Gladis Kersaint

The Effect of Access to an Online Tutorial Service on College Algebra Student Outcomes

This study investigated outcomes (achievement, attitude, and retention) of college algebra students who had access to an online tutoring resource using a pre‐posttest control group design. Students in the experimental groups were provided access to an online tutoring service unlike the students in the control group. Both groups had access to other forms of tutorial services available at the university. Collected data included algebra content knowledge test, attitude survey, online tutoring logs, and retention data. The content knowledge gain scores of students in the experimental group who used the online tutoring service (E‐Users) were significantly higher than the students in the experimental who did not use the service (E‐Non‐Users). E‐Users reported better attitudes about help seeking than E‐Non‐Users. More students in the experimental group persisted and remained in the course than did in the control group.

Helping Teachers Promote Problem Solving with Young At-Risk Children

to any formal instruction in mathematics (Carpenter & Throughout the past decade, recommendations in Fennema, 1988; Carpenter et al., 1996; Fennema, mathematics education have called for students to pose Franke, Carpenter, & Carey, 1993). The assumption is and solve problems instead of merely memorizing rules that students who really understand an idea can use it in and procedures (National Council of Teachers of Mathenumerous ways, remember it longer, and can use that matics [NCTM], 1989, 2000). Particularly in the eleknowledge to learn more mathematics (Fennema et al., mentary grades students are being asked to engage in 1993). In this way, students have a larger stake in what more complex mathematics tasks and to have a more they learn. This tenet framed our understanding and active role in their learning process. Consequently, served as the basis for developing strategies to work young children are doing mathematical problem-solving with the teachers of primary students labeled at-risk. tasks that at one time were considered quite difficult for Historically, students labeled at-risk enter school them. Additionally, instruction is aimed at helping stuwith deficits in learning. Because of their social or ecodents develop mathematical power. Such power includes nomic circumstances, they are deemed to be academi“the ability to explore, conjecture, and reason logically; cally behind their counterparts. As a result of these disto solve nonroutine problems; to communicate about and advantages, students continue to perform at a lower through mathematics; and to connect ideas within mathacademic rate than their counterparts in mathematics. ematics and between mathematics and other intellectual Although minorities (African Americans and Hispanics) activity” (NCTM, 1991, p. 1). To this end, teachers are have made great strides regarding mathematics achieveencouraged to teach mathematics in ways that may difment, national assessments reveal that they are still perfer drastically from their own experiences (NCTM, forming at levels substantially below their peers (Reese, 1991). Because recommended teaching approaches repMiller, Mazzeo, & Dossey, 1997). resent a significant departure from traditional modes of To make progress toward improving the mathematmathematics instruction, teachers need assistance to see ical achievement of at-risk students, it becomes very imthem actualized in classrooms. portant to intervene at a very early age. Challenging Several studies have influenced the current thinking these students and providing them with experiences of about what primary-age students can and should be ensuccess early on go a long way to encourage further couraged to do (Carpenter, Ansell, Franke, Fennema, & growth and development and lay a foundation for future Weisbeck 1993; Carpenter, Fennema, & Franke, 1996; mathematical learning. Therefore, opportunities to enCobb et al., 1991; Fuson, 1997; Willis & Fuson, 1988). courage problem solving cannot await later years. For example, in the primary grades, the Cognitively This article reports on the impact of a professional Guided Instruction (CGI) research has shown that studevelopment project conducted with K–2 teachers at a

Addressing Multi-language Diversity in Mathematics Teacher Education Programs

In this chapter, mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) from two different environments, namely South Africa (RSA) and the United States (US), join together to share our insights on the role that MTEs might play in the preparation mathematics teachers need in order to address language diversity in their mathematics classrooms. Although from two different contexts, we believe there are more similarities than differences in the issues and challenges MTEs face who must prepare and support teachers. Hence, we begin by raising awareness of some issues involved in helping students learn to read, write, speak, and listen to mathematics—a foreign language for most students, regardless of their English language proficiency. We then discuss issues related to orchestrating classroom discourse, with special attention to multilingual mathematics classrooms. We end by sharing strategies MTEs might use in preparing teachers to teach students from linguistically diverse backgrounds.