This study examines the qualitative outcomes of a geometry intervention program implemented in 2023 in an Israeli elementary school for fifth- and sixth-grade students. The program was unique in its use of emotional support strategies in geometry instruction to improve students’ mathematics achievement, reduce math anxiety, and increase their self-efficacy. To assess its effectiveness, the study collected qualitative data through interviews with two teachers who implemented the program. These interviews provided insight from the teachers’ perspectives on both students’ progress and teachers’ experience. Results revealed significant academic and emotional improvements among students, including greater understanding of geometry, reduced math anxiety, and increased self-efficacy. At the same time, teachers also experienced personal and professional growth, feeling more confident and empowered while delivering the program.
This study investigates the levels of anxiety regarding testing and math in 2nd and 4th graders (N= 273) in the context of Romanian National Evaluations (NE), concentrating on differences before and after the assessments. The research purpose is to understand how the pressure of national testing impacts primary school students' emotional well-being, particularly their test and math anxiety levels. Utilizing a pre-test-post-test research design, the study measured anxiety levels using two questionnaires: the “Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale Survey” (CTAS; Cassady and Johnson, 2002) and the “Abbreviate Math Anxiety Scale” (AMAS; Hopko et al., 2003). These were administered at two-time points: one week before the National Evaluation and one week after its completion. Statistical analyses, including mean comparison using the Paired Samples T-Test, and covariance-based analysis (ANCOVA) were conducted to identify significant changes in anxiety levels across time points and explore the discrepancies in test and math anxiety levels according to grade and gender. The results highlight a noteworthy decrease both in math and test anxiety following National Evaluations. The comparative analysis by grade and gender pointed out insignificant variations in test and math anxiety across grade levels and gender.
Teachers in kindergarten, primary, and secondary schools use hands-on manipulatives to help students grasp concepts in areas such as numbers, operations, geometry, algebra, measurement, data analysis, and probability. These manipulatives and interactive games are essential for fostering mathematical understanding, enabling students to build, reinforce, and connect different representations of mathematical ideas. Skillfully incorporating manipulatives in lessons has significant potential to enhance students' learning in mathematics. A key objective of our research was to introduce the Poly-Universe game family to students in grades I to VI, mathematically gifted high school students, and primary teachers. By familiarizing participants with the game's basic shapes, sizes, colors, and various applications, we aimed to investigate students' problem-solving and problem-posing abilities through action research—beginning with methodological examples and progressing to games and ideas they developed themselves. Our observations revealed that students who engaged in problem-solving activities showed a positive shift in their attitude toward learning mathematics. We also found that the Poly-Universe kit could be effectively integrated into personal development, language, math, and art classes, making it a versatile tool adaptable to nearly any classroom. The play set encouraged creative thinking through hands-on activities and challenging scenarios, making learning enjoyable and confidence-boosting for students of all ages. From a teacher's perspective, we believe these tools are invaluable, as they allow every student to create and experience moments of success.
This study investigates the effectiveness of e-learning systems within the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) by exploring the factors that influence learning outcomes. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from a structured questionnaire with qualitative insights from interviews with subject matter experts. The sample includes student officers actively engaged in SLA training programs and knowledgeable professionals in modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence. Key variables examined include user interface, technical issues, real-time monitoring, feedback mechanisms, and accessibility. The study aims to identify strengths and weaknesses in the current e-learning framework and to propose recommendations for enhancing the overall effectiveness and efficiency of training initiatives. Validity and reliability are ensured through the use of established instruments and pilot testing. The findings are expected to provide valuable insights for improving e-learning practices in the SLA, ultimately contributing to better educational outcomes for personnel. This research not only addresses current challenges in the adoption of e-learning but also highlights the potential of innovative technologies to transform military training and development.
This article covers the details of the Zero Mistake Program (ZMP) implemented for senior high school students at Stirling Schools in the regions of Iraq and Kurdistan while preparing for the ministry exams (wezary, baccalaureate). As a result of the findings, recommendations, and outcomes obtained during the preparation for these exams, which are a serious issue throughout the country, it has been shown that an easier path can be followed that can save both families and students from a great deal of trouble. Our work was supported by a methodology using both quantitative and qualitative data. The students' grades in mathematics at the end of the year, their mathematics mock exam grades at the end of the ZMP, and the official mathematics exam results they obtained from the ministry exam were compared. Our study was further supported by feedback from the students and their parents who participated in the ZMP. Our research was conducted among 12th-grade students at Erbil Nilufer Girls' High School. In summary, this article's details reveal the successful results achieved through the dedicated efforts of selfless teachers in the ZMP, which marks the culmination of various programs (Figure 2) spread over an academic year.
In the article, we present research findings focused on students' approaches to learning in mathematics subjects of the bachelor's degree in kindergarten teaching. The research was carried out on a sample of 118 students of the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University in Brno. We used the standardized SRQ-Academic questionnaire by Ryan and Connel, which was standardized for the Slovak environment. The results clearly demonstrated a minimal representation of students' intrinsic motivation to learn. Among students, external motivation to study and approaches based on the evaluation of the usefulness of acquiring the necessary competences in the basics of mathematics for their future profession prevail. Our findings are a confirmation of intuitively perceived experiences from university teaching.
The study investigates students' motivations and expectations regarding participation in extracurricular activities organized by educational institutions. The research was attended by 702 secondary school (61.1%) and high school (38.9%) students from Romania. Quantitative data were collected using a Google Forms and analyzed using the SPSS program. The results show that for the respondents the most important motivation is intrinsic, the opportunity to get to know their colleagues better, for which there are no statistically significant differences depending on the residence environment, the gender of the students and the education cycle. The next two choices indicate the interest of the secondary school students to capitalize in new contexts the accumulated knowledge, respectively self-knowledge, in the case of high school students. The data show a positive relationship, with a medium to strong value, in terms of the frequency with which the school organizes extracurricular activities, respectively the frequency with which the students participate in them. The offer of schools coincides with the respondents' expectations for excursions or hikes, charitable actions and religious activities, with significant differences between different categories of respondents. In extracurricular activities, which involve pedagogical, scientific, artistic skills, the school's offer statistically significantly exceeds the participation of students.
In university education, lecturers often adopt didactic lectures in undergraduate calculus classes. This method has been judged for making students passive recipients of calculus knowledge who cannot construct their own knowledge of the discipline. One way to make didactic lecture more interactive and engaging in calculus class is to encourage lecturers to integrate elements such as visual aids, real-life examples, stories or anecdotes, questions and discussion, and interactive technologies like polls or quizzes into calculus teaching. One interactive technology currently gaining ground in higher education is Plickers. Plickers is a relatively new audience response system (ARS) tool that allows a lecturer to collect real-time feedback from students using a mobile app and paper-based cards to inform instruction. This study investigated students’ attitudes towards Plickers as a low-cost pedagogical tool to foster active learning in an undergraduate calculus course. A quantitative approach within the scheme of a cross-sectional survey design was adopted and primary data relating to attitudes towards Plickers were collected with a valid and reliable instrument tagged Attitudes towards Plickers in Calculus Scale (ATPCS, Cronbach’s alpha Coefficient =0.96) from 336 undergraduate calculus students. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, percentage, and frequency and inferential statistics of an independent samples t-test. Results revealed that all the students had positive attitudes towards Plickers in calculus instruction. Additionally, there was a significant influence of gender on calculus students’ attitudes towards Plickers in favour of the females (t(2, 334) = -2.89, p=0.004). The findings showed that when implemented effectively, Plickers helped to sustain and improve students’ attitudes in calculus instruction. This study recommended the adoption of Plickers as a low-cost alternative to the deficiencies inherent in didactic lecture.
The increasing screen time and digital distractions in modern education have underscored the need for innovative approaches to early childhood learning that reconnect children with the natural world. This study investigates the integration of cooperative learning methods in nature within the "Mathematics and Environmental Exploration" (MEE) curriculum, aiming to enhance both mathematical skills and social competencies among six-year-old children. A year-long case study was conducted with a pre-primary class at the German Department of the National College Liviu Rebreanu in Bistrița, Romania. The intervention involved a five-month practical phase, featuring weekly workshops in local parks and forests. These sessions were designed to integrate mathematics with environmental exploration through playful and cooperative activities. Mathematical tests and social skill questionnaires were used to measure the impact of the nature-based games. Results indicated significant improvements in both mathematical understanding and social skills. Post-intervention assessments revealed enhanced problem-solving abilities, a better grasp of mathematical concepts, and increased proficiency in cooperation and teamwork. children.
Artificial intelligence is infiltrating our lives and is also gaining ground in education. Failing to acknowledge its presence in higher education, in particular, would be ostrichism. There is a growing body of research on AI in higher education discussing its modes of use and regulatory aspects (Rajki, Nagy & Dingó, 2024; Horváth, 2024; Bognár, 2024; Wang et all., 2023 etc.). According to Long and Magerko (in Bognár, 2024) AI literacy is a set of skills, competencies, knowledge and attitudes that enable individuals to integrate AI into the learning process. The aim of this presentation is to explore the current state and characteristics of AI literacy and AI application. It seeks to uncover the extent to which teacher candidates use AI, which areas of learning they apply it to, what are the motivating or hindering factors, and what challenges they face. Additionally, it examines the types of support they require to overcome these challenges, as well as the sources and areas of assistance. The survey research employed a self-constructed questionnaire as its main instrument. The study sample consists of students from the Department of Pedagogy and Applied Didactics at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of Babeș-Bolyai University, including kindergarten and primary school teacher candidates, as well as students enrolled in the Efficient Learning Strategies master's program (N=431). Our findings indicate that, AI is moderately present in the learning activities of the respondents, and they primarily use it for learning support rather than for competing tasks. At the same time, AI users encounter numerous objective and subjective obstacles, and are faced with various challenges when it comes to AI application.
The aim of the research concerns the attitudes of parents towards teaching subjects from the STEM field (mathematics, the world around us/nature and society and the digital world) in the first cycle of primary education. A total of 129 parents participated in the research. Parents are mostly familiar with the teaching and learning program of the subject mathematics, the world around us/nature and society and the digital world, while mothers are more often familiar with the teaching and learning programs of the mentioned subjects from the STEM field. Parents' responses range from undecided to agreement with the items that describe that the contents of the subjects are mathematics, the world around us/nature and society and the digital world are fun, while the parents' responses are slightly more positive that the subjects are mathematics, the world around us/nature and society and the digital world applicable in everyday life. The results show that it is necessary to inform parents more about the possibilities and importance of STEM teaching subjects. Future research can be directed towards ways of involving parents in the school system in order to be informed about STEM subjects and the possibilities for their implementation.
This study was conducted with the aim of tracking the mathematics attitudes of primary school students from the year they started school until they graduated from primary school and transitioned to middle school, covering a four-year period. The research involved a longitudinal method and was carried out with the participation of primary school students in Istanbul, Turkey. The data collection instruments utilized in this study were the “Student Information Form” prepared by the researchers and the “Mathematics Attitude Scale” developed by Aşkar (1989). Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS 25.0, incorporating the Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis H test, and Spearman Correlation data analysis methods. In the study, it was observed that students had a ‘moderate’ mathematics attitude in the first grade, a ‘very high’ attitude in the second grade, and an overall ‘high’ attitude in the third and fourth grades. As students progressed through the grades, their mathematics attitudes decreased. Although there was a trend favoring males in scores over the years based on gender, this difference was not statistically significant. Finally, a significant relationship was found between mathematics attitude and students’mathematics grades in both the first and fourth grades
In this paper we will explore an application, made by us, that can generate physics grid tests using artificial intelligence. The application analyzes the response from the large language model in the required format recognized by the application and writes it to a file that will be accepted by the test builder application. The application creates the files required for a test by parsing the prompt from the user in a request to an Application Programming Interface. Tests generated by the application can be used in student assessment at physics discipline, by level groups (easy, medium and hard).
This research, conducted between 2020 and 2024 in Romania, investigates the challenges and strategies related to teaching and solving mathematical word problems, based on insights from 163 teachers of grades 0 to 8. The study found that students often experience anxiety when solving word problems, especially during exams, due to difficulties with reading comprehension, identifying key details, and logical reasoning. Teachers highlighted reading issues, lack of focus, and weak reasoning as major barriers. To address these challenges, teachers used strategies like fostering critical thinking, visual aids, and systematic data organization. However, overcrowded classrooms and limited instructional time were significant obstacles. Teachers advocated for modern methods, such as gamification and problem-solving competitions, and emphasized teaching step-by-step reading and comprehension techniques. The study also pointed out shortcomings in mathematics textbooks, such as unclear examples and a lack of practice problems. Teachers recommended revisions to include more varied examples, clearer instructions, and relatable scenarios to better support students' learning.
In this study, the aim was to develop a measurement tool that would provide a valid and reliable assessment of secondary school students' mathematical resilience skills. The research was conducted with a sample of 229 students. To ensure the content and face validity of the scale, expert opinions were initially sought, and the scale was revised based on their suggestions. The scale was then administered to the student group, to evaluate the construct validity of the measurements, both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed. The EFA results indicated that the scale comprised 14 items grouped into four sub-dimensions, labeled as 'value,' 'struggle,' 'growth,' and 'culture.' These factors accounted for 57.667% of the total variance. Regarding reliability, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated as .704. Additionally, CFA confirmed the four-factor structure of the scale. These results indicate that the developed scale is a valid and reliable tool for measuring students' mathematical resilience skills.
Associating the information intended to be learned in line with the achievements of the science course with daily life, following current situations, and developing solutions to possible problems are among the important skills that students should acquire. This study aims to determine the level of science teachers' ability to establish a real life relationship with the subjects in which students have difficulty in their lessons. The research was conducted with a case study, one of the qualitative research methods. The participants consisted of 13 science teachers selected by criterion sampling method. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed descriptively. The findings of the study were evaluated within the scope of the difficulties experienced in relating the lesson to daily life, current thoughts, experiences, and life-based learning approach and two important conclusions were drawn. The first one is that students experience learning difficulties in subjects that teachers characterize as unrelated to daily life. The second is that most of the teachers are aware of the life-based learning approach, but they have difficulties in implementing it and cannot adopt it sufficiently.
Mathematics textbooks are commonly considered to be tools for efficient teaching and implementing change in mathematics classrooms worldwide, helping teachers to teach and learners to learn. When the content as described in the curriculum is not faithfully and relevantly represented in textbooks, learners’ opportunity is limited. Against this background, opportunity to learn Euclidean geometry was investigated by scrutinising four Grade 11 mathematics textbooks used in South African schools, using deductive content analysis. The Kurz Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Model was the theoretical foundation focusing on content coverage and the quality of tasks. In this paper, the embedding of context within geometry questions is investigated as one of the criteria in judging the quality of tasks. The study revealed that although the four textbooks covered almost all the Euclidean geometry topics in depth, contextualisation was absent, despite its ability to improve learners’ problem recognition, interpretation and understanding abilities. All the questions were intra-mathematical. With the use of contextualised tasks, possibly the real world can enter the mathematics classroom, so that the age-old learner question, “Why am I doing this?” may be answered with a demonstration of relevance.
This study aims to examine the experiences of pre-service elementary mathematics teachers regarding the school experience course conducted through distance education due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The study was conducted with 64 volunteer participants, from students who took the School Experience course in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year at a state university, which was determined by convenience sampling among the universities in Turkey. The data was gathered using Google form at the end of the fall semester, using a data collection tool including 4 open-ended questions. These questions were about general evaluation, contributions, faced problems, and suggestions about the school experience course process. The study is phenomenological research from qualitative research types, and the content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Based on the analysis of the collected data, the following codes were obtained: positive, neutral, and negative under the heading of general evaluation; no contribution, getting to know students, professional skills, and time under the heading of contributions; technological problems, lack of professional skills, professional satisfaction, and communication under the heading of faced problems; and active participation, changing the course content, educational support, face-to-face education, student participation, and technological support under the heading of suggestions.
This study examines the impact of constructivist physics lessons and laboratory activities on middle and high school students’ academic success. Utilizing the constructivist learning model, which emphasizes active student engagement, the research was conducted at Hyperion Theoretical High School in Chișinău, Moldova, involving 195 students across grades 6, 8, and 10. The study finds that integrating constructivist teaching methods — such as the 5E model, Flipped Classroom, and Early Physics Approach — positively influences students’ academic performance at the middle and high school level. The results indicate a significant positive correlation between students’ performance in laboratory work and their end-of-chapter evaluations. This highlights the importance of hands-on lab work in reinforcing learning and improving academic performance. The research reveals that, in middle school, girls perform better than boys in lab work and evaluations, but this difference diminishes in high school. The study suggests that constructivist lab work and assigned roles in group activities help reduce the gender gap in physics. The study indicates that physics is perceived as less masculine than traditionally thought, based on performance data and gender-related stereotypes. Despite some differences in performance, the overall constructivist environment in physics labs does not contribute to a negative experience based on gender.
