Building a classroom game economy to improve mathematical reasoning and prepare K-5 students for success in STEM learning

Teachley, Llc, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Project? ?Summary/Abstract There? ?is? ?an? ?enormous? ?need? ?for? ?qualified? ?people? ?to? ?pursue? ?careers? ?in? ?STEM? ?(Noonan, 2017).? ?However,? ?the? ?lack? ?of? ?a? ?strong? ?foundation? ?in? ?mathematics? ?means? ?students? ?are? ?less? ?likely to? ?pursue? ?STEM? ?majors? ?and? ?careers? ?(Chen,? ?2013;? ?Griffith,? ?2010;? ?Huang,? ?Taddese,? ?&? ?Walter,? ?E, 2000;? ?Kokkelenberg? ?&? ?Sinha,? ?2010;? ?Lowell? ?et.? ?al.,? ?2009).? ?Students? ?from? ?low-income? ?families, women,? ?and? ?underrepresented? ?minorities? ?are? ?also? ?less? ?likely? ?to? ?major? ?in? ?STEM? ?(Bettinger,? ?2010; Griffith,? ?2010;? ?Hill,? ?Corbett? ?&? ?Rose,? ?2010;? ?Kokkelenberg? ?&? ?Sinha,? ?2010).? ?Improving? ?math learning? ?in? ?the? ?elementary? ?grades? ?is? ?important? ?to? ?ensure? ?children? ?have? ?the? ?essential foundational? ?skills? ?and? ?strong? ?self-efficacy? ?beliefs? ?to? ?be? ?able? ?to? ?succeed? ?with? ?later? ?mathematics and? ?pursue? ?careers? ?in? ?STEM.? ?With? ?this? ?Fast-Track? ?grant,? ??Class? ?Store? ??(?CS?)?,? ?we? ?propose? ?to transform? ?the? ?way? ?in? ?which? ?students? ?learn? ??Number? ?and? ?Operations? ?in? ?Base? ?Ten.?? ??CS? ??will? ?be? ??an engaging,? ?commercially? ?available,? ?classroom-based? ?economy? ?game? ?for? ?tablets? ?and Chromebooks? ?that? ?focuses? ?on? ?multi-digit? ?operations.? C?? S?? ?will?? ?encourage? ?conceptual understanding? ?and? ?build? ?math? ?self-efficacy? ?for? ?students? ?in? ?grades? ?K-5? ?within? ?the? ?context? ?of? ?a digital,? ?classroom-based? ?marketplace.? ?Within? ?the? ?game,? ?students? ?will? ?create? ?stores,? ?craft? ?objects to? ?sell,? ?engage? ?in? ?selling/purchasing? ?transactions,? ?and? ?work? ?together? ?to? ?increase? ?the? ?value? ?of? ?the economy.? ?In? ?addition,? ?the? ?game? ?will? ?utilize? ??artificial? ?intelligence? ?(AI)? ?to? ?detect? ?strategies? ?students use? ?and? ?help? ?teachers? ?facilitate? ?rich? ?mathematical? ?discussions? ?thereby? ?enhancing? ?students? reasoning? ?skills. Outcomes.? ??The? ?proposal? ?will? ?encourage? ?three? ?main? ?outcomes,? ?namely:? ?1)? ?algorithms? ?for detecting? ?math? ?strategies? ?students? ?use,? ?2)? ?a? ?discussion? ?support? ?dashboard,? ?and? ?3)? ?algorithms for? ?predicting? ?at-risk? ?status.? ?A? ?key? ?research? ?aim? ?is? ?to? ?determine? ?whether? ?the? ?software? ?can? ?predict math? ?strategies? ?students? ?use? ?and? ?detect? ?which? ?students? ?are? ?at-risk? ?academically? ?as? ?compared to? ?standardized? ?assessment? ?data,? ?which? ?will? ?help? ?teachers? ?intervene? ?appropriately.? ?The discussion? ?support? ?dashboard? ?will? ?help? ?to? ?promote? ?rich? ?mathematical? ?discussion,? ?thereby improving? ?students?? ?mathematical? ?justification? ?and? ?conceptual? ?understanding.? ?The? ?engaging game? ?will? ?bolster? ?students?? ?motivation? ?and? ?self-efficacy? ?in? ?mathematics. Improving? ?students?? ?academic? ?outcomes? ?and? ?self-efficacy? ?in? ?base? ?ten? ?during? ?elementary school? ?will? ?promote? ?later? ?success? ?in? ?high? ?school? ?mathematics.? ?Since? ?the? ?number? ?of? ?advanced math? ?classes? ?students? ?take? ?is? ?correlated? ?with? ?likelihood? ?to? ?complete? ?a? ?STEM? ?degree,? ?(Chen, 2013)? ?a? ?distal? ?outcome? ?of? ?this? ?proposal? ?is? ?increasing? ?students? ?pursuing? ?careers? ?in? ?STEM.