Research

Objective: Examine existing literature to explore effective characteristics and achievement when using technology in mathematics for elementary and middle school students.

Project Description

The purpose of this three-year project was to examine the existing literature to investigate the outcomes of effective characteristics and achievement when using technology in mathematics for elementary and middle school students. Two primary studies are included in this research (1) a comprehensive literature review and (2) a meta-analysis to address our primary research questions. The initial electronic database search resulted in 12,922 articles. After narrowing down the search to meet our inclusion criteria roughly 80 articles remained across both studies. A third study is underway to examine additional student constructs including metacognition, motivation, and engagement.

Primary Researchers

• Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo
• Kristina Higgins

Objective: To explore and operationally define types of mathematical reasoning present in elementary students.

Project Description

This project is to examine mathematical reasoning in elementary students in order to operationally define types of reasoning. For the last two years our team has worked to better understand the reasoning of elementary students in mathematics. Our primary focus has been on students in grades 3-6. Two primary studies have been conducted to meet this objective. Study 1 consisted of two phases and used a sample of students performing below the 35th percentile (N = 105) and Study 2 consisted of students in the general education population (N = 418).

Study 1 used two separate analyses to examine types of reasoning that emerged based on student responses (N = 1,928) to a psychometrically validated measure of mathematical reasoning for Whole Number and Fraction items. In the first phase of Study 1 a cluster analysis was performed on 36 categories of student strategies, and the data dispersed into three clusters. Based on these results and a review of the literature on reasoning, the research team created a set of operational definitions encompassing three types of reasoning: (1) faulty reasoning, (2) algorithmic reasoning, and (3) plausible reasoning.

Study 2 was conducted to examine the reasoning of a larger, more diverse population. We replicated the cluster analysis performed in Study 1 conducted on the 36 reasoning strategies to determine the findings from Study 2 were comparable. Findings from this study were promising for our proposed categories and provide initial evidence in the development process of an evaluation tool for assessing students’ mathematical reasoning intended for research and practical application.

Research Team

Lindy Crawford
Jacqueline Huscroft-D’Angelo

Graduate Student Researchers

Hannah Alvis
Madeline Cranford
Pei Pei Gong
Shelley Shirley
Shayla Sigler

Affiliations

Mathematics E-Text Research Center

The Mathematics eText Research Center (MeTRC) is located at the University of Oregon. Currently, under the leadership of Dr. Mark Horney and Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman of the University of Oregon's Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE), the center is in the process of conducting a systematic program of research that has spanned over five years in collaboration with five teams across the country, each focusing on a specific student population, curriculum, or technology.

Project Description

This observational research study of six high school teachers will systematically catalogue “typical practice” in ninth-grade English classes for the purpose of increasing knowledge in the field of adolescent literacy, identifying new avenues of intervention development, and supporting administrator walk-through and coaching tool development. The study uses momentary time sampling (MTS) to observe teachers of Basic and Honors English classes across three different high schools representing Connecticut’s diverse socioeconomics.

Funded Research

University of Connecticut

Research Team

Michael Faggella-Luby,Ph.D.

Graduate Student Researchers

Yan Wei
Keith McLaren

Presentations

Wei, Y. , Lombardi, A., & Faggella-Luby, M. (2015, February). Investigation of an embedded planning tool for tier-three literacy planning and instruction. Poster presented at The Pacific Coast Research Conference, San Diego, CA.

Faggella-Luby, M., Wei, Y., & McLaren, K. (2013, October). Project VISIBLE: Validating implementation of secondary instructional behaviors in literacy and English. Poster presented at the Council for Learning Disabilities 35th International Conference, Austin, TX.

Objective: Research teaching and learning of mathematics in technology-based environments

Project Description

The ANSERS Institute is engaged in a five-year collaborative research project with the Center for Applied Technology in Education at the University of Oregon. We are currently in our final year of this project. Our research is focused on the teaching and learning of mathematics in technology-based environments. In years 1-3 of this project our research teams investigated students’ use of “electronic support tools” available to them via technology. Descriptive data collected on students’ electronic tool use during the first three years of the project led us to study, more specifically, how students used these tools to communicate about mathematics. Therefore, in year 4 of this project we studied student use of a digital notepad and a peer-mediated “wall” embedded in the Math Learning Companion (an online mathematics curriculum previously developed through a different research grant). We found, in year 4, that students used these online writing environments to support and enhance mathematical reasoning. Thus, in the fifth and final year of the project we are investigating the effects of a teacher-led fractions intervention on the mathematical reasoning of students as supported through a technology-rich writing environment.

Funded Research:

University of Oregon (MeTRC; $700,000)

Research Team

Dr. Lindy Crawford (principal investigator)
Dr. Jacqueline D’Angelo (project manager)
Dr. Kristina Higgins (lead statistician)
Dr. Sarah Quebec-Fuentes (content expert)

Graduate Student Researchers

Shayla Sigler
Pei Pei Gong
Hannah Alvis

Presentations

• Crawford, L., Higgins, K. & Huscroft-D’Angelo, J. (2013, October). Writing in mathematics: An investigation of the impact on mathematical reasoning skills. Poster presented at the 35th Annual Conference on Learning Disabilities – Council for Learning Disabilities, Austin, TX.
• Crawford, L. (2013, April). Use of electronic support tools in mathematics by students with Learning Disabilities. Paper presented at the European Teachers Education Network, Brussels, Belgium.
• Higgins, K., Crawford, L. & Huscroft-D’Angelo, J. (2013, April). Assessing relationships between electronic tool use, academic abilities, and gain scores for students using a CBI math program. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Seattle, WA.
• Crawford, L., & Higgins, K. (2013, March). Assessing the effects of the Math Learning. Companion. Institute of Education Sciences, U. S. Department of Education. Project Directors’ Conference. Interactive poster presentation. Washington, D. C.
• Crawford, L. (2012, April). Student’s use of active electronic support tools in mathematics: A descriptive study. Roundtable paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Crawford, L. (2012, April). User path analysis of electronic support tools in mathematics. Presentation at the meeting of Council for Exceptional Children, Denver, CO.
• Higgins, K., & Crawford, L. (2012, October). Effectiveness of computer-based instruction program’s electronic support tools on achievement. Poster presented at the 34th International Conference on Learning Disabilities – Council for Learning Disabilities, Austin, TX.

Affiliations

Mathematics E-Text Research Center

The Mathematics eText Research Center (MeTRC) is located at the University of Oregon. Currently, under the leadership of Dr. Mark Horney and Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman of the University of Oregon's Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE), the center is in the process of conducting a systematic program of research that has spanned over five years in collaboration with five teams across the country, each focusing on a specific student population, curriculum, or technology.