Math Learning Research Articles

Contemporary Mathematics Learning: Instagram-based math learning medium increased elementary school students' math literacy

Modern education has shifted from teacher-centred to student-centred. This transition occurs because educators today work as instructional designers, facilitators, trainers, and learning administrators. Globalization and millennial students are destroying traditional schooling. Technology use is rising. This has adverse effects since youngsters are unwilling to utilize books to improve their mathematical literacy. This happens when pupils need help conceiving, applying, and comprehending mathematical concepts. To improve students' mathematical literacy, a teacher must create modern materials. This study is about R&D. This research produced a math learning tool for 12th-graders. The software emphasizes three-dimensional materials and is based on GeoGebra and Instagram. This study uses the Four-D development model: definition, design, development, and deployment. Modern three-dimensional educational materials made with Canva are the results of this research study. These contents will then be posted on Instagram. This essay will comprehensively analyze data collection, analysis, and Instagram content publishing. Currently, this research is in development, not distribution. Test sheets and questionnaires are used. Observation, interviews, questionnaires, and testing collect data. After observation and interviews, a questionnaire is distributed to finish the study. Pre- and post-tests assessed how GeoGebra Instagram content affected students' understanding of "point-to-point distance" in three-dimensional material. The article will detail this media's methods and results.

Training Executive Functions Within the Mathematical Domain: A Pilot Study with an Integrated Digital‐Paper Procedure in Primary Second‐Grade

AbstractInterventions targeting cognitive control processes, such as Executive Functions (EF) have recently been experimented to enhance early math skills. This pilot study explored the feasibility and effectiveness of an intervention integrating EF activities into the mathematical domain among second‐grade students. One hundred and four typically‐developing‐children were assigned to either a group that underwent the intervention (Trained Group; n = 58) or a group that continued with daily didactic activities (Control Group; n = 46). The training lasted for 8 weeks and included both home‐based digital and school‐based paper activities. According to teachers' feedback, the intervention was highly appreciated by children and compatible with classical school curricula. The Trained Group improved in behavioral self‐regulation, math abilities and problem‐solving in comparison to the Control Group. Notably, within the Trained Group, benefits of the training were higher in children with high working memory. This training offers a model to support math learning in primary school, considering inter‐individual differences in EF.

Alur belajar perbandingan trigonometri dengan konteks bianglala

The Ferris wheel is one of the rides at the night bazaar and is often encountered by students. This is a potential for math learning. Through Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) approach, students learn mathematics with contexts close to students' lives as a starting point. Therefore, this study aims to design a learning trajectory using the RME approach with a Ferris wheel as a context in the learning process to support students' understanding of learning trigonometric comparison. The research method used is a type of design research called validation studies, which consists of three stages: preliminary design, design experiment, and retrospective analysis. The subjects of this study were 27 class X students from SMAN 3 Sungai Penuh. The instruments used are videos to see the learning process and when students work on the given problems, and photos to see the results of student work. The results of the study explored the learning trajectory practiced by using the Ferris wheel as a context, which is seen in students' daily activities. The learning trajectory consists of four activities, namely sketching a simpler Ferris wheel, redrawing the parts of the Ferris wheel where seats A and B are, measuring and comparing sides in a right triangle, and determining trigonometric comparisons.

Parent-Focused Interventions to Support Children’s Early Math Learning

Even before starting formal schooling, children show substantial variations in math skills suggesting that the home learning environment plays an important role in shaping young children’s math skills. Here, I review interventions aimed at providing young children with opportunities to learn math at home to identify what types of parent-guided activities may be effective at improving young children’s math. I also review interventions that may impact the frequencies and quality of the learning opportunities that parents provide to their children even if benefits for children’s math outcomes were not found or have not been tested yet. While some studies show that parent-guided math activities can impact children’s math skills, future work should carefully consider for whom interventions are most effective as both child and parent characteristics such as children’s general cognitive skills or foundational number skills as well as parents’ attitudes toward math may impact the effectiveness of the interventions.

Remote tutoring with low-tech means to accelerate learning: Evidence for El Salvador

This paper presents the results of an impact evaluation with an experimental design, that estimates the effect of a low-tech low-cost remote tutoring intervention applied during the pandemic for remedial education purposes on girls and boys aged 9-14 years in three departments of El Salvador. Our main contributions are a) the provision of strong experimental evidence that the intervention can improve student math learning in developing countries for closing education gaps; and b) the measurement of student anxiety levels before and after the treatment, which allows verifying whether student-tutor interactions mitigated some of the negative socioemotional effects of student confinement. The program is found to have had a positive and significant effect of 0.24 standard deviations on math learning, which is equivalent to a 33.8 percent acceleration as compared to the control group. However, no significant effects were observed on student anxiety levels, which suggests that the academic gains were not mediated by these types of socioemotional factors. The results provide valuable information for the design of tutor training and for the development of tutoring protocols, among other aspects, for future similar programs.

Digital Game Applications on Mathematics Achievement of Students at Risk of Mathematics Learning Difficulty

In this study, the effect of four operations-based digital game applications on the basic mathematics skills of students at risk of math learning difficulties was examined. In this context, the study was designed as a mixed research method. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used in two separate interactive phases following an exploratory design scheme. The study was conducted with seven 5th grade students from two primary schools in two provinces in the Mediterranean region. A pre-test was administered to the students and a 10-session intervention was conducted. Finally, a post-test was administered after the intervention. Participants' responses to the pre-test and post-test were analysed. Shapiro-Wilk test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyse quantitative data, and descriptive analysis technique was used to analyse qualitative data. At the end of the study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the parents of the students. The results of the study showed that the intervention positively affected the academic achievement of the students and the interviews with the parents supported this result. At the end of the study, it can be said that mathematics education with students at risk of mathematics learning difficulties gave positive feedback in the learning domain of numbers and operations, and it may be useful to carry out applications in other learning domains.

Assessment of math abilities before school entry: a tool development

IntroductionThe years preceding school entry are pivotal for children to develop fundamental skills that bolster their learning in literacy and math in the following years. Skills like counting and subitizing stand as key predictors of future math abilities. Hence, the availability of universal screening tools is vital to promptly identify children who are lacking in these skills, allowing for tailored classroom practices to meet their needs. This study aimed to develop a mathematical screening tool and assess its psychometric properties.MethodsThe tool encompasses both group and individual tasks, to evaluate counting, cardinality, subitizing, quantity discrimination, addition, and subtraction. The tool was administered twice to 257 children, aged 5-6, in their final year of kindergarten in Portugal, at both the start and end of the school year.ResultsThe findings reveal that the tasks generally present a low level of difficulty, especially by the end of kindergarten. Factor analysis demonstrated an adequate structure, and all dimensions showed high internal consistency (>0.80). There was a medium-to-high intercorrelation among the various tasks. Correlations between task scores at the beginning and end of the school year were high. Furthermore, scores across all tasks correlated with math achievement in the first grade of primary education.DiscussionThese outcomes suggest that the tool is both valid and reliable, making it a useful resource for assessing and intervening in math skills during the critical years before school entry.

Blood lead levels and math learning in first year of school: An association for concern

Lead is a well-known neurotoxicant that continues to affect children's cognition and behavior. With the aim to examine the associations of lead exposure with math performance in children at the beginning of formal schooling, we conducted a cross-sectional study of first-grade students from 11 schools in Montevideo, Uruguay. Math abilities were assessed with tests from the Batería III Woodcock-Muñoz (Calculation, Math Facts Fluency, Applied Problems, Math Calculation Skills and Broad Maths). Separate generalized linear models (GLM) tested the association of blood lead level (BLL) and each math ability, adjusting for key covariates including age and sex, maternal education, household assets and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment Inventory score. In a complete-case of 252 first-grade students (age 67–105 months, 45% girls), mean ± SD blood lead level was 4.0 ± 2.2 μg/dL. Covariate-adjusted logistic models were used to examine the association between childhood BLLs and the odds of low math performance. BLL was negatively associated with scores on the Calculation test (β (95% CI): −0.18 (−0.33, −0.03)), Math Calculation Skills (−1.26 (−2.26, −0.25)), and Broad Maths cluster scores (−0.88 (−1.55, −0.21)). Similarly, performance on the Calculation test, as well as cluster scores for Broad Maths and Math Calculation Skills differed between children with BLLs <5 and ≥ 5 μg/dL (p < 0.01), being lower in children with higher BLLs. Finally, considering the likelihood of low test performance, each 1 μg/dL higher B–Pb was related to 27% higher likelihood for Maths Facts Fluency, 30% for Broad Math and Math Calculation Skills, and 31% for Calculation (p < 0.05). These results suggest that lead exposure is negatively associated with several basic skills that are key to math learning. These findings further suggest that the cognitive deficits related to lead exposure impact student achievement at very early stages of formal education.

The Relationship Between Basic Cognitive Skills and Math Learning Disabilities in The First Grade

The Relationship Between Basic Cognitive Skills and Math Learning Disabilities in The First Grade

MENINGKATKAN HASIL BELAJAR MATEMATIKA MELALUI MODEL PEMBELAJARAN PROBLEM BASED LEARNING DENGAN PEMANFAATAN MEDIA QUIZIZZ PADA SISWA KELAS 5 SDN WONOSARI 2

By using Quizizz media and a problem-based learning model, this study aims to improve the mathematics learning outcomes of fifth grade students of SDN Wonosari 2. A classroom action research design with a structured action cycle was used in this study. V grade students of SDN Wonosari 2 in the second semester of the 2022/23 school year were the subject of this study. Student learning outcomes in mathematics are the focus of this study. While the instrument used for data collection is a math learning outcomes evaluation test. Descriptive analysis is the method of data analysis. The average value of mathematics learning achievement at least KKM = 75 with 85 percent completeness is the benchmark for the success of this study. The results obtained from this study are before being given action or pre-cycle the average math learning outcomes of 56.25 and only 5 students or 31.25% are complete. In cycle I it increased, the average student math learning outcomes were 70 and there were 8 students or 50% who completed learning math. While in cycle II, the average student learning outcomes reached 86.25 and there were 14 students or 87.5% who completed learning mathematics. This study shows that using the Problem Based Learning learning model using Quizizz media can improve the learning outcomes of mathematics data collection and presentation material.

Positive math attitudes are associated with greater frontal activation among children from higher socio-economic status families

Math learning is explained by the interaction between cognitive, affective, and social factors. However, studies rarely investigate how these factors interact with one another to explain math performance. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the interaction between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children's math attitudes. To this aim, 57 children solved multiplication problems inside the scanner. We measured parental SES by creating two groups based on parents' occupations and measured children's math attitudes using a questionnaire. We ran a cluster-wise regression analysis examining the interaction between these two variables while controlling for the main effects of SES, math attitudes, and full IQ. The analysis revealed a cluster in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which was due to children with positive math attitudes from high socio-economic status families showing greater IFG activation when solving large multiplication problems as compared to their negative attitudes high SES peers, suggesting that they exhibited more retrieval effort to solve large multiplication problems. We discuss how this may be because they were the only ones who fully engaged in math opportunities provided by their environment.

An Accessible Maths Journey

The four narratives that follow bring together the stories from the lived experiences of a post-graduate blind maths student, her tutor, her transcriber and a learning technologist over the course of five years. It provides an insight into what is needed to help one student with their own way of learning maths. It also demonstrates how pulling at one thread can help to unravel and reveal the many lenses through which accessible maths needs to be approached.

The Marginal Returns to Distance Education: Evidence from Mexico’s Telesecundarias

This paper analyzes a large-scale and long-running distance education program in Mexico. We estimate marginal treatment effects (MTEs) for learning in math and Spanish in telesecundarias relative to traditional Mexican secondary schools using an empirical framework that allows for unobserved sorting on gains. The estimated MTEs reveal that school choice is not random and that the average student experiences significant improvements in both math and Spanish after just one year of attendance in telesecundarias. We find that the existing policy reduces educational inequality, and our policy-relevant treatment effects show that expanding telesecundarias would yield significant improvements in academic performance. (JEL I21, I24, I26, I28, O15)

PBL-STEM Integrated Interactive E-Module in Improving Creative Thinking Skills and Collaboration Skills: Needs Analysis in Biology Education

STEM is a learning approach that integrates science and math learning through scientific processes, technology and engineering, and mathematical analysis to develop 21st-century skills. One of them is creative thinking skills and collaboration skills, namely thinking skills that involve cognitive, analytical, rational, and logical processes and invite Biology Teacher Candidates to do reflective thinking about problems. The application of STEM integrated with problem-based learning (PBL) and packaged in E-modules will produce creative individuals through creative thinking skills and collaboration. This research design uses qualitative description. This study aims to determine the need of teaching materials in the form of PBL-STEM-based E-Modules in improving the creative thinking skills and collaboration skills of Biology Teacher Candidates. The subjects of this study were 172 Biology Teacher Candidates and 39 Biology education lecturers. Data collection was done by distributing questionnaires. The results of data analysis showed that there were only 28.2% of lecturers and 23.5% of Biology Teacher Candidates using e-modules in biology learning. 100% of lecturers and 87.5% of Biology Teacher Candidates stated the need for PBL-STEM integrated interactive e-modules in Biology learning, and there were 94.9% of lecturers and 98.8% of Biology Teacher Candidates considered it necessary to master creative thinking skills and collaboration skills.

Integration Strategies of Information Technology in Mathematics Education and Student Motivation Enhancement

Abstract Integrating information technology with the curriculum has been closely watched by the educational community, and how well the two are integrated determines the effectiveness of mathematics education. This paper proposes an implementation scheme for mapping mathematical knowledge. Firstly, the Word2vec word vector model is used to acquire data from the original mathematical text, and then the Conditional Random Field model is used to extract the knowledge entities, and the Markov Logic Nets are used to extract the relationships between the knowledge entities. Then, the Path Ranking algorithm is utilized on the basis of entity alignment to realize the knowledge inference of the subject knowledge graph and mine the learning paths in the knowledge graph. Through the experimental and questionnaire methods, it was found that the math scores of the experimental class before the comparison experiment increased by 9.4337 points, which was significantly ahead of the control class. The average number of students who thought knowledge mapping teaching greatly improved their interest in math learning was 46.81%, while 31.29% believed that the new method had a relatively positive impact on their motivation to learn. It shows that knowledge mapping can be an effective method of teaching information technology.

Technology Fusion in Assessment: Test Anxiety and Academic Achievement in Tertiary Institutions

The fusion of computer technologies has had a remarkable impact on contemporary culture, as computers have a substantial impact on practically all aspects of learning; nonetheless, some students have claimed that they still feel uncomfortable when using computers. Test anxiety related to computer–assisted assessment (CAA) is a main factor that is expected to influence students’ academic achievement. Learning math in the digital environment could be a challenging process for students which could increase anxiety levels among them. The current quantitative research study pursues to measure students’ levels of anxiety that result from learning and assessment with computers and discover whether anxiety level is associated with students' academic achievement in tertiary institutions. Descriptive analysis and Correlation Coefficient are the employed statistical techniques to achieve the study objectives. Findings demonstrated that more than 90% of the sample identified with low anxiety levels and there is a noteworthy negative correlation between anxiety levels and students’ academic achievement in math. The findings have implications for practice in the higher education sector in instructional design and university counselling services.

The value of math and spatial learning with Loren Frank

The value of math and spatial learning with Loren Frank

Factors Influencing Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematics Performance: A Scoping Review towards Learning Optimization Directives

This scoping review determined the factors contributing to the mathematics anxiety and its effect on the mathematics performance among Filipino high school students. This aimed to describe the extent and nature of the literature on math anxiety and math performance, and to identify gaps to guide future directions in Math teaching and learning optimization in the Philippines. The keywords used to search existing evidence on Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Semantic Scholar, Crossref, and Web of Science databases were mathematics anxiety, mathematics performance, factors, high school, and Philippines. A review of 13 out of 950 published studies in indexed journals from 2014 to 2024, in the English language, were selected for this scoping review using the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Of the 13 included studies, a number of studies were published between 2014-2019 (n=5, 38%) and 2020-2024 (n=8, 62%). There were 10 (77%) quantitative, 1 (8%) qualitative article, and 2 (15%) mixed methods, with sample sizes ranging from 8 to 379. It is concluded that there is an inverse relationship between Math anxiety and Math performance – the higher the math anxiety level, the poorer the math performance. Furthermore, there are multidimensional factors contributing to Math Anxiety and Performance including student factors, teacher factors, home environment and relationship, Learning environment, subject factors, cultural orientation, and Peer factor. Identifying the most common contributory factors is crucial in developing targeted interventions. An evidence-based dedicated learning optimization plan is needed to provide information that will guide the teachers for Math performance enhancements.

Measuring the Efficacy of Zearn Math in Louisiana

This study examines the impact of an online math learning program on third through fifth grade math achievement in Louisiana. Employing Zearn Math usage metrics and administrative data from the Louisiana Department of Education, the results indicate that grade levels that programmatically used Zearn Math scored, on average, about .03 standard deviation units higher on Louisiana’s statewide math assessment. A placebo test using English-language arts scores and several robustness checks suggests that this may be an underestimate of the true effect. These findings come at a crucial time because pandemic-related school closures have led to a 20-fold increase in public school spending on Zearn-related materials between July 2019 and July 2021, and its presence continues to expand across the nation.

GAMIFICATION OF EDUCATION IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN DISTANCE LEARNING

The use of gamification in elementary school is a modern approach aimed at improving learning and increasing students' interest in the learning process. This approach makes it possible to improve the effectiveness of education, involve students in active participation and develop various important skills. Due to the use of modern technologies and changing approaches to education, gamification has become a powerful tool for stimulating the learning process in elementary school. This article examines methodological aspects of using gamification in the educational process of elementary school students. Considering the growing interest in the use of game elements in education, special attention is paid to the analysis of various methods and approaches to the implementation of gamification in the educational process. Strategies for developing gamified lessons, selecting appropriate game elements and integrating them into the curriculum to achieve optimal results are considered. The importance of a methodical approach to the introduction of gamification into the educational process of elementary school is analyzed in order to optimize the quality of education and attract students to active participation in educational activities. Theoretical sources from the pedagogical and psychological fields, as well as practical research on the use of gamification in education, are considered. The online platforms Matific, Learning.ua, Math Learning service, Smart Kids project and «Child Development» were used for the analysis. These tools allow students to be actively involved in learning, adapt the material to their needs, overcome geographical barriers and ensure more effective learning. When choosing educational services, elementary school teachers should take into account the age and development of children, as well as the coherence of the curriculum and values to ensure successful learning and development of students. The main requirements for the implementation of methodological aspects of gamification of the educational process of elementary school include: 1) clear identification of optimal strategies and methods of gamification, as well as 2) development of recommendations for teachers regarding their practical application in the educational process. Teachers can use the findings to create interesting and effective lessons, which contribute to the active involvement of students in the learning process and improve their learning results. In general, we note that the popularity of games among students is explained not only by the very fact of their existence, but also by the satisfaction of the game process itself, the quick feedback and the satisfaction of solving tasks. This can significantly increase the effectiveness of learning and the involvement of students in gaining new knowledge.