Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemUse of computers in mathematics teaching and learning : transition from grade 6 to year 7( 2001)Over the past ten years computer resources within Victorian schools have improved. Adequate level of facilities and resources has enabled teachers and students to use computers in the teaching and learning of mathematics. However it appears that computer skills acquired during primary years are not always the basis for further and continuous development of skills in the early years of secondary schooling. Research shows that during transition from grade 6 to year 7 there is need for stability and a sense of continuity in the adolescents' education and this applies to the area of mathematics as well. To gain further insight, this research investigated the use of computers in mathematics in a group of feeder primary schools and their linked secondary school. The study initially investigates whether the computer skills introduced in primary schools were known or built upon in secondary schools. The research then makes recommendations to the network of schools involved concerning continuity in teaching and using computer skills in the teaching and learning of mathematics during the transition years. This study was qualitative and involved parents, students and teachers. Questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations were used to obtain data. Recommendations include the need for continuous communication between grade 6 and year 7 mathematics teachers to form and maintain links regarding the development of computer skills, the need to develop a common goal for all grade 6 teachers in terms of teaching computer skills to prepare students for secondary school and finally, the need to increase computer literacy of primary and secondary mathematics teachers and make hardware and software available and accessible to all.
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ItemThe Wesley College technology enriched graphing project( 1994)Graphics calculators are rapidly becoming more affordable to students of mathematics. In time, it can be expected these calculators will become as essential a tool for mathematics students as scientific calculators are now. This thesis investigates how best to use graphics calculators to improve student achievement and understanding of senior secondary graph-sketching topics. The Wesley College Technology Enriched Graphing Project was an experimental study which involved 180 Year 11 students (8 intact classes) over 15 lessons at two campuses of this large co-educational independent school. Two teaching programs were devised, which differed in the degree of teaching emphasis on issues of scaling and obtaining a complete picture of a graph. The effect of frequency of calculator use was also investigated with a 2 x 2 experimental design. Daily use of the calculator was found to lead to significantly more improvement on general graphing questions than less frequent use. The teaching emphasis on scaling led to significantly more improvement in students' ability to deal with potentially misleading questions where the finite view of a function provided by the calculator omitted important features. Students' attitudes to calculator use were very positive. In the light of these results it is recommended that schools move as quickly as possible to personal ownership of graphics calculators by students and that teaching programs emphasise scaling issues. This approach takes no more time than traditional teaching methods, but confronts student difficulties and leads to better understanding of functions.
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ItemThe use of laptop computers in the year 10 mathematics classroom( 2002)Laptop computers have been used in mathematics classrooms for approximately 10 years and there has not been a comprehensive study into how laptop computers are used, teachers' attitudes towards laptop computer use, and perceived student benefits. This study focuses on: i) How laptop computers are used in the mathematics classroom, concentrating on the types of software used and the type and the activities conducted. ii) Teachers' attitudes towards the use of laptop computers in the mathematics classroom, in particular how their attitudes and experiences may effect the use of laptop computers. iii) Teachers' perceptions of student benefits in terms of understanding and performing mathematical tasks using laptop computers. This study shows that there is a wide variety of software used and a large number of activities completed in mathematics classrooms with laptop computers. Teachers favoured using spreadsheets above any other type of software and tended to use the laptop computers for computational, open-ended activities rather than conceptual tasks. Teachers had varying attitudes about how and when laptop computers should be used in the mathematics classroom. There appeared to be connections between a teacher's own use of the computer and the way the teacher used the laptop computer in the classroom. Some teachers used the laptop computer very frequently whilst others used them sparingly. The most valuable type of in-service about using computers came from the teacher's own faculty, through formal and informal discussions. Finally, not all teachers believed there were benefits for their students from using laptop computers. There was no conclusive evidence about whether teachers believed their students had an increased ability to understand mathematics due to using laptop computers, but, there was evidence of increased student motivation.
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ItemPreparing a bank of mathematical problems for Year 11 students( 1990)The production of a problem bank for Year 11 mathematics students forms the content of this thesis. From an original collection of approximately 100 problems, 30 were chosen representing the areas of algebra, geometry and arithmetic. The RASCH method was used for calibrating the problems using partial credit scoring. There were 452 students in 37 Year 11 classes from 8 Victorian secondary schools that participated. Details of the selection, administration and use of the problems are discussed. Some of the difficulties such as finding problems at the appropriate level of difficulty, establishing a suitable classification for them, defining a marking scheme for their solution and the interpretation of the analysis of the scores are also given. The problem bank in its final form contains 23 problems, and could be used by Year 11 mathematics teachers for assessing students' progress in mathematical problem solving. For ease of use the problems are categorised by area of study and level of difficulty. The methodology involved in developing the problem bank, the processes of selecting and categorising problems and the analysis of student attempts to solve them would also be helpful for these teachers as they incorporate problem solving into their V.C.E. courses.
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ItemMathematical modelling in the Year 9 mathematics curriculum( 1996)This thesis is a report on research conducted in relation to the introduction of mathematical modelling at the Victorian year 9 level. The research attempted to introduce educational mathematical modelling activities into what was then the normal mathematical curriculum of the secondary college and focused on changes to modelling ability, student affective variables, teacher concerns, and learning which might take place. The study was conducted over one school year at a country secondary college. Two experimental and four control classes of year 9 students completed a pre and post test consisting of an attitudinal measurement instrument and a modelling problem. As well, qualitative data was collected from class observations and discussions and interviews with the teachers. During the year, the experimental classes spent approximately 14% of their class time working on educational mathematical modelling activities. The results from the pre and post test did not produce any statistically significant changes leading to a rejection of the hypotheses of the study. However, the qualitative data collected did provide useful results. The teachers in the study reported concerns and problems similar to those reported in the literature. Observations of a class at work on a modelling activity provided insight into issues of motivation and relationships between mathematical achievement and modelling persistence. The results also highlighted a number of issues for future research. Despite the rejection of the hypotheses, this researcher and the teachers of the experimental classes concluded modelling was a worthwhile activity.
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ItemSome determinants of students' course selection in mathematics( 1984)In this study some determinants of students' course selection in mathematics. were investigated, with particular attention being given to those factors which may result in differential participation rates between boys and girls. The aim of the study was to assess the relative importance for student decisions of various psychological variables related to achievement attitudes. Such knowledge could then be used in the design of appropriate programs and techniques to increase the likelihood of students continuing to take maths. Questionnaires were administered to the 115 students in Year 9 and to the 107 students in Year 7 at a Melbourne inner-suburban .high school. Specific findings apply to those students in that particular school; without investigation of the effect of such variables as socioeconomic status, ethnic background., administrative structure, course-availability and class size they could not be extrapolated to other students in other schools. Students' estimates of their maths abilities and their expectations for maths performance, decreased with age, as did their perception of their parents' and teachers' beliefs about their ability and expectations for their success. Students' beliefs about the importance of success in maths and their declared interest in and liking'for the subject also decreased with age, while their estimates of the difficulty of maths increased with age. Year 9 boys had higher opinions of their maths ability and were more confident of success in future maths courses, than were Year 9 girls. These girls saw the subject as being more difficult and the cost of the effort required to do well to be higher than did their male classmates. At the Year 7 level, however, the only sex differences were in the stereotyping of the utility of maths for females and in the stereotyping of maths as a male domain. Plans to continue with maths were facilitated by high expectations, by firm beliefs in the value of maths and in one's own ability and by low estimates of the difficulty of maths. Sex differences favouring boys were found on these variables. On the basis of these findings, certain areas for intervention were identified. These areas included the encouragement of positive attitudes towards maths, the provision of career awareness programs, and the attempt to modify parents' and teachers' attitudes as to the maths, ability of girls and the importance of maths for them.