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This study investigates the differences in lecturers’ preferred teaching methods based on the ratings of their students. It employed the repeated measures design, where four separate ratings for each participant were taken. The participants comprise eighty-two (82) university mathematics major students, made up of fifty-five (55) males and twenty-seven (27) females, who were selected from a university in the central region of Ghana, using a non-proportionate stratified sampling technique in two third-year cohort mathematics classes. The results indicated that Mauchly’s test of sphericity was not significant, χ^2 (5)=10.33,p>.05, (i.e., the assumption about the characteristics of the variance-covariance matrix was not violated). Thus, the within-subjects variable of the teaching method was highly significant, F (3, 243) = 468.17, p < .05, indicating that the mean students’ ratings differed significantly as a function of the four teaching methods. This was supported by the decrease in the mean students’ ratings from guided discovery to direct instruction methods. The pairwise comparisons (with Bonferroni adjustment) among the four teaching methods, showed a significant difference between any pair of teaching methods (p < .05). Thus, the students’ ratings for guided discovery were higher than the ratings for cooperative learning (p < .05), ratings for cooperative learning were higher than the ratings for inquiry-based learning (p < .05), and the ratings for inquiry-based learning were higher than the ratings for direct instruction (p < .05). The estimated marginal means for the ratings of guided discovery (M = 8.12; C. I = [7.94, 8.32]) were the highest, followed by the mean ratings for cooperative learning method (M = 6.68; C.I = [6.51, 6.86]), followed by the mean ratings for inquiry-based learning (M = 4 73; C. I = [4.60, 4.87]), and then followed by the mean ratings for direct instruction (M = 3.95; C.I = [3.80,4.11]). The study's implications are that, although many researchers recommend multiple teaching methods for mathematics instruction, lecturers should endeavour to use teaching methods that are popular and acceptable among students. This would enable them to understand the content their lecturers teach. The study concludes that lecturers should focus more on active teaching methods such as guided discovery and cooperative learning and focus less on the direct instruction teaching method.

Using inquiry-based learning, this study investigates high school students' achievement in plane geometry. It employed the pre-test-post-test randomized experimental design, often known as the control group design. The participants (students) were randomly assigned to one of two classes/groups and were given either an intervention (the treatment group) or no intervention (the control group). One hundred and twenty (120) third-year high school students of similar mathematical aptitude (a control group = 60 students; an experimental group = 60 students) were chosen from a high school in Ghana's central region. Shapiro-Wilk had a p-value greater than.05 (p >.05) for each statistic, indicating that both the pre-test and post-test scores were normally distributed, before and after the test. The findings of the independent samples t-test showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control pre-test scores (t = -.48, p >.05, C. I = [-1.78, 1.08]). The one-way ANOVA after inquiry-based learning showed a significant effect on student scores, F (1, 118) = 363.41, p < .05). Furthermore, independent samples t-test findings for the post-test showed statistically significant differences between the experimental and control post-test scores (t = -22.68, p < .05, C. I = [-24.29, 20.40]). The study's implications are that students can make their own connections with the content they learn. They may also comprehend the themes rather than simply recalling rules and formulas. The study concludes that inquiry-based learning improves senior high school students’ achievement in plane geometry.

This study explores the effect of think-pair-share learning on junior high school students’ achievement in algebraic expressions. The study used the pre-test-post-test non-equivalent control group design. The participants were selected from two intact classes (already-formed groups) and received either an intervention (the treatment group) or not an intervention (the control group). The control group received the conventional learning method often used in the classroom. The participants consisted of hundred (100) third year junior high school students of equal mathematics ability (control group = 54 students; experimental group = 46 students) from a junior high school in the central region of Ghana. For the pre-test and post-test scores, the Shapiro-Wilk had a p-value greater than .05 (p > .05) for each statistic, indicating that both the pre-test and post-test scores were normally distributed, before and after the intervention. The results of the independent samples t-test before the intervention, indicated a non-statistically significant difference between the experimental and control pre-test scores (t = -.48, p > .05, C. I = [-1.78, 1.08]). A one-way ANOVA after the intervention, indicated that the effect of the method of instruction was significant for student scores, F (1, 98) = 353.98, p

This study illustrates some practical steps lecturers could use to enable students to apply the chi-square concept. The study relied on a definition and theorem based on the chi-square theoretical model. The participants consisted of seventy (70) (fifty-five (55) males and fifteen (15) females) level 100 mathematics students from a university in Ghana. They were all admitted from the public senior high schools across the country. The students completed the tasks assigned to them in their various groups through active learning, as their lecturer facilitated the process. The lecturer guided the students to complete tasks related to the applications of the chi-square test in solving problems. The results indicated that active learning exposed the students to varied ways to apply the chi-square test. An implication of this study is that lecturers should teach their students about theorems and their related proofs and applications. These theorems are significant in mathematics learning because they are absolute truths. They enable students to develop a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts. The study concludes that by working with concrete examples, students gradually internalized their concept-acquisition skills to the extent that they confidently identified what concept to apply to every question.

This study illustrates the teaching strategies that undergraduate mathematics lecturers might employ to improve their students' conceptual knowledge of the confidence interval for the population mean. The study employed an action research method. It allowed the researcher to deepen his knowledge of the subject matter by planning, acting, evaluating, refining, and learning from this experience (Koshy, 2010). The participants consisted of sixty (60) level 200 mathematics students, who were randomly selected from a cohort of mathematics students from a mid-sized university in Ghana. The students completed the tasks assigned to them in their various groups by working collaboratively together, with their lecturer helping the process. They determined the particular theorem to apply in any given situation and applied the confidence interval formula to calculate the confidence intervals. The results indicated that collaborative learning, combined with effective instructional methods, improves students' conceptual knowledge of the confidence interval. An implication of this study is that students’ prior experiences act as a catalyst to enhance their conceptual knowledge. Thus, students who have a conceptual grasp of sampling techniques can conceptualise confidence intervals with ease. The study concludes that students should thoroughly understand the definitions and theorems relating to a statistical concept before they examine concrete examples relating to confidence intervals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate senior high school female students’ attitude towards the learning of Mathematics. The study was grounded in a positivist paradigm, using adescriptive case study design. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 161 female students. The results indicated that female students had less self-assurance when performing Mathematical tasks. The students were uncertain about whether motivation could change their attitude toward learning Mathematics. The female students were less enthusiastic about Mathematics. The students understood the value of Mathematics and how it applied to all facets of life. The students' knowledge of the importance of mathematics was a strong predictor of their positive attitudes toward learning Mathematics. The implication of the study to teaching and learning is that teachers should use instructional strategies that would meet the needs of female students. Teachers must take into account students' differences or barriers to learning, minimise anxiety, boost active interest, and appreciate what is being taught and learned.Teachers need to take corrective action to ease stress and offer their female students the assistance they need.

Municipal solid waste management approaches in Canadian First Nations have not considered the culture of communities. However, First Nations’ way of life is ingrained in their culture. This research examined whether the culture of First Nations impacts municipal solid waste management. A qualitative case study of Peguis First Nation, Manitoba, and Heiltsuk Nation, British Columbia, was conducted, involving 52 semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that avoiding waste, taking care of one another, protecting the land, respecting the land, and connection to the land were cultural factors that influenced participants’ municipal solid waste management efforts. Nonetheless, participants indicated that applying these cultural factors to municipal solid waste is not widespread because of culture loss; hence, programs that improve the understanding of culture and highlight the importance of cultural beliefs, values, and teachings in managing waste should be developed. The research concludes that cultural solutions need to be pursued to complement other solutions that aim to improve municipal solid waste management.

Although text-messaging interventions are effective for smoking cessation, few target teens in the USA and little is known about their effectiveness. The purpose of this manuscript is to examine correlates of dropout, response to smoking status prompts, and abstinence rates among subscribers of SmokeFreeTeen, a free, publicly available text-messaging smoking cessation intervention sponsored by the National Cancer Institute’s SmokeFree.Gov initiative, on quit day through 1 month follow-up. In a sample of teens (N = 2,685), aged 13–19, we examined demographics, smoking frequency, cigarettes smoked per day, prequit intervention time (i.e., maximum of 14 days of prequit day preparation), and number of quit attempts as correlates of response and abstinence rates among program initiators (i.e., participants who reached quit day but dropped out on or before intervention end) and completers (i.e., participants who reached quit day and completed the intervention). We also conducted Cox regression analysis of time from quit day to dropout by daily and nondaily smoking status. Two-thirds (n = 1,733, 64.54%) dropped out before the intervention ended, with dropout rates peaking on quit day (n = 289, 13.10%). Response rate to smoking status prompts remained below 30% throughout the intervention. At intervention end and 1 month follow-up, abstinence was 2.63% and 2.55% among program initiators, whereas abstinence was 6.09% and 6.01% among program completers. Dropout, response, and abstinence rates did not consistently differ by subscriber characteristics. Prequit time was associated with decreased likelihood of dropping out (adjusted hazards ratio: 0.94, confidence interval [CI]: 0.93–0.95), responding to smoking status prompts (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.94, CI: 0.92–0.96), and being abstinent (aOR: 0.96, CI: 0.93–0.99) on quit day. Two or more quit attempts were associated with increased response (aOR: 1.61, CI: 1.16–2.23) and abstinence (aOR: 1.91, CI: 1.25–2.92) rates on Day 7. In a first assessment of SmokeFreeTeen outcomes, we document high dropouts and low response and abstinence rates. SmokeFreeTeen produced abstinence rates lower than comparable text-messaging interventions targeting teens and young adults. Improving SmokeFreeTeen’s reach, engagement, and effectiveness is needed.

This research examined solid waste management on First Nations communities in western Canada to provide information and insight into programs, practices, policies, and activities, as well as to help bridge an identified gap related to these in the literature. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach, we examined twelve First Nations communities in Canada’s western provinces, which relative to other communities, had ‘advanced’ solid waste management systems in place. Interviews conducted in each of the communities yielded information on six themes grounded in the data, including solid waste facilities and infrastructure, solid waste programs, local capacity, provincial stewardship programs, regulation and enforcement, and funding/finance. Our analysis show that majority of the communities examined are advancing their waste management systems and now have infrastructure/facilities, such as transfer stations and recycling depots, and have implemented recycling programs, which they previously did not have. As well, we learned that implementing such programs has reduced practices, such as open dumping, which the literature highlights as a common way of managing waste in First Nations communities. Most of the communities attributed the success of their programs to regular residential curbside pickups, ability to transport waste out of the community, and community involvement and interest in programs. Despite these improvements, inadequate funding hampers the efforts of communities to sustain and/or expand their programs and maintain facilities. Additionally, most communities face challenges partnering with provincial stewardship programs, and some communities are not clear whether they even qualify to participate in these programs.

The study investigated the effect of teacher and student variables on student interest in Mathematics. The study used quantitative approach to research to explore and explain the effect of teacher and students variable on students’ interest in Mathematics. The study used probability sampling technique to select and administer questionnaires to the participating schools and students. A sample of One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Three (1,263) was selected from Ten (10) schools in the Ashanti region of Ghana using the random sampling technique. The study revealed that six (6) out of eight (8) predictor variables are statistically significant in predicting students’ interest in Mathematics. The teacher’s ability to connect Mathematics to real life problems and school leadership contributed 37.8% and 2% approximately to the variance in the student interest. The study further concluded that, students’ perception, students’ background, Mathematics facility as well as instructor quality and availability were statistically significant in predicting the student interest in Mathematics. However, the contribution of these predictor variables in explaining the variance in students’ interest was less than 1%. The study recommends that in order for students to be interested in Mathematics, Mathematics teachers should connect Mathematics to real life scenarios to help build student interest.

An important outcome of social learning in the context of natural resource management is the potential for collective action&mdash, actions taken by a group of people that are the result of finding shared or common interest. Evidence of the relationship between collective action and social learning is beginning to emerge in the natural resource management literature in areas such as community forestry and participatory irrigation, but empirical evidence is sparse. Using a qualitative inquiry and research design involving a case study of the Wet&rsquo, zinkw&rsquo, a Community Forest Corporation, this paper presents research that examined the relationships between collective action and social learning through community forest management. Our findings show strong evidence of collective action outcomes on the part of board members responsible for the community forest, such as establishing a legacy fund, adding value to logs, protecting First Nations cultural values, and hiring locally. Our data also reveal that the actions taken by board members were encouraged through social learning that was related to acquiring (new) knowledge, developing an improved/deeper understanding, and building relationships. However, we found limited opportunities for community forest partners and the general public to learn and contribute to collective action outcomes since the actions taken and associated learning occurred mainly among board members.

Calculus at the college level has significant potential to serve as a pump for increasing the number of students majoring in STEM fields. It is a foundation course for all STEM majors and, if mastered well, should provide students with a positive and successful first-year experience and gateway into more advanced courses. Studies have shown that a high percentage of students failing college calculus has caused a shortage of individuals entering fields that are heavily dependent on mathematics. Many students are entering college ill-prepared for the rigors of college-level mathematics. This mixed methods study examines the relationship among high school preparation, additional preparation in college, and introductory calculus success. Using a convenience sample of three calculus professors, seven calculus teaching assistants and two hundred and seventy one calculus students at a large public mid-west university in the United States, we investigated the relationship between the amount and level of high school mathematics and student performance in college calculus. Our results suggest that good preparations in high school pre-calculus form a springboard for future success in college calculus as well as subsequent advanced mathematics courses.

Community forestry is a collaborative governance approach to forest management that is seen as a promising tool for implementing sustainable forest management. The expectation of government is that community forests, as managers of public forestlands, will work to achieve sustainability. Little has been written, however, about the ways community forests are being managed in an effort to realize this goal. This paper considers how the Wetzin'kwa Community Forest Corporation (WCFC) in British Columbia is working to sustainably manage its community forest. The study identified efforts taken by the WCFC towards achieving sustainable forest management as perceived by participants, and considered these in relation to indicators established by the provincial government and the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. The results reveal that WCFC is making progress towards sustainably managing the forest by taking action on issues such as local employment and protecting cultural values. However, it is difficult to m...