Papers by Janet Lynne Tassell
Journal of Educational Technology Systems
This mixed-methods study focused on advanced student engagement, mathematics competence, and the ... more This mixed-methods study focused on advanced student engagement, mathematics competence, and the influence of teachers in classrooms that used 3D printing to teach mathematics. Quantitative methods were used to understand changes in student perceptions of competence, engagement, and feelings regarding group work. Qualitative methods were used to explore teacher self-efficacy in teaching using Prototype Problem Solving and 3D modeling. The results indicated positive changes in student disengagement. It also highlighted the influence of teachers in implementing new pedagogy in the classroom as significant differences were found between groups of students based on school. The teacher participants indicated that in addition to learning how to use 3D modeling and printing in their classrooms, using Prototype Problem Solving Activities and the professional development that they received in this program inspired them to provide more creative opportunities when teaching mathematics in a het...
International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, Jun 27, 2012
School Science and Mathematics, Dec 1, 2014
School Science and Mathematics, 2013
School Science and Mathematics, Oct 1, 2020
Mathematics education in the digital era, 2018
The focus of this research is to examine the impact of an instructional instrument to improve the... more The focus of this research is to examine the impact of an instructional instrument to improve the quality of pre-service teachers’ lesson plans to enhance creative learning opportunities for children. The Create Excellence Framework focuses on four components essential to high-quality lesson plans: Cognitive Complexity, Real-World Learning, Engagement, and Technology Integration. The research study examined data from two elementary education teacher candidate classes for five semesters to measure the impact of the instrument on instructional planning for mathematics or mathematics and science integration. Over the course of the five semesters, for each component, the mean scores increased, and there was a positive statistically significant difference between the scores from the baseline semester to the fifth semester. In the fifth semester, the component of Technology Integration had the largest increase and Real-World Learning has the highest mean score. As students learned to design instruction around authentic tasks, cognitive levels and engagement also increased. Students were exposed to and utilizing new digital tools to enhance their learning. Using these digital tools along with real-world applications of the content encouraged students to think creatively to solve authentic problems.
Education Center (GRREC) in Bowling Green, Kentucky, began an initiative designed to strengthen s... more Education Center (GRREC) in Bowling Green, Kentucky, began an initiative designed to strengthen student performance in mathematics through professional development designed to strengthen the mathematics content knowledge of K-8 teachers in the region. We framed this professional development effort as learning through a "bifocal lens." That is, we wanted participating teachers to learn more mathematics but we also wanted them to be able to think about how they were learning that mathematics and implications for their own teaching practice.
Revista Internacional de Pesquisa em Educação Matemática
Changes in mathematics identity over time were examined as well as beliefs regarding the nature o... more Changes in mathematics identity over time were examined as well as beliefs regarding the nature of mathematics identity and experiences with mathematics that might be related to mathematics identity development. Survey data from 131 college students were analyzed using a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test to assess longitudinal changes in self-perceptions about mathematics identity. In addition, open-ended responses were analyzed using a phenomenological approach to examine experiences with and beliefs about mathematics. The results indicate that mathematics identity, as reported by students, is a stable measure over time. Several overarching themes emerged from the qualitative data to indicate that participants’ reported formative experiences center around to performing in mathematics and teaching others or sharing mathematics. A majority of participants believe it is possible to become a “math person”; however, an underlying belief that mathematics is an innate ability is also evident.
This chapter explores the relationships among video gaming, spatial skills and creativity in math... more This chapter explores the relationships among video gaming, spatial skills and creativity in mathematics education. Specifically, it highlights the importance of spatial abilities for pre-service elementary teachers, and suggests video games as a teaching approach for potentially enhancing creativity, spatial abilities, and mathematics performance. We argue that spatial abilities deserve more attention in mathematics education, as a major predictor of achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical fields. To support this notion, we describe an experimental study that examined the effects of playing the Angry Birds and Action Video recreational video games on education majors’ math problem-solving and perceptions, math anxiety, working memory, and spatial skills. Individuals with high spatial abilities had significantly higher confidence in learning mathematics, ACT mathematics, science, composite scores, as well as geometry, word, and non-word math problem solvin...
Revista Internacional de Pesquisa em Educação Matemática
Changes in mathematics identity over time were examined as well as beliefs regarding the nature o... more Changes in mathematics identity over time were examined as well as beliefs regarding the nature of mathematics identity and experiences with mathematics that might be related to mathematics identity development. Survey data from 131 college students were analyzed using a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test to assess longitudinal changes in self-perceptions about mathematics identity. In addition, open-ended responses were analyzed using a phenomenological approach to examine experiences with and beliefs about mathematics. The results indicate that mathematics identity, as reported by students, is a stable measure over time. Several overarching themes emerged from the qualitative data to indicate that participants’ reported formative experiences center around to performing in mathematics and teaching others or sharing mathematics. A majority of participants believe it is possible to become a “math person”; however, an underlying belief that mathematics is an innate ability is also evident.
This chapter explores the relationships among video gaming, spatial skills and creativity in math... more This chapter explores the relationships among video gaming, spatial skills and creativity in mathematics education. Specifically, it highlights the importance of spatial abilities for pre-service elementary teachers, and suggests video games as a teaching approach for potentially enhancing creativity, spatial abilities, and mathematics performance. We argue that spatial abilities deserve more attention in mathematics education, as a major predictor of achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical fields. To support this notion, we describe an experimental study that examined the effects of playing the Angry Birds and Action Video recreational video games on education majors’ math problem-solving and perceptions, math anxiety, working memory, and spatial skills. Individuals with high spatial abilities had significantly higher confidence in learning mathematics, ACT mathematics, science, composite scores, as well as geometry, word, and non-word math problem solvin...
The focus of this research is to examine the impact of an instructional instrument to improve the... more The focus of this research is to examine the impact of an instructional instrument to improve the quality of pre-service teachers’ lesson plans to enhance creative learning opportunities for children. The Create Excellence Framework focuses on four components essential to high-quality lesson plans: Cognitive Complexity, Real-World Learning, Engagement, and Technology Integration. The research study examined data from two elementary education teacher candidate classes for five semesters to measure the impact of the instrument on instructional planning for mathematics or mathematics and science integration. Over the course of the five semesters, for each component, the mean scores increased, and there was a positive statistically significant difference between the scores from the baseline semester to the fifth semester. In the fifth semester, the component of Technology Integration had the largest increase and Real-World Learning has the highest mean score. As students learned to desi...
The focus of this research is to examine the impact of an instructional instrument to improve the... more The focus of this research is to examine the impact of an instructional instrument to improve the quality of pre-service teachers’ lesson plans to enhance creative learning opportunities for children. The Create Excellence Framework focuses on four components essential to high-quality lesson plans: Cognitive Complexity, Real-World Learning, Engagement, and Technology Integration. The research study examined data from two elementary education teacher candidate classes for five semesters to measure the impact of the instrument on instructional planning for mathematics or mathematics and science integration. Over the course of the five semesters, for each component, the mean scores increased, and there was a positive statistically significant difference between the scores from the baseline semester to the fifth semester. In the fifth semester, the component of Technology Integration had the largest increase and Real-World Learning has the highest mean score. As students learned to desi...
Learning and Individual Differences, 2017
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Papers by Janet Lynne Tassell