Evaluation of an innovative strategy for teaching systems of linear equations in terms of classroom environment, attitudes and conceptual development

This study, which was conducted among middle-school students in California, focused on the effectiveness of using innovative strategies for enhancing the classroom environment, students' attitudes, and conceptual development. Six hundred and sixty-one (661) students from 22 classrooms in four inner city schools completed the modified actual forms of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire, and the Test Of Mathematics Related Attitudes (TOMRA). The data were analyzed for the CLES, WIHIC, and TOMRA to check their factor structure, reliability, discriminant validity, and the ability to distinguish between different classes and groups. In terms of the validity of the CLES, WIHIC, and TOMRA when used with middle-school students in California, the factor analysis results attest to the sound factor structure of each questionnaire. The results for each CLES, WIHIC, and TOMRA scale for the alpha reliability and discriminant validity for two units of analysis (individual and class mean) compare favorably with the results for other well-established classroom environment instruments. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also calculated for each scale of the CLES and WIHIC to investigate its ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. The ANOVA results suggest that students perceived the learning environments of different mathematics classrooms differently on CLES and WIHIC scales. In general, the results provided evidence of the validity of these instruments in describing psychosocial factors in the learning environments of middle-school mathematics classrooms in California. The effectiveness of the innovative strategy was evaluated in terms of classroom environment and attitudes, as well as achievement, among a subgroup of 101 students.Effect sizes and t-tests for paired sample were used to determine changes in classroom environment perceptions, attitudes, and achievement for experimental and control groups. Pretest-posttest differences were statistically significant (p