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Investigating Cognitive demand of Higher-level Leaving Certificate Mathematics Examination Tasks Pre- and Post- Curriculum Reform
Date Issued
2019-10-11
Date Available
2020-11-11T09:51:08Z
Abstract
In 2010 the phased introduction of the new Project Maths curriculum began in post-primary schools in Ireland. This new curriculum aimed to enable students to develop problem-solving skills by providing relevant, contextual applications of mathematics, while simultaneously increasing the levels of cognitive demand required of students. This research aims to investigate whether the levels of cognitive demand required to complete tasks in the Leaving Certificate Higher-level mathematics examinations changed as a result of the curriculum reform. The methodology of this research includes the systematic analysis of Leaving Certificate examination tasks, from 2007 to 2017, using an adaptation of the Stein and Smith (1998) task analysis framework. Using this framework, tasks were classified as being of high- level or low-level cognitive demand. Analysis of the data collected suggests that a statistically significant increase in the levels of high-cognitive demand tasks did occur following the curriculum reform. Our findings are discussed in relation to two recent studies that used different frameworks to examine the cognitive demand of tasks in post-primary mathematics.
Type of Material
Conference Publication
Publisher
Institute of Education, Dublin City University
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
Part of
L. Harbison and A. Twohill (Eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland (MEI 7)
Conference Details
The Seventh Conference on Research in Mathematics Education in Ireland (MEI7), Dublin, Ireland, 11-12 October 2019
ISBN
978-1-873769-95-9
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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