MT Research Papers

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1807/82700

This collection contains research papers submitted by students in the Master of Teaching program, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. It supersedes the Master of Teaching Research Projects collection that contained mandatory submissions up to 2017.

If you have questions about the collection or your paper please contact mtinfo@utoronto.ca

News

Master of Teaching Program website

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Revitalizing Math Education: An Instructional Approach to Addressing Socioeconomic Disparities in Grades 9 and 10 Classrooms
    (2024-02) Saeed, Mehwish
    The spring of 2020 has been historically marked by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing a substantially unique change to education by a rapid shift to remote learning. Simultaneously, several families across Ontario became impacted by financial insecurity, creating income inequalities that have continued to impact many. This qualitative study aims to explore the socioeconomic inequalities in the post-pandemic Grades 9 and 10 mathematics classrooms and their impacts on students' learner identities within mathematics education. Data was collected via two semi-structured interviews with mathematics educators from Grades 9 and 10 public secondary schools in the Greater Toronto Area. The findings suggest that educators have noticed prominent changes in the post-pandemic classroom regarding socioeconomic disparities in mathematics academic achievement and their impacts on student engagement and continued motivation within the subject, even considering the 2020 changes to the upper-intermediate curricula. Educators suggest instructional strategies to mitigate the achievement gap and create an equitable mathematics classroom to elevate student learning. Implications for education stakeholders are discussed, facilitating essential suggestions for future research to rectify the socioeconomic mathematics achievement gap in secondary classrooms.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Supporting Students with Mental Health Issues to Achieve Academic Success
    (2017-04) Spiak, Karolina
    Positive mental health and well-being is imperative for students to succeed in school and to function successfully. The purpose of this study was to examine how elementary teachers support students with mental health problems in meeting academic success. In addition, the study aimed to examine teachers’ perceptions on their role in responding to students’ mental health needs; their feelings of preparedness in supporting these needs; and understanding their experiences with students suffering from mental health issues. Convenience sampling was used to obtain two Ontario Certified Teachers that worked with students with mental health issues. In this qualitative study, participant data was collected through semi-structured interviews and the data was organized into four themes: awareness of mental illness in students, strategies for supporting students with mental health problems, challenges in supporting students’ mental health and teachers supports and resources. Teachers reported to have some level of comfort in supporting students’ mental health needs, as well as having minimal formal mental health training in preservice education programs. The findings demonstrate the importance of being responsive to student’s needs, as well as creating positive classroom environments to alleviate mental health symptoms in students. Teachers also reported the need for more support within the classroom to meet the needs of their students.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Gender Gap in Physics: A Study of Educator Perspectives
    (2019-09-27) Wightman, Jacqueline, N.
    The gender gap in science and mathematics remains an issue in Canada today, with far-reaching socioeconomic implications (Dionne-Simart et al., 2016). The gender gap is wider in physics than in most other science disciplines (Xu et al., 2015). In this qualitative study, I examine educator perspectives on the low retention rate of young women in physics. The experience and perceptions of female students and educators in physics can inform best practices for physics education in order to retain women in physics. I interviewed two female physics educators: a high school physics teacher, and a graduate physics Teaching Assistant. From these interviews, four themes emerge. The first is that participants believe that the gender gap is caused by differing interests, which may be shaped by societal norms and stereotypes. The second is that participants feel that having strong STEM programming and positive female role models in schools would do the most to reduce the gap. The third theme is that group-based learning should be used to promote inclusivity of young women in physics classrooms. Finally, both participants feel that institutional initiatives geared specifically towards young women sometimes reinforce gender stereotypes, and that promotional initiatives should be designed to foster gender inclusivity, rather than emphasize gender differences.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Addressing the STEM Gender Gap: The Influence of Stereotypes on the Retention of Adolescent Women in Math and Science
    (2019-09-27) Wightman, Jacqueline, N.
    In this review article, I present summaries of past reviews of the literature on the topic of women in STEM as well as recent statistics on gender differences in STEM fields globally and in Canada. I review the main findings of a collection of recent studies on gender differences in attitudes towards math and science, and discuss how these may be affected by overarching stereotypes about gender and STEM. I conclude by presenting key concepts and arguments from recent literature with regards to what can be done at the school level to combat gender and STEM stereotypes and ensure that support exists for young women with an aptitude and interest to pursue science and math.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    INFORMATION INFLUX (INFOFLUX) AND CRITICAL THINKING: EVALUATING EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY EFFICACIES FOR TEACHING AND ASSESSING CRITICAL THINKING IN THE DIGITAL AGE
    (2018) Kapoor, Aakriti
    This research evaluates the pedagogical success of mindJig, an educational technology created to foster critical thinking competencies in a large online class (Kapoor, 2015). The study is focussed on the importance of critical thinking in the infoflux: a term I am using to denote the reality where students are constantly bombarded with continually changing information through social media, smartphones, and the internet more generally. A lab test was conducted in a simulated classroom where students completed the mindJig assignment three times during the semester. Participants were undergraduate students who signed up for the study to fulfill their experimental participation requirement. A mixed methods analysis was done to analyse student understanding of critical thinking after using mindJig. Results suggest mindJig’s existing structure can be reorganized, however, the tool’s combined focus on critical reading, critical literacy, critical noticing, and critical listening, better supports students in exercising critical thinking in infoflux realities.