Mathematics Play, Problem Solving, and Perseverence

Abstract

The research presented in this article focuses on the effect of student use of problem solving apps on a tablet PC either prior to (motivation) or immediately after (reward) a classroom assessment. The classroom teacher developed the assessment. Continued practice throughout the school year is measured by collecting d ata on benchmark testing completed by fifth grade students in the fall, winter, and spring administrations.

The team of the researcher and classroom teacher wanted to study the effect of using tablet computers in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms. Spec ifically, they wanted the answer to “Does using problem solving apps either as a motivator or reward help students perform differently on classroom assessments and high stakes tests?” This is an important question to answer for student development and the yearly evaluation of the classroom teacher.
The two variable groups for the analysis includes the Pretest scaled score and the Posttest scaled score. The purpose of this analysis was to determine if using the problem solving apps helped the students throug hout the year with the three administrations of the benchmark testing. Scores for the fall administration represent the Pretest score (PreScale) and the Posttest score (PostScale) were gathered using the spring administration.
Descriptive statistics on the two variables show that the posttest score has a much larger standard deviation. However, the difference does not show it as statistically significantly different. The pairedt test showed a calculated test statistic value of 0.000. The use of p=0.05 indi cates a rejection of the null hypothesis.
The paired sample correlation values concurred with a statistically significantly difference. The correlation value of 0.691 indicates a significance of probability at 0.000. Since the variable change is a positive correlation value, then it is a direct correlation. The correlation value indicates a strong relationship between the variables.