benefit young children in general and special education contexts. The three manuscripts presented explore topics of play-based instructional strategies that foster growth mindsets, utilizing differentiation strategies in mathematics, and comparing mathematics intervention strategies for children with speech or language impairments. Each manuscript brings unique opportunities for educators through underlying connections including foundational mathematics concepts, special factors that contribute to learning difficulties in mathematics, play-based learning, and instructional strategies. Throughout the research foundational early mathematics concepts and developmental trajectories are examined, specifically in the number sense domain, which is essential for constructing later mathematical concepts including logical thinking and arithmetic processes. Curriculum planning and instructional practices such as play-based experiential learning strategies, explicit instruction, differentiation, and repeated practice opportunities are imperative to creating engaging and meaningful learning experiences in an early childhood classroom. The major outcome of the research has been opening a discussion with educators, administrators, and other stakeholders regarding the importance of mathematics curriculum in early childhood educations. Implications for the field include aspects of teacher preparation courses, bolstering mathematics curriculum, incorporating a variety of research based instructional practices, and considering a diverse range of special factors when designing mathematics interventions. Through the research ed (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Sara Helfrich Dr. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Curriculum Development; Early Childhood Education; Instructional Design; Mathematics Education; Special Education

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2020, College of Education

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how early interventions impacted mid-sized urban districts affected by high student poverty in Ohio. Current research suggests that poverty affects a child's readiness for school and that early learning experiences may be necessary for academic success. As the researcher, I sought to understand how districts identified as “similar” based on size, location, and student population are performing at such varying levels of success or lack thereof as evaluated by the State of Ohio's District Report Card (Ohio Department of Education, 2019). This mixed methods study explored the impact of early learning interventions on academic success. For the qualitative portion, a series of observations and interviews were conducted to identify any common themes such as lack of time, resources, funding, and limited human capital to provide the needed interventions. For the quantitative portion, data was collected from the kindergarten readiness assessment (KRA) and the mandated third grade AIR test to determine what is occurring between kindergarten and third grade that may or may not be impacting test scores and student performance.

Committee: Judy Alston Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Constance Savage Ph.D. (Committee Member); Peter Ghazarian Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Elementary Education; Mathematics Education; Reading Instruction

Bachelor of Science, Ashland University, 2019, Mathematics/Computer Science

Mathematicians are actively trying to quantify many aspects of one of Americas favorite pastimes, sports, through various types of analysis. In this project, we will be answering the question, "How does early season winning percentage affect final regular season winning percentage?" focusing on theoretical probability. This question is an example of a conditional probability, the probability that an event occurs given another event occurs. We break down our general question into three different cases. First, we look at the case of a team having a constant probability of winning each game. Then we look at the case of a team having two different probabilities of winning each game, one for its first part of the season and one for its second part. Finally, we look at our most general case of a team having a different probability of winning each game. While these results can be generally applied to any sport and any league, after exploring our question with theoretical probabilities, we compare our theoretical results to statistics from the 1978 to 2017 seasons of the NFL.

Committee: Christopher Swanson PhD (Advisor); Gordon Swain PhD (Other) Subjects: Applied Mathematics; Mathematics; Statistics

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Curriculum and Instruction Mathematics Education (Education)

Financial literacy is an important life skill, yet how are we fostering understanding in our youngest students? Unless schools begin instruction on money concepts and skills at an early age, the majority of the students will not have the needed exposure until much later in their educational career. This study used a mixed methods research approach to explore kindergarten through second grade teachers' perspectives regarding the curriculum and instruction of financial literacy. The study had two main phases. Both phases consisted of a two-step process of data collection and analysis. Phase 1 was qualitative and comprised interviews of teachers who taught in K–Grade 2 at three schools in Ohio. The interviews were coded descriptively, and the author used codeweaving to analyze the data for common themes. From these results, an online survey was created and distributed in Phase 2. Phase 2 was quantitative and involved a survey of a broader sample of K–2 teachers in Ohio. This phase tested the veracity of the Phase 1 results. Phase 2 determined whether generalizations could be made regarding teachers' perceptions of students' prior knowledge and skills, and of students' cognitive readiness to understand financial literacy content. Perceptions from the two phases were triangulated with theory and research relating to child development to explore what, when, and how teachers are teaching money concepts and skills in their classroom. The findings indicate that K–2 teachers see value in teaching financial literacy concepts and skills in their classroom, but they are unsure of the expectations for implementation. In particular, the majority of the participants were unaware of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy's National Standards in K–12 Personal Finance Education and demonstrated confusion on state and Common Core standard expectations. During this study, making connections and providing students with genuine experiences were frequently iden (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gregory Foley (Advisor); Eugene Geist (Committee Member); Koestler Courtney (Committee Member); Machtmes Krisanna (Committee Member) Subjects: Applied Mathematics; Curricula; Early Childhood Education; Education; Educational Theory; Elementary Education; Finance; Literacy; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Pedagogy; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2015, Curriculum and Instruction (Education)

Elementary students in the United States struggle with mathematics and a source is mathematics anxiety. Young students with mathematics anxiety often have decreased mathematics achievement, avoid higher-level mathematics courses and mathematical careers. The purpose of this quasi-experimental multi-method study was to examine the effects of mathematics journals on third-graders; mathematics anxiety levels. The theoretical foundation of this study consisted of Vygotsky, Bruner, and Bronfenbrenner in accordance with an ethic of care, as proposed by Noddings and Collins. Thirty third-grade students completed the Anxiety Measure for pre and post-test; paired sample t-tests were used to analyze the results. The paired sample t-tests concluded that the Treatment Group had a statistically significant decrease from pre and post-test along with a statistically significant post-test between the Control and Treatment Group. The qualitative strand of the study for the Treatment Group consisted of researcher observations, researcher created daily mathematics prompts and mathematics thermometer to gauge students' daily mathematics anxiety levels. Students; physiological and psychological mathematics anxiety symptoms were recorded. Key results concluded that nine of the 22 days were categorized as high mathematics anxiety while 11 were low mathematics anxiety days. High mathematics anxiety days consisted of assessments, independent work, and little social interaction. Low mathematics anxiety days consisted of group work, games, computer lab, interactive lessons, and social interaction. A conclusion from this study is that mathematics journals can assist in ameliorating mathematics anxiety in early childhood classrooms. It is recommended that schools schedule professional development to properly train teachers in the implementation of mathematics journals in an affective manner. The inclusion of emotions in mathematics is an outlet for students that can lead to mathematics anxiety (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Eugene Geist (Committee Chair); Krisanna Machtmes (Committee Member); Katharine Sprecher (Committee Member); Gregory Janson (Committee Member) Subjects: Early Childhood Education; Education; Elementary Education; Teaching

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Special Education

Transcript analyses of classroom observations reveal how three preschool teachers use the language of math as they interact and engage children in Circle Time. Subsequent interviews analyze how they make sense of their own ability to transmit important mathematical concepts and expectations for all children, and how each teacher's language reflects her math efficacy, affecting the circular relationship between the teacher, her students and mathematics. Children may be capable of more math than we, as preschool teachers, are presenting in our daily activities and interactions with them. The present study considers the way preschool teachers use and think about mathematics, both in the classrooms and in general, in order to better understand how more robust mathematical content might be made available to children at the beginning of their formal education. I analyzed the subject-matter content in three separate and diverse preschool settings to illuminate some of these and related issues. A teacher's misperception of her own math knowledge capabilities and the knowledge potential of her students, may contribute to a lack of efficacy toward mathematics teaching and a pattern of negative perceptions toward the subject matter. At the confluence of teacher, child and subject matter, embedded in each school day activity, are preschoolers challenged to a degree that is more representative of their developing ability to incorporate mathematical understanding into their lives?

Committee: Sally Moomaw EdD (Committee Chair); Anne Bauer EdD (Committee Chair); Stephen Kroeger EdD (Committee Member); Peggy Elgas PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Preschool Education

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2008, Education : Special Education

The purpose of this research was the development of a valid and reliable mathematics curriculum-based measure (MCBM) that can be used by early childhood programs and teachers to assess Number sense,the ongoing development of quantitative reasoning, in preschool children. This is important in light of the current focus on program accountability, as exemplified by the National Reporting System instituted by Head Start, implications of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and the documentation of progress toward academic content standards required by many states. Previous attempts to develop assessment tools for measuring number sense have focused largely on memorized number facts and have not considered the pre-counting quantification skills described by Piaget and Kamii. Of further concern to educators is the difficulty in accurately assessing preschool children. For this reason, curriculum-based measures, which are aligned to classroom curriculum and can therefore inform planning and instructional decisions, are of particular interest. The hypothesis of the current research was that six measurable variables, quantification level, counting skills, comparison of sets, numeral recognition and understanding, combination of sets, and patterning, would make a significant contribution to the latent construct of number sense. The measurement tool was an interactive game, played between assessor and child, that consisted of a series of cards in a standardized order and teddy bear counters. The game was aligned to the curriculum of a licensed preschool center in Cincinnati, Ohio, from which a sample of 108 children, ages 3 to 5, was drawn during the 2006-07 school year. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the hypothesized model. Results indicated a good model fit: χ2 (3, N = 108) = 4.246, p = .236; NFI =.990; CFI = .997; and RMSEA = .062. In addition, all standardized path coefficients demonstrated both statistical (p < .001) and practical significance (β > .3) (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anne Bauer EdD (Committee Chair); Victoria Carr EdD (Committee Member); Peggy Elgas PhD (Committee Member); Wei Pan PhD (Other) Subjects: Educational Evaluation; Mathematics Education; Preschool Education; Special Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among perceived teacher affective support, sense of belonging, academic enjoyment, academic hopelessness, academic self-efficacy, and academic effort in middle school mathematics classrooms. The targeted relationships were examined through the test of a hypothesized structural model. Three urban and two suburban middle schools located in a Midwestern city participated in the study. Three hundred and seventeen seventh- and eighth-grade students taught by 10 mathematics teachers responded to a 55-item Likert-type self-report questionnaire. Findings were reported based on the reduced structural model. The results showed that perceived teacher affective support was significantly related to early adolescents' sense of belonging, academic enjoyment, academic hopelessness, academic self-efficacy beliefs, and academic effort outcomes. Overall, the model explained 48% of the variances in both sense of belonging and academic enjoyment, 43%, 34%, and 17% of the variances in academic self-efficacy, academic effort, and academic hopelessness, respectively. The implications for future research along with the limitations of the present study were discussed.

Committee: Anita Woolfolk Hoy (Advisor) Subjects: