Specialist in Education, Miami University, 2013, Educational Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mathematics fluency and mathematics anxiety in female elementary students. It was hypothesized that a mathematics fluency intervention (FASTT Math) would help students increase mathematics automaticity, and therefore decrease mathematics anxiety. Fourth grade female students' levels of mathematics anxiety were measured using the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale - Elementary (Suinn, Taylor, & Edwards, 1988). Students either received the FASTT Math intervention or typical classroom instruction. At the conclusion of the intervention, the subjects were reassessed using the MARS-E. Results indicated that students who completed the FASTT Math intervention did increase their automaticity, but did not experience significantly decreased levels of mathematics anxiety. This study supported the hypothesis that although female students typically perform at a similar level as their male peers in mathematics, they perceive their abilities as being significantly lower.

Committee: Raymond Witte PhD (Committee Chair); Susan Mosley-Howard PhD (Committee Member); Sally Lloyd PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Educational Technology; Gender; Gender Studies; Mathematics Education

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

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

This study investigated the efficacy of personalized math practice in improving math competence. Personalized practice combines the use of a math practice app with the presence of adult facilitators to give children the opportunity to practice math at their own individual level of competence. A community-based participatory research approach (CBPR) was used to test the efficacy of the personalized math practice with a group of children who have experienced homelessness. The personalized math practice was offered during a 7-week day camp organized by a nonprofit community organization. There were a total of 182 children who attended the camp, ages 5-13 years. Children were assessed on math fluency and math comprehension at the beginning and the end of the seven weeks. They were also given a survey designed to measure their regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE). The goal was to determine the effect of personalized math practice on children's math competence, taking into account their RESE scores. Findings suggest that personalized math practice led to improved math competence for some children. Specifically, the correlation between number of practice sessions and improvement in math competence was significantly above zero for children with high RESE scores, but not for children with low RESE scores. Additionally, highest learning was observed when children chose practice problems at an appropriate level of difficulty. These findings demonstrate that personalized math practice is a feasible option with the potential to improve math competence in a summer program for children from low-SES communities.

Committee: Heidi Kloos Ph.D. (Committee Chair); James Canfield (Committee Member); Casey Hord Ph.D. (Committee Member); Farrah Jacquez Ph.D. (Committee Member); Quintino Mano Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2022, Education

Mathematical fluency is important to students' foundational math development. Based on Ohio's state math standards, students should be fluent with their multiplication facts by third grade. However, many fifth grade students are entering the classroom not meeting those standards. For many years, educators relied on procedural strategies to teach and assess numerical fluency. In recent years the theoretical approach to teaching shifted from procedural to a more conceptual method. This shift moves from rote memorization and timed-tests to more meaningful activities such as fluency games, rich problems, and number talks. The theoretical foundation for this study is constructivism and the interventions provided students opportunities to communicate and construct their own thinking. This action research reports the effect that providing multiple strategies for solving problems had on fifth-grade students' numerical fluency. A multi-methods design was used which included a Multiplication Fluency Assessment, a Beliefs Questionnaire, and student interviews. Overall students reported that they did not enjoy using models or find them beneficial, however many used models in their work. Students did show growth in their computational accuracy as well as in the strategies they used to solve problems.

Committee: Michael Daiga (Advisor); Melanie Moss-Lenz (Committee Member); Hilllary Libnoch (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Elementary Education; Mathematics Education

MAE, Otterbein University, 2019, Education

In order to complete higher level math tasks, fluency of multiplication and division is crucial. Based on state standards, third grade students are expected to become fluent with multiplication and division facts from 0-100 by the end of the year. Throughout history many educators have relied on timed tests to teach and assess math fact fluency. Best practices for helping students become fluent with math facts is now highly debated. The purpose of this teacher action research study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using math fact games and visual math cards as means of distributed practice in order to achieve fluency with multiplication and division facts among a group of forty-seven, third-grade students in a suburban school district in Central Ohio. A mixed-method design was framed within a cycle of inquiry used in teacher action research, including a pre-assessment, student interviews, and summative assessments for data collection. The focus of the study was to implement research-based instructional strategies for boosting fluency of math facts, then assessing, student fluency. Data from the Post-Assessment, verbal assessment, rating scales, and interviews showed that students did in fact learn to multiply and divide when taught these strategies. Students reported that learning strategies were crucial, math games were helpful as well as enjoyable, and timed tests would cause anxiety. Moreover, the assessment used in this study was a more valid measure of what fluency in mathematics really encompasses. Regardless of the sequence in which the two strategies were introduced, all students demonstrated growth in strategy usage and efficiency over the two-week period.

Committee: Susan Constable Ph.D. (Advisor); Jeff Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Diane Ross Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Theory; Mathematics Education

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: School Psychology

This study compared the effects of the Detect, Practice, and Repair (DPR) intervention package versus traditional Cover, Copy, and Compare (CCC) procedures in increasing multiplication math fact accuracy and fluency using an alternating treatments design with a modified control condition. Interventions were administered one-on-one across 4 fourth grade students. Three mutually exclusive multiplication sets were used with one set being assigned to each condition. Effectiveness was assessed through traditional curriculum-based measurement (CBM) procedures and through flashcard card procedures to measure accuracy. In addition, the efficiency of each intervention (i.e., amount of learning per instructional minute) was calculated. Maintenance data were collected to determine if newly learned math facts would be better maintained when taught with the DPR intervention or with the traditional CCC intervention procedures. Social validity data were collected with teachers and students to determine whether one intervention was preferred over another. Although DPR has been examined in five published research studies, it has never been examined through a one-on-one implementation or in a study directly comparing its effectiveness, efficiency, maintenance, and social validity against another intervention. In addition, this study serves as a component analysis since CCC is one component of the DPR package.

Committee: Julie Morrison Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Anne Bauer Ed.D. (Committee Member); Renee Oliver Hawkins Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Education : School Psychology

This study investigated whether computer-assisted instruction (CAI) was effective in increasing the mathematics computational fluency of three female sixth grade students performing at the frustrational level (Shapiro & Lentz, 1986; Deno & Mirkin, 1977) in multiplication and division. The Key Skills (Sunburst Technology, 2003) computer program served as the independent variable. A multiple baseline design across subjects was chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of this CAI intervention (Cooper, Heron, & Heward, 1987) with correct digits per minute on timed skills probes serving as the dependent variable. In addition, work completion and accuracy were compared between CAI and seatwork. As a result of the CAI intervention, two of the three participants increased their fluency rates from baseline to intervention, although drastic changes in level or trend were not apparent. Definitive comparisons between each participant's work completion and accuracy during the CAI and seatwork conditions could not be made due to varying seatwork session length, inequitable opportunities to practice, and varying independent variable complexity. Teacher and student treatment acceptability ratings were highly favorable. Post-completion analysis of error rates led to discussion of future directions and next steps.

Committee: Francis Lentz PhD (Committee Chair); Renee Oliver Hawkins PhD (Committee Member); Stephen Kroeger EdD (Committee Member) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2011, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of private recording with and without public posting on the fluency of math facts for at-risk third graders. The study was conducted to determine to what degree private recording alone or private recording plus public posting would alter the number of correct digits students wrote during a two-minute timed math test of addition and subtraction facts. An alternating treatments design with initial baseline and final best treatment phase was utilized. The results in this study indicated that private recording and private recording plus public posting of goal attainment had a positive effect on increasing the number of correct digits written on timed math tests, although experimental control was not fully established.

Committee: Dr. Joe Wheaton PhD (Advisor); Dr. Moira Konrad PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education