Furner, Joseph M.

A report issued in 2012 by the United States Government Accountability Office
(US Government Accountability Office, 2012) concluded that the United States is not
producing enough graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) to meet the demands of its economy. According to the National Center for
Educational Statistics (2001), fewer than fifty percent of students nationally possess a
solid command of mathematical content. This study tested whether the insertion of
Academic Service Learning (ASL) into intermediate algebra courses improved students’
performance, their motivation to learn the subject, and attitudes towards mathematics
learning. ASL is an educational strategy that integrates meaningful community service
with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic
responsibility, and strengthen communities (Duffy, Barrington, West, Heredia, & Barry,
2011). The subjects in this study were thirty-four students enrolled in intermediate
algebra at a large public university in southeast Florida. The participant group consisted
of fifteen students who completed the requirements of the ASL program and the
comparison group consisted of nineteen students who initially showed interest in the
program but dropped out of the study early in the semester.
Through a mixed method analysis, the study found that the proportion of students
who passed the course in the ASL group was greater than the proportion of students in
the non-ASL group. Similarly, the mean final course grade in the ASL group was higher
than the mean final course grade in the non-ASL group.
The results of the qualitative analyses showed that all the participants enjoyed the
ASL experience. In addition, some participants felt that the ASL project raised their
motivation to learn mathematics and increased their competence in mathematics.
However, both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that the students’
participation in the ASL project did not affect their attitudes towards mathematics
learning. The study concluded that Academic Service Learning has the potential to help
improve students’ success rates in developmental mathematics courses as well as increase
their motivation to learn the subject.

This study compared data related to National Board Certification (NBC) of mathematics teachers in a South Florida school district. Data included 1,162 student scores on the 2014 AP Calculus AB exam, student gender, student grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch (FRL) status. Teachers completed the Standards' Beliefs Instrument (SBI) (Zollman & Mason, 1992) to determine alignment of their beliefs with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. Interviews were conducted with five NBC mathematics teachers to understand how they incorporate best mathematics teaching practices in their daily instruction. A t-test analysis revealed that students taught by NBC teachers scored significantly higher (M = 3.70) on the AP Calculus AB Exam than those taught by non-NBCTs (M = 2.74); Cohen's d (.6429) indicated a moderately large effect size. No causation is to be implied; various confounding factors may also contribute to the variance in student scores. Three factorial ANOVA tests were performed to test interaction effects. Two significant interaction effects were detected: (1) NBCT status and student grade level; and (2) NBCT status and student FRL (free and reduced price lunch) status. No significant interaction was found between NBCT status and student gender. With a reliability estimate using Cronbach's alpha, a second t-test was conducted. A statistically significant difference was found regarding the mean scores of NBCTs and non-NBCTs regarding their beliefs according to the vision of the NCTM. NBCTs generally have practices that align more with the NCTM mathematics teaching standards. Interviews with five NBC teachers of AP Calculus provided rich qualitative descriptions of their teaching philosophies, approaches, and best practices contributing to student success. The results of this study reinforce evidence from previous research that the process of obtaining the NBC contributes to a teacher's professional expertise and is related to student success; however, since there may be other confounding factors related to teachers, students, and their schools, the NBC cannot be considered the sole factor contributing to student success in AP coursework and exams.