Category: Maths and Science Learning

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Educational Administration and Leadership Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

The positive effects of higher grading standards on student math achievement

Do higher grading standards encourage better student performance, or do they discourage students instead? A study by American University’s Seth Gershenson and colleagues at SUNY and the Thomas Fordham Institute examined the effects of higher grading standards on student achievement in math. The authors applied data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center to link report card grades to teacher-student pairings and student standardized test grades from 2006-2016, and focused on the students who took Algebra I in eighth or ninth grade between 2006-2016 (n=365,004 students; 4445 Algebra I teachers). Teachers whose students had higher standardized test scores than other teachers’ students, yet had comparable report card grades, were classified as having higher grading standards.

Results showed that students who had teachers with higher grading standards demonstrated higher student achievement in Algebra I, and subsequently in Geometry and Algebra II. Authors also examined the possibility of higher grading standards discouraging students, or causing decreased effort and engagement, as evidenced in this study through attendance data. Results showed that students of teachers with higher grading standards had slightly better attendance than those of teachers with lower grading standards. Of further note was that the positive effects of higher grading standards on both student achievement and attendance were consistent among subgroups of students, including low-performing students.

The authors concluded by observing that their study findings, when coupled with the fact that low grading standards were found more often in schools serving low-SES communities, suggest that lower grading standards might contribute to the differences in student achievement often found between high- and low-SES communities.

 

Source: Gershenson, S., Holt, S. B., & Tyner, A. (n.d.). Making the grade: The effect of teacher grading standards on student outcomes. Contemporary Economic Policy, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12637… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Kindergarten Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education

Six recommendations for improving elementary science teaching

Recently, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) released the “Improving Primary Science: Guidance Report”, highlighting the importance of high-quality science teaching in elementary education for fostering students’ curiosity and critical thinking. Drawing from a systematic review of international evidence and in consultation with academics and expert practitioners, this report presents six recommendations for making meaningful improvements to primary science teaching for students ages 5-11.

The six recommendations are as follows. First, develop students’ scientific vocabulary so they can participate in science learning, engage with new concepts, and communicate their understanding. Second, encourage students to explain their thinking in either verbal or written forms. This creates opportunities for students to recall, organize, and refine their understanding. Third, guide students to work scientifically by including activating prior knowledge, explicit strategy instruction, modeling of learned strategies, memorization of strategies, guided practice, independent practice, and structured reflection. Fourth, connect science learning to relevant real-world contexts. Fifth, use assessment to facilitate learning and responsive teaching. Sixth, strengthen science teaching by incorporating effective professional development into the implementation process. It is suggested by EEF that the six recommendations should be considered together, with careful reflection on how to align them with the specific school circumstances and teachers’ professional judgment.

 

Source (Open Access): Improving Primary Science. (2023, November 24). EEF. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/primary-science-ks1-ks2… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education

Teaching the concept of equivalency in math class

Research studies have shown that American children have difficulty with the concept of equivalency more than their international peers. Less than 20% of American 7-11 year olds are able to solve a math problem involving equations on either side of an equal sign (example: 3+8+4 = 3 + _) because they do not recognize that the problem is asking them about a concept (equality) rather than a calculation. Improving Children’s Understanding of Equivalence (ICUE) is a supplementary math intervention that targets this problem using four strategies: (1) introducing the equal sign before arithmetic, (2) nontraditional arithmetic practice, (3) concreteness fading exercises, and (4) comparison and explanation. It is delivered in 32 lessons over 16 weeks, twice a week for 15-20 minutes, in addition to regular math lessons.

In order to build its evidence base, ICUE conducted a cluster randomized trial in public second grade classrooms in California. 132 second grade teachers in 53 schools in 7 districts were randomly assigned to use either ICUE (n=69E) or non-traditional arithmetic practice alone (n=63C) in addition to their business as usual instruction. Non-traditional practice consisted of presenting problems in non-traditional formats (ex: __= 9+8), using “is the same as” or other phrases instead of the equal sign, and organizing problems into sets based on equivalent values (ex: 3+4= ; 5+2=). Students were tested using both researcher-made and independent measures. Because research shows that researcher-made measures inflate effect sizes, only the results for independent measures are reported in this summary. Using performance tasks from the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS), results from 2259 students (n=1131E, 1128C) showed an advantage for the ICUE students (g=+0.20). Researchers also looked at the effects of equivalency training on students’ computational skills. No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups on the independent ITBS, meaning that learning about equivalency did not hinder children’s learning addition/subtraction.

 

Source: Davenport, J. L., Kao, Y. S., Johannes, K. N., Hornburg, C. B., & McNeil, N. M. (2023). Improving children’s understanding of mathematical equivalence: An efficacy study. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 16(4), 615–642. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2022.2144787… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Effect of computer assisted learning on students’ math performance in rural Taiwan

Ma and colleagues conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of an in-school computer-assisted learning (CAL) intervention on the math achievement of rural students in four poor counties/municipalities in Taiwan. These counties have lower socioeconomic conditions and students who lag their urban counterparts academically.

The study included 4th and 5th grade students from 190 classes in 95 randomly selected schools. The schools were randomly assigned to the treatment group and control, with 878 students in the treatment group and 962 students in the control group. Students in the treatment group were requested to complete at least one 30-minute CAL session per week for ten weeks during the spring semester of 2019. The CAL software provided tailored remedial exercises based on the material taught in the classroom. It was a game-based learning platform that offered one-on-one tutoring and timely feedback. On the other hand, the control group students did not have access to the CAL remedial support. A standardized math test was used to assess the students’ math abilities, while information about the students and teachers was obtained through a questionnaire survey. After adjusting for standard error and controlling for county effects, students’ and teachers’ characteristics, the regression analysis did not identify a significant effect of the intervention (ES = +0.01).

The lack of effectiveness of the intervention may be attributed to a high noncompliance rate, as students in the treatment group only used the CAL software for an average of 8 minutes per week. Post-hoc analysis results indicated that the top 20% of users (an average of 20+ minutes per week), performed significantly better than the rest of the students in the treatment group (ES = +0.18). Although the top 20% of users outperformed the students in the control group (ES = +0.16), the effect was not statistically significant.

The study findings highlight the potential of CAL being a tool for supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, as long as the usage rate can be increased.

 

Source: Ma, Y., Zhang, X., Abbey, C., Hu, D., Lee, O., Hung, W., Chang, C., Wu, C.-I., Friesen, D., & Rozelle, S. (2023). Computer assisted learning and academic performance in rural Taiwan. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 0(0), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2023.2279167… Read the rest

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Effective Teaching Approach Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

Comparing the cost-effectiveness of algebraic technological apps for seventh graders

Despite increasing distance from the main brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, students in the United States have continued to struggle academically, particularly in mathematics. As educators and school leaders seek to address these challenges, they are confronted with the dual considerations of assessing the academic impact and managing the financial costs associated with implementing new programs. Consequently, studies on the cost-effectiveness of educational interventions have become invaluable resources for decision-making

In a recent study, Finster and colleagues build on existing research of the impact of game-based algebraic technology applications, as originally described in the work of Decker-Woodrow and colleagues. Specifically, Finster and colleagues examined the cost-effectiveness of three algebraic technological applications for seventh grade students: From Here to There (FH2T), Dragon Box 12+ (DragonBox, previously reviewed in BEiB here), and Immediate Feedback. FH2T engages students with math concepts through a discovery-based approach, emphasizing puzzles over procedural steps, with the aim of enhancing engagement, efficacy, and interest. DragonBox is designed to teach algebraic concepts also through a discovery puzzle-based approach, as well as offering different challenge levels and adaptability. Lastly, Immediate Feedback is a free, online tutoring system, and features formative assessment and timely feedback rather than game-based learning.

The study compared these three applications to an active control group that replicated traditional homework assignments using technology. The final sample included data from nine schools, 34 teachers, 127 classes, and a total of 1,850 students (comprising 753 for FH2T, 350 for DragonBox, 381 for Immediate Feedback, and 366 for the Active Control group). The researchers employed hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to assess the effects of the interventions, while the ingredients method was utilized to estimate their costs.

The analysis identified both FH2T and DragonBox as low-cost interventions that can efficiently improve algebraic performance for students. Cost-effectiveness ratios were calculated by dividing the average cost per participant by the average effectiveness for each application. In this case, DragonBox was found to cost $55 per student, with a +0.26 average ES (cost-effectiveness ratio of $206), while FH2T cost $39 per student, with an +0.14 average ES (cost-effectiveness ratio of $291). These ratios are representative of implementing interventions in person, as designed and practiced in this study.

 

Source (Open Access): Finster, M., Decker-Woodrow, L., Booker, B., Mason, C. A., Tu, S., & Lee, J.-E. (2023). Cost-effectiveness of algebraic technological applications. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 0(0), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2023.2269918… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

Impact of peer gender-math stereotype on math performance

Gender-math stereotype refers to the belief that boys are innately better at learning math than girls. Wu and colleagues conducted two studies to investigate whether this stereotype can be transmitted among children’s peers, affecting their math ability and psychological outcomes. The first study analysed data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), a large-scale national survey. The sample included 8,029 grade 7 and grade 9 students from 208 classrooms where students were randomly assigned to each classroom.  The extent of the gender-math stereotype among a student’s peers was measured as the proportion of the student’s peer in each classroom who held this belief (range: 13.3% – 91.9%). Accounting for student, classroom, and school effects, the fixed-effect linear model revealed the following results:

  • As the proportion of peers holding the stereotype increased by 1 standard deviation (SD), the gap in math scores between girls and boys widened by 0.894 SD, with girls scoring lower.
  • Higher proportions of peers with the stereotype were associated with higher math scores for boys (ES = 0.439).
  • No significant differences were observed in gaps of Chinese and English test scores between boys and girls.
  • A higher proportion of peers holding the stereotype increased the likelihood of girls adopting this belief compared to boys.

When examining the proportion of peers holding the stereotype separately by gender, the analysis showed that same-gender peers had a smaller impact on the difference in math scores between girls and boys (ES = -0.656) compared to peers of a different gender (ES = -1.133).

The second study involved 547 Chinese university students, participants were randomly exposed to a 5-min video either a stereotype-activation condition highlighting gender gaps in math performance or a control video. Afterward, their math and verbal skills were tested. Male students’ performance was the same on both conditions. However, female students performed worse in math than their male counterparts in both groups, with a significantly greater disparity in the group exposed to the stereotype-activation condition.

While the immediate impact of a brief video on math scores in study 2 should be interpreted cautiously, as the results did not account for students’ prior math ability, the findings of study 1 underscore the continued existence of potential harm from gender-math stereotyping in children’s peer environments. The authors emphasize the need for greater attention to this matter.

 

Source (Open Access): Wu, S. J., & Cai, X. (2023). Adding up peer beliefs: Experimental and field evidence on the effect of peer influence on math performance. Psychological Science, 34(8), 851–862. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976231180881… Read the rest