The Keys to Success in Algebra: The Great Gatekeeper

81 leaves ; 28 cm."To determine the teaching strategies that contribute to student success in learning Algebra, this studied looked at nine teaching strategies to see if these strategies contributed to student success in learning Algebra. Student success is defined as students that passed Algebra the first time they took it. Unsuccessful Algebra students are students that had to take Algebra more than once before they passed it. This study conducted interviews with students who were at the time of the interviews enrolled in Geometry, Algebra II, or Pre-Calculus. The questions asked of them was regarding their thoughts about what are effective Algebra teaching strategies. Twelve questions were asked of ten students that passed Algebra. Five students who passed Algebra on their first attempt and five students who had to take Algebra more than once, before they passed it. This study also interviewed five Algebra teachers regarding their thoughts on effective Algebra teaching strategies. While no association was found regarding one teaching strategy being more effective than another strategy. What the study did uncover was the increase in the likelihood that students succeed in Algebra, the more their Algebra teacher used as many of the teaching strategies that was researched for this study.