Collaborative learning with scientific approach and multiple intelligence: Its impact toward math learning achievement

Abstract

This study examined the effect of collaborative learning with a scientific approach (SA) on the learning achievement in mathematics viewed from the students’ multiple intelligences. This study compared two types of collaborative learning models, Three Steps Interview (TSI), and Think Pair Share (TPS). The participants of this study were grade 8 students of Secondary Schools in Sukoharjo, Central Java, Indonesia (N?=?262). This study was a quasi-experimental study with a 3?×?3 factorial design. The results of the study can be concluded as follows. (1) TSI with a scientific approach got better math learning achievement than TPS with a scientific approach and classical with a scientific approach. Besides, TPS with a scientific approach got better learning achievement than classical with a scientific approach. (2) Students with logical-mathematical intelligence got better math learning achievement than students with linguistic intelligence and students with interpersonal intelligence, students with linguistic intelligence got better math learning achievement than students with interpersonal intelligence.     

Intervening with Struggling Readers in Seventh Grade: Impact Evidence from Six School Districts

Abstract

This study uses a regression discontinuity design to evaluate the impact of seventh-grade interventions delivered by 25 schools on the reading and school engagement outcomes of struggling readers. Students in participating schools were assigned to intervention (n?=?1,495) or comparison (n?=?4,397) conditions, based on their state reading performance and reading fluency scores in sixth grade. On the state reading test, intervention impact favoring the treatment group approached, but did not reach, statistical significance (p?=?.056, g?=?.15). On a measure of reading fluency, there was a significant interaction between the cut points schools chose for condition assignment and intervention impact (p?=?.015). In schools that chose a lower cut point, intervention students outperformed comparison students, while in schools that chose a higher cut point, comparison students outperformed intervention students. On a student self-report measure of school engagement, no significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups were observed (p?=?.83, g?=?.02). Implications for rigorous evaluation of interventions implemented by districts and schools under naturalistic conditions are discussed.     

The effects of technology‐enhanced formative evaluation on student performance on state accountability math tests

Technology‐enhanced formative evaluation (TEFE) could enhance student achievement while diminishing the burden of formative evaluation for educators. The current study examined data from 360 randomly selected schools that either used a TEFE program for 1 year to 4 years 11 months, for 5 or more years, or not at all. Analyses of covariance found a significant and moderate to large (d = .51 and .78) effect on percentage of students who scored proficient on state accountability tests in math. Moreover, among schools that used TEFE, those with a non‐White student population of at least 50% scored in the proficient range on state math tests at a rate equal to that of those with at least 50% White students. A significant and moderate to large (d = .71) effect was found, however, between these two groups of schools among schools that did not use a TEFE program. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An Experimental Evaluation of Four Elementary School Math Curricula

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of four elementary school math curricula: (a) Investigations in Number, Data, and Space; (b) Math Expressions; (c) Saxon Math; and (d) Scott Foresman–Addison Wesley Mathematics (SFAW). These curricula are distinct from one another and represent many of the diverse approaches used to teach elementary school math in the United States. The results are based on 39 schools that were randomly assigned to use the various curricula at the first-grade level. The results show that average spring first-grade math achievement of Math Expressions and Saxon students was 0.30 SD higher than Investigations students and 0.24 SD higher than SFAW students. These effect sizes mean that an average-performing student's percentile rank in math would be 9 to 12 points higher if the school used Math Expressions or Saxon, instead of Investigations or SFAW. We also conducted correlational analyses that examine whether curriculum-group differences in math instructional time and content coverage account for the differences in curriculum effects and found that a portion of the relative effects is due to differences in content coverage.     

Evaluation of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program in a Regular Norwegian School Setting

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) program implemented as a school-wide preventive intervention at 1st to 3rd grade in a regular school setting reduces the development of problem behavior and improves social competence. Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, the IYTCM was implemented in 21 schools and compared with 22 matched schools that did not receive the program. A total of 241 1st to 3rd grade teachers and 1518 students aged 6 to 8 years took part in the trial. Mixed-model analyses found small positive effects on changes in students’ social competence (d_w?=?0.19), while effects on change in students problem behavior were less than small (d_w?相似文献   

Place-based education from three perspectives

Abstract

This article examines the perception of the Czech place-based education program School for Sustainable Development from the perspectives of the participating students, teachers, and representatives of the local municipalities. The study is based on an analysis of paired or group interviews with 47 students, 7 teachers, and 6 representatives. The findings show that while the teachers perceived the process of the students’ involvement in planning and conducting a community-based project as highly participative, the students’ opportunities to shape the process through making their own decisions were rather limited and the teachers kept control over important parts of the process to themselves. While the cooperation of the schools with their respective municipalities was appreciated by most of the respondents, several barriers have been identified. Participation in the project has likely increased the teachers’ self-effectiveness, developed the students’ interpersonal competence, and improved the atmosphere at the schools involved.

Abbreviations: PBE: place-based education; ENEC: European Network for Environmental Citizenship; STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; SSD: The School for Sustainable Development.     

Housing Interventions and the Chronic and Acute Risks of Family Homelessness: Experimental Evidence for Education

This study considers risk associated with family homelessness for school functioning and experimental evidence on the effects of different housing interventions over time. Students in homeless families (N = 172; M_age = 7.31; SD = 4.15) were randomized to housing interventions that focus on acute risks (community-based rapid rehousing), chronic risks (permanent subsidy), or usual care (UC). A matched group of low-income, housed students served as an additional reference for effects on attendance, school mobility, and reading and math achievement across 4 years. Findings partially support the chronic-risk hypothesis that family homelessness interferes with achievement through its relation to deep poverty. Children randomly assigned to UC perform as well or better than children assigned to housing interventions in this municipality.     

Longitudinal Evaluation of a Scale-Up Model for Teaching Mathematics With Trajectories and Technologies

Abstract

We used a cluster randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a research-based model for scaling up educational interventions, focusing on the persistence of effects with and without a follow-through intervention. The instantiation of the Technology-enhanced, Research-based, Instruction, Assessment, and professional Development (TRIAD) model emphasized teaching early mathematics for understanding via learning trajectories and technology. The TRIAD implementation began in 42 schools in two city districts serving low-resource communities, randomly assigned to three conditions. In pre-kindergarten, the 2 experimental interventions were identical, but 1 included follow-through in the kindergarten year, including knowledge of the pre-K intervention and ways to build upon that knowledge using learning trajectories. Intent-to-treat analyses showed that students in both the follow-through condition (g = .33) and non-follow-through condition (g = .22) scored statistically significantly higher than children in the control condition. Both groups outperformed the control condition in treatment-on-the-treated analyses (g = .38, follow-through; g = .30 non-follow-through). Moderators and mediators were also analyzed. We conclude that the instantiation of the TRIAD model was successful and that follow through may contribute to the persistence of the effects of preschool interventions.     

Impact of a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program on School-Level Indicators of Academic Achievement,Absenteeism, and Disciplinary Outcomes: A Matched-Pair,Cluster-Randomized,Controlled Trial

Abstract

This article reports the effects of a comprehensive elementary school-based social-emotional and character education program on school-level achievement, absenteeism, and disciplinary outcomes utilizing a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. The Positive Action Hawai'i trial included 20 racially/ethnically diverse schools (M enrollment = 544) and was conducted from the 2002–03 through the 2005–06 academic years. Using school-level archival data, analyses comparing change from baseline (2002) to 1-year posttrial (2007) revealed that intervention schools scored 9.8% better on the TerraNova (2nd ed.) test for reading and 8.8% on math, that 20.7% better in Hawai'i Content and Performance Standards scores for reading and 51.4% better in math, and that intervention schools reported 15.2% lower absenteeism and fewer suspensions (72.6%) and retentions (72.7%). Overall, effect sizes were moderate to large (range = 0.5–1.1) for all of the examined outcomes. Sensitivity analyses using permutation models and random-intercept growth curve models substantiated results. The results provide evidence that a comprehensive school-based program, specifically developed to target student behavior and character, can positively influence school-level achievement, attendance, and disciplinary outcomes concurrently.     

A Comparison of Two Methods of Learning

ABSTRACT

This is an impact evaluation of the Technical Support to Failing Schools Program, a Chilean compensatory program that provided 4-year in-school technical assistance to low-performing schools to improve students’ academic achievement. The author implemented a quasi-experimental design by using difference-in-differences estimation combined with propensity scores matching procedures to estimate treatment effects. The main findings were the following: (a) the program had positive effects on fourth-grade students’ achievement in both language and mathematics; (b) program effect size was 0.23 standard deviations, and not sensitive to control for covariates; (c) there were larger effects for students in the middle part of the students’ test-score distribution; (d) after the intervention had ceased, the program impact declined rapidly; and (e) the program reduced grade retention by 1.5 percentage points.     

ALL Kids Can Be Readers: The Marriage of Reading First and Inclusive Education

As schools attempt to address the needs of an ever more diverse student population, many have turned to intensive interventions to improve reading performance. Reading First grants from the United States Department of Education encouraged schools to implement evidence-based instructional practices in elementary schools. However, for many schools, implementation of Reading First and other intensive data-driven reading initiatives has not included students considered to have significant disabilities or has led to increased pull-out or separate remediation services. We consider how Reading First efforts can be integrated into a rich, inclusive education program for all students, including those considered to have the most significant disabilities. We discuss how schools can creatively utilize staff and scheduling to maximize push-in support and encourage interdisciplinary and data-driven problem solving to provide meaningful guidance for reading instruction for the benefit of all students.     

A Randomized Trial of an Elementary School Mathematics Software Intervention: Spatial-Temporal Math

Abstract

Fifty-two low performing schools were randomly assigned to receive Spatial-Temporal (ST) Math, a supplemental mathematics software and instructional program, in second/third or fourth/fifth grades or to a business-as-usual control. Analyses reveal a negligible effect of ST Math on mathematics scores, which did not differ significantly across subgroups defined by prior math proficiency and English Language Learner status. Two years of program treatment produced a nonsignificant effect. Publication of evaluation results from large-scale real-world supplemental mathematics instructional implementations such as this one can provide a realistic view of the possibilities, costs, and limitations of this and other computer aided instruction supplemental interventions.     

The Impact of Every Classroom,Every Day on High School Student Achievement: Results From a School-Randomized Trial

Abstract

Every Classroom, Every Day (ECED) is a set of instructional improvement interventions designed to increase student achievement in math and English/language arts (ELA). ECED includes three primary components: (a) systematic classroom observations by school leaders, (b) intensive professional development and support for math teachers and instructional leaders to reorganize math instruction, assessment, and grading around mastery of benchmarks, and (c) a structured literacy curriculum that supplements traditional English courses, with accompanying professional development and support for teachers surrounding its use. The present study is a two-year trial, conducted by independent researchers, which employed a school-randomized design and included 20 high schools (10 treatment; 10 control) in five districts in four states. The students were ethnically diverse and most were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Results provided evidence that ECED improved scores on standardized tests of math achievement, but not standardized tests of ELA achievement. Findings are discussed in terms of differences between math and ELA and of implications for future large-scale school-randomized trials.     

Efficacy of an evidence-based literacy preparation program for young children beginning school

Abstract

This study aimed to provide evidence regarding the efficacy of an early literacy preparation program, PreLit, designed to improve the skills of young Australian children. Participants comprised 240 children in eight schools attending their first year of schooling. Children in the four experimental group schools received instruction in the program while children in the four comparison group schools continued with typical literacy activities in their classrooms. All children were assessed on measures of emergent literacy and language skills prior to and following intervention. It was found that 91% of students were in the bottom quartile for phonological awareness at pre-test. While neither the children nor their schools were randomly allocated to groups, the mean scores for the two groups were very similar at pre-test on all measures. Analyses showed that although the means for the two groups were not statistically different on any of the measures at post-test, significantly fewer students in experimental schools remained in the bottom quartile and more moved into the top quartile for phonological awareness skills, compared with students in the comparison schools. Fine grain analyses, taking into account additional qualitative data about the schools, helped to clarify these findings.     

Mindset × Context: Schools,Classrooms, and the Unequal Translation of Expectations into Math Achievement

When do adolescents' dreams of promising journeys through high school translate into academic success? This monograph reports the results of a collaborative effort among sociologists and psychologists to systematically examine the role of schools and classrooms in disrupting or facilitating the link between adolescents' expectations for success in math and their subsequent progress in the early high school math curriculum. Our primary focus was on gendered patterns of socioeconomic inequality in math and how they are tethered to the school's peer culture and to students' perceptions of gender stereotyping in the classroom. To do this, this monograph advances Mindset × Context Theory. This orients research on educational equity to the reciprocal influence between students' psychological motivations and their school-based opportunities to enact those motivations. Mindset × Context Theory predicts that a student's mindset will be more strongly linked to developmental outcomes among groups of students who are at risk for poor outcomes, but only in a school or classroom context where there is sufficient need and support for the mindset. Our application of this theory centers on expectations for success in high school math as a foundational belief for students' math progress early in high school. We examine how this mindset varies across interpersonal and cultural dynamics in schools and classrooms. Following this perspective, we ask:

• 1. Which gender and socioeconomic identity groups showed the weakest or strongest links between expectations for success in math and progress through the math curriculum?
• 2. How did the school's peer culture shape the links between student expectations for success in math and math progress across gender and socioeconomic identity groups?
• 3. How did perceptions of classroom gender stereotyping shape the links between student expectations for success in math and math progress across gender and socioeconomic identity groups?

We used nationally representative data from about 10,000 U.S. public school 9th graders in the National Study of Learning Mindsets (NSLM) collected in 2015–2016—the most recent, national, longitudinal study of adolescents' mindsets in U.S. public schools. The sample was representative with respect to a large number of observable characteristics, such as gender, race, ethnicity, English Language Learners (ELLs), free or reduced price lunch, poverty, food stamps, neighborhood income and labor market participation, and school curricular opportunities. This allowed for generalization to the U.S. public school population and for the systematic investigation of school- and classroom-level contextual factors. The NSLM's complete sampling of students within schools also allowed for a comparison of students from different gender and socioeconomic groups with the same expectations in the same educational contexts. To analyze these data, we used the Bayesian Causal Forest (BCF) algorithm, a best-in-class machine-learning method for discovering complex, replicable interaction effects. Chapter IV examined the interplay of expectations, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES; operationalized with maternal educational attainment). Adolescents' expectations for success in math were meaningful predictors of their early math progress, even when controlling for other psychological factors, prior achievement in math, and racial and ethnic identities. Boys from low-SES families were the most vulnerable identity group. They were over three times more likely to not make adequate progress in math from 9th to 10th grade relative to girls from high-SES families. Boys from low-SES families also benefited the most from their expectations for success in math. Overall, these results were consistent with Mindset × Context Theory's predictions. Chapters V and VI examined the moderating role of school-level and classroom-level factors in the patterns reported in Chapter IV. Expectations were least predictive of math progress in the highest-achieving schools and schools with the most academically oriented peer norms, that is, schools with the most formal and informal resources. School resources appeared to compensate for lower levels of expectations. Conversely, expectations most strongly predicted math progress in the low/medium-achieving schools with less academically oriented peers, especially for boys from low-SES families. This chapter aligns with aspects of Mindset × Context Theory. A context that was not already optimally supporting student success was where outcomes for vulnerable students depended the most on student expectations. Finally, perceptions of classroom stereotyping mattered. Perceptions of gender stereotyping predicted less progress in math, but expectations for success in math more strongly predicted progress in classrooms with high perceived stereotyping. Gender stereotyping interactions emerged for all sociodemographic groups except for boys from high-SES families. The findings across these three analytical chapters demonstrate the value of integrating psychological and sociological perspectives to capture multiple levels of schooling. It also drew on the contextual variability afforded by representative sampling and explored the interplay of lab-tested psychological processes (expectations) with field-developed levers of policy intervention (school contexts). This monograph also leverages developmental and ecological insights to identify which groups of students might profit from different efforts to improve educational equity, such as interventions to increase expectations for success in math, or school programs that improve the school or classroom cultures.     

Calculation and word problem-solving skill profiles: relationship to previous skills and interest

Abstract

The current study focuses on the calculation and word problem-solving skill profiles at the end of middle school and their relationships to previous skills and interest in math. The sample included 818 (48% boys) Estonian students from 31 schools. Math skills, reasoning, text comprehension, and interest in math were assessed in Grade 8. Latent profile analysis was used to identify latent profiles of calculation and word problem-solving skills in Grade 9 (age 15 years). Five latent profiles were found. Results indicated that students had significantly different math and cognitive skills; however, the interest level for average and lower-achieving students was quite similar. Students with the highest skills had an exceptionally high interest in math, showing that enhancing students’ interest together with academic skills might help to reach a high level of math skills by the end of middle school.     

Randomized controlled trial of the Child Protection Unit: Grade and gender as moderators of CSA prevention concepts in elementary students

BackgroundDespite the importance of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention, there are few recent randomized controlled trials of school-based CSA prevention programs.Objectives(1) To evaluate the effects of the Second Step Child Protection Unit (CPU) on students’ CSA prevention concept knowledge, ability to recognize, report, and refuse unsafe touches, and perceptions of teacher-student relations and (2) investigate the moderating role of age and gender on program effectiveness.Participants and settingEight elementary schools in a large suburban school district in the northeast United States were randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition, with analyses conducted on a total of 2172 students.MethodsStudents in intervention schools received the 6-week CPU and those in the control schools were exposed to business as usual. Students were administered assessments at baseline and then at post-test.ResultsUnivariate Analyses of Covariance revealed that students in the intervention schools had significantly higher scores on all outcomes than students in the control schools at post-test, even after controlling for baseline scores. Children in younger grades made greater gains from the program, and girls scored higher than boys in CSA knowledge and ability to recognize, refuse, and report unsafe touches, but both boys and girls made significant gains.ConclusionsResults support the importance of beginning early with school-based CSA prevention efforts. Although boys are still at a relative disadvantage in terms of their knowledge and ability in this area, they are able to make gains at the same rate as girls.     

Factors that May Influence Treatment Effects: Helping Practitioners Select Early Numeracy Interventions

Despite encouraging findings that show that interventions can improve students’ math understanding, achievement gaps in math often persist or even widen for students who struggle. Practitioners play a significant role in closing these achievement gaps because they have the responsibility to select or design interventions. Practitioners may wish to consider factors that influence intervention effectiveness. This study evaluated numeracy interventions and explored how features of the studies and interventions may have influenced reported effects. Exploratory analyses revealed smaller effects when only distal measures were considered (g = 0.35; SE = 0.05), or when studies reported including more than 30 percent of participants as English learners (g = 0.44; SE = 0.12). Results also indicated variable effects across the same intervention programs. Implications for practitioners related to selecting interventions are discussed.     

Transtheoretical-based bullying prevention effectiveness trials in middle schools and high schools

Background Bullying threatens the physical and mental well-being of students across a broad range of schools. Tailored interventions based on the Transtheoretical model and delivered over the Internet were designed to reduce participation in each of three roles related to bullying (bully, victim and passive bystander).

Methods Effectiveness trials were completed in 12 middle schools and 13 high schools in the USA. A diverse sample of 1237 middle (6th–8th grade, with 45.1% in the 7th grade; ages 11–14) and 1215 high school (9th–11th grade, with 41.6% in the 9th grade; ages 14–17) students were available for analyses.

Results Analyses showed significant treatment effects for both intervention groups when compared to control for both the middle and high school programs.

Conclusions Given the relative ease of dissemination, these programs could be applied as stand-alone practices or as part of more intensive interventions.     

Enhancing Social Acceptance of Early Adolescents with Physical Disabilities: effects of role salience,peer interaction,and academic support interventions

The study designed and field-tested the effectiveness of a school-based program for enhancing the social acceptance of early adolescents (i.e., ages 11 to 14 years) with physical disabilities attending ordinary Zimbabwean schools (N=218; Mean age 12.49, SD=1.87 years). Actual (i.e., peer) social acceptance and perceived (i.e., self) social acceptance were considered and for same-gender and opposite-gender groups. The program involved (a) a role salience intervention, (b) a peer interaction intervention, and (c) an academic support intervention, and combinations of the individual interventions. The social enhancement protocols were pilot tested over a three-month period. The main study involved entire classrooms (N=194 classrooms; 8342 students) in order to avoid contamination of the interventions, treat the context of prejudice and enable non-disabled classmates to benefit from participation. Nomination sociometric techniques were used to measure social acceptance, and identify student-preferred school or classroom roles, preferred peers, and preferred academic services. Measures of intervention effectiveness were taken at 12-week intervals over a 6-month period. Repeated measures analysis showed that the peer interaction intervention was singularly more effective than the role salience and academic support interventions in raising the actual social status of students with physical disabilities. Interventions involving role salience were effective in raising the students' perceived social status.