Mathematical Research Articles

Teaching foundational skills using strategic incremental rehearsal: Investigating effectiveness across varying school agents

AbstractStrategic incremental rehearsal (SIR) is an efficacious flashcard intervention shown to improve foundational skill acquisition. However, there is limited research examining the feasibility and effectiveness of SIR when used by school‐based implementers. We present two studies to address this limitation. Study 1 examined the effects of SIR implemented by teachers on the acquisition of grapheme‐phoneme correspondences with three at‐risk kindergarteners. Study 2 examined the effects of SIR implemented by a same‐age peer on the acquisition and fluency of addition math facts with 3 second‐grade students receiving special education services. Overall, both studies point to the effectiveness of using SIR with students requiring intensive intervention in an focused, short timeframe. The effectiveness of SIR is particularly salient given that teachers and peers were able to implement SIR with high treatment integrity and effectively improve outcomes for students with and at risk for disabilities.

Attitude and Challenges in Learning Mathematics in the Modern Word (MMW): Basis for Intervention Program

Difficulty in learning mathematics is a common and significant problem throughout the school years. It was identified that only 19% of Filipino students met the Low benchmark, meaning they had “some basic mathematical knowledge,” while 81% did not reach this level. Filipino students also lagged behind other countries in the international assessment for mathematics as mentioned in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2019 (TIMSS).To address this; a researcher conducted a study to explore students’ attitudes and challenges in learning Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW). The data gathered were used in formulating intervention programs. The study utilized the descriptive method of research and employed a survey questionnaire as the main data-gathering instrument. It involved the participation of all college students from the University of Batangas who were taking Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW) during the school year 2022-2023 using a purposive sampling technique. Furthermore, the responses of the respondents were computed using frequency count, percentage, weighted mean, ranking, and chi-square as the main statistical treatments of data. Ethical guidelines were highly considered to maintain the confidentiality of the study. Key findings include that the majority of the students are 19-21 years old, male, and enrolled in Criminology courses. Students strongly agreed and exhibited a positive attitude toward wanting to develop their mathematical skills. It was observed that there is a positive and moderate correlation between the attitude and the challenges encountered by the students in learning Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW). The main challenge identified is the difficulty in remembering math facts, concepts, rules, formulas, sequences, and procedures. The researcher proposed different intervention programs to address the challenges encountered by students in learning Mathematics in the Modern World (MMW).

Variations on a classwide math fact intervention: The role of set size and goal setting with explicit timing

Explicit Timing (ET) is an established intervention to support math fact fluency. The current study explored how goal setting and set size moderated the base ET intervention to promote multiplication fact fluency with third grade students. We also explored how learners at different levels of initial fluency responded to intervention. Findings suggest that ET was effective in promoting math fact fluency across learners who began intervention at varied performance levels, with average gains of over 15 digits correct per minute across 12 sessions of intervention over one month. Goal setting further improved the intervention. Results did not significantly differ across set sizes, nor across initial performance level. Overall, all investigated conditions led to efficient growth. Resources for classroom implementation are provided.

Incorporating physical activities in teaching practice

Although the value of physical activity for physical and mental health is well accepted, benefits for learning are less clear. Research about the incorporation of physical activity in teaching practice and the benefits teachers perceive for student learning and behaviour is sparse. In the current study, Australian teachers ( n = 222) completed an online survey. Over 70% of the participants reported using physical activity in their teaching practice. Activities included movement breaks, such as stretches and balancing games, or ones that were intended to stimulate the brain, described as ‘crossing the midline’ exercises. Some teachers integrated physical activity with academic content, such as tossing a ball while practising math facts. Among the perceived benefits of physical activity were energising students and promoting their engagement with learning. Overall, there was strong acceptance of the value of incorporating physical activity in teaching practice.

Inhibitory Control Training for Anxiety and Math Achievement in Primary School Children: Protocol for a Proof-of-Concept Study.

Cognitive control training (CCT) has shown potential to reduce emotional vulnerability in adults and adolescents. However, there is scant literature testing the efficacy of CCT for the reduction of anxiety and transferring the effects to educational outcomes in children. Building on the evidence that a greater ability to suppress a prepotent response (inhibitory control) is associated with higher math achievement in children, it is plausible that training inhibitory processes using a CCT paradigm may be beneficial for reducing anxiety, improving inhibitory control, and in turn increasing math achievement. This proof-of-concept study aims to investigate the efficacy of 15 sessions of inhibitory control training for reduction in anxiety and improvement in math achievement in primary school children. We will use a 2 (group: CCT, adaptive Go/No-Go vs active control, low-load task) multiplied by 4 (time: pre- vs posttraining vs 1-month vs 3-month follow-up) randomized design in a nonselected sample of 100 children aged 8-10 years. Both groups will complete 10 minutes of daily training for 3 weeks at school. The dependent variables will be anxiety and correlates (Spence Children's Anxiety Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children, Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale, Child Response Style Questionnaire, and Modified Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale), inhibitory control (Go/No-Go task), shifting (color-shape shifting task), updating (n-back task), and math achievement (Applied Problems, Calculation, and Math Facts Fluency subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement). We opened enrollment in September 2023. The initial results are expected to be published in late 2024. We predict that children in the CCT group will show a reduction in emotional symptoms; improvements in inhibition, shifting, and updating performance; and advances in math achievement from pre- to posttraining, and that these effects will be maintained at 1- and 3-month follow-ups, compared to children in the active control group. The CCT paradigm used in our study will provide a greater understanding of the emotional and cognitive transfer effects on children and inform future work. Specifically, the findings will advance the knowledge of deploying inhibitory control training with children and provide valuable insights into its use for reducing anxiety and advancing math achievement. Open Science Framework ofs.io/de2qa; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/DE2QA. PRR1-10.2196/52929.

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.

ПОДГОТОВКА УЧИТЕЛЕЙ ФИЗИКИ К ПРОЕКТИРОВАНИЮ ВНЕУРОЧНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ

The article provides an analysis of the readiness of physics teachers to conduct and design extracurricular activities. The diffi culties experienced by teachers in preparing for extracurricular activities are highlighted. The design and organization of training sessions within the framework of the discipline “Designing extracurricular activities of students (in the disciplines of the physics and Professional growth, education and development of an individual Professional Education in Russia and Abroad 2 (54) 2024 97 mathe matics cycle)” is presented. The conducted research helps to prepare physics teachers for designing extracurricular activi ties in physics.

Mathematical modeling of ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in batch culture with non-structured model

Mathematical modeling of ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in batch culture with non-structured model

Modeling interdisciplinary interactions among physics, mathematics and computer science

Interdisciplinarity has over the recent years have gained tremendous importance and has become one of the key ways of doing cutting edge research. In this paper we attempt to model the citation flow across three different fields—physics (PHY), mathematics (MA) and computer science (CS). For instance, is there a specific pattern in which these fields cite one another? We carry out experiments on a dataset comprising more than 1.2 million articles taken from these three fields. We quantify the citation interactions among these three fields through temporal bucket signatures. We present numerical models based on variants of the recently proposed relay-linking framework to explain the citation dynamics across the three disciplines. These models make a modest attempt to unfold the underlying principles of how citation links could have been formed across the three fields over time.

Students Helping Students: Implementation of Elementary Math Facts Fluency Interventions by High Schoolers

Many schools face barriers that hinder access to services, including limited funding and staff trained in evidence-based interventions. In particular, rural schools must provide targeted intervention to promote academic growth and narrow achievement gaps despite these barriers. One seldom-considered solution to ease the resource costs in the provision of intervention services is to provide high school students with the training and supervision necessary to carry them out. Thirty elementary students participated in an explicit timing intervention administered by either a high school student or graduate student in school psychology. A 2 × 2 mixed factorial ANOVA found significant growth from pre- to post-test with no effects of interventionist education level. These findings imply that school-based interventionists may be able to expand the reach of their practice by recruiting and training older students to carry out interventions.

Incremental Rehearsal for Math Fact Fluency Improvement: An Implementation Guide

More research attention and implementation support are needed for mathematics intervention as student achievement in this area continues to fall below desirable levels. Incremental rehearsal is an intervention to help students build reading, vocabulary, and math fluency. Research supports the use of incremental rehearsal for improving math fact fluency. However, this intervention is more complicated than the traditional flashcard intervention. Therefore, an implementation guide is needed to increase its use with students who need to improve math fact fluency. This article will provide step-by-step instructions for implementing incremental rehearsal plus helpful implementation aids such as a chart demonstrating the proper presentation sequence and a treatment integrity checklist.

Maternal metabolic syndrome in pregnancy and child development at age 5: exploring mediating mechanisms using cord blood markers

BackgroundThere is limited evidence on how the classification of maternal metabolic syndrome during pregnancy affects children’s developmental outcomes and the possible mediators of this association. This study uses a cohort sample of 12,644 to 13,832 mother–child pairs from the UK Born in Bradford Study to examine the associations between maternal metabolic syndrome classification (MetS) and child development outcomes at age 5, using cord blood markers as candidate mediators.MethodsMaternal cardiometabolic markers included diabetes, obesity, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, hypertension, and fasting glucose during pregnancy. Cord blood markers of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, leptin, and adiponectin were used as child mediators. Child outcomes included two starting school variables: British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS) and the Letter Identification Assessment (LID), and five developmental milestone domains from a national UK framework: (1) communication and language (COM); (2) personal, social, and emotional (PSE); (3) physical development (PHY); (4) literacy (LIT); and (5) mathematics (MAT). Mediation models were used to examine the associations between the classification of maternal metabolic syndrome and child developmental milestones. Models were adjusted for potential maternal, socioeconomic, and child confounders such as maternal education, deprivation, and gestational age.ResultsIn mediation models, significant total effects were found for MetS associations with children’s development in the LIT domain at age 5. MetS predicted individual cord blood mediators of lower HDL and increased leptin levels in both adjusted and unadjusted models. Total indirect effects (effects of all mediators combined) for MetS on a child’s COM and PSE domain were significant, through all child cord blood mediators of LDL, HDL, triglycerides, adiponectin, and leptin for adjusted models.ConclusionsThe results support the hypothesis that maternal metabolic syndrome classification during pregnancy is associated with some child developmental outcomes at age 5. After adjusting for maternal, child, and environmental covariates, maternal metabolic syndrome classification during pregnancy was associated with children’s LIT domain through direct effects of maternal metabolic health and indirect effects of cord blood markers (total effects), and COM and PSE domains via changes only in a child’s cord blood markers (total indirect effects).

Selection tests and their predictive value in university nursing students’ success in the first year of study

BackgroundAcademic performance factors, such as school-leaving grades and other academic indicators for selection, play a significant role in student success. The study aimed to determine the best predictors of academic success in the first year of study for nursing studies at a South African university using three National Benchmark Test (NBT) domains and four National Senior Certificate (NSC) subjects.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective review of the admission data of first-time students (n = 317), enrolled on the Bachelor of Nursing between 2012 and 2018. Hierarchical regression was used to explore important variables predicting success in the first year of study. Cross tabulations were used to determine the association between progression outcome, proficiency levels of the NBT and school quintiles.ResultsAll predicting variables explained 35% of the variance in the first year of the study. The NBT MAT (Mathematics), Academic literacy (AL), and NSC’s Life Sciences were statistically significant predictors for passing the first year. Analysis of progression outcomes by the NBT proficiency levels suggests that most students begin studies with lower entry-level skills than required, which hinders academic progress. No major differences in academic performance were observed for the students who attended different quintiles.ConclusionSelection test results predict areas where students are likely to encounter difficulties and inform the interventions needed to achieve academic success. There may be serious implications for students admitted with low entry-level skills in variables predicting academic success and they would need tailored academic interventions to improve their grasp of mathematical and biological concepts and their ability to read, think and reason.

Differential effectiveness, efficiency, and acceptability of drill‐based interventions targeting multiplication facts

AbstractMath facts are foundational for later math skill development, but many students demonstrate difficulties with math facts in early schooling. Drill‐based interventions have been shown to effectively target foundational academic skills; however, there is limited research examining drill‐based interventions for teaching math facts compared to basic reading skills. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of incremental rehearsal (IR), traditional drill (TD), and strategic incremental rehearsal (SIR) on multiplication fact retention, fluency, and maintenance outcomes with 36 fourth and fifth graders. The study also examined intervention efficiency and treatment acceptability. Results showed no differences in retention, maintenance, or treatment acceptability across the interventions. There were significant differences in fluency at posttest, with IR resulting in the greatest fluency scores. Furthermore, TD was the most efficient intervention overall. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.

The influence of home environmental factors on kindergarten children's addition strategy use.

Young children vary widely in their levels of math knowledge, their abilities to solve math problems, and the strategies they use to solve math problems. As much of later math builds on children's early understanding of basic math facts and problem-solving strategies, understanding influences on children's early problem solving is important. Few studies, however, have examined the home environment in relation to children's strategy use during arithmetic problems. We examined how both structural characteristics of children's home environments, such as socioeconomic status (SES), as well as the learning environment, such as engagement in math and literacy activities at home, related to their use of problem-solving strategies for numerical addition problems. Kindergarten children from diverse backgrounds completed a measure of addition problem solving and strategy use, including simple and complex numerical problems. Strategies were coded based on a combination of accuracy and strategy sophistication, with higher scores indicating problems solved correctly with more sophisticated strategies. Parents completed a home activities questionnaire, reporting the frequency with which they and their child had engaged in math and literacy activities at home over the past month. An exploratory factor analysis identified three components of the home activities - a basic activities factor, an advanced math activities factor, and a literacy activities factor. Findings indicated that SES related to children's strategy sophistication, and frequency of engaging in advanced math and literacy activities at home predicted strategy sophistication, however, engaging in activities at home did not moderate the relations between SES and strategy sophistication. This suggests that family engagement in activities at home may promote early arithmetic skills, and that the role of home environmental characteristics should be considered in children's arithmetic strategy use and performance over development.

Book Review] American College Students' Experiences and Spiritual Aspirations for Mathe matics

Book Review] American College Students' Experiences and Spiritual Aspirations for Mathe matics

Stimulus Control for Making Math Verbal

In two experiments, we used multiple probe designs to first examine the correlation between the presence of transformation of stimulus function (TSF) across math operants and the presence of TSF across saying and writing for spelling, and then tested the effects of the establishment of TSF across saying and writing words on the establishment of TSF across math operants. Eight middle school students with learning disabilities participated in Experiment 1. Four participants demonstrated TSF across saying and writing for spelling. The dependent variables of Experiment 1 were the accuracy and rate of solving word problems after receiving fluency training on math facts, and the number of counting strategies used when solving word problems. Results showed that all participants who demonstrated TSF demonstrated significant increases in accuracy and rate when solving word problems whereas three participants without TSF did not. Three participants subsequently participated in Experiment 2, which tested the effects of establishment of TSF across saying and writing words on the establishment of TSF across math operants. All three participants demonstrated increased accuracy and rate for word problems and extinction of counting strategies. The results of the two experiments suggested the importance of teaching math as a verbal behavior, in particular, as a speaker-as-own-listener behavior.

Effect of technostress on Psychological well-being of post-graduate students: A perspective and correlational study of Higher Education Management

Progression in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has changed individuals in innumerable ways. Utilization of innovation can upgrade work environment proficiency, usefulness, and adaptability. However, innovative tools can adversely affect an individual's physiological, Psychological, as well as organizational satisfaction and have likewise prompted higher technostress among technology users. The study aims at examining the association of techno-stressors with the Psychological well-being of postgraduate learners. Using a quantitative research approach, data were collected through an adapted survey questionnaire tool, from 564 postgraduate learners enrolled in MS (Computer Science, Mathematics) and M.Phil. (Education) programs at a private sector University. To analyze the data, a correlation test was run using SPSS 27.0 version. Moreover, the findings revealed that there is a weak association between techno-stressors and the Psychological well-being of learners. Among the five intertwined techno-stressors, techno-insecurity has a moderate effect on the Psychological well-being of learners. Whereas, both male and female respondents were aware of the characteristics of technology and errands. Finally, in instructive settings, the most apparent well-being research initiatives have been taken by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED). However, even in these programs the examination has been done in tertiary settings and is restricted to 15years learners. This study contributes to bridging this gap. Alongside this, the current assemblage of writing adds to the field of literature in the context of Sindh, Pakistan.

A virtual adaptation of the taped problems intervention for increasing math fact fluency.

In response to restrictions on visitors within school buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic, the evidence-based math fact fluency procedure known as the taped problems intervention was adapted for use in a virtual setting. The present study used a multiple-probe across participants design to evaluate the effects of the adapted intervention on the subtraction fact fluency of three elementary school students with varying degrees of math difficulties. Researchers also measured whether fluency gains would generalize to subtraction fact family problems that were not targeted within the study procedures. Visual analysis of results indicated math fluency improvements across all students, regardless of initial performance level, but no evidence of generalization effects for any participant. Additionally, to further investigate intervention effects, two effect size measures were calculated (WC-SMD and NAP) and each participant's rate of improvement was measured in two ways. Slopes (digits correct per minute [DCM] gains per session) of baseline and intervention phases were compared, and DCM gains per intervention time were investigated. Discussion focuses on implications for providing academic interventions in virtual learning environments, the importance of direct instruction for subtraction fact fluency, as well as future directions for researchers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

O8-7 Do physical activity, motor skills, and attention capacities predict the academic achievement of primary school children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods? Elaboration of inference conditional trees

BackgroundIn the 6-10 year period, physical activity (PA) and motor skills have a positive impact on cognitive development, which in turn act on academic performance. In order to better understand these links, a study was conducted to explore these relationships for disadvantaged children between the ages of 6 and 10.MethodsChildren from two primary schools located in a disadvantaged neighbourhood (Tarbes, France) participated in the study. Variables were measured at 5 measurement times over 3 academic school years (2016; 2017; 2018). PA was measured by accelerometry over the whole day and weekend (MVPAF, MVPAWF). Motor skills were also assessed with a shuttle run test (NAV), a standing broad jump test (SBJ) and a tapping test (TT). A cardiorespiratory Shuttle Run test 20m (AR) was also carried out. Attentional capacities were measured with a computer-based Flanker Task: the Total Reaction Rime (RTT) of the correct answers (ms) for each child was collected. Finally, the children's score academic performance in French Language and Mathematics were collected. To study the relationships between the different variables, conditional inference trees including all these variables were performed with R software. Two trees were generated having as target variables respectively French language (FR) and Mathematics (MAT).ResultsFrench language (FR) was predicted first by the age of the children (p > 0.001), but as well for the youngest and the oldest chidldren, FR was predicted by performance on the TT (p > 0.001) and RTT (p > 0.001): the children who perform better on the TT test and have a lower RTT are those who obtain the best results in French language. Mathematics (MAT) was explained by these same variables as for FR (p > 0.001). The evaluation of these two conditional inference tree by the Pseudo R-square were respectively 0.13 and 0.11.DiscussionThese two conditional inference trees revealed that French language and Mathematics were predicted by attentional capacities (RTT), by motor variables (TT, NAV and SBJ). Finally, these models obtained were non-linear, complex and highlight different profiles of children. Although these relationships are documented in the literature (Diamond, 2002), this study confirms this from a longitudinal perspective, which is rarely used.