Category: Maths and Science Learning

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Educational Administration and Leadership Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

Towards equitable opportunities for advanced math

How can the United States bridge math proficiency gaps? Ensuring equitable opportunities for students to receive adequate preparation and access to advanced math is critical to the equation. This is due to the clear benefits of learning advanced math in high school, such as increased options for majoring in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, higher rates of college acceptance, and greater opportunities for college scholarships and financial aid. Despite these benefits, a significant portion of high school students are either not being offered the opportunity to take or are opting out of advanced math courses. A recent report from RAND identified gaps in students’ opportunities to access advanced math and provided recommended support to address these gaps.

This report utilized data from nationally representative surveys of teachers and school leaders in kindergarten through grade 12 during the 2021-2022 school year. The findings indicated that fewer advanced math courses were offered in small high schools, rural high schools, and high schools primarily serving historically marginalized communities, and that uneven access to advanced math started before high school. In addition, math teachers who worked in high-poverty schools were likely to report skipping standards-aligned content and replacing the skipped content with material from prior grade levels. A large proportion of K-12 math teachers expressed the need for additional support in delivering high-quality math instruction.

The authors recommend the following to policymakers and education leaders: First, school districts should allocate funding towards implementing high-dosage tutoring programs for economically disadvantaged high schoolers; Second, education leaders should support teachers with high-quality training and standards-aligned curriculum materials; Third, district leaders should collaborate with regional colleges to make high-quality advanced courses accessible for all high school students; Fourth, education leaders and teachers should establish transparency in communication regarding the importance of course-taking.

 

Source (Open Access): Wolfe, R. L., Steiner, E. D., & Schweig, J. (2023). Getting Students to (and Through) Advanced Math: Where Course Offerings and Content Are Not Adding Up. RAND Corporation. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA827-10.html… Read the rest

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Achievement Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Effects of high-dosage math tutoring for low-income students

A high-dosage math tutoring program, modeled after Saga Education in the U.S., was developed in the Netherlands through a collaboration of schools, funders and providers to support students from low-income families. The program was delivered by a tutor to student pairs four times a week for an entire school year. In the sessions tutors reviewed mathematical concepts introduced by the teachers to the whole class, as well as personalized the instruction based on student needs.

A recent evaluation assessed the effectiveness of this program in fourth and fifth grade. The study randomly assigned 434 students to the experimental group or to the control group for one school year. Using the national math and reading tests to assess the effectiveness of the program, results showed a significant improvement in math achievement (ES = +0.28) in both grade 4 and 5. No effects were found in reading. The authors’ conclusion affirms that this high-dosage math tutoring program was effective and scalable, bolstering the academic success of low-income students.

Source (Open Access): de Ree, J., Maggioni, M. A., Paulle, B., Rossignoli, D., Ruijs, N., & Walentek, D. (2023). Closing the income-achievement gap? Experimental evidence from high-dosage tutoring in Dutch primary education. Economics of Education Review, 94, 102383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2023.102383… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Math Corps’ tutoring program: Math knowledge impacts and participant math perceptions

Recently, Mathematica reported the results of  an evaluation study  of the Math Corps’ Tutoring Program, an evidence-based math tutoring program delivering personalized support to all students, in particular students who are Black, Latino, and/or in poverty.

During two school years (i.e., 2020–2021 and 2021–2022), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the rapid-cycle evaluations of a cohort of 10 tutoring providers seeking to understand how different tutoring models lead to improved academic outcomes. Mathematica worked with each one of the tutoring providers to identify the most rigorous and feasible study design within a one-to-three-month planning period. Math Corps’ quasi-experimental study used a mixed methods analysis. Their evaluation matched AmeriCorps tutors with schools to support approximately 24 students in grades 4 through 8, in pairs or groups of three, for 90 minutes each week in 30- to 45-minute, in-person sessions.

The evaluation encountered some delays in gathering data, affecting both the quality of matching between students who participated in Math Corps and the comparison group and the window to gather data. The main findings focused on growth from midyear to the end of the year and showed that (a) participating in Math Corps was associated with improvements in students’ math knowledge and positive student–tutor relationships, sense of belonging, and confidence in math; and (b) Math Corps students demonstrated moderate growth in math knowledge compared to similar students in the control group.

 

Source (Open Access): Robles, S., O’Connell, K., Gothro, A., & Place, K. (2023). Math Corps’ tutoring program: Math knowledge impacts and participant math perceptions. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/math-knowledge-impacts-and-math-perceptions-among-participants-in-math-corps-tutoring-program… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Practice guide for assisting students struggling with mathematics in the elementary grades

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., Schumacher, R., Dougherty, B., Bucka, N., Karp, K.S., Woodward, J., Clarke, B., Jordan, N. C., Gersten, R., Jayanthi, M., Keating, B., and Morgan, S. (2021). Assisting students struggling with mathematics: intervention in the elementary grades (WWC 2021006). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://whatworks.ed.gov/.… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Secondary School Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

The negative impact of math anxiety on math performance is stronger among girls than boys

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 showed that:

  • Compared to girls, boys reported slightly higher mean math anxiety scores for both grades. There was no significant gender difference in math scores.
  • Girls exhibited a stronger negative association between math anxiety and math performance. In other words, female students who reported higher levels of math anxiety tended to have lower math scores than their male counterparts.
  • The negative math anxiety-achievement link was stronger in grade 8 than in grade 4. The link increase with age could be related to the increased difficulty of the math curriculum.

The study found that the impact of math anxiety on math performance was stronger in girls than in boys and stronger in eighth graders than in fourth graders. Though there was no direct proof that the gender difference might be explained by emotional susceptibility, based on the large sample and consistent results, authors suggested that teachers could be more attentive towards girls who experience negative emotions related to math and refrain from using gender stereotypes. As the link intensifies with age, it’s crucial to take preventive measure when students are young.

 

Source: Yu, X., Zhou, H., Sheng, P., Ren, B., Wang, Y., Wang, H., & Zhou, X. (2023). Math anxiety is more closely associated with math performance in female students than in male students. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04349-y… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Comparing the impact of two game-based learning technologies on conceptual understanding of algebra

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., 16×29) to a specified goal state (e.g., 16×30 – 16×1) 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 drawn from a large randomized controlled trial which took place in a suburban district in Southeastern US in 2020-2021 academic year involving grade 7 students to test the efficacy of game-based and non-game-based technology. The current study only focused on 887 students who were assigned to the DragonBox (n=275) and the FH2T (n=612) conditions. The participants played their respective games for nine 30-min sessions across the school year. Students were assessed for algebraic knowledge and mathematics attitude before (pretest), during (midtest), and after (posttest) the nine intervention sessions. The results are shown below.

  • Students improved their conceptual knowledge across the three time-points of the algebra test.
  • Students significantly improved on procedural knowledge from pretest to midtest, but significantly dropped at posttest. Compared to pretest, students were 1.18 times less likely to have correct answers at posttest.
  • Similarly, students’ performance on procedural flexibility increased at midtest but decreased at posttest. Compared to pretest, students were 1.41 times less likely to provide correct responses at posttest.
  • The effect was not significantly different between the two games.

The decrease in students’ procedural knowledge and procedural flexibility was puzzling.  The authors believed it could be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to school closures during pandemic, there was loss in students learning. By contrast, both game-based technologies improved the concept knowledge of algebra even under the impact of the ‘COVID-19 slide’.

 

Source: Chan, J. Y.-C., Closser, A. H., Ngo, V., Smith, H., Liu, A. S., & Ottmar, E. (2023). Examining shifts in conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge and procedural flexibility in the context of two game-based technologies. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12798… Read the rest