A study of the metric skills of grade seven students in a selection of Newfoundland schools

Moakler, Judith B. (1986) A study of the metric skills of grade seven students in a selection of Newfoundland schools. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the overall metric achievement of grade seven students in a selection of Newfoundland schools. In an attempt to identify various factors which may affect student achievement in. metric, the study also examined the relationship of student metric achievement with sex of student, mathematical achievement, exposure to metric instruction, size of a school, teacher's mathematical and science qualifications, teacher's metric inservice training, years of teaching experience, as well as exposure of teacher to the metric system during preservice training. -- Data for the study were gathered from eighteen schools randomly selected from the total population of schools on the Avalon Peninsula. The subjects consisted of 380 grade seven students and 29 mathematics teachers who volunteered to participate in the study by completing a short questionnaire. -- Williams Test of Metric Skills (WTMS), which was identified as the most suitable evaluation instrument, was administered to the sample. Using correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression, analysis of the data collected led to the following conclusions: -- 1. Grade seven students are not proficient in their use of units and symbols, estimation skills, measurement skills, and conversion skills as measured by WTMS. -- 2. Grade seven students are not proficient in their understanding of length, mass, volume, and temperature as measured by WTMS. -- Statistically significant differences were found in student metric achievement when students were grouped by mathematical achievement, size of school, completion of the metric chapter, and teacher's science qualifications. -- Statistically significant differences were not found in student metric achievement when students were grouped by sex, their teacher's mathematical qualifications, the amount of inservice metric training received by teacher, the number of years of teaching experience of the teacher, nor the exposure of the teacher to the metric system during preservice training.

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