Maria Blanton

Professional Title
Senior Scientist
Organization/Institution
Citations of DRK-12 or Related Work (DRK-12 work is denoted by *)
  • Blanton, M., Isler, I., Stroud, R., Stephens, A., Knuth, E., & Gardiner, A. (2019). Growth in children’s understanding of generalizing and representing mathematical structure and relationships. Educational Studies in Mathematics 102(2), 193–219, DOI:10.1007/s10649-019-09894-7*
  • Blanton, M., Stroud, R., Stephens, A., Gardiner, A., Stylianou, D., Knuth, E., Isler-Baykal, I., Strachota, S. (2019). Does Early algebra matter?: The effectiveness of an early algebra intervention in grades 3–5. American Educational Research Journal 56(5), 1930–1972, DOI: 10.3102/0002831219832301*
  • Blanton, M., Otalora Sevilla, Y., Brizuela, B., Gardiner, A., Sawrey, K., & Gibbons, A. (2018). Exploring Kindergarten Students’ Early Understandings of the Equal Sign. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 20(3), 167–201, doi: 10.1080/10986065.2018.1474534*
  • Blanton, M., Brizuela, B., Gardiner, A., & Sawrey, K. (2017). A progression in first-grade children’s thinking about variable and variable notation in functional relationships. Educational Studies in Mathematics 95(2), 181 – 202, DOI 10.1007/s10649-016-9745-0*
  • Fonger, N. L., Stephens, A., Blanton, M., Isler, I., Knuth, E., & Gardiner, A. (2018). Developing a Learning Progression for Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Learning: An Example from Mathematics Education. Cognition and Instruction, 36(1), 30-55, DOI: 10.1080/07370008.2017.1392965*
TERC, Inc.
09/01/2017

This study will design a curricular framework for developing children's algebraic thinking across Grades K-2, with a particular focus on understanding how to support the teaching and learning of algebra with students in at-risk settings.

TERC, Inc.
08/01/2011

This project is studying how young children in grades K-2 understand mathematical concepts that are foundational for developing algebraic thinking. Researchers are contributing to an ongoing effort to develop a learning trajectory that describes how algebraic concepts are developed. The project uses teaching experiments, with researchers talking directly to students as they explore algebraic ideas. They explore how students think about and develop concepts related to covariation, representations of functions, relationships among variable, and generalization.

TERC, Inc.
09/01/2011

This project is developing and testing a curricular learning progression of early algebra objectives and activities for students in grades 3 - 5. The goal of the work is to provide teachers with curricular guidance and instructional resources that are useful in preparing students for success in study of algebra at the middle grade level. The project is also developing and validating assessment tools for evaluating student progress toward essential pre-algebra mathematical understandings.

Tufts University
09/01/2022

This project will explore how children in grades K-2 understand visual representations of algebraic concepts. For instance, children might create tables or graphs to organize information about the relationship between two quantities. They might use graphs and diagrams to explain their mathematical thinking and develop their understanding of relationships in numbers and operations. The project will use data gathered in K-2 classrooms and via interviews with children to describe their use of the visual representations. This exploratory project aims to develop learning trajectories as cognitive models of how children in grades K–2 understand visual representations for algebraic relationships.

TERC, Inc.
07/15/2014

This project will use classroom-based research to teach children about important algebraic concepts and to carefully explore how children come to understand these concepts. The primary goal is to identify levels of sophistication in children's thinking as it develops through instruction. Understanding how children's thinking develops will provide a critical foundation for designing curricula, developing content standards, and informing educational policies.

TERC, Inc.
09/01/2015

The project will use a quasi-experimental design to explore students' knowledge of core algebraic concepts in middle grades (grade 6), one year after their completion of 3-year, grades 3-5 early algebra intervention. The research questions are: (1) how well students who received a specific intervention retain their understanding of algebraic concepts in future years; and (2) whether and how the intervening year of regular classroom instruction in grade 6 influences the algebra understanding of both intervention and comparison students.

TERC, Inc., University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison)
10/01/2012

In this project researchers are implementing and studying a research-based curriculum that was designed to help children in grades 3-5 prepare for learning algebra at the middle school level. Researchers are investigating the impact of a long-term, comprehensive early algebra experience on students as they proceed from third grade to sixth grade. Researchers are working to build a learning progression that describes how algebraic concepts develop and mature from early grades through high school.