Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Cornelious, Linda F.

Committee Member

Yu, Wei-Chieh (Wayne)

Committee Member

Prince, Debra L.

Committee Member

Murphy, Jessica L.

Date of Degree

5-1-2020

Original embargo terms

Visible to MSU only for 2 years

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Instructional Systems & Workforce Development

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)

College

College of Education

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development

Department

Department of Instructional Systems and Workforce Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe 3rd through 5th-grade mathematics teachers’ demographic information and investigate their perceptions regarding effective instructional practices and their abilities to use technology as an instructional tool in the mathematics classroom. This information will give administrators a more detailed interpretation of what teaching strategies work best for engaging students in successfully learning mathematics. Additionally, the researcher investigated if there was a statistically significant difference in teachers’ perceptions of select demographic variables and high-performance elementary schools and low-performance elementary schools. To accomplish the purpose of this study, an online survey developed by the researcher was used to obtain information from participants via SurveyMonkey. The participants consisted of 135 3rd through 5th-grade mathematics teachers. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA. The findings in the study revealed third through fifth-grade mathematics teachers had positive perceptions about effective instructional practices and their abilities to use technology as an instructional tool in the mathematics classroom. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences found among demographic variables based on the teachers’ responses to certain statements from the online survey. Statistically significant differences were found in the demographic variables of educational background, teaching experience, and years of experience with using various forms of technology in the classroom regarding teachers’ perceptions of effective instructional practices. Also, there were statistically significant differences found in the demographic variables of age range and educational background regarding teachers’ perceptions of using technology as an instructional tool in the mathematics classroom. The conclusions and recommendations based on the findings in this study provided information for administrators in one central Mississippi school district to increase student engagement and improve statewide test scores in mathematics. It was recommended that comparative studies be conducted to further investigate if these findings are consistent with the perceptions of the remaining population of teachers whose students are mandated to take statewide exams about mathematics.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16697

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