Graduation Term

Fall 2025

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Department of Educational Administration and Foundations: Educational Administration

Committee Chair

Elizabeth Lugg

Committee Member

Lydia Kyei-Blankson

Committee Member

Sandra Wilson

Abstract

This dissertation in practice investigates the persistent decline in mathematics proficiency between the fourth and fifth grades, particularly among low-income compared to high-income students in a large, urban public school district in central Illinois. Using Mintrop’s Cycle of Inquiry and the CPED framework in a 90-day intervention, seven fifth-grade teachers implemented small group lessons designed to build students’ conceptual understanding of grade level mathematics. This data-driven intervention encouraged the teachers to use a variety of manipulatives and visual representations to improve students’ mathematics proficiency on four grade level Common Core standards. Data collected through classroom pretests, posttests, and exit tickets, and standardized assessments revealed that conceptual mathematics instruction led to gains in student learning and retention in fraction and decimal operations. This dissertation in practice outlines the importance of building instructional coherence through teacher collaboration and conceptually focused lesson delivery to increase fifth grade mathematics proficiency.

Access Type

Dissertation-Open Access

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