Examining a Preteaching Framework to Improve Fraction Computation Outcomes among Struggling Learners [Pre-teaching plus concrete-representational-abstract instructional sequence vs. supplemental reading instruction]
Watt, Sarah J.; Therrien, William J. (2016). Preventing School Failure, v60 n4 p311-319. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1110067
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examining32Students, grade6
Practice Guide
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2020
- Practice Guide (findings for Targeted Math Intervention)
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards with reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with high attrition, but the analytic intervention and comparison groups satisfy the baseline equivalence requirement.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Basic Skills Algebra curriculum-based measure |
Targeted Math Intervention vs. (Not applicable) |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
6.80 |
6.53 |
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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Female: 40%
Male: 60% -
Race Black 34% Other or unknown 22% White 44% -
Ethnicity Hispanic 19% Not Hispanic or Latino 81%
Study Details
Setting
All students in the study attended one of two elementary schools. Across the two schools, there were four classrooms. No information is provided about the schools (e.g., whether they were public, private, charter, etc.) or their location.
Study sample
Fifty-six percent of the sample qualified for free or reduced price lunch. The racial and ethnic breakdown of the sample was 34% African American, 44% white, 19% Hispanic, and 3% Middle Eastern. Forty percent of the sample was female and 60% of the sample was male. 59% of the sample was receiving tier 2 supplemental support, 26% was receiving tier 3 comprehensive support, and 15% of the sample had an IEP.
Intervention Group
Prior to the class receiving instruction on fractions, students in the intervention group participated in 10 30-minute sessions (five per week). These sessions took place during a time period during the school day when all students worked in small groups or participated in teacher-led groups. During the 10 sessions, preteaching was provided for three skills: comparing the size of two fractions using symbols (<, =, or >), reducing fractions to their simplest forms, and addition and subtraction with fractions that had the same denominator, as well as those with different denominators. In the instruction period, the first session provided introductory material, including introducing students to new vocabulary and showing them how to use the manipulatives that would be used in later sessions. This was followed by 3 sessions of instruction for each of the three skills. The three sessions progressed through the CRA (concrete-representational-abstract) teaching sequence. During the first session (concrete) for each skill, instruction consisted of modeling and practice with manipulatives. During the second session (representational), students worked with pictorial representations of the same ideas they had previously worked on with concrete manipulatives. Finally, during the third (abstract) section, students worked on the same skill area, this time using numbers and symbols. On this day, they also completed practice worksheets. If teachers did not feel students were ready to move onto the next step in the sequence (i.e., from concrete to representational or from representational to abstract), they would provide additional instruction to students at their level.
Comparison Group
Students who were assigned to the control condition participated in a supplemental reading group.
Support for implementation
Both of the teachers participated in training on how to administer the intervention. Training was provided through webinars. Teachers also received materials to read about the strategies they would be teaching. In total, teachers received 4 hours of training.
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.
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Study findings for this report.
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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).