A Tale of Two Mathematics Curricula for Gifted Students:
General Material Designation
[Thesis]
First Statement of Responsibility
Almughyirah, Sultan M.
Title Proper by Another Author
A Comparative Study Between the Saudi and American Mathematics Curricula at the Elementary School Level
Subsequent Statement of Responsibility
Chamberlin, Scott A.
.PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC
Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.
University of Wyoming
Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.
2020
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
177
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Body granting the degree
University of Wyoming
Text preceding or following the note
2020
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
Given the importance of curricula in the learning equation, matching cognitive abilities with learning needs of elementary school gifted students in mathematics classrooms has become increasingly important among educational curriculum developers around the world. This quantitative study was conducted to compare two sets of mathematics curricula that are used for teaching mathematics to elementary school gifted students, the Saudi advanced mathematics curricula and the American Project M-Cubed curricula, for determining which curricula best meet students' higher order thinking demands. By implementing the Mathematical Tasks Framework (Stein & Smith, 1998) with a sample of six chapters, the researcher examined the levels of cognitive demand in the Saudi and American mathematics curricula and investigated how they are similar and different in their approach to problem-solving demands. The results indicate that the majority of mathematical problems in the Saudi chapters are not as cognitively demanding as in the American chapters. Many of the mathematical problems in the Saudi chapters are found in the lower-level cognitive demands, whereas many of the mathematical problems in the American chapters are found in the higher-level cognitive demands. In addition, results reveal that there are statistically significant differences between the Saudi and American selected chapters on their levels of cognitive demand concerning their approach to problem-solving demands. In other words, the American curricula contain more cognitively demanding mathematical problems than in the Saudi curricula. Some implications of the study include informing the developers of these curricula about the effectiveness of their curricula, understanding how gifted students are being cognitively challenged in mathematics classrooms, and adopting appropriate mathematical problems for challenging the cognitive abilities of the students.