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Developing an Instrument to Assess Teachers’ Knowledge of the Nature of Mathematical Modeling and Their Attitude toward Such Modeling

Asempapa, Reuben S.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1458581416

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Curriculum and Instruction Mathematics Education (Education).
Mathematical modeling as an educational endeavor is growing in importance. Associated with this development is the increasing inclusion of mathematical modeling in school curriculum in the United States. Because teachers’ content knowledge and attitude influence what and how they teach, and because modeling is a relatively new topic in the curriculum, instruments are needed to assess teachers’ knowledge and attitude related to mathematical modeling. To meet this need, the author developed two scales for K–12 teachers of mathematics to assess teachers’ knowledge of the nature of mathematical modeling and their attitude toward such modeling. The researcher employed survey research design in this study. The research comprised five phases: item writing, experts’ reviews, cognitive interviews, a pilot study, and a field test. The researcher wrote an initial set of items. Then, 10 experts provided qualitative and quantitative data to inform item revision. The appropriateness of the items were judged by cognitive interviewees. Items were omitted and others revised based on the experts’ reviews, feedback from the cognitive interviewees, and results from the pilot study. This provided content validity for the study. Teachers in nine school districts from a large Midwestern state participated in the Web-based survey during the field test. The Mathematical Modeling Knowledge Scale (MMKS) was designed to measure teachers’ knowledge of the nature of mathematical modeling, and the Mathematical Modeling Attitude Scale (MMAS), to assess their attitude toward such modeling. The field test average MMKS score of 9.51 on a scale of 0–12 indicated satisfactory teacher knowledge of the nature of mathematical modeling. The teachers’ average MMAS score of 4.82, on a 1–6 Likert scale, showed a slightly positive attitude toward mathematical modeling. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the two scores. Psychometric analyses provided reliability and construct validity evidence for the MMKS and MMAS. The Cronbach’s alpha measures of internal consistency were MMKS = .84 and MMAS = .91. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a one-factor model for the MMKS (comparative fit index [CFI] = .97; Tucker Lewis index [TLI] = .96; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .05; and standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = .04) and a four-factor model for the MMAS (CFI = .90; TLI = .90; RMSEA = .07; and SRMR = .05). The scales are valid and reliable tools for mathematics teacher educators and researchers in the teaching of mathematical modeling. Most of the teachers surveyed have misconceptions about mathematical modeling and the mathematical modeling process. Specifically, they did not understand that mathematical modeling situations are authentic real-world scenarios. The term mathematical modeling was new to most of the teachers, and they expressed scant experience in teaching and learning mathematical modeling. The study results support the need for increased instruction in mathematical modeling for both pre-service and in-service teachers of mathematics.
Gregory Foley, PhD (Committee Chair)
Brooks Gordon, PhD (Committee Member)
Eugene Geist, PhD (Committee Member)
Vardges Melkonian, PhD (Committee Member)
267 p.
Education; Educational Tests and Measurements; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Teacher Education; Teaching
mathematical modeling; modeling process; content knowledge; attitude; MMKS; MMAS; teachers of mathematics; scale development; validity; reliability; attitude scale; knowledge scale; assess

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Asempapa, R. S. (2016). Developing an Instrument to Assess Teachers’ Knowledge of the Nature of Mathematical Modeling and Their Attitude toward Such Modeling [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1458581416

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Asempapa, Reuben. Developing an Instrument to Assess Teachers’ Knowledge of the Nature of Mathematical Modeling and Their Attitude toward Such Modeling. 2016. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1458581416.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Asempapa, Reuben. "Developing an Instrument to Assess Teachers’ Knowledge of the Nature of Mathematical Modeling and Their Attitude toward Such Modeling." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1458581416

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1458581416
399
© 2016, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Developing an Instrument to Assess Teachers’ Knowledge of the Nature of Mathematical Modeling and Their Attitude toward Such Modeling by Reuben S. Asempapa is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.