Equity

The project will design and investigate learning environments in secondary mathematics classrooms focused on meeting the needs of English language learners. An ongoing challenge for mathematics teachers is promoting deep mathematics learning among linguistically diverse groups of students while taking into consideration how students' language background influences their classroom experiences and the mathematical understandings they develop. In response to this challenge, this project will design and develop specialized instructional materials and guidelines for teaching fundamental topics in secondary algebra in linguistically diverse classrooms. The materials will incorporate insights from current research on student learning in mathematics as well as insights from research on the role of language in students' mathematical thinking and learning. A significant contribution of the work will be connecting research on mathematics learning generally with research on the mathematics learning of English language learners. In addition to advancing theoretical understandings, the research will also contribute practical resources and guidance for mathematics teachers who teach English language learners. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-wide activity that offers awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

The project is focused on the design of specialized hypothetical learning trajectories that incorporate considerations for linguistically diverse students. One goal for the specialized trajectories is to foster productive and powerful mathematics discussions about linear and exponential rates in linguistically diverse classrooms. The specialized learning trajectories will include both mathematical and language development learning goals. While this project focuses on concepts related to reasoning with linear and exponential functions, the resulting framework should inform the design of specialized hypothetical learning trajectories in other topic areas. Additionally, the project will add to the field's understanding of how linguistically diverse students develop mathematical understandings of a key conceptual domain. The project uses a design-based research framework gathering classroom-based data, assessment data, and interviews with teachers and students to design and refine the learning trajectories. Consistent with a design-based approach, the project results will include development of theory about linguistically diverse students' mathematics learning and development of guidance and resources for secondary mathematics teachers. This research involves sustained collaboration with secondary mathematics teachers and the impacts will include developing capacity of teachers locally, and propagating the results of this work in professional development activities.

Project Videos

2020 STEM for All Video Showcase

Title: Engaging Multilingual Secondary Math Learners in Discussions Presenter(s): William Zahner, Ernesto Calleros, & Kevin Pelaez

2019 STEM for All Video Showcase

Title: Fostering Math Discussions among English Learners Presenter(s): William Zahner

The project will develop modules for grades 9-12 that integrate mathematics, computing and science in sustainability contexts. The project materials also include information about STEM careers in sustainability to increase the relevancy of the content for students and broaden their understanding of STEM workforce opportunities. It uses summer workshops to pilot test materials and online support and field testing in four states. Outcomes include the modules, tested and revised; strategies for transfer of learning embedded in the modules; and a compendium of green jobs, explicitly related to the modules. The Discovery Research K-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. The STEM+Computing Partnerships (STEM+C) Program is a joint effort between the Directorate for Education & Human Resources (EHR) and Directorate Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE). Reflecting the increasing role of computational approaches in learning across the STEM disciplines, STEM+C supports research and development efforts that integrate computing within one or more STEM disciplines and/or integrate STEM learning in computer science; 2) advance multidisciplinary, collaborative approaches for integrating computing in STEM in and out of school, and 3) build capacity in K-12 computing education through foundational research and focused teacher preparation

The project is a full design and development project in the learning strand of DRK-12. The goal is to enhance transfer of knowledge in mathematics and science via sustainability tasks with an emphasis on mathematical and scientific practices. The research questions focus on how conceptual representations and the modules support students' learning and especially transfer to novel problems. The project design integrates the research with the curriculum development. It includes a mixed methods data collection and analysis from teachers and students (e.g., interviews, content exams, focus groups, implementation logs). Assessment of student work includes both short, focused problems in the content area and longer project-based tasks providing a range of assessments of student learning. The investigators will develop a rubric for scoring student work on the tasks. The curriculum design process includes iterations of the modules over time with feedback from teachers and using data collected from the implementation.

This project was submitted to the Discovery Research K-12 (DRK-12) program that seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models, and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. The project will adapt and study a promising and replicable teacher professional development (PD) intervention, called Collaborative Math (CM), for use in early childhood programs. CM content will focus on nine topics emphasized in preschool mathematics, including sets, number sense, counting, number operations, pattern, measurement, data analysis, spatial relationships, and shape. These concepts are organized around Big Ideas familiar in early math, are developmentally appropriate and foundational to a young child's understanding of mathematics. The project addresses the urgent need for improving early math instruction for low-income children. Prepared as generalists, preschool teachers typically acquire less math knowledge in pre-service training than their colleagues in upper grades, which reduces their effectiveness in teaching math. To address teacher PD needs, the project will simultaneously develop teacher content knowledge, confidence, and classroom practice by using a whole teacher approach. Likewise, the project will involve teachers, teacher aides, and administrators through a whole school approach in PD, which research has shown is more effective than involving only lead teachers. Through several phases of development and research, the project will investigate the contributions of project components on increases in teacher knowledge and classroom practices, student math knowledge, and overall implementation. The project will impact approximately 200 Head Start (HS) teaching staff, better preparing them to provide quality early math experiences to more than 3,000 HS children during the project period. Upon the completion of the project, a range of well-tested CM materials such as resource books and teaching videos will be widely available for early math PD use. Assessment tools that look at math knowledge, attitudes, and teacher practice will also be available. 

The project builds on Erikson Institute research and development work in fields of early math PD and curriculum. Over a 4-year span, project development and research will be implemented in 4 phases: (1) adapting the existing CM and research measures for HS context; (2) conducting a limited field study of revised CM in terms of fidelity and director, teacher/aide, and student outcomes, and study of business as usual (BAU) comparison groups; (3) a study of the promise of the intervention promise with the phase 3 BAU group (who offered baseline in phase 2) and (4) a test of the 2nd year sustainability intervention with phase 3 treatment group. The teacher and student measures are all published, frequently used measures in early childhood education and will be piloted and refined prior to full implementation. The project is a partnership between Erikson, SRI, and Chicago Head Start programs. Project research and resources will be widely disseminated to policy makers, researchers, and practitioners.

The Discovery Research K-12 program (DR-K12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models and tools (RMTs). Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. This project scales up the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs (SRL), a model that trains teens to produce video reports on important STEM issues from a youth perspective. Participating schools receive a SRL journalism and digital media literacy curriculum, a mentor for students from a local PBS affiliate, professional development for educators, and support from the PBS NewsHour team. The production of news stories and student-oriented instruction in the classroom are designed to increase student learning of STEM content through student-centered inquiry and reflections on metacognition. Students will develop a deep understanding of the material to choose the best strategy to teach or tell the STEM story to others through digital media. Over the 4 years of the project, the model will be expanded from the current 70 schools to 150 in 40 states targeting schools with high populations of underrepresented youth. New components will be added to the model including STEM professional mentors and a social media and media analytics component. Project partners include local PBS stations, Project Lead the Way, and Share My Lesson educators.

The research study conducted by New Knowledge, LLC will add new knowledge about the growing field of youth science journalism and digital media. Front-end evaluation will assess students' understanding of contemporary STEM issues by deploying a web-based survey to crowd-source youth reactions, interest, questions, and thoughts about current science issues. A subset of questions will explore students' tendencies to pass newly-acquired information to members of the larger social networks. Formative evaluation will include qualitative and quantitative studies of multiple stakeholders at the Student Reporting Labs to refine the implementation of the program. Summative evaluation will track learning outcomes/changes such as: How does student reporting on STEM news increase their STEM literacy competencies? How does it affect their interest in STEM careers? Which strategies are most effective with underrepresented students? How do youth communicate with each other about science content, informing news media best practices? The research team will use data from pre/post and post-delayed surveys taken by 1700 students in the STEM Student Reporting Labs and 1700 from control groups. In addition, interviews with teachers will assess the curriculum and impressions of student engagement.

Project Videos

2019 STEM for All Video Showcase

Title: How Video Storytelling Reengages Teenagers in STEM Learning Presenter(s): Leah Clapman & William Swift

2018 STEM for All Video Showcase

Title: PBS NewsHour's STEM SRL Transforms Classrooms into Newsrooms Presenter(s): Leah Clapman & William Swift

2017 STEM for All Video Showcase

Title: PBS is Building the Next Generation of STEM Communicators Presenter(s): Leah Clapman, John Fraser, Su-Jen Roberts, & Bill Swift

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