Category: Maths and Science Learning

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Educational Administration and Leadership Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

New teachers struggled to learn as the pandemic interrupted in-person teaching rehearsals

Instructors of an undergraduate course teaching instructional methods to future secondary science teachers conducted a qualitative study analyzing the experience of suddenly switching teaching rehearsals to an online format. Half of the fifteen preservice teachers in the course were able to practice being teachers in in-person rehearsals with peers before the course switched to a virtual format in March 2020. The other half were only able to practice in rehearsals online.

Little consensus exists on how best to teach pedagogical methods for rigorous and equitable teaching. Macroteaching is a format that entails 11-12 hours of practice teaching to peers as if teaching a full unit to a class of secondary students. These extended opportunities for rehearsal, feedback, and collaborative reflection are intended to build preservice teachers’ pedagogical skills and instructional vision, making it more likely that new teachers will attempt techniques for rigorous and responsive teaching in the first few years of their careers.

The preservice teachers in the course struggled to foster class discourse, critical science thinking, and build relational connections during online macroteaching. Noticing student thinking, bringing it to the attention of the greater group, and guiding students to elaborate on others’ ideas were particularly difficult in the online platform. The authors suggested that future attempts to conduct teaching rehearsals and preservice teacher training online plan ahead for these potential challenges.

 

Source (Open Access): Stroupe, D., & Christensen, J. (2023). “Everything That’s Hard Got Harder”: Preservice teachers’ attempts at rigorous and responsive instruction during pedagogical rehearsals in the COVID pandemic. AERA Open, 9, 23328584221139776. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221139774… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Working memory and word-problem solving trainings, which combination is more effective?

A study conducted by Fuchs and colleagues looked at the effectiveness of interventions that combine training on working memory (WM) and word-problem solving (WPS). The four interventions were as follows:

  • Intervention 1 – general training on WM
  • Intervention 2 – training on WPS without WM training
  • Intervention 3 – training on WPS with math-specific WM training
  • Control group – no intervention

General WM training consisted of sessions using verbal and visuospatial modalities, to which the authors added 5 minutes on mathematics practice. The WPS intervention used in the study was Pirate Math that consists of four phases in each session: arithmetic problems, word-problem solving with a tutor, games, and practice. Finally, math-specific WM training was developed by the authors to support students in applying their working memory capacity in mathematics.

A randomized study evaluated the effects of the interventions on academic outcomes of students with math difficulties in second grade. A total of 258 students in 16 schools were randomly assigned to the four conditions: 57 in the control group, 63 in general WM, 60 in WPS, 60 in WPS with math-specific WM. Students worked with the programs for 5 months. Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA) was used to measure outcomes related to working memory and two measures to assess WPS and arithmetic.

Regarding outcomes related to WM, results showed significant differences between the WPS group (ES = +0.62) and general WM (ES = +1.22) compared to the control group, while no difference was found for WPS with math-specific WM (ES = +0.30). Effects were significantly larger in arithmetic and on the WPS measure for the three interventions compared to the control group. On arithmetic, the ESs were +0.71, +0.81, +0.64 for the WPS group, WPS with math-specific WM, and general WM, respectively. On the WPS measure, the ESs were +0.45, +0.32, +0.57 for the WPS group, WPS with math-specific WM, and general WM, respectively.

The authors concluded that although training on general WM had effects on both working memory and math outcomes, it cannot replace WPS interventions that showed stronger results on math outcomes. Conversely, effects are stronger on working memory when a general WM training is used.

 

Source: Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Sterba, S. K., Barnes, M. A., Seethaler, P. M., & Changas, P. (2022). Building word-problem solving and working memory capacity: A randomized controlled trial comparing three intervention approaches. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(7), 1633–1653. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000752… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Mathematics interventions for adolescents with mathematics difficulties: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis published in the Learning Disabilities Journal has synthesized the findings of interventions designed to improve the mathematics achievement of secondary school students with mathematics difficulties (MD).

A group of nine researchers performed a systematic literature review focusing on mathematics interventions targeting two categories of students having a MD: students with a documented disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (i.e., math LD) and students with persistent low mathematics achievement at the secondary level.

The authors identified 45 studies that met their inclusion criteria reporting findings for 49 interventions from which 139 effect sizes were extracted and used for the meta-analysis. They obtained a positive, statistically significant mean effect of +0.52 (p < .001), suggesting that the math interventions were generally effective.

  • In terms of moderators of treatment effects, the results of meta-regression found significant effects for two intervention characteristics (i.e., including content domain and intervention duration), and two study design characteristics (i.e., type of measure and fidelity of implementation), and with non-significant effects on the other intervention and study design features tested.
  • Subgroup analysis identified three intervention models, Cognitive Based Instruction (g = +0.83), Technology-Based Interventions (g = +0.50), and Visual Representation (g = +0.45), that produced a statistically significant mean effect sizes, while the other intervention models did not.
  • In relation to content domains, four content domains, including fractions (g = +0.45), numbers and operations (g = +0.40), ratios and proportions (g = +0.41), and multiple content domains (g = +0.79), produced statistically significant mean effect sizes in subgroup analysis.

These results have important implications for teachers practice since they extend the evidence-base of those interventions reviewed as effective to improve math performance across multiple math domains in secondary students with MD.

 

Source: Myers, J. A., Brownell, M. T., Griffin, C. C., Hughes, E. M., Witzel, B. S., Gage, N. A., Peyton, D., Acosta, K., & Wang, J. (2021). Mathematics interventions for adolescents with mathematics difficulties: A meta-analysis. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 36(2), 145–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/ldrp.12244… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Does an early algebra intervention have a sustained effect?

Most RCT studies stop at the post-test stage, without follow-up observations. Stephens and colleagues conducted a study to examine if an early algebra intervention influenced later learning. Participants were 1,455 students from 46 elementary schools. Seven hundred and sixteen students were from 23 treatment schools that used an early algebra intervention for 18 one-hour lessons per year from third through fifth grade during regular math class. The rest were from 23 control schools. All the students moved to a new middle school in grade 6.

Students completed an 11-item written assessment before and after the intervention.

  • Overall, the treatment group (M = 47.51% correct, SD = 21.54%) did better than the control group (M = 37.93% correct, SD = 19.74%) in the initial year of the intervention.
  • However, the gap between the two groups narrowed from Grade 5 to Grade 6. Control students experienced an overall increase in performance from Grade 5 (M = 33.38%, SD = 19.43%) to Grade 6 (M = 37.93%, SD= 19.74%), and treatment students experienced an overall decrease in performance from Grade 5 (M = 53.40%, SD = 24.17%) to Grade 6 (M = 47.51%, SD = 21.54%).
  • Results also showed that the control students improved in algebraic ideas and thinking practices, like deeper understanding about equivalence. But they still lagged the treatment group, who continued to present good results.

This study provides evidence that it is useful to give students an early algebra intervention, which could be to their advantage when they enter middle school.

 

Source: Stephens, A., Stroud, R., Strachota, S., Stylianou, D., Blanton, M., Knuth, E., & Gardiner, A. (2021). What early algebra knowledge persists 1 year after an elementary grades intervention? Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 52(3), 332–348. https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc-2020-0304… Read the rest

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K-12 Education Maths and Science Learning Programme Evaluation

Which factors influence the effect of math interventions?

A recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness studied the effects of PreK-12 mathematics interventions in the U.S. from the 1990’s to 2017 with the aim of examining the characteristics of the studies that contribute to the effect heterogeneity. The criteria to select the studies were broad in order to do a comprehensive review of randomized studies on mathematics intervention, written in English, and conducted in the U.S. Therefore, the authors included studies with different methodological qualities (e.g., types of measure, attrition rate, baseline equivalence) and attempted to control for these factors in the analysis.

A total of 191 studies met the inclusion criteria, with a mean effect size of +0.31. There was substantial heterogeneity, with a 95% prediction interval (range of 95% of true effect sizes) of -0.60 to +1.23. To explain the heterogeneity, the authors tested blocks of moderators. After testing each block independently, a combined model was created including all the moderators that were found to be marginally significant in the previous analyses.

Results from the combined model showed that intervention type, intervention delivery, publication decade, and measure type were significant moderators of the effect.

  • On intervention types, supplemental time interventions (ES = +0.53) were more effective than curricula (ES = +0.34) or pedagogical/instruction interventions (ES = +0.27).
  • On intervention delivery, programs delivered by teachers (ES = +0.37) and external interventionists (ES = +0.39) were more effective than technology (ES = +0.12).
  • Regarding time of publication, studies published in earlier decades had higher effect sizes than recent studies.
  • Finally, measures made by researchers (ES = +0.45) had three times the effect of standardized measures (ES = +0.15).

 

The authors concluded that much variability between effect sizes of the studies were not explained by the factors included in the analysis. Studies should report as many details as possible about the programs and the methods used to be able to examine and discover which are the factors that influence an intervention’s effectiveness.

 

Source: Williams, R., Citkowicz, M., Miller, D. I., Lindsay, J., & Walters, K. (2022). Heterogeneity in mathematics intervention effects: Evidence from a meta-analysis of 191 randomized experiments. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 15(3), 584–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2021.2009072… Read the rest

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Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Programme Evaluation

Six letters to change parents’ math expectation towards their children

Gender stereotypes in math, which refers to the belief that men have superior math ability than women, can harm female students’ math competence beliefs. Similarly, students’ beliefs that math ability is inborn and does not change much with effort (fixed mindset) can weaken their competence beliefs. Lee and colleagues investigated the impact of two interventions on parents and students’ math beliefs.

A sample of 467 grade three and grade four students (mean age = 9.43 years, 53.3% girl) in 20 classes and their parents (over 88% mothers) at three elementary schools in Korea were randomly assigned in class units to intervention (11 classes) and control conditions (9 classes). The intervention was divided into two parts, one for parents (Intervention-P) and the other for students (Intervention-S).

In Intervention-P, parents of the intervention group received two letters each week for three consecutive weeks from August to September, while parents in the control group did not receive any letters. Those six letters discussed the importance of having a growth mindset, the harm of gender-stereotypic beliefs, and highlighted the positive impact of high parental expectations on children’s success in math. Immediately after Intervention-P, Intervention-S was implemented. It was composed of five 40-min sessions math activities for students in both groups over two months. Only the intervention group used those activities to communicate growth mindset messages and emphasized gender similarities in math achievement.

Both parents’ and students’ data were collected at T1 before Intervention-P and at T2 after Intervention-P and before Intervention-S. Only students’ responses were collected at T3 after Intervention-S. Results of analyses are shown below.

Intervention-P:

  • The intervention had no direct effects on students’ fixed mindset, gender stereotype in math, math self-efficacy, and math test anxiety.
  • Students’ gender stereotype may be weakened through the decrease of parents’ gender stereotypes (ES =-.16).
  • Indirect effects were found on reducing students’ fixed mindset (ES = -.14) via promoting parents’ expectations towards the child’s success in math (ES = .16).
  • No significant effect was found on parents’ fixed mindset.

Intervention-S:

  • It had no direct effects on students’ self-reported outcomes.
  • However, the intervention effect was found to enhance students’ math self-efficacy for students perceived math as more important.

Although the effects were small, they emerged after sending only six letters to the parents over a short period. The study provides evidence for further exploring the impact of changing parental beliefs on their child.

 

Source: Lee, H. J., Lee, J., Song, J., Kim, S., & Bong, M. (2022). Promoting children’s math motivation by changing parents’ gender stereotypes and expectations for math. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000743… Read the rest