Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
Date of Award
4-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS)
Department
Computer Science
First Advisor
Dr. Mahmoud K. Quweider
Second Advisor
Dr. Juan R. Iglesias
Third Advisor
Dr. Joseph Rene Corbeil
Abstract
An increasing amount of high school students are interested in developing their own mobile application. Incorporating mobile development into the classroom can increase student engagement in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In this paper I present a study done with a group of sophomore level students who created their own mathematics apps with no programming experience. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge gained and motivational appeal of secondary mathematics students taught basic state of Texas exam concepts with the use of the proposed mobile development labs. Students in this study used algebraic and geometric models to describe situations, geometric transformations, proportions, and used probability models. Students practiced the concepts and then created a mobile application related to each concept taught by their teachers. Using MIT’s Appinventor, students easily developed games by putting puzzle pieces together. An increase in confidence was observed and 43% of the students increased their benchmark score. The results of this study demonstrate that students are motivated to learn their math concepts by developing mobile apps.
Granting Institution
University of Texas Brownsville
Comments
Copyright 2014 Jennifer Lee Marquez. All Rights Reserved.