Jon R. Star - US grants

Several small-scale experimental studies in classrooms by Star and Rittle-Johnson demonstrate the value of comparison in mathematics learning: Students who learned by comparing and contrasting alternative solution methods made greater gains in conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and flexibility than those who studied the same solution methods one at a time. This study will extend that prior work by developing, piloting, and then evaluating the impact of comparison on students' learning of mathematics in a full-year algebra course. Sixty Algebra I teachers will participate in a randomized controlled trial of the contrasting-examples instructional approach, using a delayed treatment design.

DRL - 0929575
Studying Technology-based Strategies for Enhancing Student Interest in STEM Careers through Algebra Curricula in Grades 5-9
Dede, Christopher J.
Harvard University


The investigators seek are examining the relationship between specific technology-based motivational activities and grade 5 to 9 student interest in STEM careers through a variety of classroom-based experiences. Students will be exposed to the work of STEM professionals, take a scripted two-day mathematics lesson, solve problems in algebra, and respond to questionnaires immediately after and six months after the experience. The study will vary the technological context of the induction experiences and hold constant the instructional component. They will test a series of specific hypotheses relating motivation, self-efficacy, STEM career interest, and mathematics learning to activity assignment. Student induction activities will involve watching career-related videos that provide the context of the to-be-solved problems; assuming the identity of a STEM professional in a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE); or receiving a narrative description of the problem-solving context from the teacher using PowerPoint-like presentation media.

Students will be provided opportunities to explore, represent, and analyze real-life situations which involve varying quantities based on a model of how professionals use algebra. They expect students to find such activities more motivating and have longer lasting effects than found in typical instruction.

The project focuses on a Comparison and Explanation of Multiple Strategies (CEMS) approach for Algebra I. The instructional approach focuses on having students compare strategies and explain their thinking. The investigators will modify the current materials, the instructional approach, and the professional development approach based on prior research. The curriculum development will include supplementary materials for linear equations, systems of equations, quadratics and factoring, and graphing. These are core concepts for Algebra I courses nationwide. The goal of the proposed work is to first streamline the materials and improve the resources available for. They will also focus on the central role of explanation and discussion in the learning process. The research will focus on how teachers incorporate comparison, explanation and discussion into their teaching, how this impacts students' algebra knowledge, and how effective the approach is relative to business-as-usual instruction. The results of the research will inform teaching and learning for a central course in the mathematics curriculum since it is foundational to students' later mathematics learning. The approach also examines the entire classroom system including both students' knowledge and learning and teachers' development and implementation. This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field.

The research will first refine the CEMS Algebra materials and then document the feasibility of their implementation and the effects on student learning. The project takes a holistic approach by incorporating materials for teaching, professional development, and the study of teaching practice. The work will expand theories of algebra learning to include both conceptual and procedural learning. It will include detailed analysis about fidelity of implementation to understand how instructional differences influence students' knowledge. The first phase of the study (refining the materials) includes implementation in classrooms, teacher professional development, collection of lesson videos, and the development of student assessments for each unit. The second phase of the study compares the effects of the treatment to the business-as-usual with one district. The teachers from year 1 will serve as the treatment group in year 2 and a comparison group of teachers will be selected. Data collection and analysis will focus on fidelity of implementation and assessments of students' learning. Year 3 will be similar to year 2 but expand to a second school district and include more teachers.

Despite evidence that gender differences in math achievement have narrowed or disappeared in recent decades, stereotypes about men being better than women at math emerge early in childhood and persist through adulthood. These perceptions appear to influence female students’ interest and performance in math, as well as their pursuit of STEM careers. Given the potential motivational benefits of digital learning games, games might provide a pathway for reducing math anxiety for female students while increasing their self-efficacy and interest in math. This project will explore whether digital learning games can lead to less math anxiety and better learning in female students, while not hurting male student learning. It will study learning with two existing digital learning games: Decimal Point, which teaches foundational math concepts (decimal numbers and operations) to 5th and 6th grade students; and Angle Jungle, which targets a similar age range (4th and 5th graders) and has a similar thematic design (i.e., a game map, cartoon characters), but with different game mechanics, content (angles), and instructional approach. The study will explore how and why Decimal Point has, over the course of several experiments spanning multiple years, consistently produced a learning advantage for female students. In doing so, investigators will identify principles regarding the relationship between gender and game features that can be shared with game developers and used in other games, starting with Angle Jungle.

This work will go beyond the traditional gender binary of male and female, analyzing multiple dimensions of gender, including gender identity (e.g., how much students feel like a boy, a girl, both, neither), gender typicality (e.g., How much students like to do the same things as other girls [boys], How much students feel they look like boys [girls]), and gender-typed interests, activities, and traits (e.g., how much a student feels affectionate or adventurous). The study will also investigate two pathways hypothesized to lead to gender differences: first, that the playful features of the games reduce the saliency of the math content, making it less likely to cue math stereotype threat (the stereotype threat hypothesis); and second, that the games’ thematic details are more appealing to learners who identify (more) as females, making the games more engaging for them compared to learners who identify (more) as boys (the engagement hypothesis). In Year 1, educational data mining will be used to infer students’ cognitive and affective processes while playing Decimal Point and compare data to the distinct processes predicted by these two pathways. In Year 2, investigators will assess whether the hypothesized pathways and gender differences replicate in the context of Angle Jungle. In Year 3, hypotheses will be further tested by manipulating Decimal Point’s emphasis on math content in one version of the game and enjoyment and playful features in another. The project will compare learning outcomes between the two versions to more deeply explore the stereotype threat and engagement hypotheses. The ultimate aim of this work is to provide insights into gender-based differences in learning from digital games, providing principles and guidance for other researchers and game designers in developing and revising digital learning games. Thus, the project has the potential to transfer Decimal Point’s success with girls’ learning outcomes to other digital learning games and advance knowledge on the multidimensionality of gender. Furthermore, findings will allow investigators to revise both games and make them available to thousands of late elementary and middle school students across the country. Even during this project, approximately 1,950 students—including many from districts with diverse populations and low math proficiency¬—will benefit from learning with Decimal Point and Angle Jungle.

This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.