Identifier	Thesis 2100
Author	Schlosser, Theresa Knotek, 1956-
Title	Using algebra tiles to aid students in factoring polynomials
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date of Publication	2010
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Abstract	This study investigated whether using concrete mathematics manipulatives affected student achievement in factoring second-degree polynomials. The 16 day study included 64 high school sophomores in four different Algebra II classes in a suburban high school. The two classes in the treatment group (n = 33) used algebra tiles to factor second degree polynomials while two classes in the control group (n = 31) used traditional symbolic methods. The study analyzed student achievement between these two groups and also among students’ perceptual learning styles and gender. Despite the similarity in control and treatment groups on a previous common assessment, there was a significant difference in pretest scores (p < 0.05) between the control and the treatment groups. There was no statistically significant difference found in students’ posttest scores (p >.05). When the difference between pre- and posttest scores was scrutinized there was a statistically significant difference between the treatment and control groups (p <.05). The study also obtained surveys of students in the treatment group before and after the factoring unit to capture student attitudes towards using math manipulatives in a high school classroom. At the start of the unit, 45% of the respondents in the treatment group predicted that algebra tiles would be useful. After the unit, 78% of the respondents reported they found factoring with the tiles helpful. The study concluded that using algebra tiles did not make a statistically significant difference in student achievement in factoring polynomials as measured by the posttest. However, because the treatment group had significantly greater mean difference-scores than the control group between the pre- and posttests, the instructional method, including the use of manipulatives, may have played a role in this greater score difference. The instructional method made a qualitative difference in the classroom as perceived by both the students and the teacher of the treatment group. Using hands-on tools such as mathematics manipulatives not only promoted a geometric connection to factoring polynomials, but appealed to the diverse needs and learning styles of students.
Subject	Algebra -- Study and teaching (Secondary) Manipulatives (Education) -- Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary)
Department	Department of Mathematical Sciences
Advisor	Lesik, Sally A.
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	696173983
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Using algebra tiles to aid students in factoring polynomials

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