According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, elementary students who struggle with mathematics do not experience the same progress in their performance as those who excel in the subject over time. The gap between the highest and lowest performing students has widened to such an extent that students who struggle with this subject are now trailing further behind than in over a decade. Based on the interventions that have demonstrated success in improving achievement for students who are struggling with mathematics, the What Works Clearinghouse, in conjunction with an expert panel, has developed a guide to summarize six practical recommendations for teachers who teach mathematics to elementary students with low test scores. The six recommendations include providing systematic instruction, teaching mathematical language, applying well-chosen and semi-concrete representations, using number lines, teaching strategies for word problems, and conducting timed activities.   Source (Open Access): Fuchs, L.S., Newman-Gonchar, R.,...

One commonly employed approach for managing difficult and disruptive conduct in school environments is through the implementation of self-management interventions. It refers to a set of techniques that students are taught to use in order to assess and monitor their own behaviors. A recent Campbell Systematic review looked at the impact of self-management interventions delivered at school to improve K-12 student behavior in the classroom. The review included experimental studies that either assigned groups or single students to the intervention or the control group, yielding 75 single-case studies and 4 group studies. The average effect size for single-case studies was +0.69, with higher effects for students in special education and for African American students. The average effect size for group studies was +0.63, but the effect could be influenced by the small number of studies.   Source (Open Access): Smith, T. E., Thompson, A. M., & Maynard, B. R. (2022)....

Need for cognition refers to an individual’s preference for engaging in effortful cognitive activities. Given that it is an important factor about individual differences that may impact and correlate with academic achievement, Liu and Nesbit recently conducted a meta-analysis to investigate whether students with a higher need for cognition tend to demonstrate better academic performance than those with a lower need.  They also assessed the moderating effects of 14 factors about research context, methodology, and instrumentation. This meta-analysis included studies that 1) reported measurable learning outcomes in cognitive domains, 2) involved the participants from K-12 or post-secondary levels, 3) were published in English and publicly accessible, 4) were peer-reviewed publications, theses, and dissertations, and 5) reported sufficient quantitative data for calculating effect sizes. After applying these inclusion criteria, this study identified 136 effect sizes with 53,258 participants from 122 eligible articles. The results showed a small positive association between the...

Considering the rapid growth and affordability of mobile technology, learning that involves a mobile device has become a fast-growing research field. In a recent meta-analysis, Wang and colleagues analyzed 85 studies from 78 articles published between 2014 and 2022 to investigate the impact of mobile technology usage on cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes and identify potential moderators for each outcome. Included studies compared the use of mobile technology for learning with either a non-technology or traditional technology group (e.g., desktop computers) in primary and secondary education. Separate meta-analyses were conducted for cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes. The study reviewed 109 effect sizes for cognitive outcomes, 37 for affective outcomes, and 14 for behavioral outcomes. Overall, mobile technologies had a medium positive effect on all three types of learning outcomes (cognitive: g = +0.50, affective: g = +0.45, behavioral: g = +0.34). Results of moderator analysis indicated: For cognitive...

“Raffi and his Friends” is a peer-assisted strategy delivered as a whole-class program that consists of 20 structured lessons in which the instructors use the strategies of clarifying, questioning, and predicting to support student reading comprehension. Student dyads are created by matching students with high and low reading skills in order to allow them to work in heterogeneous groups. A recent evaluation published in Contemporary Educational Psychology assessed the effectiveness of this program in third grade in Germany. The study matched 11 classes (187 students) in the experimental group with 10 classes (177 students) in the control group. The study used independent measures of fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension to assess the effectiveness of the program. The intervention was delivered by research assistants supervised by the development team, thus results could differ in the program implementation with regular teachers. The results showed a significant improvement in the reading measures administered...

When US teachers were suddenly faced with Covid lockdowns in March, 2020, they were simultaneously grappling with how to adopt more equitable teaching practices in response to the explosive rise of public consciousness about current-day racial inequity. Researchers at the MIT Teaching Systems Lab offered a massive open online course (MOOC) on anti-racist, anti-oppressive instruction. They described the positive effects of the course on self-reported teacher mindsets and teaching practices in a recent study. MOOCs are offered on a wide range of topics on a free, asynchronous platform. The Becoming a More Equitable Educator course focused on helping teachers cultivate mindsets of equity vs. equality, asset-based vs. deficit-based, awareness vs. avoidance, and context-centered vs. context-neutral. Using a practice-based teacher education framework, the course provided scenarios and videos. Teachers responded to the situations, then reflected on their responses with an equity lens. Teachers were also encouraged to engage in forums with...

Math anxiety is commonly known as negatively associated with math performance among students. Per the Cognitive-Attentional theory, a high anxiety level impedes recall and the working memory capacity, subsequently leading to lower performance. Using a large sample, Yu and colleagues conducted a study to examine whether the math anxiety-achievement link depends on gender. They hypothesized that the difference may be explained by emotional susceptibility which is the ability to experience and be influenced by emotions. Females are more sensitive to negative emotions, while males are more composed and less vulnerable. Moreover, neuroimaging indicates different emotional processing modes between genders. The study involved 28,129 grade 4 and grade 8 students from 489 primary schools and 238 secondary schools in Qingdao, China. The researchers measured the students' math anxiety using an abbreviated Math Anxiety Rating Scale and math performance using a researcher compiled multiple set of tests in May 2018. The results...

Chan and colleagues examined the impact of two game-based technologies on conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and procedural flexibility in algebraic equation solving. Two different game-based technologies are DragonBox Algebra 12+ (DragonBox) and From Here to There! (FH2T). DragonBox is a commercial app in which students move and combine pictures on the screen to isolate a box containing a dragon, similar to solving for x in algebraic equations. FH2T is a researcher-developed game in which students transform mathematical expressions from a start state (e.g., 16x29) to a specified goal state (e.g., 16x30 - 16x1) using gesture actions (e.g., tapping, dragging) on screen. Both games are based on the idea that an individual perceives mathematical symbols as objects in space and both provide immediate feedback during the game. While the designer of DragonBox disguises the algebraic symbols under images, the designer of FH2T presents algebraic notations in the game. The sample was...

Service learning for K-12 students is an educational strategy that involves a deliberate and explicit connection between community service and academic instruction. The aim is to link instruction to practical issues by including service activities and time for reflection. A recent Campbell Systematic review looked at the effect of service learning interventions on student outcomes in K-12. The review included experimental studies, and outcomes of interest were academic success and personal/social skills. Results showed that the average effect size for service learning was +0.09 on student grade point average, with a higher effect in math (+0.21) than in English (+0.04). Other outcomes showed small positive results: reducing absenteeism in terms of days (+0.03), improving self-esteem (+0.13) and locus of control (+0.07). The results do not suggest a definitive positive impact of service learning on student outcomes. The authors conclude that there is the need for further experimental studies on the...