Date of Graduation
12-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
College/School
School of Education
Department
Learning and Instruction
Program
Learning & Instruction EdD
First Advisor
Robert Burns
Second Advisor
Patricia Busk
Third Advisor
Walter Gmelch
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to conduct a secondary data analysis to examine the dynamic change relationship between working memory and mathematics over time, and to address the working memory training program issue by examining this dynamic change relationship across four different groups of students to provide evidence on how to help different types of students improve their mathematics achievement. To achieve this purpose, the ECLS-K:2011 longitudinal data set and Grimm, An, McArdle, Zonderman, and Resnick (2012) extension of the multivariate latent difference score models were used for the secondary data analysis. Working memory ability and mathematics achievement were the two variables and students’ scores from first to fifth grade were included in the analysis. Four univariate latent difference score models were tested twice for working memory and mathematics separately to find out how they change over time separately, and then two sets of bivariate latent difference score models were tested on working memory and mathematics to examine their dynamic change relationship over time. After students were identified into four different groups based on their prior working memory ability and prior mathematics achievement, these same sets of models were tested to further examine the difference among four groups’ dynamic change relationship between working memory and mathematics. In general, this dissertation’s results indicated that there were statistically significant and positive bicoupling effects between working memory ability and mathematics achievement, from prior working memory ability to the subsequent yearly changes in mathematics achievement and from prior mathematics achievement to the subsequent yearly changes in working memory ability. Four groups of students’ data analyses results indicated that the dynamic change relationship between working memory ability and mathematics achievement were different over time. For both groups of students with low-prior mathematics achievement, the results indicated that improving students’ working memory ability would lead to statistically significant and positive subsequent yearly changes in their mathematics achievement over time. For students with low-prior working memory ability and high-prior mathematics achievement, the results indicated that no statistically significant dynamic change relationship was found between working memory ability and mathematics achievement over time. For students with both high-prior working memory ability and mathematics achievement, the results indicated that the increased prior yearly changes in working memory would lead to a statistically significant decrease in students’ subsequent yearly changes in their mathematics achievement.
Recommended Citation
Erzincanli, W. J. (2020). An Analysis of the Yearly Dynamic Change Relationship Between Working Memory Ability and Mathematics Achievement of K-5 Students Using the Grimm et al. (2012) Extensions of the Multivariate Latent Difference Score Models. Retrieved from https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/553
