Ongoing Projects
Leveraging Numerical Patterns in a Modified Board Game to Improve Numeracy Knowledge
PI: Bethany Rittle-Johnson
Many children in the U.S. struggle to understand place value and calculate with two-digit numbers (11-99). This difficulty hinders math achievement.
Playing number board games is a fun and effective way to improve children’s numeracy knowledge. This project explores use of a 0-100 number board game to help children learn key math standards related to place value and arithmetic. It tests whether modifying the game board’s layout to support children in using a patterning lens - to look for and make use of predictable patterns in numbers - promotes greater numeracy learning. In the experimental condition, children play with a 0-100 game board with the numbers increasing from bottom-to-top and left-to-right, such that decades are in the far-right column and numbers ending in the same ones digit are in the same column (similar to a hundreds chart). Implicit support for a patterning lens is provided further by using visual cues to highlight numeric patterns. The research will advance understanding of a feature of games that can enhance learning and provide evidence for the benefits of a hundreds chart as a tool for promoting numeracy learning.
Leveraging Exit Tickets to Enhance Students' Self-Regulated Learning and Mathematics Knowledge
PI: Kelley Durkin
An exit ticket (i.e., ticket to leave, or exit slip) is a recommended and widely used way to end a lesson. A common exit ticket format is for students to solve a few problems related to the day’s lesson and to turn it in when they exit the classroom.
We are exploring two potential enhancements to exit tickets, with the goal of improving high-school students’ mathematics knowledge and self-regulated learning (SRL). A student’s ability to regulate their own learning processes is critical for successful learning and academic achievement, and students face increasing demands on regulating their own learning when they enter high school. We identified two evidence-based enhancements that could be implemented easily by teachers in the context of exit tickets to support students’ self-reflection. In particular, we will explore the impact of enhancements for supporting students in (1) determining how well they know material via confidence calibration, and (2) evaluating their strategy use and answers using metacognitive evaluation strategies. We hypothesize that these enhancements will improve students’ confidence calibration (i.e., metacognitive knowledge of what they know and do not know) and use of metacognitive evaluation strategies (e.g., strategies for checking their work and making sure their answers make sense), which in turn should support students’ mathematics self-efficacy (i.e., confidence in their abilities to succeed in their current mathematics course) and mastery-approach goals (i.e., goals to develop their understanding and competence). In turn, the enhancements should benefit students’ mathematics performance on content assessments. We will work with Integrated Mathematics I teachers to add enhancements to their exit tickets for one curriculum unit.
ManyNumbers
Principal Investigators: Bethany Rittle-Johnson & Eric Wilkey
The ManyNumbers network is a research consortium of over 100 sites worldwide, interested in the conceptual foundations of early numeracy. ManyNumbers aims to expand the investigation of early numeracy to a diverse global network, while promoting new and innovative exploratory projects. Our lab, in collaboration with Prof. Eric Wilkey’s Number Lab, is participating. The study examines 2.5-6 year old children’s understanding of numbers, and we will include a parent survey on the Home Numeracy Environment.
Data Science Challenge to Model Math Misconceptions
Principal Investigators: Bethany Rittle-Johnson & Scott Crossley
We will lead a data science challenge focused on modeling students’ math misconceptions. We are identifying large datasets with students' open-ended responses to math questions and coding responses for potential misconceptions (by humans). Teams will then compete to develop AI models that can detect potential math misconceptions in students’ written work. The aim is to provide teachers and students with early feedback on probable misconceptions, including via digital learning platforms.
- Read press release here!
Graduate Student Projects
Graduate students in the lab lead their own research projects. Projects focus on topics such as self-regulated studying of mathematics and scaffolding young children's numeracy skills during play.
- The Impact of Calculator Use on Learners’ Understanding of the Equal Sign (led by Shang Li)
- Enhancing Numeracy Skills in Primary School Students by Leveraging Numerical Patterns in a Hundred Board Lesson (led by Shang Li)
Completed Projects
