TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCES STUDY (TIMSS)

Article 1:


Ismail Noor Azina and Awang Halimah
University of Malaya, MALAYSIA

Mathematics learning and achievement is one area of research that has gained momentum in recent years because of its importance as a subject in the school curriculum and its usefulness as a prerequisite for developing the quantitative and analytical skills. However, studies on factors affecting mathematics achievement in Malaysia are limited both in terms of the number as well as the scope. It is the aim of this study to take a closer look at the relationship between student and background factors and mathematics achievement among secondary school students in Malaysia using the most recent Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 data. The results suggested that female, educational resources, students’ attitude, homework and school environment have significant positive effect on mathematics performance. The two factors having opposite effects are age of the students and language spoken at home. Mathematics performance is found to decrease with increasing age and students who did not speak the language of the test at home have significantly higher scores than those who did. These results have important implications especially for educators as well as policy makers involved in education.



Comments:

The researcher did a comprehensive analysis in this research. The results in this study reveal that the six most important variables influencing mathematics achievement among Malaysian eighth graders are infrequent use of language of test at home, students’ self-confidence in learning mathematics, computer use, students’ perception of being safe in home and parents’ highest education level.  I am doubtful about issues of the instructional language may really affect the teaching and learning of mathematics.



 2.
Multilevel analysis of achievement in mathematics of
Malaysianand Singaporean students

M. Najib Abd. Ghagar, Rohani Othman& Ebrahim Mohammadpour


Fakulty Education
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor, Malaysia

Abstract
:
This article explored the variation in mathematics achievement of Malaysian and Singaporean eighth-graders as a function of student-and school-level differences. The data obtained from 5314 students nested within 150 schools from Malaysia, and 6018 students nested within 164schools from  Singapore who participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in the 2003. Multilevel linear modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results indicated that 57.28% of the total variance in mathematics achievement in Malaysia accounted for school-level differences. Meanwhile, the results showed that classroom -level differences contributed to 74.6% of the total variance in achievement of Singaporean students. Only 5.9% of the variance in achievement in Singapore accounted for school-level differences. At the student level, mathematics self-Concept was the most influential factor on achievement of students from both countries. At the school level, school climate as perceived by the school principals was the most influential factor on achievement of students from both countries.

Comments
There are too many research questions in this research .The strength of this research is  a conceptual framework is created and it can make clear the reader about the idea in this research. The model contains three main components: inputs, processes and outputs.


 3.


Mathematics Achievement among Malaysian Students:
What Can They Learn from Singapore?

Noor Azina Ismail (Corresponding author)
Faculty of Economics & Administration, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Halimah Awang
Faculty of Economics & Administration, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia was ranked 16th and 10th in mathematics based on the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in1999 and 2003, respectively while its neighbour, Singapore, used to be a part of Malaysia until 1965, was ranked first in both years. Hence, it is the aim of this study to investigate what makes Singaporean students better in mathematics performance compared to Malaysian students using TIMSS data. Factors examined in this analysis include characteristics of students, teachers and schools, educational aids and resources as well as students’ attitudes towards mathematics learning. It is hoped that the findings from this study will provide useful inputs to improve mathematics learning among Malaysian students.


Comments:

I would like to comments on the sampling that  the data consists of 150 schools and teachers as well as 5314 eighth grade students from Malaysia and 164 schools and teachers together with 6018 eighth grade students from Singapore. The average age of the sampled students of both the countries at the time of testing was 14.33 years. This is because Malaysia consists of 13 states and I am concern about 150 schools from Malaysia do really show the real result of the research.


 

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TUGASAN 4 (Penulisan Kertas Projek)

Welcome to FU SAI HOE's academic blog

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of using ICT (Microsoft Excel) in teaching and learning fractions. The study was conducted at a school in Baram, Sarawak. Action research on quantitative research sample consisted of 35 students at a school in Baram. This study uses ICT as an independent variable and student achievement in post-test as the dependent variable. This study used a brief Microsoft excel program named Fractions pizza to determine the effectiveness in teaching and learning using information communication technology. Data analysis is done using SPSS version 17 for descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings indicated that the mean score of students in the pre-test was 68.16 while the mean score of students in the post-test is 93.95. T test statistic was significant (t = -4.502; df = 34: p ). This means treatment or Microsoft excel program conducted by the researcher has resulted in improved student achievement. The data obtained have shown that teaching and learning are very effective use of ICT in learning fraction. Overall, the use of ICT contributed in improving teaching and learning in fractions.