Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA 84.324A

Program Officer:
Dr. Robert Ochsendorf
Robert.Ochsendorf@ed.gov
(202) 219-2234

Purpose

Through its Mathematics and Science Education (Math/Science) program, the Institute intends to contribute to the improvement of mathematics and science education for students with identified disabilities and to prevent the development of disabilities among students at risk for disabilities by: (1) exploring malleable factors¹ (e.g., children's skills, instructional practices, curricula) that are associated with better mathematics or science outcomes for students with disabilities or students at risk for disabilities, as well as mediators or moderators of the relations between these factors and student outcomes, for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention; (2) developing new curricula and innovative instructional approaches to mathematics and science education that will eventually result in improving mathematics and science achievement for students with disabilities or at risk for disabilities; (3) evaluating the efficacy of fully developed curricula and instructional approaches to mathematics and science education for students with disabilities or students at risk for disabilities; (4) evaluating the effectiveness of mathematics and science curricula and instructional approaches for students with disabilities or at risk for disabilities that are implemented at scale; and (5) developing and validating assessments of mathematics and science learning for students with disabilities or at risk for disabilities and intended for use by practitioners in instructional settings.

The long-term outcome of this program will be an array of tools and strategies (e.g., assessments, instructional approaches) that have been demonstrated to be effective for improving mathematics and science learning and achievement for students with disabilities or students at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through Grade 12.

Background

Students with disabilities lag behind their peers without disabilities in both mathematics and science achievement. For example, in the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics assessment, 40 percent of Grade 4 students with disabilities who participated in the assessment scored below the basic level compared to 15 percent of Grade 4 students without disabilities. Among Grade 8 students, 66 percent of students with disabilities who participated in the assessment scored below the basic level compared to 25 percent of students without disabilities. Among Grade 12 students on the 2005 NAEP mathematics assessment, 83 percent of students with disabilities who participated in the assessment scored below the basic level compared to 36 percent of students without disabilities. In the 2005 NAEP science assessment, 55 percent of the Grade 4 students with disabilities who participated in the assessment scored below the basic level compared to 30 percent of the Grade 4 students without disabilities. At Grade 8, 73 percent of the students with disabilities who participated in the assessment scored below the basic level in the science assessment compared to 38 percent of the students without disabilities. Among Grade 12 students, 83 percent of students with disabilities who participated in the assessment scored below the basic level in science achievement compared to 43 percent of students without disabilities.

The Institute intends for its Math/Science special education research program to support research on the development and evaluation of curricula and instructional approaches that are intended to improve mathematics and science outcomes for students with disabilities, or at risk for disabilities, from kindergarten through Grade 12. Through this program, the Institute supports research to develop and validate assessments of mathematics or science for use by practitioners for purposes such as screening, progress monitoring, or evaluating outcomes for students with disabilities or at risk for disabilities. Finally, the Institute supports research that examines the relations between malleable factors and mathematics or science outcomes for students with disabilities or at risk for disabilities for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention. The types of projects that are appropriate for this program are illustrated by, but not limited to, the examples provided below.

Interventions appropriate for research under this program are interventions for students with high- or low-incidence disabilities that are delivered to the student by teachers or other instructional staff. For example, a number of interventions (e.g., Nemeth code tutorials for students or teachers, embossed graphics for presenting visual information, captioned media) have been developed to make mathematics or science content more accessible for students with blindness, visual impairments, deafness or hearing impairments. Similarly, technology-based interventions, such as simulations, multimedia, and virtual reality, have been developed to allow students with physical disabilities to experiment with science concepts or to support students with disabilities in learning science and mathematics (e.g., supported electronic text). Relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the impact of interventions such as these, and the Institute encourages researchers to propose projects to conduct rigorous research on the effect of such interventions on learning outcomes for students with disabilities.

The Institute is primarily interested in interventions that address core mathematics and science content (e.g., Mathematics: addition/subtraction, fractions, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus; Science: physical science, earth science, life science). Instruction in mathematics and science is shaped by theories that vary in their implications regarding, for example, the importance of active student construction of knowledge through discovery- or inquiry-based learning, and the need for direct and explicit instruction for concept and skill development. The Institute does not limit research to any particular framework, and is interested in proposals to develop or test different theoretically-based approaches for teaching mathematics or science to students with disabilities.

Under the Math/Science special education research program, the Institute accepts applications to develop innovative or evaluate promising interventions that could be used as a tier in a Response to Intervention model. For example, an applicant might propose to evaluate a secondary-tier intervention intended to improve mathematics achievement of students with or at risk for learning disabilities.

The Institute encourages researchers to explore malleable factors (e.g., instructional practices, curricula, children's behaviors or skills) that are associated with better mathematics or science outcomes for students with disabilities or at risk for disabilities, as well as mediators or moderators of the relations between these factors and student outcomes, for the purpose of identifying potential targets of intervention. This is translational research intended to inform development of innovative interventions to improve mathematics or science outcomes for children with disabilities or at risk for disabilities. One approach to the identification of malleable factors is for researchers to conduct detailed, quantifiable observational measures of mathematics or science instruction (e.g., types of instruction, frequency, duration, under what circumstances), and then use the instructional data in conjunction with child characteristics to predict subsequent mathematics or science performance. The goal here is to identify what type or combination of instructional activities is associated with better student outcomes and for which students. Researchers following this strategy who can successfully predict student performance could use this information as the basis for developing an intervention. Another approach is to conduct multivariate analyses of district or state databases in order to identify existing programs and practices that may be associated with better mathematics or science outcomes and to examine factors and conditions that may mediate or moderate the relations between the student outcomes and these programs and practices.

In addition, the Institute invites proposals to develop and/or validate mathematics and science measurement tools for classroom assessments to be used for instructional purposes (e.g., progress monitoring). To improve mathematics and science skills, instruction may need to be tailored to the sources of difficulty that individual students experience. An ideal learning environment might involve regular and frequent assessment of skills and the possibility of individualized instruction for students based on the particular source of their difficulties.

References

National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008). Foundations for Success: Reports of the Task Groups and Subcommittees. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.