Purpose: In this study, the researchers conducted an efficacy trail evaluating the impact of the Math Pathways and Pitfalls lessons on English language learners' mathematical achievement and the development of mathematics-related language. In the early 2000s, 35 percent of white 4th graders scored at or above proficient in mathematics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In contrast just 10 percent of Latino 4th graders scored at this level. Through this project, the researchers aimed to develop evidence about instructional materials that may help Latino students and English language learners develop important mathematics concepts and the academic language needed to understand and reason about those concepts.

Structured Abstract

THE FOLLOWING CONTENT DESCRIBES THE PROJECT AT THE TIME OF FUNDING

Setting: The study will be conducted in schools and classrooms with large concentrations of English language learners whose home language is Spanish. To qualify for the study, schools must have at least 50 percent Hispanic students who are ELL and a high ratio of underperforming socio-economically disadvantaged students. Districts representing three diverse geographic regions, each with large populations of Hispanic students, have agreed to serve as research sites.

Sample: The trial is to be conducted in 120 grade 4 and 5 classrooms in 3 geographically diverse regions with roughly equal numbers of classrooms in each region for each grade level.

Intervention: The Math Pathways and Pitfalls (MPP) lessons address the need to help students strengthen their understanding of difficult mathematical concepts and improve their capacity to use academic language to learn from demanding curricula. A unique attribute of the lessons is the use of typical and atypical examples, including examples of pitfalls. The proposed research will examine the efficacy of key attributes of the supplementary materials that could easily be incorporated into any standard curriculum.

Research Design and Methods: This efficacy trial employs a cluster-randomized design, in which teachers (classes) are randomly assigned to treatment condition (MPP lessons) and control groups (usual instructional materials). Teachers assigned to the treatment condition will replace 14 to 15 hours of their regular lessons with the MPP lessons. Students in each grade will participate in seven core MPP lessons, each with two follow-up mini lessons on the same topic. Each core lesson will be presented during two 45-minute math periods and each mini-lesson will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes of instructional time. Students in the experimental and control conditions will have about the same number of instructional hours over the school year. Includes classroom observations, surveys, and audiotaping of classroom lessons to examine fidelity of implementation.

Control Condition: Students randomly assigned to the control condition will continue to use their regular instructional materials.

Key Measures: The primary outcome measures, collected on the same participants across the two-year intervention, will include standardized achievement tests, annual pre/post mathematics quizzes, and annual pre/post academic language tests.

Data Analytic Strategy: The primary hypothesis-testing analyses will involve fitting linear mixed effects ANCOVA models (HLM or multilevel models) with additional terms to account for the nesting of subjects within classrooms. Both annual and cumulative impacts of the lessons will be investigated, with explicit analytic attention paid to ELL, race/ethnic, and academic achievement differentials.

Products and Publications

ERIC Citations:  Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.

Select Publications:

Journal articles

Ramirez, A., & Salguero, K. (2017). Pathways and Pitfalls on the Road to Equity in Mathematics Classrooms. Journal of the California Mathematics Project, 8, 15–28.

Solano-Flores, G., Barnett-Clarke, C., and Kachchaf, R.R. (2013). Semiotic Structure and Meaning Making: The Performance of English Language Learners on Mathematics Tests. Educational Assessment, 18(3): 147–161.

Project reports

Heller, J. I. (2010). The impact of Math Pathways & Pitfalls on students' mathematics achievement and mathematical language development: A study conducted in schools with high concentrations of Latino/a students and English learners. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.