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INVESTIGATING THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURE EVALUATIONS: THE INFLUENCE OF RATER ERROR AND RATER LIMITATIONS
Title
INVESTIGATING THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURE EVALUATIONS: THE INFLUENCE OF RATER ERROR AND RATER LIMITATIONS.
Creator
Harper-Sciarini, Michelle, Jentsch, Florian, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The likelihood of conducting safe operations increases when operators ave effectively integrated their knowledge of the operation into meaningful relationships, referred to as knowledge structures (KSs). Unlike knowing isolated facts about an operation, well integrated KSs reflect a deeper understanding. It is, however, only the isolated facts that are often evaluated in training environments. To know whether an operator has formed well integrated KSs, KS evaluation methods must be employed....
Show moreThe likelihood of conducting safe operations increases when operators ave effectively integrated their knowledge of the operation into meaningful relationships, referred to as knowledge structures (KSs). Unlike knowing isolated facts about an operation, well integrated KSs reflect a deeper understanding. It is, however, only the isolated facts that are often evaluated in training environments. To know whether an operator has formed well integrated KSs, KS evaluation methods must be employed. Many of these methods, however, require subjective, human-rated evaluations. These ratings are often prone to the negative influence of a raterÂÂÂÂÂÂ's limitations such as rater biases and cognitive limitations; therefore, the extent to which KS evaluations are beneficial is dependent on the degree to which the raterÂÂÂÂÂÂ's limitations can be mitigated. The main objective of this study was to identify factors that will mitigate rater limitations and test their influence on the reliability and validity of KS evaluations. These factors were identified through the delineation of a framework that represents how a raterÂÂÂÂÂÂ's limitations will influence the cognitive processes that occur during the evaluation process. From this framework, one factor (i.e., operation knowledge), and three mitigation techniques (i.e., frame-of-reference training, reducing the complexity of the KSs, and providing referent material) were identified. Ninety-two participants rated the accuracy of eight KSs over a period of two days. Results indicated that reliability was higher after training. Furthermore, several interactions indicated that the benefits of domain knowledge, referent material, and reduced complexity existed within subsets of the participants. For example, reduced complexity only increased reliability among evaluators with less knowledge of the operation. Also, referent material increased reliability only for those who scored less complex KSs. Both the practical and theoretical implications of these results are provided.
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Date Issued
2010
Identifier
CFE0002973, ucf:47950
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002973
An Analysis of Undergraduate Elementary School Pre-Service Teachers' Ability to Contextualize Fraction Expressions and Decontextualize Fraction Word Problems
Title
An Analysis of Undergraduate Elementary School Pre-Service Teachers' Ability to Contextualize Fraction Expressions and Decontextualize Fraction Word Problems.
Creator
Tapp, Laura, Ortiz, Enrique, Andreasen, Janet, Dixon, Juli, Witta, Eleanor, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
The focus of this research was to expand on existing literature by providing information on elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to contextualize fraction expressions and decontextualize fraction word problems. The elementary school pre-service teachers who participated in this study were enrolled in a mathematics for elementary school teachers content course in a college of education at a large university during the Spring 2016 semester. In this mixed-method study, the...
Show moreThe focus of this research was to expand on existing literature by providing information on elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to contextualize fraction expressions and decontextualize fraction word problems. The elementary school pre-service teachers who participated in this study were enrolled in a mathematics for elementary school teachers content course in a college of education at a large university during the Spring 2016 semester. In this mixed-method study, the participants were given the Contextualization and Decontextualization of Fractions Instrument (CDFI) which assessed elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to solve fraction word problems and identify decontextualized fraction word problems into expressions and contextualized fraction expressions into word problems. The elementary school pre-service teachers were given the CDFI before and after they completed a unit on fractions. Of the 52 participants who completed both the pre- and post- CDFI, 11 were selected to participant in think aloud interviews in which they decontextualized fraction expressions from word problems and solved and contextualized fraction word problems from expressions. Quantitative results showed an overall statistically significant difference in the elementary school pre-service teachers' pre- and post- test scores. With the exception of two questions, all questions on the CDFI showed a statistically significant difference between the pre- and the post- test scores. No statistical significance was found in the responses to the question that required the elementary school pre-service teachers to identify the expression that matched the given fraction subtraction word problem. A large number of participants correctly identified the correct subtraction expression on the pre-test, and only slightly more of them were able to identify the correct subtraction expression on the post-test. No statistical significance was found in the responses to the question that required the elementary school pre-service teachers to explain their selection of a contextualized fraction multiplication expression. Though there was an increase in the elementary school pre-service teachers' ability to explain their selection of the contextualized fraction multiplication expression, it was not statistically significant. The qualitative analysis of the think aloud interview data showed that some of the elementary school pre-service teachers struggled with contextualizing fraction expressions. Most of the elementary school pre-service teachers did not struggle with solving the fraction word problems, but did struggle with decontextualizing fraction multiplication word problems.
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Date Issued
2016
Identifier
CFE0006506, ucf:51405
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006506
AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY INVOLVING FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS LEARNING FRACTIONS THROUGH A SITUATIVE PERSPECTIVE WITH STORY PROBLEMS
Title
AN ACTION RESEARCH STUDY INVOLVING FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS LEARNING FRACTIONS THROUGH A SITUATIVE PERSPECTIVE WITH STORY PROBLEMS.
Creator
Allen, Colleen, Dixon, Juli, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
ABSTRACT The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the affects of teaching through a situative perspective with story problems on students' understanding of fraction concepts and operations in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom. Students participated in twelve weeks of instruction. Data was collected in the form of pre and post tests, audiotaped and videotaped recordings of instructional sessions, and student work samples. Data analysis revealed that my students...
Show moreABSTRACT The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the affects of teaching through a situative perspective with story problems on students' understanding of fraction concepts and operations in my fifth-grade mathematics classroom. Students participated in twelve weeks of instruction. Data was collected in the form of pre and post tests, audiotaped and videotaped recordings of instructional sessions, and student work samples. Data analysis revealed that my students constructed their own knowledge about various fraction concepts and operations because students engaged in discussions, after solving story problems, that developed, extended and restructured their knowledge. One example of this occurred after students had solved an equal-sharing problem. Two students came up with different answers and another student explained why both answers were equivalent. Student work samples and post test results indicated that the one student's explanation was understood, adopted and extended by all the students in my class. The data also revealed that students' pictures typically represented the context and action of the story problems. For example, subtraction problems dealing with length were usually represented by number lines or horizontal rectangles with crossed-out markings to show the subtraction operation. Throughout this research study, I discovered that my students were capable of learning from each other and solving problems for which they have no preconceived algorithm. I also learned that analyzing students' work and listening to their discussions in ways that focused on their thinking, not their answers, provided me with information about what my students were grasping and not grasping.
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Date Issued
2005
Identifier
CFE0000538, ucf:46423
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000538
The Impact of using a Computer Algebra System in High School Calculus on High Performing Students' Conceptual and Procedural Understanding
Title
The Impact of using a Computer Algebra System in High School Calculus on High Performing Students' Conceptual and Procedural Understanding.
Creator
Bawatneh, Zyad, Haciomeroglu, Erhan, Dixon, Juli, Ortiz, Enrique, Saleh, Suha, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Recently, there has been an increasing interest in high school mathematics education, especially in the teaching and learning of calculus. For example, studies conducted by Bressoud (2010); Judson and Nishimori (2005); Koh and Divaharan (2011); and St. Jarre (2008) all looked at how to improve the understanding of calculus students and what roles the educator must take to ensure that their students are successful. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant...
Show moreRecently, there has been an increasing interest in high school mathematics education, especially in the teaching and learning of calculus. For example, studies conducted by Bressoud (2010); Judson and Nishimori (2005); Koh and Divaharan (2011); and St. Jarre (2008) all looked at how to improve the understanding of calculus students and what roles the educator must take to ensure that their students are successful. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant difference between instruction using computer algebra system (CAS) compared to instruction using the graphing calculator in high school calculus on students' conceptual and procedural understanding. This study explored and compared two different types of instruction based on the use of two different types of technology, CAS and graphing calculator. The total population for this study consisted of 333 students. There were 187 students classified as using the graphing calculator and 146 students classified as using CAS. The data for this study were collected from four Advanced Placement (AP) calculus AB courses from high schools in Florida. The study used observations and two sets of calculus tasks in order to gather data. The research questions for this study looked at comparing the grades of students categorized based on the type of instruction received during the learning of calculus. The statistical procedure that was used was a simple one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that there was no significant difference between the two types of instruction on the students' procedural knowledge, however, there was statistical significance on the students' conceptual understanding in favor of the CAS students. The study introduces a framework on how to obtain information about the effects of different types of instruction on students' understanding of calculus. The results of this study contribute in assisting teachers and future researchers on how to analyze student work in order to obtain information about the students' conceptual and procedural understanding of first semester calculus.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004514, ucf:49278
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004514