ERIC Number: ED494991
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jun
Pages: 31
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Graphing Calculators and Learning Styles in Rural and Non-Rural High Schools. Working Paper No. 23
Alfonso, Zully; Long, Vena
Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM)
The purpose of this study was to examine rural and non-rural students in order to understand similarities and differences between their learning styles and the ease with which they learned Algebra with a graphic calculator. Two samples of students, one from a rural high school and one from a non-rural one, answered a survey asking about their use of graphic calculators. The students also were administered a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular instrument for analyzing personality types, including learning styles. No significant differences were found between the two samples, either in their comfort with using graphic calculators to learn Algebra or in their Myers-Briggs learning-style types. For the non-rural students, the predominant Myers-Briggs type was ENFP (extroverts, intuitive, feelers and perceivers), accounting for 52.7% of the sample. Among the rural students, ENFP was also the most frequently identified Myers-Briggs type, 33.3% of the sample, followed by ESFP (extroverts, sensing, feelers and perceivers ), with 20%. The modal type was ENF. Study findings did not show any evidence that students in the rural sample achieved less academically than those in the non-rural sample. (Contains 11 tables.)
Descriptors: Algebra, Cognitive Style, Graphing Calculators, Personality Traits, High Schools, Student Surveys, Academic Achievement, Rural Urban Differences, Mathematics Instruction, Rural Schools, Urban Schools, Computer Uses in Education, Educational Technology, Statistical Analysis
Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics (ACCLAIM). Research Initiative, McCracken Hall, College of Education, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45710. Tel: 740-593-9869; Web site: http://www.acclaim-math.org/clearinghouse.aspx
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA.
Authoring Institution: Ohio Univ., Athens. Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics.
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A