Advancing the Math Skills of Low-Achieving Adolescents in Technology-Rich Learning Environments
Funding:
Institute of Education Sciences, Cognition and Student Learning Research Grant, U.S. Department of Education

The purpose of this project is to implement, test, and refine the most effective ways of helping low-achieving students develop their computation and problem-solving skills in mathematics within the context of a teaching method called Enhanced Anchored Instruction (EAI). Previous research clearly showed how EAI could improve the problem solving skills of adolescents but still unknown is the best way to integrate explicit basic skills instruction (e.g., fact retrieval, fractions computation) with EAI, especially among students with learning disabilities (LD) and/or emotional disabilities (ED). The question of how best to integrate instruction of higher- and lower-order math skills is important because many teachers of low-achieving students are reluctant to teach challenging math problems before they have mastered basic skills, which often leads students to dislike mathematics and drastically reduces to their motivation to learn it.

Practical Importance

For several years, authors have cautioned against designing instructional methods and materials based on constructivist principles for less capable students without an adequate research foundation (e.g., Vaughn, Klingner, & Hughes, 2000). These authors’ apprehension has been based on two legitimate concerns: (a) that students who have low math skills will not be able to solve the more difficult types of problems advocated by NCTM and (b) that having such students spend time on problems they are not able to solve will limit the time available for basic skills instruction. In our research, we have demonstrated instructional practices that make it possible for low-achieving students to solve relatively complex problems and thus have reduced apprehension over the first concern. However, we have not yet found an answer to the second concern, which is therefore the focus of the proposed project. In the spirit of the goals cited in a report by the National Research Council (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, Donovan, & Pellegrino, 2000), we will design and test, empirically, instruction and curricula that enhance the basic skills (e.g., computation of whole numbers and fractions) of low-achieving students as they work to solve meaningful problems. This research will result in moving the research and instructional communities beyond the either/or debate (i.e., teaching basic skills vs. problem solving).

Research Questions

The proposed project will answer the following research questions:

1. What are the differential effects of two methods of teaching EAI (i.e., explicit vs. informal teaching of basic skills) on the math computation and problem-solving skills of low-achieving students?
2. What are the differential effects of two methods of teaching EAI (i.e., explicit vs. informal teaching of basic skills) on the motivation of low-achieving students?
3. What specific teaching activities (e.g., time spent in problem-solving instruction vs. computation instruction; number of activity changes per lesson) and learning activities (e.g., time spent in individual work vs. group work; high cognitive task demands vs. low cognitive task demands) lead to higher achievement in math computation and problem solving for low-achieving students?
4. What instructional refinements to these instructional interventions lead to more positive outcomes for low-achieving students?

Anchoring Problems in Technology-Rich Environments to Enhance the Math Skills of Adolescents with Disabilities
Funding:
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Steppingstones of Technology Innovation for Students with Disabilities

This project investigates the factors that promote or impede the successful implementation of "Enhanced Anchored Instruction," a way of using technology to help students with learning disabilities and/or emotional disabilities develop their computation and problem-solving skills in authentic contexts for learning.

Goals of the Project