Getting Students to (and Through) Advanced Math: Where Course Offerings and Content Are Not Adding Up. American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-10

This report uses Spring 2022 data from nationally representative surveys of principals and math teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) to explore students' opportunities to prepare for and take advanced math. The authors found that small high schools, high schools in rural areas, and high schools that predominantly serve students from historically marginalized communities tend to offer fewer advanced math courses (e.g., precalculus, Advanced Placement math courses) and that uneven access to advanced math begins in middle school. K-12 teachers who work in schools that predominately serve students living in poverty are more likely to report skipping standards-aligned content and replacing the skipped content with concepts from previous grade levels. Also, more than half of K-12 math teachers said they need additional support for delivering high-quality math instruction, especially teachers who work in schools that serve predominantly high-poverty students. In the wake of the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students living in poverty and students of color, these results highlight a critical need for resources to support teachers and to increase student access to advanced courses. [For technical information about the surveys and analysis in this report, see "Learn Together Surveys. 2022 Technical Documentation and Survey Results. Research Report. RR-A827-9" (ED626092).]

Teachers' Perception of Teaching and Learning During to Post Covid-19 Pandemic Era: A Case of Indonesian Mathematics Teachers

This study explores secondary school mathematics teachers ' perceptions of teaching and learning during to post the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Quantitative data were collected through a survey of 45 secondary school mathematics teachers (34 females and 11 males). Moreover, the qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews with four secondary school mathematics teachers (2 females and two males). The quantitative data were analysed statistically. Moreover, thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The quantitative results indicate a significant connection between teachers ' difficulties in teaching and learning and their profiles: their school type, academic degree, and professional qualification. The secondary mathematics teachers ofpublic schools faced more obstacles than the teachers of private schools. The qualitative analysis showed thatfive main instructional aspects might affect teaching and learning success during the pandemic era: learning modes, learning activities, learning media, learning tools, assessment, and time consumption.

Transition to hybrid teaching of mathematics: challenges and coping strategies of Swedish teachers.

Sweden was one of the few countries that did not close down their schools during the Covid-19 pandemic. Different hybrid teaching methods were adopted, some of which are here to stay. This qualitative study explores the challenges that Swedish mathematics teachers had transitioning from face-to-face to hybrid teaching and the coping strategies that they adopted to reduce the effect of these challenges on their practices, well-being and students' learning experiences. The results from the study were gathered from some 51 primary and secondary mathematics teachers in Stockholm using a semi-structured questionnaire. The data were analysed with cognisance of Lazarus and Folkman's coping theory and Simonson's equivalence theory. The results revealed that hybrid teaching had some negative impact on teaching quality, student achievement, student health, teacher workload, and teacher-student dialogue, which underpins the Swedish school curriculum. This lack of dialogue and high-quality interaction undermines the equivalency theory principle, which suggests that the format of instruction should not influence the quality of students' learning experiences. Also, the results revealed that majority of the teachers ascribed positively to problem-based coping strategies as compared to the emotion-based coping strategy as they worked hard to provide students with good learning opportunities.

Out-of-the-Box Learning: Digital Escape Rooms as a Metaphor for Breaking Down Barriers in STEM Education

The traditional lecture-based model of teaching and learning has led to the exploration of innovative approaches including digital escape rooms. Digital escape rooms offer an immersive and engaging experience that promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, making them a unique opportunity to address the challenges of STEM education, which is often perceived as difficult, boring, and intimidating. In this study, the goal is to explore the application of digital escape rooms as an innovative practice in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education in Europe. More specifically, the study aims to evaluate the influence of digital escape rooms on student engagement and learning outcomes in mathematics education as well as to provide valuable insights into the efficacy of this approach as a means of teaching mathematics and fostering active and experiential learning in STEAM education. In order to investigate the potential of digital escape rooms as a metaphor for breaking down barriers and escaping from the ”box” in STEM education, this paper proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the pedagogical value of digital escape rooms in STEM education. It outlines the design process, including learning paths and scenarios, storyline, puzzles, challenges, and feedback mechanisms, and presents a concept of escape room design patterns. An example case study of a digital escape room designed to teach mathematics to university students is also presented, providing insights into the effectiveness of this approach. By using digital escape rooms as a metaphor for breaking down barriers in STEM education, a more inclusive, engaging, and impactful learning environment can be created to prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

Pre-service mathematics teachers' views of nature of science in the context of COVID-19

A framework for K-12 science education (National Research Council [NRC], 2012) supports science learning on social and political issues to make informed decisions and solve problems. Socio-scientific issues have been considered as a context to teach characteristics of nature of science (NOS). This study is a qualitative study in nature to examine how pre-service mathematics teachers define science and address different aspects of science and scientific literacy in the context of coronavirus (COVID-19). Data sources included written reports and reflections on basic science-related questions. Responses from 50 pre-service mathematics teachers were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results indicated that pre-service mathematics teachers defined science as a product in the form of systematic knowledge, fact or theories-laws-models, and they provided informed or partially informed views on empirical, sociocultural, tentativeness, and subjectivity aspects by referring to cognitive, developmental, and sociocultural dimensions of science literacy. Pre-service mathematics teachers' definition of science as accumulated knowledge was not aligned with their desirable views on aspects of NOS. The study suggests possible implications for further studies. © 2023 by authors;.

Teaching and Learning during a Global Pandemic: Perspectives from Elementary School Teachers and Parents

COVID-19 has had a major impact on education, with many children attending school online for more than a year. To understand the implications of online learning for U.S. teachers (Study 1;N = 49) and families (Study 2;N = 189) of elementary school students, we administered a survey in spring 2021, about one year into the pandemic. Participants answered questions about the instructional modality and format, challenges managing instruction, and children's attention and learning. Comparing virtual to in-person instruction (pre-COVID-19) showed: (1) teachers reported the quantity of virtual instruction was less than in-person instruction and children were more off-task;(2) parents reported greater stress managing virtual instruction with fewer than half the children completing online lessons independently;and (3) parents reported that children exhibited mild-frustration during both virtual and in-person instruction, but children enjoyed learning in-person more. Understanding teachers' and families' experiences with virtual instruction will help elucidate potential factors contributing to pandemic-related learning losses, enabling more targeted support.

Primary School Teachers' Perspectives on Emergency Remote Teaching of Mathematics: Challenges and Opportunities for the Post-COVID-19 Era

In this study, we aimed to determine Cypriot primary mathematics teachers' perspectives and lived experiences during the transition to emergency remote teaching (ERT) in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. An in-depth online survey combining closed-ended and open-ended questions was administered to sixty-two (n = 62) educators teaching mathematics in public primary schools during the first lockdown in spring, 2020. The data from closed-ended questions were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, whereas, for the open-ended questions, a thematic analysis approach was employed. Our findings provide useful insights regarding teachers' self-reported technology backgrounds and levels of instruction regarding the use of technology in mathematics prior to the pandemic, as well their level of preparedness for ERT and the main challenges they faced in implementing ERT of mathematics. Our findings also indicate teachers' levels of satisfaction with their ERT practices and their beliefs concerning the extent of achievement of the curriculum learning objectives through ERT, and how these varied based on teachers' self-reported levels of familiarity with technology, their self-reported levels of preparedness for teaching at a distance, and their engagement (or non-engagement) in synchronous instruction during ERT. Teachers' suggestions, based on their experiences from the lockdown period, regarding how to transform mathematics teaching and learning in the post-COVID-19 era are also presented. © 2023 by the authors.

"It Made Us Feel More Connected": An Examination of Secondary Mathematics Teachers Technology Integration during the First Year of COVID Teaching

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a mass shift to online, virtual, and hybrid learning. Soon thereafter, educators and researchers realized that the pandemic would result in significant paradigm shifts in teaching and learning as classrooms moved into online and hybrid spaces. Two years later, very little change has occurred in the modalities of schools and schooling and current evidence suggests that learning decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given these salient facts, this study investigated how technology was integrated into classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic utilizing the SAMR model. Findings indicate that despite the ubiquity of technology during this time, most educators utilized technology to recreate traditional, in-person learning experiences rather than using technology to redefine what the classroom could be or create new paradigms for teaching and learning.

The solo pantomime in the pandemic: Distance postgraduate education in the department of mathematics education during COVID-19

Turkey experiences distance education at the master's and doctorate degrees for the first time. This study aims to reveal the essence of the distance education experiences of mathematics teachers who continue their postgraduate education with distance education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was carried out using the phenomenological research design with six mathematics teachers who continue their postgraduate education at a state university in the Central Anatolia Region in the 2019-2020 academic year. Of the participants selected by the criterion sampling, three were master's degree students and three were doctoral degree students. Research data were collected using semi-structured interview forms designed in line with expert opinions. The interviews were conducted online via video call on the WhatsApp application due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences of the participants were identified with the phenomenon of "solo pantomime”. Participants had positive experiences such as easy access, possibility of review, improvement in technological pedagogical content knowledge, and negative experiences such as communication and connection problems, the irregularity in the schedule, inadequacy of the lesson hours, and focusing problems regarding synchronized distance education. Distance graduate education is also considered quite suitable for mathematics education courses, but insufficient for mathematics field courses. It is also understood that some participants had plans to make radical changes in their thesis topics. Participants avoid long-term experimental studies or studies that can be conducted with a large sample, and they tend towards studies that can be carried out with document analysis or small groups and had problems with their supervisors.

How can android-based trigonometry learning improve the math learning process?

Using ICT-based interactive learning media is a learning method that strongly supports the teaching and learning process for students and teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This ICT-based learning media must be easily accessible to teachers and students, and one of the interactive media that is easily accessible is android-based learning media. This development research aims to design android-based learning media on valid trigonometric material and improve students' mathematical critical thinking skills. This development research using the ADDIE model took 121 Ipeople consisting of expert validators, user (teacher), and students. The expert validators consisted of one mathematics education material expert and one ICT expert. Meanwhile, user represented by one mathematics teacher were involved in validating the use of the media design. In addition, there were participants from among students, which included 118 class X high school students throughout the Province of West Java, Indonesia, who took part in a limited trial phase of 20 people, an extensive trial of 50 people, and a product trial of 48 people. A sample of 118 students came from high school in the medium cluster. So, the reason for taking the sample represents the condition of students both on the island of Java and in Indonesia. The results showed that the developed android-based learning media was valid and could be used without revision with a combined percentage of 87.33%, with details of material experts at 84%, media experts at 92%, and validation by mathematics teachers at 86%. The results of the practicality test on students of 81% showed that the Android-based learning media design had a strong response, so the learning media made were very practical to use. The product test results show that the achievement of mathematical critical thinking skills of students who learn to use android-based learning media is better than those who learn not to use android-based learning media.

TEACHERS' VIEWS ABOUT MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The aim of this study is to examine the experiences of secondary school mathematics teachers facing with the distance education process for the first time due to COVID-19 regarding the mathematics lessons. Therefore, this study employs a case study, which is one of the qualitative research types. The study is conducted with 52 secondary school mathematics teachers working at public and private schools in different regions of Turkey during the 2020-2021 academic year. Convenience sampling method is used to determine the participants. In addition, semi-structured interview technique is used. Finally, content analysis is used during data analysis. The results reveal that (i) the curriculum should be arranged in a way that will increase visualization and integrate it into interactive programs that will make the student more active, (ii) the teachers hold the instruction mostly by using textbooks and smart board applications, (iii) using direct instruction and question-answer methods, the teachers indicate that they mostly encounter problems about internet access, and (iv) the teachers draw attention to the problem that students and teachers are not provided the necessary infrastructure and that they do not have devices with internet access. Thus, the teachers conclude that these problems should be solved first in order to manage the distance education process efficiently.

Impact of Experiencing Event Design with Web 2.0 Tools on Prospective Mathematics Teachers

In this study, the impact of activity designing experiences with Web 2.0 tools on prospective math teachers was examined. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of activity design experiences organized with Web 2.0 tools in the mathematics teaching course on the technological pedagogical content efficacy of prospective teachers, their attitude towards teaching technologies, and rapid content development self-efficacy with Web 2.0 tools. In the study, a nested mixed method was employed. In the study conducted with 33 prospective teachers from the primary mathematics teaching department, the quantitative data was collected using the scales "Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge", "Self-Sufficiency for Web 2.0 Rapid Content Development" and "Attitude to Teaching Technologies". Qualitative data was collected using an interview form. Within the scope of the distance education and "Teaching numbers" course, different Web 2.0 tools were introduced for a period of 10 weeks, and it was presented how to create activity examples that could be used in mathematics teaching. According to the quantitative results, the prospective mathematics teachers' self-efficacy increased for rapid content development with Web 2.0 tools. In addition, it was observed that the "Attitude towards Teaching Technologies" scale had a significant effect on the sub-dimensions such as believing in the use of teaching technologies in lessons, enjoying the use of teaching technologies in lessons, and not enjoying the use of teaching technologies. In line with the opinions of prospective mathematics teachers, it was concluded that the study raised awareness about technology integration, enabled content production with Web 2.0 tools, and developed positive attitudes, new knowledge, and skills about technology.

The value of varying question design

While some tertiary mathematics educators approximated the familiar invigilated, closed-book assessment regime in the online environment forced upon us all by a pandemic, others either by choice or necessity needed to devise a new way to assess their students' learning. This Classroom Note both synthesizes advice from the literature about what might comprise 'internet resistant' question design and provides practical, specific examples to demonstrate how such advice can be put into everyday practice. The examples are annotated, and the potential long-term utility of such question design is discussed, whatever the future of assessment may be.

Determining the Perceptions of Preservice Mathematics Teachers towards Mathematics Education through Visual Metaphors in the COVID-19 Process

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, has led to a number of changes in education as well as in many other fields . The most important change experienced was that education transformed into online platforms. Education on online platforms has led to several effects on students, and as a result, significant changes have been observed in students' perceptions of mathematics education. The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of pre-service mathematics teachers, who started university during the COVID-19 pandemic and took courses with synchronous distance education, through visual metaphors. The phenomenology method was used in the study. The sample of the study consisted of 31 first-year mathematics teachers who had never taken a face-to-face course at a university before. In sample selection, purposive sampling method was used. A metaphorical perception form was used to collect data. The participants were asked to make a drawing for the mathematics education they received through synchronous distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explain the drawing. The findings were analyzed using content analysis method. Thus, codes were identified and then categories were established by bringing similar codes together. The findings showed that metaphors were grouped under the categories of education process and emotions. It was found both in the drawings and the explanations that the participants had a negative perception of distance mathematics education during the pandemic process. In addition, it was revealed that the participants were afraid to ask questions because they had not met their friends and teachers before, and therefore the lessons were inefficient. In line with these results, suggestions were presented to improve the efficiency of distance mathematics education.

A Research on the Influences of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Mathematics Teachers' Resource Systems

This study was conducted to examine in depth the influences of the Covid-19 pandemic on the resource systems of mathematics teachers. This qualitative study is based on the documentational approach to didactics and is a case study conducted with two secondary school mathematics teachers teaching in the 7th grade. The research was limited to the subject of equations and equalities. Reflective analysis was used as a data collection method in this study. The data were obtained from the participating teachers in two stages, pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. Data in the first stage, which included the pre-pandemic period, consisted of the schematic representation of resources system for the face-to-face education period of the equations and equalities subject before the beginning of the online education and the semi-structured interview conducted before the online education of the subject started. The data of the second stage including the pandemic period, were obtained through the schematic representation of resources system prepared by the teacher at the beginning of the online education, and the video and audio recordings of the lessons in which the teacher taught the equations and equalities unit in a certain class with online education during the pandemic period. In the first part of the data analysis, the data obtained from the teachers in the prepandemic period were subjected to content analysis and the resources systems of teachers in face-to-face education was revealed. As a result of the examination of the schematic representation of resources systems prepared by the teachers in this section for the face-to-face education period and the analysis of the interview data, two themes, "General Habits" and "Special for Face-to-Face", were reached. In the second part, the data obtained from the teachers during the pandemic period were subjected to content analysis, and the teacher's resources systems in online education was revealed and two themes were reached: "General Habits" and "Special for Pandemic". When the resources systems of the teachers for the period in face-to-face education was compared with the resources systems for the pandemic period in the third section, the change in the documentation systems of the mathematics teachers during the pandemic was also revealed in detail. The results revealed that the duration of completing the unit has changed during the pandemic period, the variety of sources used did not change, but the type shifted from printed sources to z-book applications and benefited from much more technological tools than face-to-face education.

Indonesian Mathematics Teachers' Views on Distance Learning Barriers during the Early COVID-19 Pandemic

The aim of this paper is to describe the views of mathematics teachers in Indonesia on the distance learning barriers during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, this paper investigates the barriers that teachers view as significant in distance learning and efforts taken to overcome the barriers during the early COVID-19 pandemic. This study employed a descriptive research design involving 415 mathematics teachers by snowball sampling to fill out an online questionnaire. This study shows that barriers related to pedagogical dimensions were perceived as significant in distance learning during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study reveals that most of the teachers did some efforts that can be done by the teachers themselves to overcome the barriers. Based on the findings, we argue that it is important to support teachers' pedagogical competencies to conduct distance learning in order to face this current pandemic or any future crises that may potentially disrupt face-to-face learning.

Providing Virtual Mathematics Feedback: Connecting Research to Practice

Feedback is an essential form of communication between the student and teacher. Research has documented the importance of feedback in advancing student mathematical and critical thinking, with renewed recommendations to provide and use feedback in mathematical instruction during the era of COVID-19. Giving personalized feedback in an online environment can be a challenge -- especially in a mathematics class. This article summarizes five core principles of feedback, associated strategies for mathematics teachers to provide students virtual feedback, and notes on how we have implemented these strategies in middle school mathematics classes.

The Views of Secondary School Mathemetics Teachers on Their Distance Education Experiences: The Case of Turkey

Distance learning process was initiated by the Ministry of National Education to allow equal opportunity and to improve accessibility, and the teachers provided online courses, exams or material. In the present study, conducted to determine the views of mathematics teachers, who are among the stakeholders in the process, on their experiences in online instruction of the mathematics course in secondary schools, phenomenology approach, a qualitative research method, was employed. The findings of the present study conducted with 105 secondary school mathematics teachers employed in seven regions in Turkey demonstrated that the middle school mathematics teachers considered distance education an obligation to continue mathematics courses and to maintain the communication with their students. It was also observed that the teachers believed that it would be difficult to instruct the mathematics course online due to its nature. It was determined that the predominant view argued that distance education allowed instruction of the course independent of the time and the place, and hence an advantage of the process, but the teachers also stated that distance education had certain cognitive, affective, technical and social disadvantages. The teachers complained that technical problems such as internet access and lack of tablets led to a difficult process.

One Year into the Pandemic, What Secondary Math Teachers Said about Challenges to Standards-Aligned Instruction and Skipping Content. Data Note: Insights from the American Educator Panels. Research Report. RR-A827-8

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic upended math instruction--but not equitably. Although little is known about the quality of math instruction in different school settings during the 2020-2021 school year, evidence from national survey data collected throughout the pandemic suggests that students' "opportunity to learn" (OTL)--defined here as time on instruction and content coverage--differed dramatically depending on whether students were learning in person or through an alternative mode of instruction. This Date Note presents findings from the 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Surveys to highlight the challenges to standards-aligned instruction that secondary (grades 6 to 12) math teachers might have perceived one year into the pandemic, how frequently they skipped standards-aligned math content, and their reasons for doing so. These findings add to the growing body of evidence showing that students in fully remote and hybrid school settings had fewer opportunities to engage with grade-level math than students learning in person. Specifically, secondary math teachers who provided remote or hybrid instruction reported skipping standards-aligned content more frequently and were less likely to report being able to devote as much time as they would have liked to math instruction compared with their in-person counterparts. These findings are particularly significant for students who attended schools that were less likely to offer in-person instruction during the 2020-2021 school year.