Mathematical rigor, mastery learning, and the growth mindset : an evaluation of IXL and Khan Academy for personalized learning, 2024

Item — Call Number: MU Thesis Lab

Identifier: b7931852

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection consists of dissertations written by students enrolled in the Monmouth University graduate Educational Leadership program. The holdings are primarily bound print documents that were submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Doctor of Education degree.

From the Collection:

During the fall 2022 semester (in instances where the requisite waivers were received from consenting student authors), the Monmouth University Library, together with the University's Graduate School and School of Education, began providing open access to select full-text digital versions of current theses and dissertations through links to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global website in the Library's Online Public Access Catalog. Links to these open access digital publications can also be found in the "External Documents" section under any conforming titles that are listed among the holdings itemized in the collection inventory for this finding aid.

Dates

Creation: 2024

Creator

Labkovski, Shalom (1975- ) (Author, Person)
Fitzgerald, Jason C. (Thesis advisor, Person)
Raj, Erik X. (Thesis advisor, Person)
Zambak, Vecihi S. (Vecihi Serbay) (Thesis advisor, Person)

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Unless noted otherwise at the resource component level, the language of the collection materials is English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use. Access is by appointment only.

Research appointments are scheduled by the Monmouth University Library Archives Collections Manager (732-923-4526). A minimum of three days advance notice is required to arrange a research appointment for access to the collection.

Access to the collection is confined to the Monmouth University Library and is subject to patron policies approved by the Monmouth University Library.

Patrons must sign a completed Researcher Registration Form and provide appropriate identification to obtain access to the collection. Copies of these documents will be kept on file at the Monmouth University Library.

Extent

1 Items (print book) : 208 pages ; 8.5 x 11.0 inches (28 cm).

Additional Description

Abstract

In an era of heightened accountability and expanding educational technology choices, mathematics educators must critically assess the effectiveness of the tools available to them. While deciding on technological tools, it is essential that we not only promote rigor in mathematics but also ensure closing learning gaps and improve students’ beliefs about their own abilities to learn. The aim of this study was to evaluate two personalized learning platforms, IXL and Khan Academy, to determine their mathematical rigor and the extent to which their designs promote mastery learning (Bloom, 1968) and the growth mindset (Dweck, 2006). This descriptive qualitative study first assessed mathematical rigor using a revised Bloom's taxonomy (Boeren & Íñiguez-Berrozpe, 2022). Secondly, the promotion of mastery learning and growth mindset was evaluated through a detailed case-study narrative analysis, utilizing rubrics developed specifically for this study. Data was obtained through interactions with each platform, both as a teacher and a student, and from teacher reviews on Common Sense Education. The findings suggest that both IXL and Khan Academy offer comparable mathematical rigor for 7th-grade proportional relationships skills. Additionally, both platforms’ designs seem similarly effective in promoting mastery learning. However, Khan Academy’s design appears to more effectively foster a growth mindset, particularly in how it addresses incorrect student responses. The implications of this study are that personalized learning platforms can be critically evaluated so educators can make informed decisions about which best support the enhancement of student learning and beliefs, and ease teacher workloads so they can better serve students. Additionally, insights from this study can guide the development and improvement of these platforms.

Keywords: Mathematical rigor; Mastery learning; Growth mindset; IXL; Khan Academy; Personalized learning

Partial Contents

Abstract -- Keywords -- Dedication -- Table of contents -- 1. Introduction --2. Review of the literature -- 3. Research methodology -- 4. Results -- 5. Conclusions and discussion -- References.