CCE Theses and Dissertations

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Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Computing Technology in Education (DCTE)

Department

Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences

Advisor

Steven R. Terrell

Committee Member

Timothy J Ellis

Committee Member

Michael F Lohle

Keywords

Action Research, Elementary, Glog, Phenomenological, Web 2.0

Abstract

In mathematical problem solving, American students are falling behind their global peers because of a lack of foundational and reasoning skills. A specific area of difficulty with problem solving is working non-routine, heuristic-based problems. Many students are not provided with effective instruction and often grow frustrated and dislike math. Through the integration of George Polya's 4-step method and a comprehensive Web 2.0 tool, glogs, students could potentially improve their non-routine problem solving skills. This action research study made an original contribution to the computing technology in education field through a classroom implementation and phenomenological evaluation of glogs as virtual graphic organizers to assist with solving non-routine problems.

Employing a qualitative, phenomenological research method for collecting and analyzing data, the researcher utilized both interviews and document analyses. The data was used to determine how students used Polya's 4-step process to assist with solving non-routine mathematics problems in glogs. The results will provide the teacher researcher and other educational professionals with information on the effectiveness of utilizing glogs to assist students with solving these challenging, non-routine problems in the classroom.

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