Type of Document Dissertation Author Whitlow-Malin, Dorothy Jeanette URN etd-12052006-234441 Title A Mathematics Acceleration Experience for Mathematically Promising Students Degree Ph.D. Department Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Advisory Committee
Advisor Name Title Dr. Christine Thomas Committee Chair Dr. Deborah Najee-ullah Committee Member Dr. Lynn Hart Committee Member Dr. Lynn Stallings Committee Member Dr. Nikita Patterson Committee Member Dr. Sheryl Gowen Committee Member Keywords
- mathematics acceleration
- mathematics education
- phenomenology
- longitudinal study
Date of Defense 2006-08-03 Availability unrestricted Abstract ABSTRACTA MATHEMATICS ACCELERATION EXPERIENCE FOR
MATHEMATICALLY PROMISING STUDENTS
by
Dorothy Jeanette Whitlow-Malin
To address the pervasive concerns of educators about the social and emotional effects of mathematics acceleration on students and the paucity of findings on those issues, 6 students who had participated in 6 years of accelerated mathematics courses were purposefully identified and interviewed in this longitudinal study. Through a qualitative research design, using phenomenological methods, and accompanying descriptive statistics, the author elicited the students’ descriptions of their learning experiences. Major findings in this study were that all students described great benefits from the experience, negative effects were minor, and key factors contributing to success were work ethic, motivation, parents and teachers. The researcher examines a subset of able and promising students who experienced increased mathematics expectations, and she gives parents, educators and policymakers insight into how that population responded to those challenges. In the ever-shifting arena of higher learning expectations for all students under No Child Left Behind legislation and the poor showing of U.S. students on international tests, these results provide information about the possible responses that other students, those struggling and unmotivated, might have to those demands.
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