Trends in Mathematics

Education Research
Garnette Mae V. Balacy, MS
May 26, 2018
OUTLINE
Research issuances
Publication
Trends in Teaching and Learning Math
Variety of Research Approaches
Sample of Researches
You must have been asked these…
• What is my study?
• I know the problem, how can these be answered?
• I know the answer, how will I craft scientific questions?
• I have the data, how do I process?
• I have the results, how do I analyze?
• I have the analysis, how do I make the conclusion?
• I have the paper, how do I make them interested?
General Principles on Higher Education
Research
1. Research is the ultimate expression of an individual’s innovative and
creative powers
2. Research thrives in an environment characterized by free flow of
information, honest and analytical exchange of ideas and
supportive policy and administrative structures
3. Research is one of the main functions of the higher education
sector. HEIs are expected to lead in the conduct of discipline-based,
policy-oriented, technology-directed and innovative/ creative
researches that are locally responsive and globally competitive
NHERA Priority discipline clusters
Consistent with the Medium term Plan for the Development of Higher Education
and the New Higher Education Highway Toward a Knowledge-based Economy,
research shall be encouraged in the following clusters of disciplines:
Science and Mathematics
Education and Teacher Training
Health and health profession
Information and Communication Technology
Engineering, Maritime and Architecture
Agriculture
Environmental Science
Humanities
Social Sciences
Other disciplines as identified by the Commission
Priority Areas in Education and Education
Management
1. Program/curricular studies
2. Policy Oriented Studies, eg access and equity
3. Research on quality and standards, eg quality assurance,
benchmarking
4. Technology and Education, e.g
5. Model building studies
6. Institutional development studies
7. Manpower and demand
8. others
DepEd Order No 16 series of 2017
Research Management Guidelines – the policy statement

DepEd promotes and strengthen the culture of Research in basic education

Evidence-based decision-making from various education reforms or

initiatives shall strengthen the culture of research in DepEd

Mechanisms for fund-sourcing, link to education processes, dissemination,

utilization and advocacy

Premised on evidence-informed policies and programs

DO 39, series of 2016
• Promulgated the Basic Education Research Agenda

Teaching and Learning

Gender and Development
Child Protection
Disaster Risk Reduction
Human Resource Management
Development
Inclusive Education
Governance
Fund Sources and Special Provisions
These funds will support education research initiatives in the Department
such as but not limited to approved proposals on capacity building, policy
development, technical support, monitoring and evaluation

1. Basic Education Research Fund (BERF)

2. Special Education Fund (SEF)

Execution of a Memorandum of Agreement

Ethics – anti-plagiarism declaration
- absence of conflict of interest
- fraud will result to blacklisting
Research Partnerships
To engage engage external partners, DepEd will collaborate with
research and academic institutions on various research initiatives

State
Development
universities
partners
and colleges

NGOs and civil

Gas and LGUs
society

Indigenous
Cultural
Communities
Publication
 Why publish a research paper?

For the For the For the thesis

student and For the
scientific researcher institution
community adviser
• Satisfies the self
actualization • Increases • publication is
• Research should a measure of
end up in info or need, as well as employment
the lower needs opportunities, quality and
technology excellence
people can use • To be cited getting
• Contribute to the
scholarships and • basis for
body of literature
grants endowments
• Adviser is co-
author
 The Peer Review
 Detect flaws in methodology, data presented and explanations
Detect plagiarism, wrong citations, scientific names or authorities
Decide whether citations are relevant or not
Evaluate whether the paper can contribute or not
Detect false claims and wrong interpretations and generalizations

Thus, the peer review process is a method of determining

the validity, reliability and credibility of the paper

the ultimate measure of research quality

Selecting a journal
A journal is a collection of edited researches coming
out at regular intervals. Journals range in quality and
credibility.
A scholarly journal is peer-reviewed (refereed), that is,
other scholars read the papers and approved them for
publication (Raimes, 2008)
 High quality journals include those accredited by
Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) or Thomson
Reuters
 Should not be in the Beall’s list
Examples
Philippine agricultural scientist
Philippine journal of crop sciences
Contemporary Issues in Research
in Education and Math Education
Some Examples of Educational Concerns
1. A high school principal wants to improve the morale of his teachers
2. The school in charge of the remedial program wants to know what
happens during a typical school day in the lives of students in the
program
3. A school counselor wishes she could get more students to open up
about their worries and problems
4. A grade 10 teacher wonders if discussions are more effective than
lectures in motivating students to learn biological concepts
5. A PE teacher wonders if ability in one sport correlates with ability in
other sports
What is it about Mathematics that compels us to
put so much emphasis and focus on its learning?
1. It is one of the subjects most studied, taken up at the PreK level all
the way to college
2. It undergone several revisions – NESC, SEDP, RBEC
3. The goal of mathematics at the basic education level
“ to provide opportunities for individuals to develop skills and attitudes
needed for effective participation in everyday living and prepare them
for further education and the world of work so that they make
worthwhile contributions to the society at large (Pascua, 1993)
The framework
Trends
Mathematics as a learning journey
“Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared
highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the
explorers often get lost and discover more than they
thought possible.”
W.S.Anglin
Problems pointed (UP
NISMED) then,
and the reform

• Ten-year basic
education is
blamed for
overcrowded
curriculum
• Shortage of
qualified math
teachers
• Teacher-
centered
classrooms
Critical thinking
• Intellectually disciplined process of actively and
skillfully conceptualizing information gathered from
observation, experience, reflection and reasoning or
communication as a guide to belief and action (Scriven
and Paul, 1987)
Problem Solving
Finding a way around a difficulty, around an obstacle, and finding a
solution to a problem that is unknown (Polya, 1965)
The challenge of change in teaching practices
European Commission (2007) stated that basic math education is still
not effective because:
oIt is designed for formal teaching
oLinks to the real world are weak
oFew experimental and modeling activities
oTechnology is quite rarely used
Teacher-related Challenges
Quantitative – teacher recruitment and retention
- teachers’ access to networks, resources, in-service
training, exchanges and collaboration
Qualitative – types of mathematical knowledge by Ma ( 1999)
e.g. teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, convictions about math
The technological challenge
• In basic education, technology concerned were mainly calculators,
spreadsheets, dynamic geometry software (Hoyles and Lagrange
2009).
• Have enriched opportunities for experimentation, visualization and
simulation
• The issue is linked to teaching resources
 Collaboration

oMathematics is rooted in context and cultures.

oNetworks of teachers, students and researchers
oExamples of mathematics education organizations are
Mathematics Teachers Association of the Philippines (MTAP),
Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP) and East Asia
Regional Conference on Mathematics Education (EARCOME)
Variety of Research Approaches
Researches in Math Ed can be classified as
Quantitative
Qualitative
Mixed
Experimental
Descriptive
Types of Researches by Fraenkel
Quantitative Research Approaches
• Descriptive
• Inferential
• Modeling
• Experimental
• Mixed methods
Action Research

Is a process of systematic,
reflective inquiry to
improve educational
practice or resolve
problems in any
operating unit like school,
classroom or office
(DepEd)
 STEPS FOR MATHEMATICAL MODELLING
• Step 1: Identify the physical situation

• Step 2: Convert the physical situation into a mathematical model by

introducing parameters / variables and using various known physical
laws and symbols

• Step 3: Find the solution of the mathematical problem

• Step 4: Interpret the result in terms of the original and compare the
result with observations or experiments

• Step 5: If the result is in good agreement, then accept the model.

Otherwise modify the hypothesis / assumptions according to the
physical situation and go to step 2
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
Factor Analysis
Collection of methods used to
examine how underlying constructs influence the
responses on a
number of measured variables

Two types: Exploratory and Confirmatory

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) attempts to discover the

nature of the constructs influencing a set of responses
Objectives of EFA
• Determine the number of common factors influencing a set of
measures
• Determine the strength of relationship between each factor and each
observed measure
• Identify nature of constructs underlying responses in a specific
content area
• Determine what sets of items “hang together” in questionnaire
 Objectives of EFA

• Demonstrate dimensionality of a
measurement scale

• Determine the most important features when

classifying a group of items

• Generate “factor scores” representing values

of the underlying constructs for use in the
analysis
A Sample of Researches
Assessment of the Teacher-
Made Tests in Math
What is validity of test based on the
content validity?
How can test items be analyzed in
terms of:
Difficulty Index?
Discrimination Index?
What is the reliability of the tests?
Attitudes and Performance in Mathematics of Grade
10 Students at Matanao National High School
The study aimed to investigate the dimensions of Attitudes toward
Mathematics utilizing Data Reduction Technique called Exploratory Factor
Analysis (EFA) – Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and its significance to
Mathematics performance to 348 Grade 10 students at Matanao National High
School. The study was done through survey method using the Attitudes Toward
Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) of Tapia (1996) and the results of the National
Career Assessment Examination SY 2014-2015. Findings revealed that there are
two factors explored namely; Interest and Anxiety. These two factors found out
to be the factors that significantly influence Mathematics performance.
Moreover, Matanao National High School performed Low Average in the 2014-
2015 NCAE. Thus, the study suggests to further testing with another setting
having larger samples and to explore or to confirm the new distinguish factors
on the attitudes toward mathematics. Moreover, it recommends that Matanao
National High School may intensify and strengthen its academic programs with
regards to its monitoring projects on the performance of its students on the
different achievement tests, nationally
EMPLOYING SOCIAL NETWORKING AS TOOL in LEARNING
COLLEGE MATHEMATICS
• What are the Math instructors’ insights on the use of social media in
teaching Mathematics?
• What are the student’s experiences on the benefit of social media in
learning?
 LICENSURE PERFORMANCE OF BSED
MATHEMATICS GRADUATES OF UM DIGOS
COLLEGE AND ITS PREDICTORS
Objectives:
1. Is there a significant relationship between the LET performance and the
undergraduate performance of the Secondary Teacher Education Mathematics
graduates of UMDC from A.Y: 2003-2004 to A.Y. 2013-2014 in terms of:
• General Education
• Professional Education
• Field of Specialization
• Grade Point Average
2. What are the variables that strongly influence the probability to pass the
Licensure Examination for Teachers?
3. What model fits to predict the LET result of the Secondary Teacher Education
Mathematics graduates from A.Y. 2003-2004 to A.Y. 2013-2014?
SURVIVAL ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS

Survival analysis is a set of statistical methods used for examining data where the
time until the occurrence of an event of interest is the outcome variable(Despa, 2012). This
quantitative-descriptive correlational study aimed to investigate the survival of the
Bachelor of Secondary Education students of UM Digos College for the batch of students
from 2008 – 2012, 2009 – 2013, 2010 – 2014, 2011 – 2015 and 2012 – present. This study
also determined the dropout rate and its relationship to the predictor variables which
includes the age, sex and major that causes students to drop out. Kaplan-Meier Analysis
and Log Rank Testing were used to analyze the enrolment data acquired from the Office of
the Registrar of the UM Digos College.
Results revealed that there is no significant difference between the variables and
the dropping out of the students. Age, sex and major are not factors that predict the
probability of a student to drop out of school. Thus, it cannot be used to formulate a model
that would indicate if a student has a greater chance of dropping out or not. It was also
found out that students have the possibility of dropping out of school in between their
second semester of their first year and first semester of their second year in school.
Way Forward

School’s set of
guidelines,
policy operational
procedures and etc.

Identifying a niche,
usually defined by agenda
programs offered

An implicit policy
budget instrument
References
National Higher Education Research Agenda
Charting a Course for a Successful Research Career: A guide for Early
Career Researchers
Mathematics Framework for Philippine Basic Education
Educating Teachers for Diversity by the OECD
How to design and evaluate Research in Education by Fraenkel
Educational Research: Contemporary Issues and practical approaches
by Wellington
Dankeschön