Improving Problem-Solving Performance of Students with Mathematics Difficulties

University Of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Improving Problem-Solving Performance of Students with Mathematics Difficulties Project Summary/Abstract This application addresses Broad Challenge Area (12): Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and Specific Challenge Topic, 01-OD-101: Efficacy of Educational Approaches Toward Promoting STEM. This project will test the efficacy of a fully developed intervention (Schema-Based Instruction, SBI) with third grade students identified with mathematics difficulties (MD). Over a 15-year period, SBI has been evaluated using primarily quasi-experimental designs and has yielded positive outcomes for students with and without MD. Specifically, this study will (a) investigate the effectiveness of SBI intervention in improving the mathematics problem-solving performance of third graders with mathematics difficulties (MD), (b) determine whether SBI intervention will lead to improved attitudes about mathematics, and (c) determine whether child characteristics (scores at pretest on computation, attentive behavior, metacognition, reading ability) and treatment fidelity moderate the effects of SBI intervention relative to a control condition. Given the focus of the study on addressing the chronic and pervasive mathematical difficulties of children in primary school, this proposal is directly responsive to the public health of individuals. This study will take place in elementary schools in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis that has a diverse student population and is representative of low-income neighborhoods. The participants will be approximately 260 third graders across the two years of the study. A randomized design will be used in this study. In each of approximately 40 participating third-grade classrooms, students identified as experiencing mathematics difficulty will be randomly assigned to a SBI or control tutoring intervention group. Verification of their mathematics difficulties will be determined based on scores (<the 25th percentile) on the Mathematics Problem Solving Subtest of the Stanford Achievement Test- tenth edition (SAT-10). Students will be the unit of assignment as well as the unit of analysis. Trained tutors will implement SBI with the sample of students with MD. The SBI curriculum is used to teach students problem solving strategies that support their understanding of a range of word problems. Because we are interested in determining whether the SBI curriculum is more effective than other interventions generally provided in elementary schools, students in the control condition will be provided with school-designed, or "business as usual" mathematics tutoring intervention using the district-adopted curriculum, Investigations. Measures of key outcomes (mathematics problem solving) include: Mathematics Problem Solving Subtest of the SAT-10, Mathematical Word Problem Solving (WPS) Test, WPS probes, and an Attitude Toward Mathematics Subtest of the Test of Mathematical Abilities (TOMA). A set of hierarchical linear models will be estimated to investigate the effect of treatment on mathematical problem solving and student attitudes towards math on posttest scores, using the student pretest score as a covariate to moderate the effect of pretreatment differences. Public Health Relevance: The mathematical underachievement of students in the United States is particularly severe for students with disabilities, limited-English proficient (LEP) students, students from impoverished backgrounds, and minorities (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008). The proposed two-year study will address the mathematical problem solving difficulties of third grade students who are identified as having mathematics difficulties (N = 260) by providing small group tutoring using schema-based instruction (SBI) that is known to improve mathematics outcomes for students with mathematics difficulties. Given the focus of the study on addressing the chronic and pervasive mathematical difficulties (i.e., problem solving) of children in elementary schools in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis that has a diverse student population and is representative of low-income neighborhoods, this proposal is directly responsive to the public health of individuals.