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oa The effect of using a research-based curriculum on learning basic rational number concepts by Lebanese students
- Source: Near and Middle Eastern Journal of Research in Education, Volume 2011, Issue 1, May 2011, 3
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- 24 January 2011
- 25 May 2011
- 05 August 2011
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Abstract
This research study investigates the effects of using a research-based curriculum, the Rational Number Project (RNP) Curriculum, on the acquisition of basic rational number concepts by 5th grade students in contrast with those using the traditional Lebanese curriculum. The study sample comprised five schools randomly selected from a population of 14 schools. Eighteen 5th grade classrooms were randomly assigned to experimental (RNP) and control (TRAD) groups. Two instruments were used for data collection: a RNP post-test and a school test. Both tests were administered to assess students’ achievement after curricular intervention. After a series of six-hour professional training sessions, RNP teachers were given a culturally relevant Arabic version of the RNP curriculum lesson plans and materials for implementation. Three techniques were employed for data analysis: reliability, fidelity and multi analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results showed that students instructed using the research-based curriculum outperformed their counterparts, who were taught fraction concepts using the Lebanese traditional curriculum, on both RNP and school tests.