Scott Laidlaw

This project team will fully develop and test Fate and Fortune, an online class-wide intervention where grade 8 students learn algebra within a story-based game. Research demonstrates that students who do not succeed in algebra are more likely to eventually drop out of high school. When students begin Algebra I, a lack of conceptually meaning and understanding can be further reinforced by curricula where math problems do not make sense in the context of their lives and interests.

With this Phase I funding, the project team will develop and test a prototype of Fate and Fortune, a simulated learning environment aligned for grade 8 algebra. The prototype will include story-based adventure set in the era of the spice trade of the 1600s. In the multi-player game, the class of students must apply algebraic equations to advance and learn academic content.

: There is concern about a decline in mathematics achievement scores among U.S. students during the middle school years. For example, while 4th grade U.S. students rank 8th overall on an international mathematics comparison, by 10th grade U.S. student's drop significantly to 25th in the same comparison. Some researchers posit that much of this decline relates to how math is taught in the U.S. and with how students become less engaged as learners in middle school. The purpose of this project ...

This project team is developing a prototype of a web-based pre-algebra math game for middle school students for use on tablet and personal computer platforms. The game, called Empires, will be story-based, strategic, and will enable peer-to-peer interactions. The games will be integrated within classroom practice.