Getting from here to there: Testing the effectiveness of an interactive mathematics intervention embedding perceptual learning.
Ottmar, E. R., Landy, D., Goldstone, R. L., & Weitnauer, E. (2015). Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, 1793-1798. Pasadena, CA: Cognitive Science Society.
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examining85Students, grades6-7
IES Performance Measure
Review Details
Reviewed: August 2017
- IES Performance Measure (findings for From Here to There! (FH2T))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
30-item mathematical assessment |
From Here to There! (FH2T) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
FH2T Fluid Visualization vs. Business-as-usual;
|
10.88 |
10.46 |
No |
-- | |
|
30-item mathematical assessment |
From Here to There! (FH2T) vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
FH2T Retrieval Practice vs. Business-as-usual;
|
10.46 |
10.46 |
No |
-- | |
|
30-item mathematical assessment |
From Here to There! (FH2T) vs. From Here to There! |
0 Days |
FH2T Fluid Visualization vs. FH2T Retrieval Practice;
|
10.88 |
10.46 |
No |
-- |
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Suburban
Study Details
Setting
The study takes place in five grade 6 and 7 classes in a suburban middle school in the mid-east United States.
Study sample
Sample characteristics are not provided in the study.
Intervention Group
The study measures the effects of two variants of a math technology intervention, From Here to There! (FH2T), called “retrieval practice” and “fluid visualization.” The two interventions are compared against each other (in the student-level RCT) and against a business-as-usual comparison condition (in the cluster RCT). The delivery of each FH2T intervention occurred over six 30-minute mathematics classroom periods. FH2T is an interactive technology intervention that allows users to manipulate and transform mathematical expressions and travel through a series of "worlds." Among the 3 classes assigned to FH2T, students were assigned to the "retrieval practice" or "fluid visualization" mode of FH2T. In retrieval mode, students recall and enter correct algebraic and arithmetic transformations; in fluid visualization mode, calculations and transformations are performed by the system. Students used FH2T to solve problems during the sessions 2 through 5 of the intervention period (pre- post-test assessments were done during sessions 1 and 6, respectively).
Comparison Group
Students in the comparison condition received business-as-usual instruction.
Support for implementation
The study does not provide any description of support provided for the implementation of FH2T.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).