Tommy Smith

Individual Learner Variables and Their Effect on Mathematics Achievement as Students Advance From Fifth to Sixth Grade

A total of 761 students (58.1% female) from selected fifth- and sixth-grade mathematics classrooms in Alabama were examined to investigate the relationships between individual learner variables (gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status [SES]) and mathematics performance. Specifically, this portion of the study examined individual learner variables and their effects on mathematics achievement as students advance from fifth to sixth grade. The two-group path analysis resulted in differences in the degree to which individual learner variables (i.e., gender, ethnicity, SES) affect self-regulated learning, motivation, anxiety, and mathematics achievement as students move from fifth to sixth grade. Path analysis results indicated that the constrained and unconstrained models were statistically different (p < .001), meaning that the findings were not consistent for the fifth- and sixth-grade students.

Designing and Developing Lesson Plans for K–12 Classrooms

The overarching goal of this four-phase, in-service project—Girls Engaged in Mathematics and Science—was to change attitudes, behavior, pedagogy, and curriculum for girls through the provision of a vibrant, engaging, digital portal program with media that extends learning beyond the traditional classroom. Described here, Phases I and II were designed for work with mathematics and science teachers across a southern state to develop 250 lesson plans incorporating technology as well as hands-on activities that could be accessed by other teachers nationwide.