Investigators:
Michael
Martinez,
Margaret Burchinal, Lindsey Richland (with MIND Research Institute
and Orange County Department of Education)
Researcher:
Keara Osborne
Graduate Student Researchers: Melissa Courtney Kibrick, Teomara Rutherford
Funding:
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
Capitalizing on students' ability to gain mathematical understanding through imagery, this project is a large-scale randomized field trial of ST (Spatial Temporal) Math. ST Math is a suite of self-paced instructional software that offers over 200 computer games across six grade levels to teach math concepts and build problem-solving and reasoning skills. The program, meticulously aligned to state standards, is in wide use in 400 schools in 19 states. This project will focus particularly on low-achieving elementary schools in Orange County.
The project staff will assess the value of ST Math to learners in Grades 2-5 in low-performing schools. Our research questions include:
Does ST Math improve student learning of mathematics?
Does participation in ST Math for multiple years offer enhanced benefit to achievement in mathematics?
Do learning gains associated with ST Math interact with student background, such as English language proficiency and spatial reasoning aptitude?
What implementation factors moderate gains?
Do teachers' and students' attitudes toward math moderate gains?
How does professional development moderate gains?