The work of teaching mathematics is ever-changing. Amidst changes in pedagogy, curricula, and standards, what is most important is the belief that students can achieve high levels of math. Mathematical attainment is related to positive math self-efficacy and the use of mathematical practices. This experimental design study aimed to analyze the effects of a six-week intervention on students’ math self-efficacy, practices, and achievement in grades four through six. The following research questions guided the study: RQ1. What effect does the intervention have on students’ math self-efficacy? RQ2. What effect does the intervention have on students’ math practices? RQ3. What effect does the intervention have on students’ math achievement? RQ4. What other student variables moderate the effects of the intervention (i.e., gender, grade level, teacher)? Study results indicated that students in the intervention group reported higher than average gains on the MSE and the SMP than the control group. However, the higher gains on these two measures were not statistically significant. Additionally, the control group’s average increase on the STAR math assessment was higher than the intervention groups but also not statistically significant. These findings provide a practical application for teachers to improve students’ math self-efficacy but suggest additional studies to expand the body of research and the potential benefits of such interventions to math education, teachers, and students alike.

Female students are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors and careers despite indicators of comparable performance. The purpose of the present study is to examine the implications of teacher-reported performance goal practices on students' mathematics self-efficacy, valuing of mathematics, and mathematics achievement. Previous research has shown that performance goal practices may affect these student variables; however, this has not been explored extensively with regard to gender differences or at the elementary-school level. Data were collected from a sample of 692 students located in three school districts in southeastern Texas. Students were eligible for participation if they scored below the median score on a district-administered early literacy assessment. Students' mathematics self-efficacy and valuing of mathematics were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Mathematics achievement was assessed through an individually-administered achievement test. Classroom performance goal practices were assessed through a teacher self-report. Analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling to account for classroom-level effects on student-level outcomes. Results indicated that gender differences in students' mathematics self-efficacy emerged at grade 4 and were also evident at grade 5, with male students reporting significantly higher mathematics self-efficacy at grades 4 and 5. There were no statistically significant gender differences in students' valuing of mathematics across grades 3-5. Results indicated that performance goal practices did not exert any statistically significant effects on student-level outcomes. At the same time, consistent with prior research, students' mathematics self-efficacy was found to be a significant predictor of mathematics achievement, when controlling for achievement during the prior school year. Implications and future research directions are discussed. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/155444

Community colleges are calling to support students who are at risk of restricting their career options because they do not have the mathematical groundings to pursue math-related careers. In response, I conceptualize a mathematics intervention program namely, Reciprocal Partnership, which is defined as the collaboration of student dyads to engage in reciprocal learning and teaching under the influence of constructive and collaborative environments that are structured by the Three Learning Situations framework. Reciprocal Partnership is proposed to enrich college students in their mathematical learning and to support their social development during their secondary-tertiary transition for mathematics knowledge and skills are strongly correlated with studentsâ college success and career aspiration. Therefrom, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of Reciprocal Partnership on the mathematics self-efficacy and achievement of first- and second-semester college students through a mixed methods approach. It also examines the structure of Reciprocal Partnership to inform the design of effective intervention programs for mathematical learning. Data from final examination grade, and pre- and post-surveys were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics, and were used to cross-validate findings from semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results reveal significant effect of Reciprocal Partnership on the mathematics self-efficacy of only students in the first semester, and no significant effect on the mathematics achievement of both students in the first and second semester. However, qualitative results identify a number of benefits for both groups of students such as gains in mathematical knowledge and skill, confidence, motivation, social connection, and comfort. Results from this study suggest the emphasis of mathematics intervention programs on all three learning situations (exploratory, explanatory, and extensional) over only the explanatory situation to maximize learning outcomes.