ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
A Workplace Contextualisation of Mathematics: Measuring Workplace Context Complexity
Author: Keogh, John J.
Date: 2014-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Mathematics,Employment,National Surveys,Context Effect,Accountability,Familiarity,Stress Variables,Mathematics Skills,Difficulty Level,Case Studies,Adult Education,Mathematics Education

Recent research undertaken by the authors (Keogh, 2013; Keogh, Maguire, &amp; O'Donoghue, 2010, 2011, 2012), identified the mathematics activity that underpinned what may be regarded as low-skilled, low paid jobs, and aligned it with the National Framework of Qualifications in Ireland. In the course of this research, it emerged that although the mathematics expertise deployed was modest in terms of complicatedness, it was used by workers in circumstances that were both sophisticated and volatile in varying degrees. To this extent, it was discernable that mastery of routine mathematics alone was a poor indicator of a person's ability to &quot;do the job&quot;. Furthermore, a National Survey of People at Work in Ireland, while confirming the Mathematics use/denial paradox, revealed that work was not perceived to be &quot;straightforward&quot; despite widespread adherence to processes, procedures and routines. The authors argue that there exists a spectrum of factors that operate to &quot;complexify&quot; otherwise routine mathematics, with the possible consequence of concealing the role of mathematics and intensifying its invisibility in the workplace and all that that entails. This paper describes these affective factors as comprising a workplace contextualization of mathematics which elaborates the complexity of the workplace context in which mathematics at varying levels of complicatedness may be expressed. In this way, workers, employers and providers of learning opportunities may be better informed regarding employability and worker mobility in the long term.
Wading through It: Balancing Opposing Tensions via Effective Literacy Coaching
Author: Pintaone Neher, Andrea
Date: 2007-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Coaching (Performance),Literacy,Elementary School Teachers,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Grade 2,Grade 3,Communities of Practice,Teaching Methods,Educational Philosophy,Reading Achievement,Academic Standards,State Standards,Curriculum Based Assessment,Instructional Effectiveness

In this article, the author examines the role the literacy coach at her school has played in supporting the kindergarten through second grade teachers. Using a theoretical framework for classroom communities (Pintaone-Hernandez, 2002), she reflects on how the literacy coach has helped teachers maintain a professional learning community in the wake of the increasingly high-stakes demands put upon us. This nurturing environment has helped sustain teachers' passion for students while facing increased pressures of accountability for student achievement. Within this professional learning community, facilitated by our literacy coach, teachers have found ways to balance personal teaching philosophies and knowledge of best practice with the tensions in implementing state performance-based learning standards and preparing students for state curriculum assessments.
Coaching Conversations for Beginners
Author: Paramore, Tonia Bowden
Date: 2007-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Coaching (Performance),Literacy,Program Descriptions,Elementary School Teachers,Interpersonal Communication,Strategic Planning,Interpersonal Competence,Discourse Modes,Educational Practices,Supervisor Qualifications,Supervisory Methods,Supervisory Training,Observation

Taking on the role of literacy coach can be a daunting task for even seasoned educators. In this article, the author examines her experiences in this role as work for a university class she was taking. In a sense, she &quot;tries on&quot; the coaching role in order to discover if it is a job she would truly be willing to take. She discusses the difficulties facing coaches as they go into classrooms to observe as well as her successes and failures in holding conferences with those teachers who allowed her to observe in their classrooms.
Doing Mathematics in the Workplace: A Brief Review of Selected Literature
Author: FitzSimons, Gail E.
Date: 2013-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Literature Reviews,Workplace Learning,Mathematics Education,Adult Education,Problem Solving,Computer Assisted Design,Manufacturing,Telecommunications,Operations Research,Pharmaceutical Education,Equipment Evaluation,Equipment Utilization,Financial Services,Education Work Relationship,Manufacturing Industry,Educational Research,Educational Practices

The aim of this review of selected literature on research into mathematics in the workplace is to offer researchers from the field of adult mathematics education an opportunity to become more familiar with this specialised area. In recent years much progress has been made, building on earlier research, but with increasingly nuanced understandings. In particular, sociocultural activity theory has played an important role, and several articles reviewed here have drawn on this theory. Their focus has been on gaining a comprehensive understanding of what workers actually do involving aspects of mathematics, set in the rich context of a functioning workplace. This encompasses taking account of workplace artefacts (technological &amp; otherwise), various forms of communication (verbal &amp; non-verbal), different forms of skills, and even the concept of boundary crossing; most importantly, how workers learn.
A College-Level Foundational Mathematics Course: Evaluation, Challenges, and Future Directions
Author: Maciejewski, Wes
Date: 2012-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,College Mathematics,Introductory Courses,Remedial Mathematics,Academic Failure,Achievement Gains,At Risk Students,Developmental Studies Programs,Course Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Mathematics Anxiety

Recently in Ontario, Canada, the College Math Project brought to light startling data on the achievement of students in Ontario's College of Applied Arts and Technology System related to their performance in first-year mathematics courses: one-third of the students had failed their first-year mathematics course or were at risk of not completing their program because of their performance in such a course. Here I present the results of an attempt to address the findings of the College Math Project. A foundational mathematics course, based on the JUMP Math program, was designed and implemented at a college in Toronto, Ontario. Although the students who took this program made appreciable gains in their achievement, it is difficult to assert its effectiveness over other programs because of the absence of studies profiling college math education practices either in Canada or internationally. The intention of this article is to help establish a datum for research into specific college math education programs.
Adult Students' Learning Behaviors in the College Mathematics Classroom
Author: Tennant, Aimee
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,College Mathematics,Student Behavior,Adult Students,Qualitative Research,Student Participation,Group Discussion,Student Attitudes,Undergraduate Students,Case Studies,Observation,Surveys,Interviews

Adult students 25 and older are a growing population at U.S. colleges and universities. Mathematics courses present a particular challenge for these students who may have less academic preparation than younger students and have experienced a significant time-lapse since their last formal mathematics instruction. This exploratory, qualitative study focuses on the experiences of two adult students in a mixed-age college mathematics course with particular emphasis on participation in classroom discussion and activities. Adult student participation in classroom discussions was enhanced by a strong motivation to be successful in the course, wanting to help classmates, and a disregard for the perceptions of classmates. Participation was hindered by not being familiar with the material, fear of appearing ignorant, and discomfort in the classroom.
Building Understanding and Fostering Empowerment through Technological Interactions
Author: Garrett, Lauretta
Date: 2012-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Students,Remedial Mathematics,Computer Uses in Education,Student Empowerment,Algebra,Geometry,Computer Software,Graphs,Mathematics Instruction,Adult Education,College Students,Adult Learning,Interviews

This case is part of a teaching experiment that sought to provide insight into how the use of mathematics technology affects the internal mathematical representations possessed by adult developmental mathematics students. Sequences of dot patterns were examined and analyzed by the participant. He then used the algebraic features of a dynamic, interactive geometry software program to graph data describing the functional relationships present in those patterns. Insights about the effect of technological representations on adult students' thinking can be gained from observations of the subject's investigations of that data. Results show that appropriate use of technology can aid adult students in building an understanding of standard representations that is based upon their own thinking and their own choices.
The Case for Studying Character(s) in the Literature Classroom
Author: White, Brian
Date: 2006-10-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Literature,Citizenship Education,Language Arts,Reading Materials,Moral Values,Reader Response,Teaching Methods,Grade 10,High School Students,Social Bias,Ethics,Case Studies

In response to increased violence, bullying, and anti-social behavior among young people in our schools and on our streets (Akiba, M., LeTendre, G., Baker, D., &amp; Goesling, B., 2002; Leming, 1996; Males, 2001; Pellegrini &amp; Bartini, 2000; Smagorinsky, 2002; Tendero, 2000), advocates of character education have proposed and instituted a number of programs designed to teach students to behave more civilly and safely, and to treat one another more respectfully (Smagorinsky &amp; Taxel, 2005). In this article, Brian White and Jennifer Haberling respond by asserting their belief that questions of character ought to be at the very center of teaching and learning in literature classrooms, for &quot;practicing a judgment of character...is what we inevitably do with every story or drama that comes our way&quot; (Booth, 1988, p. 232). In the remainder of this article, White and Haberling present their definition of &quot;Character.&quot; Second, they argue that teachers of literature are perhaps uniquely situated to help young people cultivate concern for character by enriching students' understanding of and responses to the lives and decisions of literary characters. Third, they discuss the use of case studies as an especially promising approach to character education in literary studies. Finally, they tell the story of their use of prereading case studies in a literature classroom, demonstrating the ways in which the case studies served to help students develop, extend, and apply their concern for character in the literature classroom and beyond.
Toward an Understanding of Graduate Preservice Elementary Teachers as Adult Learners of Mathematics
Author: Welder, Rachael M.
Date: 2011-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Preservice Teachers,Elementary School Teachers,Graduate Students,Reentry Students,Preservice Teacher Education,Adult Learning,Mathematics Education,Mathematics Anxiety,Mixed Methods Research,Test Anxiety,Prior Learning,Focus Groups,Semi Structured Interviews,Educational Attitudes,Rating Scales

Career-switchers who are returning to university for training as future elementary school teachers join an important and increasing group of adult learners of mathematics. These graduate preservice elementary teachers often place a high value on learning mathematics because of its prominent role in their prospective careers, but their learning often requires overcoming histories of personal struggles with mathematics. This inquiry used a mixed methods designed and focused on ten participants' perceptions of their experiences as learners of mathematics, anxiety regarding mathematics, and graduate mathematics coursework. All of the participants left professional careers to join a full-time graduate teacher preparation program in New York City. Bridging research from adult education and teacher education, we analysed interview transcripts, mathematics anxiety measures, and survey data using mixed methods both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The findings show that, starting in adolescence, and continuing into adulthood, participants described negative experiences with exam performance, tracking, and instruction during formal school mathematics. Participants perceived these struggles as contributing to patterns of avoiding mathematics coursework and experiencing moderate-to-high levels of test mathematics anxiety. In spite of, or perhaps partly because of, their personal struggles with mathematics, the participants described urgently wanting additional high-quality mathematics preparation focused on upper-elementary content, manipulative-based pedagogy, and current elementary mathematics curricula.
People's Mathematics in Working Life: Why Is It Invisible?
Author: Wedege, Tine
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics,Employment,Lifelong Learning,Adult Education,Mathematics Education,Adults

The labour market requirements play a central role in the answer from politicians and educational planners to the question &quot;Why teach mathematics to adults?&quot; Mathematics is interwoven with technology in the workplace - in technique, work organisation and people's competences. Still &quot;No&quot; is the most common answer to the question &quot;Do you use mathematics in your work?&quot; This leads to one relevance paradox. --Mathematics as a visible tool disappears in many workplace routines. However, this kind of invisibility is not the only reason for the negative answer. People simply do not recognize the mathematics in their daily practice--as mathematics. They do not connect the everyday activity and their own competence with mathematics. Most of them only associate mathematics with the school subject. Hence the two main answers to the question &quot;Why do adults study mathematics?&quot; are proving to yourself that you can learn the mathematics that you did not learn in school and being able to help your children with their homework. This leads to a second relevance paradox.
A Note on Evolutionary Algorithms and Its Applications
Author: Bhargava, Shifali
Date: 2013-04-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics,Evolution,Mathematical Applications

This paper introduces evolutionary algorithms with its applications in multi-objective optimization. Here elitist and non-elitist multiobjective evolutionary algorithms are discussed with their advantages and disadvantages. We also discuss constrained multiobjective evolutionary algorithms and their applications in various areas.
Correcting Students' Misconceptions about Probability in an Introductory College Statistics Course
Author: Khazanov, Leonid
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Mathematics Instruction,College Mathematics,Mathematical Concepts,Misconceptions,Probability,Urban Schools,Community Colleges,College Faculty,Cognitive Processes,Psychological Patterns,Two Year College Students,Workshops,Questionnaires

College students' misconceptions about probability are common and widespread. These misconceptions impede students' ability to make sound judgments in situations of uncertainty and master fundamental concepts of inferential statistics. In this paper the authors report the results of a study undertaken with the objective of correcting three common stochastic misconceptions within the framework of an introductory statistics course. Six instructors were recruited from an urban community college, along with their students. These instructors implemented a number of activities designed by one of the investigators and aimed at correcting the representativeness bias, the equiprobability misconception, and the outcome orientation bias. The purpose of the activities was to trigger cognitive conflict thereby leading students to bring out and correct their incomplete or erroneous concepts. Three of the instructors attended a workshop on misconceptions before implementing the activities; the other three implemented the activities without going through training. Instructors in the third (control) group did not implement any of the proposed activities and were not trained. An instrument designed by one of the investigators was used to measure the extent of students' misconceptions at the end of the semester in both treatment groups and the control group. The results show that trained instructors achieved significantly better outcomes than the control group in correcting two of the misconceptions: the representativeness bias and outcome orientation. By contrast, instructors who implemented the activities without being trained did not post better results than the control group in resolving any of the misconceptions. The results suggest that it is possible to improve students' conceptual understanding of probability and correct their misconceptions by targeting the misconceptions directly in an introductory college statistics course. They also suggest that training on misconceptions is critical in ensuring instructors' ability to successfully address students' erroneous concepts about probability.
Investigating Meaning in Learning: A Case Study of Adult Developmental Mathematics
Author: Glasser, Tim
Date: 2011-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Adult Education,Remedial Mathematics,Case Studies,Adult Students,Vocational Education Teachers,Semi Structured Interviews,Experience,Correlation,Constructivism (Learning),Behaviorism,Cognitive Processes,Difficulty Level,Participatory Research,Action Research

The objective of this article is to investigate meaning and relevance in the context of adult developmental math learning and instruction. In this case study, at the Art Institute of San Francisco, 12 vocational instructors and four math learners are interviewed on their early and current math experiences. During the semi-structured interviews, the adult math learners and vocational instructors reminisce on math in their learning and in their work. The interview transcripts are later analyzed for constructivist themes or codes. From instructor interviews, there appears to be a strong correlation between instructor views of meaning and learning and constructivist principles. There is a weaker correlation of these themes with the views of the adult learners, and there is evidence these developmental learners show signs of cognitive overload on certain constructivist tasks. These adult developmental learners appear to derive mathematical meaning from behaviorist learning and instruction involving step by step processes, the linking previous concepts, and the repetition of key ideas. It may be that this is the way these informants learned math in the pre-constructivist days of mathematics instruction.
A Willing Suspension of Disbelief? &quot;Contexts&quot; and Recontextualisation in Adult Numeracy Classrooms
Author: Oughton, Helen
Date: 2009-02-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Numeracy,Adult Education,Mathematics Education,Discourse Analysis,Classroom Communication,Adult Students,Word Problems (Mathematics),Knowledge Level,Metacognition,Foreign Countries,Ethnography

While a substantial body of research suggests that adult numeracy and literacy learners possess funds of knowledge and informal practices, it is not always clear to what extent these might be used in teaching and learning. In this study of linguistic interaction in adult numeracy classrooms, analysis of naturally-occurring student-student collaborative discourse is used to argue that mathematical word problems, even when designed for adults, do not draw on these funds of knowledge and out-of-classroom practices, and instead require a &quot;willing suspension of disbelief&quot; by learners. Nonetheless, the adult students show a sophisticated level of metacognition and skill in handling the word-problem genre which might indeed be acknowledged as part of their funds of knowledge.
T. A. as Text
Author: McLean, Cheryl
Date: 2006-03-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Teaching Assistants,Professional Identity,Reflective Teaching,Self Concept,Identification,Role Theory,Teacher Role,Student Role,Personal Narratives,Labeling (of Persons)

Awareness of how perceived roles shape how people see themselves and how others see them prompted Cheryl McLean to question how her new label of &quot;teaching assistant&quot; helped or hurt the teaching and learning process. As a teaching assistant, she moved into the dual role of teacher and student. She believes that the labels she adopts inevitably instruct and construct her thinking and influence her subjectivities. In this article, McLean uses the term subjectivity to mean a sense of self-ways of knowing about self in the world; how people understand themselves, consciously and unconsciously (Knobel &amp; Lankshear, 2003). McLean expresses that by telling of her story, she hopes that awareness increases of how labels and fixed notions, understandings, and actions are formed and informed. Perhaps then the world can better recognize how teacher and student perspectives are normalized, identities and roles produced, and subjectivities created.
Adults Learning Mathematics: What We Should Know about Betting and Bookkeeping?
Author: Maasz, Juergen
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Mathematics Instruction,Games,Probability,Risk,Adult Education,Adult Students,Student Projects,Spreadsheets,Simulation

A lot of people risk money with bets on sport events or other events. Bookkeepers that offer such bets earn a lot of money. We are making a proposal (more exactly: a concept for a part of a basic mathematics course) for learning mathematics behind the screen (internet bets are very popular). Learners should organize a &quot;sports event&quot; (more precisely: some kind of simulation of such an event), find several different types of bet offices and offer odds. Other participants (learners) get game money and bet. When the event is over and the results are fixed the learners calculate wins and losses. So they learn how to calculate odds and why bookkeepers earn so much money--if the bookkeepers know enough about mathematics and other things they need to know. By considering discovery-teaching-methods students should recognize the mathematical facts while thinking about bets and odds. Reflecting the results learners learn something important about the real world: It is better to avoid bets!